Cold and flu season are upon us, that time of year when body aches, fever, chills, and nasal congestion combine and can stop you in your tracks, leaving you bedridden for days. Statistics show that the flu annually sickens millions of Americans, kills tens of thousands, and results in billions of dollars in medical expenses and sick days. Complications… Continue reading Natural Remedies for Cold and Flu
Tag: colds
How to Safely Treat Your Child for Coughs and Colds
Although most colds in children don’t have serious complications, they can cause anxiety in parents and caregivers. And colds are among the top reasons children visit a doctor. Both non-prescription (over-the-counter; OTC) and prescription medicines are available to treat cough and cold symptoms. But a word of caution: most children will get better on their… Continue reading How to Safely Treat Your Child for Coughs and Colds
Echinacea and The Common Cold
Who doesn’t want to get over an aggravating cold? Some dietary supplements are said to be great at ending the sniffles, but it pays to be cautious when taking them. Here, from the Mayo Clinic, is what you need to know: According to Mayo, research suggests that some echinacea supplements can shorten the length of… Continue reading Echinacea and The Common Cold
Get Set for a Healthy Winter
Here, experts from the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) share tips on how you can get through the cold-weather season while doing what you need to avoid colds and flu. Although contagious viruses are active year-round, we’re most vulnerable to them in fall and winter. That’s because, in large part, we spend more time… Continue reading Get Set for a Healthy Winter
ACP, CDC Offer Advice on Prescribing Antibiotics
The American College of Physicians an the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advise physicians to think twice before prescribing antibiotics for common respiratory infections. Antibiotics are overused for the common cold, bronchitis, sore throat, and sinus infections – illnesses that often resolve on their own In a paper published in January 2016 in Annals… Continue reading ACP, CDC Offer Advice on Prescribing Antibiotics
Hugs May Keep Stress from Lowering Your Resistance to Germs
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University tested whether hugs act as a form of social support that protects stressed people from getting sick. Published in December 2014 in Psychological Science, the results found that greater social support and more frequent hugs protected people from the increased susceptibility to infection associated with being stressed and resulted in… Continue reading Hugs May Keep Stress from Lowering Your Resistance to Germs
Germs on a Plane
If you’re planning a summer trip that involves air travel, be sure to bring along plenty of hand sanitizer. According to data presented in May 2014 at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, disease-causing bacteria can linger on surfaces in airplane cabins for up to a week.