Sunlight to fight colds, flu. London - It seems the best way to protect yourself against colds and flu this winter is to lie in the sun. New research shows that vitamin D, not vitamin C, provides the most efficient protection against cold and flu viruses. Vitamin D is created by the action of sunlight on the skin.
2019-2020 Flu Season
Among the many viruses we see causing respiratory illness right now, the influenza virus (commonly called "the flu") can be particularly severe. Infection with the influenza virus causes a sudden onset of fever, chills, dry cough, and muscle aches.Air conditioners and the cold air they produce are not inherently harmful. Another cause of air conditioning sickness is running an air conditioner too cold. A few different things happen when you do this. For one, cold-causing viruses spread.
To treat a summer cold:
- Rest up. Make sure to get plenty of rest and sleep.
- Stay nourished and hydrated. Drink plenty of fluids, especially water.
- Herbal remedies. Herbs cannot kill or fight a cold.
- Humidifiers and steams. Humidifiers cannot directly get rid of a cold.
When you have a low body weight, your body is not insulated with fat, so it can't keep you as warm. Sometimes, low body weight is due to an underlying cause, such as hyperthyroidism. In these cases, other symptoms will match the cause.
10 Tips to Cope With a Summer Cold
- Take an over-the-counter (OTC) decongestant to unclog a stuffy nose.
- Use a saline spray to irrigate the nose and keep mucus loose.
- Take an OTC pain reliever (like Tylenol) to reduce fever and manage pain.
- Use cough drops and throat lozenges to manage that pesky dry cough.
Cold air doesn't make you sick. You must be exposed to germs, bacteria and viruses to get sick. An air conditioner, by itself, can't make you sick. Yet, studies have linked air conditioning to increased sickness.
For much of the summer, though, rates of cold and flu bottom out—in part because the temperature of the air in and around your nose is so warm. “To get sick from rhinovirus, you have to get the virus in your nose, and then it has to grow enough to actually make you sick,” Foxman explains.
Healthy ways to strengthen your immune system
- Don't smoke.
- Eat a diet high in fruits and vegetables.
- Exercise regularly.
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- If you drink alcohol, drink only in moderation.
- Get adequate sleep.
- Take steps to avoid infection, such as washing your hands frequently and cooking meats thoroughly.
The 15 Best Foods to Eat When You're Sick
- Chicken Soup. Chicken soup has been recommended as a remedy for the common cold for hundreds of years — and for good reason ( 1 ).
- Broths. Similar to chicken soup, broths are excellent sources of hydration while you're sick.
- Garlic.
- Coconut Water.
- Hot Tea.
- Honey.
- Ginger.
- Spicy Foods.
17 immune-boosting foods to get you through cold and flu season
- Ginger tea. When it comes to treating a common cold, ginger is one of the best foods for relief.
- Oranges. Oranges are packed with vitamin C, an essential nutrient when you're feeling under the weather.
- Water.
- Greek yogurt.
- Blueberries.
- Ginseng tea.
- Tomatoes.
- Wild salmon.
Avoid avocados, mushrooms, strawberries, dry fruits, alcohol, yogurt, vinegar and fermented foods. Alcohol tends to encourage inflammation; further weakening your white blood cells which make it harder for your body to heal.
Bananas make you feel lethargic and lazy too." It is a common belief that eating bananas or citrus fruits should be avoided by those who have cold and cough, especially at night. Experts also say that nutrient-dense banana helps replenish lost minerals and antioxidants that may help soothe cold and fever.
Here's a list of those 5
foods that
can come to your rescue while suffering from a
runny nose. Read on to know more about them.
Read on to know more about them.
- Green Tea. Green tea is loaded with flavonoids which have anti-inflammatory properties.
- Vitamin C.
- Honey.
- Blueberries.
- Garlic and Onion.
Foods To Eat When You Have A Fever
- Chicken Soup. There are a couple of reasons why a bowl of piping hot chicken soup is good for you when you are running a fever.
- Poultry and Fish. When you have a fever, your body needs all the protein it can get to recover from it at a much faster rate.
- Vegetables.
- Fruits.
- Greek Yogurt.
- Coconut Water.
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- Stay hydrated. Water, juice, clear broth or warm lemon water with honey helps loosen congestion and prevents dehydration.
- Rest. Your body needs to heal.
- Soothe a sore throat.
- Combat stuffiness.
- Relieve pain.
- Sip warm liquids.
- Add moisture to the air.
- Try over-the-counter (OTC) cold and cough medications.
A cold in the summer will last about as long as any cold in winter. On average, a cold lasts about 10 days total, with symptoms drastically improving around day seven. Children tend to resolve colds much quicker than adults, usually in less than a week.
Winter can be brutal, but research shows you might get some health benefits during the colder months. When it's cold, your body has to work harder to maintain its core body temperature — and as a result, you might burn more calories. Colder temperatures can help reduce both allergies and inflammation.
The numerous potential causes for coldness include hypothyroidism, calorie reduction and general aging, where people become more sensitive to cold temps due to a decrease in the metabolic rate and thinning of fat under the skin.
Flu deaths up in the new year: CDCFlu deaths are up more than 65% so far in 2020, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting that 4,800 people had died and 87,000 people had been hospitalized.
Cold symptoms can be different for everyone, but they typically appear about one to three days after exposure to a cold-causing virus, peak around day four, and taper off around day seven. The most common cold symptoms include sore or scratchy throat, nasal congestion or stuffiness, a runny nose, and a cough.
| Signs and Symptoms | Cold | Influenza (Flu) |
|---|
| Fatigue, weakness | Sometimes | Usual |
| Sneezing | Common | Sometimes |
| Chest discomfort, cough | Mild to moderate; hacking cough | Common; can be severe |
| Stuffy nose | Common | Sometimes |
Early 2019 to 2020 flu activity primarily was driven by influenza B/Victoria viruses, for which the vaccine is not a great match, Schaffner said. So far, 16,000 people have died and 280,000 people have been hospitalized during the 2019-2020 flu season, according to preliminary estimates from the CDC.
This issue covers the period 19-25 January 2020 and includes updates on Ebola virus disease, cluster of pneumonia cases associated with novel coronavirus, cholera, seasonal influenza and polio.
"It is unlikely that you can get rid of a virus completely by raising your body temperature and sweating," she says. Some people assume that sweating will get rid of a cold because it's like putting your body into a fever, but it's not that simple, either.
Enteroviruses are small RNA viruses that can cause illnesses such as colds, meningitis, hand, foot and mouth disease, hypoxia (decreased blood oxygen levels), hemorrhagic conjunctivitis, myopericarditis, rashes, herpangina, pleurodynia, respiratory infections, and infrequently, paralysis.
Onset: The flu comes on quickly, while a cold develops gradually, usually with a sore throat and runny nose. Fever: A common cold rarely includes a fever of more than 101 degrees. Flu symptoms, however, usually include an initial fever. Cough, body and muscle aches are also more common with the flu.
19 natrual and home remedies to cure and soothe a cough
- Stay hydrated: Drink lots of water to thin mucus.
- Inhale steam: Take a hot shower, or boil water and pour into a bowl, face the bowl (stay at least 1 foot away), place a towel over the back of your head to form a tent and inhale.
- Use a humidifier to loosen mucus.
