Antidepressants Blog

During winter, use a humidifier or vaporizer to raise the humidify inside your home. Low humidity dries out the mucosa lining nasal passages and increases risk of catching a cold or other upper respiratory tract infection. Being in an air conditioned room in summer also exposes one to low humidity with a similar effect on the nasal membranes.

Steeping with the mouth open also permits membrane linings to dry out and become more susceptible to viral invasion. Persons with a clogged Eustachian tube, or with sinus problems, are also more susceptible.

A person with the flu should stay home from work. If possible, that person should be restricted to one bathroom and should use only his or her own towel and washcloth. As far as possible, a cold or flu sufferer should be isolated in his or her own room and other family members should stay out. Only disposable tissues should be used.

It’s safest to avoid contact with anyone who has had a cold or flu for a week after the symptoms first appeared. However, a cold becomes contagious approximately twenty-four hours before symptoms appear.

Especially if you live in a small town or community, travel exposes you to new virus strains which can increase your risk of a cold or flu. If you live in a large city, where travelers are frequently importing new virus strains, risk of exposure to a new virus strain through travel is diminished.

Be careful about flying if you have a cold and are susceptible to ear infections. If you have a cold and fly, the plane’s descent may aggravate ear pressure. A sharp pain, or a discharge from the ear on landing, may indicate a middle ear infection or even a perforated eardrum. In either case, medical treatment is required.

Otherwise, ear infections can usually be prevented by blowing the nose gently and steadily. Sniffling is another common cause of ear infection, especially in children.

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Recent research suggests that such time-honored remedies as a cup of lemon tea or a bowl of chicken or onion soup may be safer and more effective than many of today’s OTC cold medications. These hot beverages, it has been discovered, raise the throat temperature thereby inhibiting viral replication. Furthermore, acid drinks, such as lemon tea or tomato juice, create an acid environment in which the virus cannot exist.

Anyone with a cold or flu should try to drink eight to ten glasses of non-alcoholic liquid during the course of each day. Fluid replacement is especially important during fever when significant loss of body fluids can occur. Among the best drinks are warm, bland soups including onion soup and miso broth, both fruit and vegetable juices— including unsweetened orange, grapefruit, apple or grape juice and also carrot and tomato juice—and carob drinks and teas. Although they contain caffeine, an occasional cup of black or green tea can contribute to the patient’s feeling of wellbeing. Try to drink at least half a glass of water or other liquid every half hour.

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Preliminary studies have suggested that moderate amounts of vitamin E (in the range of 200 1U per day) assist phagocytes in destroying pathogenic invaders In contrast, a deficiency of vitamin E has been found to diminish antibody production and to inhibit lymphocyte proliferation in response to a non-self antigen.

Vitamin E is an antioxidant, meaning it has a powerful capacity to neutralize free radicals (stray electrons which can reactively damage the genetic nucleus of body cells). Several studies have shown that in enhancing immunocompetence, vitamin E works synergistically with other antioxidants such as vitamin C and the mineral selenium.

It has also been observed that megadoses of vitamin E have had the opposite effect. They have inhibited immunocompetence and in some cases, they have increased Wood pressure. For this reason, many nutritionists suggest a daily maintenance dose of 100 IU of vitamin E during the cold season. During a cold, this can be increased to 200 IU, returning to the 100 IU dosage some two weeks later. It has also been suggested that during a cold, older people could take up to 400 IU per day because of poorer absorption potential. This amount should not be maintained for more than 14 days.

It is important to be certain that you are taking vitamin E only in the form of d-alpha or d-alpha tocopherol. Other varieties such as beta, delta or gamma tocopherol offer fewer benefits. For best absorption, the acetate form of alpha tocopherol is often preferred.

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Because the respiratory tract is a series of cavities (sinuses, lungs etc.), connected by air passages, viruses can spread from the nose to the sinuses and throat and into the middle ear trachea, larynx, bronchial tubes and lungs. Secondary infections spreading to these locations can cause complications, some quite serious.

This is inflammation of the pharynx, that portion of the throat above the larynx. Pharyngitis can be caused by either a virus or bacteria. Strep throat, a bacterial infection, is the most common and dangerous form of pharyngitis. Invariably, strep throat is accompanied by a high fever and an excruciatingly painful sore throat. Difficulty may be experienced in breathing, swallowing and speaking and the throat is red and raw. Although strep throat is not particularly common, it can lead to kidney disease, rheumatic heart disease or rheumatic fever. It can be positively diagnosed only by a two-day throat culture taken by a physician. Strep throat responds fairly readily to antibiotics.

Fortunately, most sore throats are not due to strep throat. Simply sore throat can be treated at home by resting the throat with a liquid diet, using slippery elm lozenges and gargling with salt water to relieve throat distress.

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When pitted against cold or flu viruses, the immune system eventually always wins. But the speed with which a person’s immune system can wipe out a cold or flu is largely governed by his or her immunocompetence. In viral infections, immunocompetence focuses on the speed at which specialized white cells can manufacture antibodies and other virus-fighting immune system components.

In a person with low immunocompetence, a cold may linger on for ten to fourteen days before the immune system can finally muster sufficient antibodies to destroy it.

In a person with average immunocompetence, a cold typically lasts about seven days. A person with moderately high immunocompetence may be rid of a cold in only four days.

But a person with optimal, peak immunocompetence can often recover from a cold completely within twenty-four hours.

New research is showing that many of the therapies which have been suggested in the past, such as taking vitamin C or zinc gluconate lozenges, are effective boosters of immunocompetence.

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