Common Cold & Flu Treatments

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January 5, 2012

<p>When you and your family are feeling under the weather you want the very best medical advice you can get - but sometimes you also want the comfort of being taken care of by mom. Dr. Mom has been practicing medicine for over 30 years, but she&#39;s also a mom who raised two kids, one husband, and two golden retrievers. Today, Dr. Mom shares some tips for combating cold and flu symptoms. Although colds and flus are caused by different viruses, they have many symptoms in common. Regardless of whether you&#39;ve got a cold or the flue, here are some ways to feel better faster. There a couple of basic things you can do to speed your recovery from cold and flu: * First, Drink lots of water. When you have a cold or a cough, you can often get very dehydrated without realizing it. Drinking water continuously throughout the day will make you feel better. Also, drinking water makes your mucus flow more freely and allows you to blow or cough it out of your system easily. Be sure to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day while you are ill. Second, get lots of rest. Being well rested helps your body fight off the illness, and if you&#39;re running around all day, it&#39;ll take longer to recover. So give yourself permission to get the rest you need - even if it means sleeping longer than usual. Also, if you have a cold or the flu, make sure to avoid dairy products, like milk or cheese, which increase mucus production. Chicken soup has been heralded as a cold therapy since the famous 12th-century physician Moses Maimonides prescribed it to patients. Sipping hot chicken soup can really help clear up congestion. In fact, many of the traditional ingredients in chicken soup are natural versions of the cough medicines and expectorants commonly sold in pharmacies. The bottom line is that your Mom was right: chicken soup is one of the best therapies for a cold or flu. If your throat is sore and scratchy, try gargling every two hours or so with warm salt water. Use about 1/2 teaspoon of salt in 1 cup of warm water, and gargle for 20 to 30 seconds at a time. Salt relieves your discomfort by killing bacteria and reducing swelling, but it doesn&#39;t treat the underlying illness. If you have a fever over 100 degrees F or are experiencing achiness, try taking a low dosage of Tylenol, which is known generically as acetaminophen. Tylenol is an effective pain reliever and fever reducer. Tylenol is not the same as aspirin, but whenever I mention analgesics, I like to remind people never to give aspirin to children, as it can cause a serious illness called Reye&#39;s syndrome. * There are literally dozens of cold and flu remedies on the market and new formulations come out all the time. In my next segment I&#39;ll look at the over-the-counter treatments available, and help you decide what&#39;s best for you. In the meantime, I hope these tips help you and your family to feel better. Remember, if your symptoms don&#39;t go away after a couple of days, make sure to see your doctor. I&#39;m Dr. Mom, and thanks for listening</p>