GATEWAY PHARMACY
Flu virus starts spreading with the start of fall season. It remains in the air from October to about May with January and February being its peak months. People suffering from the flu suffer mild illness and they generally do not need medical care. Occasionally, there are cases in which the doctor may prescribe you some antiviral medicines to cure the flu.
Flu symptoms include fever, headache, body ache, sore throat, chest congestion and few others. If you are feeling these symptoms, you can cure the flu by following the treatments given below:
Fighting with influenza at home:
Usually, influenza can be cured at home by following simpler steps. You don’t really have to visit your doctor unless the condition is getting worse.
The first and foremost thing to do when you feel influenza symptoms is to take complete bed rest. Avoid all the physical work that is part of your routine. Take off from your work or school until you completely recover. It is advisable for you to resume working after 24 hours when your fever has gone.
Keep yourself warm and drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration. You don’t really need to have fever reducing medicines but if the temperature is getting high, you can take medicines such as paracetamol or ibuprofen to lower the temperature.
Make sure to reduce your contact as much as possible with others to lower the risk of the virus being spread by you. Use a tissue to cover your mouth and nose while coughing or sneezing and throw that tissue in the trash after using it. Make a point to wash your hands with soap and water regularly and keep your surroundings clean.
Antiviral medication:
Depending on the severity of the flu, the doctor may prescribe you antiviral medicines. The most commonly prescribed antiviral medications include oseltamivir and zanamivir. These drugs help to shorten your illness by a day or two. They also prevent serious complications that can be caused by the flu.
Zanamivir should be not be used by a patient already suffering from respiratory problems, such as lung disease and asthma. It is inhaled through a device much like an inhaler used by asthma patients. Oseltamivir is an oral drug. It can be directly consumed by the patient with water.
These drugs can cause certain side effects like vomiting and nausea. If taken with food, the side effects of these medications can be lessened.
These antivirals stop the flu virus from multiplying in the patient’s body. They don’t really cure it and they can help minimizing the duration of suffering for about a day and make your body at ease.
Above all, you can completely reduce the risk of being infected by influenza by taking vaccinations. Studies show that taking flu shots can reduce the chances of being infected by flu up to 75%. Going by the phrase “prevention is better than cure”, it is far better to avoid getting infected by the flu through proper vaccination.
Link to the image:
http://www.emeraldphysicians.com/healthyliving/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Flu-image.jpg