Cold & Flu Treatment, Causes, Types, Symptoms, Medication And Facts

Flu and common cold could eventually put you in bed rest. Cold has been taking more economic wealth of the person than any other sickness.

To get rid of cold fast and to put you back to your work here are some helpful reminders on how to cure a cold:
Do not go out. If you are told by your physician to take rest, do it. Most people would tend to work when they are told to rest and end up worsening the situation. If you force your body to work, you will suffer some setbacks. Instead of only cold, you will face the tantrums of headaches and fatigue.

You can sleep in a place that has a good ventilation system if you are looking for a way on how to cure a cold and also providing you good air to breathe. Help yourself and get a room that is not hot or is not that cool. Try to balance the temperature of the place.

Get rid of the mucous that form residue of the cold will help you in inhaling properly. It will also help you to get away from the stress of hard breathing.

Many people who catch cold will not go to the shower. You need a hot nice shower to level the temperature of your body. Going out under sun without any shower will take your head more heavy.
Drinking more liquids will help you in the process of regulating the cold. It is good to take citrus juices as a substitute for the water.

Eating is worst during sickness but it is necessary that you eat a handful to help you when taking medicines. The food that you will eat will neutralize acidity of the medicine to avoid any intestinal problem.

Little by little your condition will get okay so do not over work yourself. It takes time for the body to have a normal balance.

The bad news is this: there is no cure for the common cold. The good news is this: there are quite a few remedies for the common cold. Technically time heals all wounds and cures most colds. But that’s cold comfort if you’re suffering from the symptoms. So consider these remedies if you’re sitting at home with nothing better to do than getting over your cold. All others are welcome to read along as well.

Blow Your Nose
Yet another good reason to stay home when you have a cold is you can blow your nose in the privacy of your own home without disturbing your coworkers. Still another good reason to blow your nose, in any case, is to get rid of the disease causing organisms that gave you your cold in the first place. Even though you’re at home there is a proper way to blow your nose and an improper way. Put a finger over one nostril and blow gently to clear the other nostril’s contents.

Fluids and More Fluids
You’ve heard it many times before but we would be remiss if we didn’t remind you once more: drink plenty of fluids when you have a cold. It’ll help you get rid of congestion and keep you hydrated, which the germs don’t like. Eight eight-ounce glasses of water a day is this suggested daily requirement. Hydration derived from tea or fruit drinks and ginger ale is also okay. Chicken soup can stay on the menu and is highly recommend. Caffeine drinks and alcoholic drinks should stay off the menu for the time being.

Build up Steam
We can’t build up steam highly enough when it comes to fighting a cold. Breathing in some steam rising from a hot bathtub or a hot pot of water or even a tea kettle can do you a world of good when you have a cold. A hot steamy shower can work nearly as well on your stuffy head.

Just add Salt
Using a Neti pot and saline rinses are also effective decongestant remedies. Rinsing your nasal passages with salt water actually flushes out the virus particles and bacteria.

Common Sense
Rest and keep warm. This common sense remedy allows your body to fight off a cold more effectively. The last time we looked, your mail wasn’t being sent to the Fortress of Solitude and you’re not in the habit of changing your clothes in a phone booth. You’re not a superwoman and you’re not a superman so don’t try to act like one. Put on a blanket, not a cape.

Add More Salt
When’s the last time a health tip told you to add more salt? If you add some salt to warm water and then the gargle with it you’ll most likely relieve that itchy scratchy throat for a time. You can repeat as needed at least four times a day.

Tea for You
As an alternative you can gargle was tea. The tannins found in tea can tighten the membranes found in your throat and this can have a soothing effect.

Feel like reading the good news about the flu? Then you’ve come to the right place. If the right place is your very own home. Because that’s where the fight against flu can begin. Years and years of informal testing have proven that many home remedies can be very effective in fighting the flu.

Before we get started we should warn you that not all home remedies are appropriate if you’re flu symptoms are particularly serious. If your fever reads over 102°F for more than 24 hours contact your doctor.

Home remedies for the flu can be matched quite closely to the symptoms that they address. Here are some examples:

CONGESTION
Prepare a hub of hot steamy water in the kitchen or the bathroom, add fresh ginger. Put a towel over your head so that you capture the steam rising up from the water then lean over the steam. This remedy may prove even more effective with the addition of some over-the-counter ointment like Vicks. Adding a few eucalyptus drops to the water may provide a similar effect. Herbalists tell us that eucalyptus is a common remedy for opening up the bronchial tubes and easing labored breathing.

Drink plenty of liquids. The common recommendation of eight eight-ounce glasses of water on a daily basis for better health is important to adhere to when you have the flu. Drinking more fluids won’t make you more congested as a rule, it will help you get rid of the congestion that you have.

Another liquid approach to battling congestion involves taking a warm shower. Once again steam will serve to ease your congestion and help move the mucus out of your nose and chest. Dry yourself off carefully to avoid any sort of chills or fluctuations in temperature, which might add to your misery.

STUFFED UP NOSE
Instead of investing in over-the-counter decongestants to remedy your stuffed up nose, the time honored saline rinse may prove equally effective, if not more so. A saline rinse irrigates your nasal passages with salt water. It also can flush virus particles from your nasal passages as well.
A ceramic pot called a neti pot is also available at most drugstores. Neti pots utilize gravity to force the saline solution into one nostril and out of the other.

SCRATCHY IRRITATED THROAT
Simple over-the-counter cough syrup can provide effective relief for a scratchy irritated throat. If you want to stay strictly away a from even over the counter medications, a spoonful of honey may also relieve sore throat.

Cough drops or hard candy can also calm throat irritations.

Yes it’s true, chicken soup can help with symptoms of the flu. Hot soup is a powerful trigger for mucus production, whether made from the chicken or not. Adding spices such as curry, garlic or pepper to hot soup can thin mucus that has accumulated in the throat and other air passages.

Actual research on the tiny hairs that line respiratory passages called cilia has shown that they work better immediately after administering hot chicken soup. This is not to suggest that hot chicken soup should ever make its way directly into your respiratory and nasal passages. Drinking it from a cup works just fine!

The arrival of theH1N1 flu virus has renewed interest in treating the flu in all its forms. Questions about managing its symptoms are also popular. Whatever kind of flu you have, no treatment will provide an immediate cure, but there are a number of strategies that one can use to combat common flu symptoms like fatigue, aches and pains, coughing and congestion, and possibly its most serious symptom–fever.

Researches acknowledge that even over-the-counter medications can shorten the duration that you suffer the symptoms of the flu. In any case, you should refrain from giving children under four any kind of medication for the flu without first contacting your doctor and asking for specific advice.

Are there any special treatments that one can take for the H1N1 virus?
There aren’t any treatments that are specifically designed to target the symptoms of swine flu or H1N1. If you feel that you are suffering from this particular form of the flu you should get in touch with your doctor immediately or seek medical attention and in emergency care facility. Many doctors prescribe antiviral medications in this situation — brand names include Tamiflu our Relenza. These medications prevent viruses from reproducing. They can also shorten the duration of diseases such as the swine flu, but work best when used within a couple of days of your becoming symptomatic.

Can I be vaccinated against H1N1?
Yes, a vaccine now exists that has been proven to act effectively against the swine flu virus. This vaccine is ineffective against other forms of the flu. Once again, a doctor may need to advise you as to whether or not to receive a vaccination of any kind.
Aside from antiviral drugs, what treatments work best against the flu?
Treatments for the flu are best described as very symptom dependent. That’s because the flu can manifest symptoms in a wide variety of ways. If the flu has caused you stomach upset a nasal decongestant will be of little use. Here’s a quick rundown of what works best against a particular set of symptoms:

If you’re stuffed up, some sort of decongestant will be in order. You need to have your mucous membranes in the nose and throat possibly opened up by a pill a capsule or some sort of syrup.

Antihistamines may prove effective for nasal specific congestion. They also relieve itching, sneezing and a runny nose. You should limit your use of decongestants to a few days. Because they serve to mask symptoms when you stop using them symptoms may return all the stronger. Side effects of antihistamines and decongestants can cause drowsiness or even hyper-activity.

Nasal sprays can work fast but they can become habit forming after only a short time of usage.

A somewhat more natural treatment for nasal congestion might be a saline spray instead of one that is medicated. Many decongestants are not suitable for people who are suffering from hypertension or other circulatory diseases.

The traditional flu and cold remedies like drinking plenty of fluids, taking over-the-counter pain relievers, gargling with salt, drinking a small glass of ginger ale for nausea and getting plenty of rest can all prove to be effective treatments for flu symptoms.

If you experience prolonged periods of difficulty breathing or temperature over 101°F for more than a day you should seek medical attention as soon as possible.