The good news is that the flu season seems to be winding down. The not so good news is that colds seem to be dragging on for people.

I just found this article on a Las Vegas news website:

http://www.lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=7810697&nav=menu102_2

It gives some mention to the fact that work is not the healthiest place to be, since people who are sick still come in to work even though they shouldn’t. The really unfortunate part is that most of these colds are virus based, so there’s no medications that people can take to get rid of them.

Of course, since you are getting this message from me you are already aware that there are some more effective ways to help your body fight off the stuff naturally rather than using drugs.

Unfortunately, it’s going to take the mainstream medical community a little while longer to catch up with us.

Have you ever thought that small children are basically little disease carriers? Although we have kids, and we really don’t get sick from them, I get a chuckle when my friends make comments like that.

I guess what’s ironic about it is that even though the kids are so small, they can still give us adult size diseases. And I’m not talking about serious diseases, it’s just the things like colds and flu that people try to avoid, but the kids seem to pick them up more easily and then pass it along to the parents.

The brings to mind this little news article I came across this morning that not only talks about this phenomena, but also gives some good tips on how to avoid getting colds and flu’s. It’s good advice, I hope it helps.

Here’s the article

It’s easy for a lot of us to think “oh, it’s just a cold” when we start to get the stuffy nose or sore through. The path of least resistance is to just let it run it’s course because you figure it will just go away eventually.

Unfortunately more people are finding that the cold symptoms are really signs of something more serious. Instead of a cold it could be meningitis, which is a swelling of the brain that is often fatal. This isn’t a joke or out of the realm of possibility: in Waukegan, IL a high school student recently died from just this sceanrio.

Showing cold or flu symptoms also shows that the body was not strong enough to fight off that infection so you may actually be more susceptible to another illness that comes along. For example it may be just a cold to start with, and you go into work as usual. Either because of cold or other factors, the immune system is not able to fight off another infection as well and then you come in contact with someone who is carrying the flu virus.

Since the immune system is not as strong (due to fighting off the cold) it’s more likely that the flu virus can make it’s way in and turn what was a simple cold into the more debilitating (and potentially lethal) flu.

It is very important to take illness seriously. Even if you think you just have a cold, keep a close eye on the symptoms and take steps to protect yourself from further infections. Stay home and away from other people if possible. If that’s not possible, cough or sneeze into your elbow (not your hands) to reduce spreading the virus. Reduce stress, but still exercise at a moderate level if possible.

Bird flu continues to make news as its found that a vaccine does not work as well as it was hoped. It turns out that only 45 percent of the people who were given the series of two vaccination shots actually produced antibodies. This was a study done with 452 adults.

Normally a vaccine works by introducing a small amount of the disease causing virus to people in the form of an injection. This is usually dead or inactivated virus that provides just enough of a signature to cause the body to produce antibodies so that if there is a real threat the body knows what do and can fight the infection more readily.

In this case, over half of the people in the study did not produce the antibodies, so it’s likely the vaccine’s signature was not quite strong enough to trigger the body’s defences.

It’s a tricky thing to make something like this work. Since the virus can be deadly, you don’t want to risk overexposure and having the test subjects actually catch the disease. While the overall fatality rate is pretty low for the disease - 167 people worldwide have died from the disease in the last three years - the potential for a widespread outbreak is what makes people nervous.

Since it has proven to be quite virulent (spreads very easily) among poultry, the assumption is that if it makes the jump to humans and can be spread easily through human to human contact then there could be quite an epidemic to deal with.

There are certain days when you are glad that you and your family are healthy.

Recently there have been cases where children and infants have caught the flu and perished because of it. As the father of an eight month old boy, I can’t imagine the grief the parents must be feeling.

Staying healthy is more than just about feeling better. It’s more than just about taking a day or two off from school or work. It can be life threatening not just for yourself, but for those who are exposed the virus you may be carrying.

Even before we start to feel symptoms from an illness, our body is fighting a battle to kill off invading bacteria and viruses. If the immune system is not strong enough, a virus can replicate and spread itself to others. This, in effect, makes a person contagious for a disease before they even show symptoms.

Even though it is good practice to stay home from school or work when we do feel that we have come down with something, isn’t it better to have a strong enough immune system to not fall victim in the first place. What’s better is that if the immune system is strong enough, it will be able to kill of that bacteria or virus before it has a chance to replicate and spread.

When taken in this context, you are not just saving yourself, you could be saving the lives of others whose systems are not strong enough to help them survive an infection that may just be an inconvenience to you.

So take care of yourself, eat well, get plenty of rest, and remember to try and exercise regularly.

Ah, and a good tip I picked up recently: sneeze into your elbow instead of your hand - this can help prevent the spread of disease through mucous. Kind of gross to think about, I know.

Concerns about bird flu seem to well founded as the disease continues to spread around the world. No longer restricted to southeast Asia, the H5N1 virus showing up in Egypt and the UK. Some businesses are even beginning to lay off workers because of the necessity to eliminate infected poultry, and the subsequent loss of confidence by consumers.

The best plan that seems to be put forward for dealing with these outbreaks is to cull the poultry and hope for the best. Since there is no cure or vaccine for the virus, a human outbreak could have severe consequences.

At this point, people will have to hope that their immune system will be able to identify the new virus as a threat and mobilize quickly to deal with it. Since viruses are able to travel more quickly than ever thanks to fast modes of transportation like the automobile and jets, many people could become infected during the virus’s dormant stage and before symptoms were made manifest.

Do the most you can for your immune system by doing moderate exercise on a regular basis, eat healthfully, get plenty of rest, and try to keep stress to a minimum. Elsewhere on this site you can download a free report with more tips on how to boost the immune system.

I try to keep an eye out for good information on fighting colds and flu. I have not been posting lately as sometimes life has a way of making unreasonable demands on your time. Doesn’t Life know that keeping up a blog is important?

Anyway, I found a great post at:

http://en.facebox.com/abgmie/blog/blogid=53351

That goes into some depth on the topic of fighting colds and flu.

The poster (abgmie) talks about who is at risk (young people, old people, those who don’t exercise, eat right, etc) and about how colds and flu are transmitted. This is, of course, generally through touch or airborne transmission.

They also go on to talk about what do if you come down with something. The list includes rest, drinking plenty of clear fluids (pop and beer don’t count!) and avoiding sugar - which is something that’s not mentioned nearly enough. Sugar is one of those “white foods” that we should be avoiding anyway. There is very little nutritional value in “white foods” and stuff like sugar can even be harmful, especially in large quantities.

Not smoking and staying away from smoky areas is not something I generally mention, because I’ve assumed that people reading this are generally health oriented and would not be smoking anyway. Maybe that assumption’s not valid, so I’ll say it here: don’t smoke, it’s bad for you.

abgmie also includes advice for avoiding colds, so I’ll stop stealing their thunder and you can go have a look for yourself.

I was listening to the radio this morning and a person called in to give advice on fighting off a cold or flu, some things that make people more susceptible, etc. This person gave generally good information, but one of the things she said was pretty off base.

One of the people on the radio show asked about exercising when you are sick. The caller said that you should absolutely not exercise while sick as it will take away resources that the body needs to heal. While I can see her point - it’s wrong.

You really should exercise at a moderate level when you sick, even if it’s just walking around the block or spending about 30 minutes at a casual pace on the treadmill. The reason is that part of the immune system is actually mechanical, believe it or not. By moving around, you help something called the lymph system move the waste products out of the body. You need to do this while drinking plenty of fluids or a good quality sports drink to stay hydrated and to allow the lymph system to work at top performance.

Another good way to take in fluids is through chicken soup. Some might think that’s just an old wive’s tale, but the science behind it is that the electrolytes in the broth of the soup help you stay hydrated and the protein from the chicken helps the body to work properly.

This is the time of year when many people are starting to come down with colds and flu. If you’re like me, you didn’t get the flu shot because why get a shot that’s going to make you feel lousy anyway, when you may not even get the flu?

Of course, I have bit more confidence than most that my immune system will fight off anything that comes along since I use a supplement that helps to strengthen the immune system. Even without using something like that, you can still help your overall health and capacity to recover by getting out and exercising. In the winter that can be a bit more of a challenge, which is why going to the gym can be a good alternative.

But then, going to the gym can have it’s own immune health challenges. So when you’re doing that, be sure to wash your hands afterwards so you don’t catch any colds or flu that may have been left on the equipment by other users.

This is the time of year when many people are starting to come down with colds and flu. If you’re like me, you didn’t get the flu shot because why get a shot that’s going to make you feel lousy anyway, when you may not even get the flu?

Of course, I have bit more confidence than most that my immune system will fight off anything that comes along since I use a supplement that helps to strengthen the immune system. Even without using something like that, you can still help your overall health and capacity to recover by getting out and exercising. In the winter that can be a bit more of a challenge, which is why going to the gym can be a good alternative.

But then, going to the gym can have it’s own immune health challenges. So when you’re doing that, be sure to wash your hands afterwards so you don’t catch any colds or flu that may have been left on the equipment by other users.