Common Conditions - Chapter 3: Cold & Flu
Welcome back to my common conditions series where we go over common conditions I see in office- this is the chapter on cold and flu!
I could arguably do this chapter at any point in the year - and if you are like me and have already been hit this fall, then you may have needed this sooner! Nevertheless, here we go!
Colds, flus and covid suck. You feel crummy and the way in which we navigate viral illness like this have changed in recent years. The idea of powering through it and going to work and keeping up the previous obligations under the influence of over the counter medications night and day seems less appealing - and is arguably less accepted in some workplaces now!
I mean Afterall we are told to drink plenty of fluids, have some chicken noodle soup and rest! Something hard to accomplish when you are expected to function at 100%! which lets be honest is difficult to do when you’ve got a full blown immune response happening!
The last two chapters we talked about poop, this time I want to talk about the good, the bad and the ugly of viral illness symptoms. The snot, the loogies, the wet coughs, the dry coughs, the congestion headache, the ear aches, the dry throats, the body aches and maybe even the fever and chills. None of these are appetizing or pleasant to experience or be around. But how else is the body going to fight?
For most of us, identifying that we are sick is not an issue, and the cause well, we can narrow it down to a few different viruses, but it most cases, knowing the specific one, is not going to help make us better! The cases where it might help is when someone might be extremely immune compromised - otherwise antibiotics are not going to touch these viruses!
The more interesting question, is what do we do to fight them - or to beef up our defenses so we are better protected the next time one comes around!
The general answer is of course - rest, fluids and food. You can’t fight off a bug if your body is depleted or if you give it no time to fight. This is where the foundations of health come in. We are talking - nutrition, movement, rest and joy.
There are of course many nuances to this and I can’t give away the farm, so if you are worried about cold and flu season or your household can’t seem to shake them this year, find me in the clinic using the book now function and we can chat!
Sick to for our next chapter on fatigue!
oh and PS - maybe don’t share your germs? we can do those appointment virtually!