The Flu - A Quick Summary

With so much information available about the flu, I decided to pinpoint in a simple way the information that you may be looking for. 

Transmitted by:

• Touching contaminated objects by infected individuals, such as keyboards and doorknobs and money.
• Inhaling air that contains the virus. Stay away from people who are coughing and sneezing during the flu season.

Preventive Measures

• Wash your hands frequently.
• Avoid crowds.
• Don’t sleep in a room with someone who has the flu.
• Don’t smoke and don’t drink alcohol, as these substances will lower your resistance to infection.
• If you feel some of the symptoms, chew a clove or more of raw garlic, preferably not on an empty stomach, as it has antiviral properties.

Symptoms

You may begin to experience the symptoms from one to four days after getting infected by the flu virus.

• Fever – Generally between 101° F and 102° F
• Chills
• Sore throat
• Severe headache
• Prostration
• Nasal congestion
• Sneezing
• Aching muscles
• General fatigue
• Loss of appetite

Some Facts:

Typical of the flu: Rapidity to spread and highly contagious.

Incubation period: From one to four days.

There are three different general categories of influenza viruses: Type A, Type B and Type C. All three types can mutate or change into new strains. Type A mutates consistently, creating new strains of the virus. So what are the consequences of this? You can never develop a permanent immunity to the flu.

In uncomplicated cases, the intense symptoms last for a few days, followed by a progressive recovery to normal health.  There are a few things you can do when recovering from the flu to avoid slowing the recovering process. 

In advanced cases, pneumonia, ear infections, sinus infection and dehydration may occur.

Here are a few tips of what you need to do if you have the flu, but make sure you read the next article as well:

• Rest in bed, especially while the fever is high.
• Drink plenty of fluids.
• When you have an appetite, eat mild transitional foods until you get back to regular meals- starchy foods like bananas, boiled rice, baked potatoes, cooked cereal, cottage cheese and dry toast.
• As a sore throat cure, it is good to gargle as needed dissolving 1 tsp of salt in 1 pint of warm water.
• If you have a headache, put an ice bag on your head. But make sure to keep the room warm. Avoid being chilled.
• Have a humidifier on or a kettle with water boiling in the room most of the time.
• Don’t drink alcohol. That will dehydrate you and as mentioned above, it could lower your resistance to infection.