Influenza or flu is referred to as the medical condition that occurs due to infection or viruses. Influenza mainly affects the nose, throat, bronchi and lungs. It is known as the contagious disease which may occur to anybody by way of transitory disease.
Causes of Influenza:
Influenza occurs very suddenly and its main causes are headache, fever, severe muscular pain and chills. This mainly refers to as the irritation in the throat or nose and may spread to lungs through windpipe resulting in the soreness of nose, throat and cough. The person may feel weakness and fatigue.
Influenza being a viral disease may happen to those people who have low immunity and toxins in the body. It can surpass to any person easily from the affected person. This mainly occurs due to overwork, lack of exercise, improper lifestyle and improper eating habits.
Home Remedies for Influenza:
Ginger: For curing influenza, ginger is found to be an excellent home remedy. It is suggested that one teaspoon of ginger duly mixed with honey and one cup of fenugreek decoction need to be consumed every day till you become perfectly alright.
Grapefruit: The consumption of grapefruit juice really proves useful in curing influenza.
Basil Leaves: Basil leaves proves beneficial in treating the influenza. It is advised the decoction of basil leaves prepared by mixing ginger should be consumed by way of tea to have an instant relief.
Long Pepper: Long pepper is very effective in the treatment of influenza. It is advised that half teaspoon of pepper powder duly mixed with same quantity of honey and ginger juice need to be taken three times a day to have relief.
Garlic: Garlic is very useful in treating influenza. It is advised that a clove should be consumed daily to have beneficial result.
Turmeric: To cure influenza, turmeric plays a beneficial role. It is advised that one teaspoon of turmeric powder should be duly mixed with warm water and consumed thrice daily.
Onion: Onion is a useful home remedy for curing influenza. It is advised that the onion juice mixed with equal quantity of honey should be taken three to four times every day to get instant relief.
Dietary Recommendations for Curing Influenza:
However to cure the chronic stage of influenza it is advised that the person should consume only fruits and vegetables mainly in the soup form for five to six days. After this the person should follow up the fruit and milk diet for three to four days. Later on he or she should switch over to nutritious or well balanced diet including fresh fruits and veggies. It is suggested to avoid the consumption of foods like seasoned meats, spices, tobacco, alcohol, over-boiled milk, potatoes, pulses, cheese, tinned, refined and processed foods. Apart from this you must apply the cold packs over the body numerous times every day.
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Avian flu, which was identified more than 100 years ago in Italy, is an infectious disease of birds, and is caused by type A strains of the influenza virus. An outbreak of avian influenza has occurred in number of Asian countries in their domestic and wild bird populations.
Avian flu is a contagious disease and all birds are very susceptible to influenza viruses. These viruses are of different subtypes and subtype H5N1 is the one, which has emerged as a threat to bird’s population and has affected the human’s health as well.
In fact, there is no report of transmission of this disease among humans but those people is likely to be infected who have touched or handled the infected birds directly and do not take preventive measure at the time of outbreak of this disease.
Shigeru Omi, Western Pacific Regional Director of World Health Organization, recently said that “We believe that the world is now in the gravest possible danger of a pandemic” and urged international co-ordination to fight the virus.
Another official of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, Samuel Jutzi said that “there is an increasing risk of avian influenza spread that no poultry-keeping country can afford to ignore it”
Generally, avian influenza gets transmitted to the domesticated birds if direct contact is made with the infected fowl or poultry, or through their saliva, nasal secretion or feces, and sharing of same water or feed that have been contaminated with the virus.
When humans are infected by this virus, the visible symptoms are fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, eye infections, pneumonia, severe respiratory diseases, and other severe and life-threatening complications. But the severity of the infection will depend mostly on the immunity power of an infected person.
Until now, there is no specific drug available for the treatment of H5N1 infection in humans but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. have suggested that the anti-viral medication oseltamivir phosphate, with the brand name Tamiflu, may be effective in treating avian influenza.
Apart from Tamiflu anti-viral medicines likeamantadine, and relenza has shown its power in preventing the spread of virus inside the body. Both drugs have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of type A influenza illness. Amantadine can prevent 61% of H5N1 cases and 25% of influenza-like illness and relenza, which is available in the form of inhaler and is effective if used within two days of the onset of the influenza symptom.
Avian flu is spreading worldwide because of lack of effective diagnostic tools, and the surveillance system of the infected country. There is an urgent need to educate general public including health officials about the healthy way of tackling such outbreaks. Workers involved in culling process must be given proper clothing and equipment to prevent further spread of the disease.
Moreover, the need of an hour is to minimize the infection rate among poultry and keeping humans free of avian influenza. For this, constant studies are needed to make the available anti-viral medicine more targeted towards the upcoming viruses.
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Influenza is one of the more common illnesses affecting a person. There is no specific age group that is prone or not prone to influenza. It affects the young and the old in equal measure. Also, perfectly healthy people can be affected by this virus. Older people are definitely more vulnerable from it and it’s advisable that they get immediate medical attention for the same.
Influenza
Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is a viral infection. Typically, the virus spreads when an infected person sneezes and coughs. The tiny droplets of saliva help carry the virus and spread it in the air, easily infecting other people in the vicinity. The virus affects the nose, bronchi, lungs and throat. The infection is characterized by a sudden onset of fever, sore throat, cough and muscle pain. Some other symptoms of influenza include headache, runny nose, increased sensitivity to light, ocular pain, and a burning sensation in the chest.
The influenza pandemic
The most recent occurrence of the influenza pandemic was in the form of swine flu which spread on a worldwide scale. It affected populations across the globe and countries found it tough to restrict its spread due to the unavailability of any vaccine that could help combat the threat. An influenza pandemic differs in scope to the regular seasonal influenza epidemics. Pandemics are irregular and the mortality rates are high. The latest influenza pandemic has resulted in the deaths of thousands of people worldwide. Swine flu became a pandemic because it was caused by a new strain of the influenza virus. People hadn’t developed the immunity to this virus strain as they had with the older strains of human influenza.
Influenza – Treatment options
There is a range of treatment options available for influenza. It includes a mixture of medications and therapies. There are two types of treatment option for the virus. The first targets the virus directly, while the second provides relief from the associated symptoms of this condition. In the latter, the body’s immune system acts on the virus to help it recover from the infection. The two main antiviral drugs that are used against influenza belong to the family of medications known as neuraminidase inhibitors. Tamiflu, its active ingredient oseltamivir, and Relenza, its active ingredient zanamivir, are the two commonly prescribed medications for influenza.
Tamiflu – One of the first options for influenza treatment
There are many drugs available for the treatment of influenza, but Tamiflu (Oseltamivir) is the most prescribed option. This is because it not only works against influenza Type A virus, but is also effective against the influenza Type B virus. It was also found to effectively treat the symptoms associated with swine flu. Tamiflu takes the lead over most other medications as it directly fights the virus and not its symptoms. Tamiflu is not an over-the-counter drug and a doctor’s prescription is necessary if you want to buy the drug. It’s important that you apprise your doctor of your medical history and intake of medications during the consultation. This will make sure that your doctor prescribes Tamiflu keeping your overall health perspective in mind.
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Influenza, also known as flu, is the clinical condition that results from infection with influenza viruses. The main effects of the influenza viruses are on the upper respiratory tract, the nose and throat, with possible spread and involvement of the lungs and bronchi. The disease is highly contagious and it has the potential to cause a widespread epidemic, affecting a sizeable portion of a population at any time.
Causes:
The flu usually begins abruptly, with a fever between 102 and 106 °F. (An adult typically has a lower fever than a child.) Other common symptoms include a flushed face, body aches, chills, headache, nausea, and lack of energy. Some people have dizziness or vomiting. The fever usually lasts for a day or two, but can last 5 days.
Somewhere between day 2 and day 4 of the illness, the whole body symptoms begin to subside, and respiratory symptoms begin to increase.
Symptoms:
The most prominent of the respiratory symptoms is usually a dry, hacking cough. Most people also develop a sore throat and headache. Nasal discharge (runny nose) and sneezing are common. These symptoms (except the cough) usually disappear within 4 – 7 days. Sometimes, the fever returns. Cough and tiredness usually last for weeks after the rest of the illness is over.
Dry cough
Fever – may be high
Headache
Muscle aches and stiffness
Sore throat
Stuffy, congested nose
Tiredness
Other symptoms may include:
Chills
Croupy cough
Dizziness
Fatigue
Loss of appetite
Malaise
Nasal discharge
Shortness of breath
Sweating
Vomiting
Worsening of underlying illness, such as asthma or heart failure
Wheezing
Home Remedies:
Influenza treatment using Long Pepper:
The use of long pepper is one of the most effective remedies in the treatment of influenza. Half a teaspoon of the powder of long pepper, mixed with two teaspoons of honey and half a teaspoon of juice of ginger, should be taken thrice a day. This will help greatly if taken in the initial stages of the disease. It is especially useful in avoiding complications which follow the onset of the disease, namely, the involvement of the larynx and the bronchial tube.
Influenza treatment using Garlic:
Garlic is an excellent remedy for influenza. It is useful as a general antiseptic and the patient should take as much as he can bear.
Influenza treatment using Turmeric:
Turmeric is valuable in curing influenza. A teaspoon of turmeric powder should be mixed in a cup of warm milk and taken three times a day. It will prevent complications arising from influenza, and also activate the liver which becomes sluggish during the attack.
Influenza treatment using Onion:
Onion is also an effective remedy for influenza. Equal amounts of onion juice and honey should be mixed, and three or four teaspoons of this mixture should be taken daily in the treatment of this disease.
Influenza treatment using Ginger:
Ginger is an excellent remedy for influenza. A teaspoon of fresh ginger juice, mixed with a cup of fenugreek decoction and honey to taste, is an excellent diaphoretic mixture which increases sweating and reduces fever in this disease. The fenugreek decoction may be prepared by boiling one tablespoon of fenugreek seeds in half a litre of water, till it is reduced by one third.
Influenza treatment using Grapefruit:
The juice of grapefruit has proved useful in this disease as it tones up the body and the digestive tract.
Tea Remedy Combine equal parts of elder, peppermint, and yarrow. Then, steep 1-2 teaspoons of the tea mixture into a cup of hot water. It is best to drink this hot before bedtime. The not liquid induces sweat which helps stop the growth of influenza. Cayenne, cinnamon, and ginger can also be added to help either induce even more sweat, or to stimulate the body’s circulation.
Ayurvedic Medicines for the Treatment of Influenza:
1.Eucalyptus oil is used in many forms to stop the symptoms of fever, and can be used as part of the treatment for influenza.
2.Flucon tablets are available for combating the symptoms of influenza, including the cleaning of upper respiratory tracts, and the discontinuation of coughing and sneezing. These tablets have no side effects, and include a mixture of ingredients such as tinospora cordifolia, uraria picta, and a form of cinnamon. It is preferred with honey or lukewarm water. Also, there is no side effects at all.
3.Anand Bhairav Rasa is another herb that can be made into various forms to treat influenza.
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