As soon as the cold season comes, a cold starts to sneak on our heels. It seems that you take care carefully – no, I got it, damn it! In the morning I woke up – it flows from the nose, it pinches in my throat. And it happens – the temperature is under forty, the head breaks, muscle aches. And then the doctor says, “flu.”
Both influenza and acute respiratory infections are viral diseases. Why do they come precisely during the cold weather?
There is no longer that bright, hot sun that mows viruses like a machine gun – this is the time. In winter, people are indoors for a long time – these are two. Different stresses reduce the body’s defense – three. Cold air can break the protective barriers in the nose – four. Viruses have their own activity cycles – five. And, probably, there is still much that we don’t know – six, eight, forty four …
The main thing – there is a chance to get sick. To make this chance to be minimal or, if the disease has overtaken, so that there is less harm from it, this is the task of every person, especially asthmatics.
Our magazine has already talked about the simplest ways to prevent the disease that everyone can use. Recall these methods.
Lubricate your nose with vegetable oil or oxolinic ointment before leaving your home. In this case, the virus is more difficult to fix on the mucosa of the upper respiratory tract.
You can rinse your nose and gargle after returning home – that is, to clear any possible infections.
It makes sense to wear a mask if there is a patient at home or in the immediate environment. “Moral” or aesthetic inconveniences are incommensurably less significant than exacerbation of asthma if a person who suffers from it becomes infected, for example, with flu, from his neighbor in the workplace. Do not neglect commonplace things – to cover your nose and mouth with a scarf in the cold; dress exactly according to the weather – so that it is neither hot nor cold.
It’s great, of course, to conduct hardening, but it must be started in the warm season. In any case, the hardened person is sick much less often.
But what about the medicine?
Remantadine is sometimes taken against the flu – it is used as a prophylaxis and as a treatment on the first or second day of the disease. There are no specific drugs against ARI. If a person has a cold, they usually treat him with a plentiful drink, tea with jam and honey. Just do not forget about a possible allergy. Of the antipyretics, paracetamol is preferable – especially to those who suffer from aspirin bronchial asthma or have polyps in the nose. Some people prefer homeopathic treatments such as echinacea.
What about antibiotics? Only as prescribed by the doctor! Of course, an experienced patron of medical offices and hospitals often prescribes treatment for himself. But the rule is that only a doctor can prescribe antibiotics. Moreover, asthmatics and allergy sufferers often “give out” a reaction to antibiotics.
What about prevention? We have already said about elementary means. As for the flu vaccine, in the vast majority of cases for people with asthma or other types of allergies, it is safe. Moreover, flu itself can cause very serious complications, and then you will regret a thousand times that you did not agree to vaccination.
What about asthma? The most reliable way to prevent exacerbation of asthma during acute respiratory infections or influenza is to keep it under control at all times using prophylactic drugs. During a cold, you can increase their dose by coordinating the action in advance with your doctor. And if symptoms appeared, then at the first signs of exacerbation of asthma, it is necessary to sharply strengthen preventive treatment. In these cases, a peak flow meter is of invaluable value, according to the indicators of which it is possible to catch the onset of the narrowing of the bronchi in time.
And, of course, we will remember – positive emotions strengthen the immune system.