If you are sick with flu, the only way to treat it is to get a medical attention from a physician. However, you can ease down the symptoms of flu at the comfort of your own home with following natural ways:
Taking care of coughing
Flu is accompanied by coughing, which can be an unpleasant experience in itself. Contrary to popular belief, cough is only a symptom of flu. Your body is trying to get rid of the virus with the means available to it, that is, with a help of coughing. While cough-relief medications cannot cure the virus, they can make you more comfortable while your immune system is battling with flu. You can try expectorant or similar medications in the class. These are available over the counter. They turn mucus into the liquid state and help coughing it up easier. Eventually, your cough be less frequent. Remember, it is strictly prohibited to give your kid under four years old this medication.
Drinking plenty of fluids
Getting properly hydrated is a prerequisite for the faster relief from flu and its symptoms. While seemingly unrelated, the respiratory and digestive systems are more connected than you might think. Fluids help transforming thick mucus into liquid substance, and, in its turn, it will make your coughing easier, as we mentioned earlier. If not properly hydrated, mucus keeps thickening inside you lungs and can even be a source of another infection, on top of the flu virus. You don’t want any complications to your current sorry flu condition, so make sure you drink a lot. What to drink? Anything goes, really: fruit juices, water, green tea (preferable of comfortable warm temperance), light soups, sports drinks. Avoid too cold or too hot drinks, when possible.
Having a lot of rest
If you have noticed flu symptoms, it’s time to stop any activities you are currently engaged in and prepare yourself for rest. Take a sick leave, call out your school, or take a break in your joggling routine. Besides helping your organism to battle the dangerous virus, you can also prevent other individuals from catching the flu virus from you.
Treating aches and fever
Why do we have fever while having viruses like flu inside us? The center in the brain known as hypothalamus is increasing the temperature threshold for the purpose of helping the immune system to battle the virus. Don’t be afraid if you are shaking of fever slightly, it is only natural to stay in the state of fever for a couple of days. The symptoms of fever would usually subside in 2–5 days.
You can reduce the fever symptoms, if you find them too unpleasant with a help of over the counter medications. These include but not limited to acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or naproxen. Consult your physician which of these medications would help you the most.
We provided you with only the most popular ways of easing down the symptoms of flu. Make sure to browse catalog of Canadian Health&Care Mall to find a large variety of time-proven medications to treat flu and other bacterial and viral infections.
Use saline solution drops
Saline drops are helpful in getting rid of the mucus when you are having flu. Saline solution is available over the counter both in the form of drops and in the form of spray. Saline drops are completely safe to use and they are known to have zero counter indications. This make them applicable for kids of any age and you can safely apply them if your children are sick with flu. Saline solution remedies are easy to apply: you need to apply the solution to one nostril, and then to another. Repeat the procedure until the nostrils are cleared.
Consider taking a steamy bathroom
A steam is a time proven natural device to help getting rid of poisons within your body. If you are being stuffed up, use a bathroom with the door to the bathroom closed. Turn the faucet with hot water on and make sure the steam fills the bathroom. Make sure not to touch the water as it is uncomfortable. After the procedure is over, make sure to dry yourself with a towel and put more warm clothes on.
Use the humidifier
If so happens that the air in your apartment is dry, a regular mist humidifier or vaporizer can help moistening it up. What moistening is good for? When you are having flu, your respiratory ways are congested, while the air that you breathe, when moisturized, can help reducing the congestion. Be aware of a warm mist as it can, conversely, promote the proliferation of bacteria and increase their growth.
Consider an antiviral
Antivirals are used to lessen and shorten the duration of flu. Make sure you consult your physician before getting any antiviral, including those that are sold over the counter. Antivirals have counter indications, and individuals must be treated with different antivirals depending on age, ethnicity, history of previous treatments, etc. Special consideration must be taken for patient who are younger than 4 and older than 60.
What are the symptoms of flu?
Symptoms of flu can include the following. Should you experience any of these, consult your physician immediately.
- Earache
- Pain in your face or forehead along with thick yellowish/ green mucus
- Hoarseness, sore throat, or a cough that won’t go away
- In infants: A temperature 100.4 F or higher less than 3 months of age
- In adults: Temperature higher than 102 F
- Wheezing
- Coughing
- Complications in breathing
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Chest pain
- Fainting
- Fussiness in infants
- Complications with sleep
Remember, if you have flu, antibiotics do not help. These would only work against complications caused by bacteria, while the flu is caused by virus.
