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Influenza is like a cold in that they are both respiratory infections caused by viruses. If a cold is misdiagnosed as flu, there's no problem. At worst, a cold can occasionally lead to secondary bacterial infections of the middle ear or sinuses, which can be treated. But if the flu is misdiagnosed as a bad cold, potentially life-threatening flu complications like pneumonia may be overlooked.
Causes & Development
If you are getting colds and the flu too frequently you should have your healthcare provider assess you for what may be causing this predisposition. There may be a drain on your immune system from a hidden infection, poor diet, hidden allergies or lifestyle problems. Exposure to cold and wet, overwork, loss of sleep, and other exhausting conditions lower bodily resistance and prepare the way for the virus to begin its work. The virus, in turn, prepares the way for the disease germs already present in the nasal cavity and other respiratory passages to multiply.
Other predisposing factors are a lack of resistance from living in overheated and poorly-ventilated rooms, without sufficient outdoor exercise; lowered resistance due to errors in diet, including overeating, especially of such concentrated foods as sugar, fats, meats or nuts; and diseased tonsils and adenoids. People who live truly hygienic lives seldom have colds. Many people with a history of being sick frequently no longer have this tendency after making appropriate changes.
Signs & Symptoms
Usually colds begin slowly, 2-3 days after infection with the virus. The first symptoms are perhaps a scratchy, sore throat, followed by sneezing and a runny nose. Temperature is usually normal or only slightly elevated. A mild cough can develop later. Symptoms tend to be worse in infants and young children, who sometimes run temperatures of up to 102°F (39°C). Cold symptoms usually last from two days to a week.
Indications of the flu include sudden onset with a headache, dry cough, and chills. The symptoms quickly become more severe than those of a cold. The flu sufferer often experiences fatigue with muscle aches in the back and legs. Fever of up to 104°F (40°C) is common. The fever typically begins to subside on the second or third day, and then respiratory symptoms like nasal congestion and sore throat appear. Fatigue and weakness may continue for days or even weeks.
Cold and flu-like symptoms can sometimes mimic more serious illnesses like strep throat, measles or chickenpox. Allergies, too, can resemble colds with their runny noses, sneezing and malaise.
The symptoms experienced during the flu are the body's natural attempt to eliminate the infection. For example, the body raises its temperature (i.e. produces a fever) high enough to kill the infecting organism and increases mucus production to soothe irritated tissues that have become inflamed due to the immune system's response.
Treatment & Prevention
Because the symptoms of the common cold are caused by more than 200 different viruses -- most by "rhinoviruses" (from the Greek rhin, meaning "nose") -- the development of a vaccine isn't feasible. To minimize the spread of colds, people should try to keep their defenses up and their exposure down.
The current medical treatments for colds include antihistamines, cough suppressants, decongestants and other treatments which tend to suppress cold symptoms, making people more comfortable. Sometimes antibiotics are used, even though we know that they do not work on viruses. However, they may be useful for secondary infections that develop as a result of the viral infection. Very little treatment is usually directed toward building the immune system to help prevent recurrence.
The goal of natural treatment is to work with the body's defense mechanisms by enhancing the immune system rather than suppress the flu symptoms with analgesics and cough medications. So, when treating with natural therapeutics, flu symptoms may temporarily worsen, but the duration of the illness will probably be shorter and secondary infections may be reduced or prevented.
Natural medicine suggests you only keep an eye on a fever, not letting it get dangerously high. Some doctors say not to take any action unless it gets over 103-104°F (39.4-40°C). While long-term fevers can be dangerous, a fever that runs its natural course is usually quite safe if monitored closely.
Seek medical attention if
With the typical symptoms, it is not necessary to contact your doctor immediately. However, if symptoms persist, become severe or localized in the throat, stomach or lungs, or if other symptoms such as vomiting and behavioral changes occur, professional help should be sought.
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Signs, symptoms & indicators of Colds and Influenza:
Risk factors for Colds and Influenza:
Recommendations and treatments for Colds and Influenza: | | | | | Botanical |  Elderberry / Sambucol | By increasing inflammatory cytokine production, black elderberry extract may be beneficial to immune system activation and in the inflammatory process in healthy individuals or in patients with various diseases. [Eur Cytokine Netw 2001 Apr-Jun; 12(2): pp.290-6] |
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Diet |
 Sugars Avoidance / Reduction| | Sugar consumption is a known weakener of the immune system. Regular use of rapidly-absorbed sugars slows down your immune system's ability to dispose of invading organisms. |
Therapeutic Fasting| | It is generally best not to eat for at least a day when sick with a cold or flu. Not eating will help your immune system to concentrate on the battle taking place. Fasting is more likely to make a difference with the flu than with a simple cold. |
Liquid Diet| | Marvin Sackner, MD, a pulmonary specialist at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, published a study in 1978 finding that drinking hot chicken soup aided in clearing nasal passages better than plain hot or cold water. Sackner felt even consuming chicken soup cold aided in clearing a "stuffy" nose. But, a hot, steaming cup of chicken soup was the most efficient remedy.
Dr. Irwin Ziment, M.D., pulmonary specialist and professor at the UCLA School of Medicine feels chicken soup contains ingredients similar to those in modern cold medicines. It has been demonstrated that chicken soup has a very mild anti-inflammatory action and this potentially could contribute to some of the so-called medicinal activities that people have attributed to chicken soup. Adding pepper to chicken soup also can help to clear a stuffy nose, doctors say. |
Increased Water Consumption| | During times of illness it is especially important to maintain fluid intake. Water is best, but if any juice is used during this time, fresh vegetable juice is better than sweet fruit juice. |
Dairy Products Avoidance| | Dairy products tend to be mucous-forming, making the mucous thicker. This makes it more difficult for natural processes to remove it, increasing the susceptibility to infections. |
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Habits |
Personal Hygiene Changes| | The best way to reduce the likelihood of infection is regular hand washing, along with not touching the nose, eyes or mouth. The flu is highly contagious disease, spreading mostly by direct person-to-person contact. With the flu, coughing - even more than sneezing - is the most effective method of transmission. |
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Physical Medicine |
Rest| | Resting in bed and keeping warm are still recognized as an important part in recovering from the cold or flu: time is the only sure cure for colds and flus. |
Hot Applications| | One way of enhancing the immune system is by using different forms of heat. A common way of avoiding colds is to take a good hot soak periodically during cold weather followed by a quick cooling rinse. Another method is to take a sauna followed by a cold shower. This hot-cold cycle is usually repeated at least twice and works best if done at the very first indication of a viral infection. |
Colon Cleansing| | Cleansing the bowel with an enema or colonic using several quarts of warm soda water at 100-105°F (37.8-40.5°C), followed by a small cool soda enema at about 80°F (26.7°C) is a time honored way of hastening recovery. Do not give the warm enema without the cool enema following it.
Most of the mucous from the respiratory tract is swallowed and waste to be expelled from this mucous makes its way to the colon. During an illness like a cold, viral particles remain in quantity in the colon. The gentle washing away of the bulk of this material allows the immune system to focus on the respiratory tract rather than maintain a second larger front in the colon. This is one reason why almost all doctors in the preantibiotic era recommended enemas, or at the least laxatives, for colds. The use of enemas gives immediate relief of symptoms and helps to concentrate the immune response where it is needed. |
Steam / Spray Treatments| | Interference with the constant passage of mucus raises the chances for penetration of the virus. Therefore, drinking liquids and maintaining a humid environment with a vaporizer may lower susceptibility. |
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Vitamins |
 Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)| | Many studies have been done to determine the effect vitamin C has on the common cold. Review of these studies shows that even larger doses of vitamin C, such as 500-1,000mg per day, have no significant effect on preventing colds. These doses may, however, reduce the duration and severity of a cold for some people. This may be because at high doses, vitamin C may act like an antihistamine. |
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KEY | | Strong or generally accepted link |  | | Proven definite or direct link | | | May do some good | | | Likely to help | | | Highly recommended |
GLOSSARY
Allergy (Allergies)
Hypersensitivity caused by exposure to a particular antigen (allergen), resulting in an increased reactivity to that antigen on subsequent exposure, sometimes with harmful immunologic consequences.
Antihistamine
Drugs, used to treat allergy symptoms, which block the action of histamine on body tissues.
Anti-inflammatory (Antiinflammatory)
Reducing inflammation by acting on body mechanisms, without directly acting on the cause of inflammation, e.g., glucocorticoids, aspirin.
Bacteria (Bacterial, Bacterium)
Microscopic germs. Some bacteria are "harmful" and can cause disease, while other "friendly" bacteria protect the body from harmful invading organisms.
Colon (Colonic)
The part of the large intestine that extends to the rectum. The colon takes the contents of the small intestine, moving them to the rectum by contracting.
Cup (Cups)
A unit of volume measurement equal to 8 fluid oz, or roughly 250ml. It also equals 1/2 pint, 1/4 quart and 1/16 gallon.
Cytokines (Cytokine, TH1, TH2)
Cytokines are chemical messengers that control immune responses. They are secreted by white blood cells, T cells, epithelial cells and some other body cells. There are at least 17 different kinds of interleuken and 3 classes of interferon called alpha, beta and gamma and various subsets. Interleukens and interferons are called “cytokines” and there are two general groupings, Th1 and Th2. Th1 (T-cell Helper type 1) promote cell-mediated immunity (CMI) while Th2 (T-cell Helper type 2) induce humoral immunity (antibodies).
Immune System (Immune Response, Immunity)
A complex that protects the body from disease organisms and other foreign bodies. The system includes the humoral immune response and the cell-mediated response. The immune system also protects the body from invasion by making local barriers and inflammation. The process may involve acquired immunity (the ability to learn and remember a specific infectious agent), or innate immunity (the genetically programmed system of responses that attack, digest, remove, and initiate inflammation and tissue healing).
Laxative (Laxatives)
A substance (food, herb, chemical) that stimulates evacuation of the bowels. Examples include cascara sagrada, senna, castor oil, aloe vera, bisacodyl, phenolphthalein and many others.
Lung (Lungs, Pulmonary)
Organ of the body, located in the chest cavity which is designed to bring oxygen from the air into the blood stream, while also expelling carbon dioxide and other waste gases out of the body. Pulmonary: Related to the lungs.
Malaise
A vague feeling of bodily discomfort, as at the beginning of an illness. A general sense of depression or unease.
Milligram (mg, Milligrams)
0.001 or a thousandth of a gram.
Mucus (Mucous)
The viscous, slippery substance that consists chiefly of mucin, water, cells, and inorganic salts and is secreted as a protective lubricant coating by cells and glands of the mucous membranes.
Pneumonia (Pneumonitis)
Inflammation, usually infectious, of the lungs. Unless the result of only moderate chemical or smoke irritation, it is a potentially life-threatening condition. There are so many defenses against an infection this deep in the body that the very presence of pneumonia signals a pathogen of great virulence or impaired or exhausted immunity, or all three. Pneumonitis: Inflammation of the lungs, from whatever cause. It may be concurrent with pneumonia or pleurisy.
Sinuses (Sinus)
Four pairs of air pockets lined with membranes in the bones around the nose. The ethmoid sinuses are located on each side of the nose between the eyes; the maxillary sinuses are located in the cheek above the teeth and below the eyes; the sphenoid sinuses are located deeply behind the eyes; the frontal sinuses are located in the forehead.
Stomach
A hollow, muscular, J-shaped pouch located in the upper part of the abdomen to the left of the midline. The upper end (fundus) is large and dome-shaped; the area just below the fundus is called the body of the stomach. The fundus and the body are often referred to as the cardiac portion of the stomach. The lower (pyloric) portion curves downward and to the right and includes the antrum and the pylorus. The function of the stomach is to begin digestion by physically breaking down food received from the esophagus. The tissues of the stomach wall are composed of three types of muscle fibers: circular, longitudinal and oblique. These fibers create structural elasticity and contractibility, both of which are needed for digestion. The stomach mucosa contains cells which secrete hydrochloric acid and this in turn activates the other gastric enzymes pepsin and rennin. To protect itself from being destroyed by its own enzymes, the stomach’s mucous lining must constantly regenerate itself.
Streptococcus (Strep)
A genus of gram-staining chain-forming cocci bacteria. Some are responsible for common and potentially serious human infections, ranging from scarlet fever and strep throat to bacterial endocarditis and pus pockets. Most of the disease-potential streps are also a normal part of the skin, mouth and upper respiratory flora.
Virus (Viri, Viruses)
Any of a vast group of minute structures composed of a protein coat and a core of DNA and/or RNA that reproduces in the cells of the infected host. Capable of infecting all animals and plants, causing devastating disease in immunocompromised individuals. Viruses are not affected by antibiotics, and are completely dependent upon the cells of the infected host for the ability to reproduce.
Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)
A water-soluble antioxidant vitamin essential to the body's health. When bound to other nutrients, for example calcium, it would be referred to as "calcium ascorbate". As an antioxidant, it inhibits the formation of nitrosamines (a suspected carcinogen). Vitamin C is important for maintenance of bones, teeth, collagen and blood vessels (capillaries), enhances iron absorption and red blood cell formation, helps in the utilization of carbohydrates and synthesis of fats and proteins, aids in fighting bacterial infections, and interacts with other nutrients. It is present in citrus fruits, tomatoes, berries, potatoes and fresh, green leafy vegetables.
Last updated: Apr 13, 2008
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