Cold or Flu?Will cold home remedies work or do you need to visit a doctor?

I was just talking to a friend who forgot to take his annual flu shot and was now worrying about the cold and fever, he was having. The scary part is, data about the bad types of Flu,like Swine flu is not easily available.Blood tests are not being done by private labs in West Bengal for some unmentionable reasons.This means even if you can afford it,you can’t get diagnosed at private medical facilities.That’s surprising!

It’s apparently available in Government setup. But anyone who has visited a Government hospital knows how overburdened they are.

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Even with the best intentions, this is going to be an impossible situation.With many conditions requiring laboratory tests to confirm, sometimes the time between symptoms and seriousness is rapid.No one knows who will progress quicker towards scary conditions.

That’s why our family is   vaccinated against Japanese encephalitis, and we  got the flu shot .My child is protected with the scheduled baby vaccination. . As medical students, me and hubby got vaccinated against Hepatitis B early in our student life.While vaccination can’t protect us  from all diseases,why not prevent the ones which we can.

As doctors, we face viruses and bacterias regularly as our adversary and we too need to protect ourselves .

In order to fight another day, we need to survive today. If you are a healthcare professional don’t forget prevention. Even if you are not a healthcare professional, prevention is still the best way. A healthy diet and good immunity go a long way but vaccination has its part too.

Cold symptoms:

• Runny nose,
• feverish,
• sneezing,coughing,
• sore throat,
• headache,
• bodyache

You can catch a cold anytime of the year, depending on weather conditions,your immunity and general prevelance.

Cold or Flu?

Its often difficult to differentiate, between these two just by symptoms and signs.The severity and duration  of Flu , is often much higher.I wrote about the symptoms of Swine Flu sometime back to help clear the queries people often have.

Common cold  virus is  Rhinovirus.There is no vaccine against common cold.CDC recommends the Flu shot as the best protection against Flu.

How to prevent Cold?

The best way to protect against common cold and flu is handwashing. Avoid touching nose, face, eyes without washing hands. Maintain good personal hygiene and encourage friends and family too. Stay aware, stay safe.

But influenza can be prevented and the vaccine is the best way to protect you and your family.

When should you visit a doctor?

High-grade fever with severe cough, shortness of breath.Noisy breathing, pain during deep breathing, excessive drowsiness, no improvement or worsening symptoms.Recurrence of fever after a fever-free period with increases cough and breathing troubles. Read all about Swine flu here.

If you are diabetic, have asthma, any other condition which has lowered your immunity, elderly and infants need medical attention early on to prevent complications.

Cold Home remedies for adults

Start steam inhalation. Do this carefully and avoid hurrying. Steam helps clear your nose and sinuses and prevents the build-up of germs. It also gives relief from the post nasal drip which can make you cough and repeatedly clear your throat. A post-viral cough can trouble for a very long time.

Start gargling with hypertonic saline or Betadine gargle if you have a sore throat or even itchy throat. In case you are hoarse, don’t gargle but take steam.

Cold home remedies for children

Keep your child away from a cold draft. Plain saline nasal drops, help clear up the nasal cavity. Avoid over the counter xylometazoline or oxymetazoline drops excessively, as it causes rebound nasal blockage. Fluid intake should be adequate.

Chicken soup helps, so does having a warm water drink with lemon, honey, ginger and Tulsi (basil leaves ).

If you have allergic rhinitis or have asthma take care to practice prevention at all times.

A word to smokers and secondary smokers

Smoking destroys the cilia (hair-like structure) in the airways and nasal passages. This adverse effect is present in case of secondary exposure to tobacco too.This makes clearance of mucose form the nasal cavity and sinuses even more difficult.When secretions build up, it will give rising to secondary bacterial complications.

But influenza can be prevented and the vaccine is the best way to protect you and your family.

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The best part of knowing about prevention is, you not only help yourself but can also help spread awareness. Are you spreading awareness? Let me know how you protect yourself from the cold in the comments below.

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Also, read

Are you sure it’s a Cold?