virus

Cold Prevention – Ways to make common cold less common

Typical cold is relatively mild misery maker that goes away without special treatment after about a week. The upper respiratory tract which includes mouth, nose, and trachea is attacked by viruses which causes cold. It is a viral infection, antibiotics will not make it feel better. The medicines available can only relieve symptoms, not cure it.

- Sleep
Getting a good night’s sleep keeps you healthy and may keep colds away. Research suggests that a person sleeping for less than seven hours were almost three times as likely to get infected as compared to a person who is getting eight or more hours of sleep.

- Exercise
A moderate regular exercise or physical activity strengthens the immunological defenses. A study suggests people who have exercised five days a week had 43% fewer respiratory symptoms as compared to people who exercise one day a week or less.

- Zinc
Studies suggest that there is no benefit from zinc lozenges or zinc nasal spray but results of using zinc gel are better but these gels have also been linked to the loss of the sense of smell.

- Empathy
Doctors have varying standards on the level of empathy to be exhibited towards patients so in a study at the University of Wisconsion, two clinics were trained to exhibit different levels of empathy. These patients were studied over a period of 14 days. Results indicated that empathy does make a difference in getting over with the cold.

- Echinacea
Studies suggest that a preparation based on aerial parts of Echinacea plant might be an effective early treatment of colds in adults but prevention and treatment trials of echinacea have not been too encouraging.
Tests of nasal fluids showed that an empathic encounter seem to boost the immune system.

- Vitamins
It is a common belief that Vitamin C, when ingested in high enough levels, will prevent common cold. Nobel prize winner Linus Pauling had written a classic work in 1970 called Vitamin C in common cold; this book further added to this belief. But, medical research has not supported this belief; this was not shown in studies where large doses of thousand to two thousand milligrams per day did not prove effective. Another area of prevention of the common cold is being somewhat substantiated by studies – this is doing hard exercising in cold weather.

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Diagnosis of Hepatitis B and C..The Do’s and Dont’s of Hepatitis B and C

Hepatitis B and C are difficult to get diagnosed and they are often referred as silent diseases. Initially, for the first six months there may be no symptoms. Acute viral hepatitis results in fatigue, fever, nausea and vomiting but these are common symptoms so additional tests are needed. Hepatitis C is diagnosed in chronic stages when it starts affecting liver. A typical cycle of disease from infection to liver damage may take very long.
Hepatitis B makes people sick especially children and symptoms may include tiredness, loss of appetite, stomach ache, nausea, vomiting, jaundice or joint pain. More serious complications may include cirrhosis or liver cancer.
Hepatitis B and C can prove to be more dangerous than HIV because of the absence of vaccine for hepatitis C, low level of awareness, difficulty in predictability of response to therapy. Improving the identification and public health management like screening of persons with hepatitis B and C infection can help prevent chronic liver disease.
Screening is recommended for people who are born in eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, Middle East and Pacific Islands, homosexual men, donors of blood and plasma, pregnant women, infants born to HBsAg positive mothers, persons on immune suppression therapy etc.

A person suffering from Hepatitis B or C should do:
- Check Hepatitis B or C status.
- Promote vaccinations.
- Be careful so that no one is accidentally exposed to blood.
- Discard materials used during injury.
- Wash hands.
- Avoid unprotected sex.
- Hepatitis status of spouse or sexual partner should be checked.
- Individuals who are at higher risk should be vaccinated.
- Monitor your liver functioning regularly.

A person suffering from Hepatitis B or C should not do:
- Don not share chewing gums, toothbrush, razor, needle or anything that comes in contact with blood.
- Do not share syringe.
- Do not donate blood, plasma, tissues, sperm.
- Do not panic and fear the worst.
- Do nor chew food before giving it to babies.
- Do not neglect follow up.
- do not try unproven therapies.

CHICKEN POX

MAIN SYMPTON : VIRAL FEVER WITH RASH

Chicken pox is a highly contagious disease, occuring usually in children. In most cases, the older the child, the more severe is the attack.

CAUSES:
It is caused by virus. The basic cause of disease is however, persistent wrong feeding of children, which results in diminished defence mechanisms of the body.

SYMPTONS:
1. Low grade fever, mild headache and feeling of weakness.
2. Appearance of rash on the skin in the form of red spots mostly on upper back or chest.In severe conditions, rash can appear on face and lower extremeties.
3. The papules turn into blisters and finally become pustules and form scabs, which fall off.
4. They come in successive corps, so that while some are drying, others are beginning to form.
5. The duration of this disease ranges from 10-21 days.

REMEDIES:

Brown Vinegar : Half a cup of vinegar should be added to a bath of warm water. It will relieve the irritation of the skin.

Pea Water : The water in which fresh peas have been cooked can be used to relieve the irritation of skin.

Baking Soda : The victim of chicken pox should be sponged with this water so that soda dries the skin.

Vitamin E : The oil should be rubbed on skin. It will have healing effect. The marks left by chicken pox will fade away.

Carrot & Coriander : A soup prepared from 100 gms of carrots and 60 gms of coriander should be taken once a day.

DIETARY CONSIDERATIONS

1. Juice diet for few days.
2. Intake of raw fruit & vegetable juices.
3. Lemon juice is considered beneficial.
4. Add neem leaves to water.