Cures for the common cold have yet to be invented, but a clear sinus and a strong immune system can help battle any misery by about five days. In fact, when it comes to cold treatments san bernardino ca doctors say you can beat colds as soon as symptoms first appear, that is, with a simple action plan.
What’s the Difference Between Flu and Colds?
First, to treat your ailment properly you should know if you have the common cold or flu. The common cold and the flu are two viral diseases of the respiratory system. Each one is produced by a different virus: the cold by the rhinovirus and the flu by the influenza virus.
The symptoms are so similar that it can be really difficult to differentiate between the two. Usually the symptoms of the flu are more intense and extreme. The common cold usually does not produce a fever and, if it does, it appears gradually and is mild. In contrast, fever in the flu appears suddenly and is usually quite high. Most people feel good and suddenly the fever arises, accompanied by other symptoms, like headaches, chills and muscles aches.
Nasal congestion, sore throat and sneezing are also symptoms more typical of the cold, and a a productive cough with phlegm and/or mucus, but the flu typically has a dry and unproductive cough with a sore throat, fatigue and body pains. The influenza virus typically infects lungs and joints, hence chest pain and any movement of the muscles.
Another notable difference between the flu and the cold is the evolution of the symptoms. With the common cold, new symptoms may appear as the cold worsens until reaching a maximum peak from which they will disappear until you get better; the whole process can last about a week to ten days. With flu symptoms, they appear more suddenly, almost all at once and remain throughout the disease or very close in time, and go away almost all at once.
What Are the Best Sniffle Stoppers?
Destroy common colds with zinc. Your zinc levels within your body are critical in fighting off cold infections, and the levels dip lower as a cold begins its descent. To reduce the duration of a cold by a few days, take zinc lozenges every two to four hours.
Load up on Vitamin C. Multivitamins offer you a long list of everything you need, but Vitamin C increases your immunity from colds. Take 600 to 1,000 mg of vitamin C daily. This will assemble the antibody troops to make their way to the infection site. Doctors say it probably cannot stop a cold from developing, but it will help you recover faster. If symptoms worsen, increase the daily intake to 2,000 mg.
Take more baths. Taking warm baths encourage circulation in the body, like your blood and lymph nodes, which release and drain toxins. Doing this two to three times a day will improve circulation and boost the immune system.
Daily green tea supplements. These particular Chinese herbal extracts are full of powerful antioxidants that help ward off a virus. Studies show that of those who take green tea supplements, less than 40 percent are hit with a cold or flu. Most of us wait until we’re hit with a cold, then seek out healing strategies to shorten the duration, but there are many natural cold treatments like soups and teas infused with lemon, ginger and garlic that proactively keep the cold out.
