Posts Tagged ‘Attack’

Common Cold – The common tips and tricks to prevent and treat common cold.

Common cold includes running nose, sore throat, coughing and sneezing. Many viruses causes common cold out of which rhino-virus is the most common type. The condition of the mucous that comes from the nose (commonly known as a runny nose) changes over a time period. In the initial days of the cold, the mucous is transparent, being just meant to wash germs from the nose. After a period of around two days, there is a fight back by the body’s immune system, which makes the mucous more white. As the helpful bacteria in the nose starts to come back, the mucous starts to get a tinge of green.

The symptoms of a common cold are running nose, sore throat, sneezing, watery eyes, headache and body aches, cough and stuffed nose.

For minor symptoms of common cold:
- Drink good amount of fluids and take a lot of rest.
- Take pain relievers and a decongestant but do not use if you have high blood pressure.
- For sore throat tea with honey relieves the dysphagia.
- Fresh air stimulates the circulation and provides oxygen to body.
- Lime Juice is the most effective remedy for common cold. Take a glass of lukewarm water and dilute the lime juice in it. You can add a tablespoon of honey to enhance its efficiency.
- Take steam for cleaning nasal and pre-nasal areas.
- Avoid the things that trigger cold.
- Try some breathing exercises for fresh air circulation.
- Wash hands very regularly.
- Do not touch your face, nose, ears, mouth as common cold spreads on touching.
- The disposable items should be used if someone in your family is infected.
- Maintain proper hygiene and healthy lifestyle.
- Emotional stress should be controlled.

Infection by cold viruses can be causes by either touching your skin or environmental surfaces that have cold germs on them and then touching your eyes or nose. It can also be caused by inhaling drops of mucus full of cold germs from the air.

See a doctor if temperature is higher than 100.4° F and the symptoms last more than 10 days and they are not relieved by over-the-counter medicines.

There is a common misconception that antibiotics can cure common cold. The fact is that antibiotics are used for treating a bacterial infection and not a viral infection. You should use antibiotics only when the doctor subscribes.

There is an important reason why colds are so common in children is because they are often in close contact with each other in daycare centers and schools.

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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.

What is Asthma? What are its causes, symptoms, prevention measures and treatment?

Asthma is a problem in which there is an airways blockage and it is a lung disorder. Air is carried in and out of the lungs through tubes called airways. In asthma, the bronchial tubes are inflammed which causes swelling and the air pathways are narrowed which in turn causes breathing problems. Asthma can be severe. In severe asthma attacks, the airways are narrowed to such an extent that vital organs do not gt enough oxygen. Asthma can cause death if not prevented on time. Asthma can be categorized into allergic asthma and asthma induced due to exercise. Asthma attack can last for few hours or few days.

CAUSES OF ASTHMA ATTACK
- Allergic to pollen.
- Allergic to dust.
- Climate change.
- Respiratory infections.
- Too much stress.
- Allergic to tobacco.
- Hereditary.
- Exposure to airborne allergens.
- Exposure to some viral infections in childhood.
- Paints.
- Animal fur.

SYMPTOMS OF ASTHMA ATTACK
- Problem in breathing.
- Wheeziness.
- Cough.
- Chest tightness.
- Swelling.
- Breath shortness.
- Asthma attack can get worse in morning and night.
- Asthma attack gets worse with exercise.
- Skin between the ribs is pulled while breathing.
- In case of emergency, bluish color appears on lips and face, pulse increases rapidly, state of confusion, severe anxiety, sweating, abnormal breathing pattern, chest pain.

PREVENTION OF ASTHMA ATTACK
- Identify the allergens that exist indoors and try to avoid them.
- Avoid environmental tobacco smoke.
- Avoid dust mites.
- Allergens from pets, cockroaches and other pests should be avoided.
- Pollen season depends on where you live. Be extra careful in pollen season.
- Avoid certain foods like fish, egg, peanuts, soy, wheat that can prove allergic.

DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF ASTHMA
Diagnosis of asthma includes checking the physical history, blood tests, chest x-ray, lungs test, allergy test. Asthma is treated with two kinds of medicines: quick-relief medicines to stop asthma symptoms and long-term control medicines to prevent symptoms. It is treated in three ways:
- Monitoring the symptoms of asthma.
- How to avoid the triggers to cause asthma.
- Treatment with medications.
- Visit the doctor.