Influenza Treatments and Drugs

Usually people sick with the flu do get well after a week or two without any need for treatment. The problem starts when flu complications arise. You may need to call your physician or nurse if you:

 

• Have a problem breathing or feeling short of breath
• Have pressure or pain in your abdomen or chest
• Have symptoms of dehydration like not passing urine or dizziness when standing
• Feel confused
• Cannot drink enough fluids or cannot stop vomiting

 

If your child has flu and shows the following signs and symptoms, you may need to seek medical help.

 

• Does not easily wake up
• Purplish or bluish skin color
• Irritability – Your child does not want to be held
• Does not shed tears when crying (especially among infants)
• Rash with fever

 

Treating Symptoms — This means that flu symptoms will be reduced but the flu itself will not be treated. Some of the ways to reduce symptoms of influenza include:

 

• Paracetamol or acetaminophen – Can include Tylenol among others. This drug can temporarily relieve muscle aches, headaches and fever. You can also use aspirin and other mild analgesics that can include PeptoBismol and bismuth subsalicylate among others. Aspirin should not be given to individuals under 18 years of age because it can lead to a very serious condition named Reye syndrome.
• Fluids — Taking in copious amounts of fluids is needed for flu-stricken individuals in order not to be dehydrated. You can gauge if you are drinking enough fluids by observing the color of your urine. Normal urine color should look almost colorless or light yellow. You also know you are drinking adequate amounts of fluids if you pass urine every three to five hours.
• Rest – In order to reenergize your body and boost your immune function you need to get adequate rest particularly if you are suffering from severe flu symptoms.

Antiviral medicines – These drugs work against influenza in very limited degrees. Antivirals hardly can eliminate the flu symptoms but it serves to lessen the duration of symptoms by one day as well as reduce their severity. There are some individuals with the flu who may need to take antiviral medicines to prevent the rise of complications and if they are seriously ill. People at low risk for complications and are only lightly sick are typically given an antiviral drug if their symptoms have lasted for two days or less. Some of the antiviral drugs can include active ingredients called zanamivir (Relenza) and oseltamivir (Tamiflu).  A couple of old medications called amantadine (Symmetrel) and rimantadine (Flumadine) are not prescribed anymore because today’s flu viruses have developed resistance to them. For seasonal flu, antiviral treatment can be effective as long at it’s taken during the first 2 days of flu symptoms.

 

The most effective medication will depend on certain individual factors and if the virus has still not developed resistance to the medicine. A nurse or doctor will be the ones to determine what drugs will be effective for the patient.  The side effects of oseltamivir and zanamivir are mild and they can include vomiting and nausea. Some people may develop breathing difficulty when they inhale zanamivir.  Because they only cause light side effects, people are still able to continue taking these drugs.

 

Antibiotics — These types of medicines are virtually useless in treating viral influenza and other viral illnesses. Antibiotics need only be used if you develop bacterial complication like sinusitis, ear infection or bacterial pneumonia. Antibiotics have certain side effects and often bacteria eventually develop resistance to these drugs.

 

Alternative and complementary treatments — A varied array of homeopathic, herbal, holistic and other alternative and complementary treatments are offered for treating influenza. One very good alternative medicinal treatment is traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

 

TCM has an entirely different approach to conventional treatments especially in regards to flu and cold. TCM is composed of dietary changes, moxibustion, herbal remedies and acupuncture among others. They all can be applied for the flu and colds and can also be used as forms of preventative medicine to reinforce the immune system and prevent the environment from doing damage to the body. Moxibustion and acupuncture are especially important in strengthening chi (vital energy) and removing elements that cause flu symptoms from the body. Certain herbal remedies can be applied for flu and cold. Astralagus and Cordyceps are potent plants that help strengthen the lungs, the most important organ when it comes to flu and colds.

 

 Needles & Moxa Wellness Center
700 S Red Rd
Miami, FL 33144
Ph: (305) 265-5265
http://www.needlesandmoxa.com/

 

Influenza Complications

The flu virus can cause a lot of complications. They can include pericarditis (inflammation of the sac surrounding the heart), myocarditis (heart muscle inflammation), heart attack, central nervous system disease, myositis (inflammation of the muscles) and bacterial or viral pneumonia.

Moreover, sinus infections and ear infections, particularly in children can come about because of the flu as well as the aggravation of chronic medical conditions like diabetes, asthma, or congestive heart failure.

Children in the age range of 6 months old to 4 years old and adults over 50 years old are at highest risk for flu complications. Other influenza risk groups include pregnant women, people with problematic immune systems (including individuals with AIDS/HIV), children and adults with lung or heart disease and residents in nursing homes.

Pneumonia complication brought about by influenza is quite common and can be a very serious complication. This complication can come about due to the influenza virus directly affecting the lung or when a bacterial infection arises during the course of the flu. Regardless if you have bacterial or viral pneumonia, the flu can make you seriously ill that may potentially involve hospitalization.

Pneumonia can cause a number of symptoms such as bluish colored nails or lips due to oxygen deficiency, increased pulse, coughing with bloody or green mucus, sweating, chest pains, fever and chills. Besides these, pneumonia can also cause sharp pains in the chest when one takes a deep breath, and shortness of breath. At times, elderly adults will only have pneumonia symptoms like pain in the stomach. When bacterial infection arises along with the flu, the symptoms may first improve and later on worsen with increased coughing, higher fevers and the production of a greenish tinge in sputum.

If a flu sufferer has persistent fever or cough or if he also suffers from chest pains or shortness of breath, he needs to be seen by his physician. The doctor may recommend tests like a sputum exam and chest X-ray that can assist him into making the correct pneumonia diagnosis. Antibiotics can be potent in treating bacterial pneumonia but it is useless with viral pneumonia.

Pneumonia can affect individuals for a couple of weeks. It can even last longer in individuals with weakened immune systems (like asthma or COPD), elderly adults and young children. When pneumonia strikes healthy people, they feel so weak or tired for months even after the lungs have cleared up.

If a person has difficulty in the breathing and has high fever, he needs to see his doctor immediately. Some other notable severe symptoms can include:

• Wheezing
• Chest pains
• Shortness of breath
• Rapid breathing
• Breathing difficulty
• Coughing producing blood-tinged mucus from the lungs
• Fever with chills

 

Davis Acupuncture Clinic
2043 Anderson Rd
Davis, CA 95616
(530) 400-1239
http://www.davisacupuncturist.com/

Influenza – Preparing for Your Appointment

Listed below are certain questions you may ask your nurse or doctor to help you better manage your flu symptoms.

• How can I distinguish between the symptoms of a cold and the symptoms of the flu?
• Will I develop a fever? If so, how long will the fever last? Can the fever be dangerous?
• Will I develop a headache, runny nose, sore throat or other symptoms?
• Will these symptoms last long? Will I feel body ache or tiredness?
• How can I determine if I have an ear infection?
• Will I develop pneumonia?
• Do I have HIN1 (swine flu) virus or another type of flu?
• Can I infect other individuals? What can I do to prevent infecting someone?
• What steps should I take if there is a child in my home?
• When do you think my condition will get better?
• What foods and drinks should I eat and drink? How much should I eat and drink?
• What medications do you recommend for my symptoms?
• Can I use acetaminophen or Tylenol or ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) or aspirin?
• Can I take cold medications?
• Will you prescribe more potent medications for my symptoms?
• Are herbs and vitamins good treatment to make my flu or cold symptoms go away? Are these medicines safe to use?
• Can antibiotics help improve my symptoms?
• Do you recommend other drugs to help resolve my symptoms faster?
• What steps do I need to take to prevent flu or cold infections?
• Do I need to receive a flu vaccine? If so when? Do I need to be vaccinated once or twice a year? What risks does a flu vaccine entail? What risks are there I don’t get one? Will regular flu shots shield me versus the swine flu?
• Is it dangerous to get a flu vaccine when I am pregnant?
• Will a flu vaccine immunize me from flu and colds for one whole year?
• Do you think being exposed to other smokers and my smoking itself can enable me to easily pick up the flu?
• Am I allowed to use herbs or vitamins to battle or prevent the flu?

When you come in for your doctor’s appointment, the physician will probably utilize a number of techniques to evaluate your symptoms. These techniques usually involve a physical exam and certain diagnostic tests.

Your doctor in turn can query you about certain things regarding your flu while evaluating your symptoms at the same time. Another essential tip is to bring along to the appointment a list of all you health conditions as well as all the medications you are taking including also the medicine’s dosages as well as the names of doctors and other health care providers you have seen.  Some of the questions your doctor may ask may be like these:

• When did you first start coughing?
• Did your cough begin with a lung infection or an illness?
• Do you cough only during and after an activity or all the time?
• After eating, do you cough?
• What particular period in the day do you have the worst coughing bouts?
• Do you expel mucus when you cough? If yes, is the mucus thin and runny or is it viscous and thick? Do you cough up a lot of mucus? What color is the expelled mucus?
• Do you feel any discomfort in your chest when you cough?
• Do you wheeze when you cough?
• Have you recently had fever?
• Have you recently lost weight?
• Have you had night sweats?
• Do you have problems in breathing?
• Have you had breathing problems (difficulty in breathing, feeling winded, difficulty in taking satisfying and deep breath or feeling short of breath) for a long time?
• Do you frequently feel out of breath?
• Does your shortness of breath limit the choices of activities you want to do?
• Does your shortness of breath come with wheezing?
• Do you have chest pain?
• Do you experience any night sweats?
• Do you feel tightening in your throat or tightening in your lungs?
• How long have you been wheezing?
• What seasons in the year do you wheeze the most?
• What time of day do you often start wheezing?
• Does your wheezing get worse at certain times?
• Do you feel in the back of your throat any nasal discharge (post-nasal drip)?

 

Tree of Life Acupuncture
1215 120th Ave NE #206
Bellevue, WA 98005
(425) 732-3201
https://www.treeoflife-acupuncture.com/