Can the Flu Be Dangerous to Your Health?

This time of year, with that first sniffle, achy feeling, or cough, out comes the bold statement. “Aha! I have a cold.” But, is it really that or instead the dreaded influenza ‘bug’?Is there a difference or are they one in the same?

Well, let the truth be told. So, wrap yourself in that warm blanket and lets explore the difference between the cold and the flu.They both are viral in nature, but of different strains, highly contagious and equally spread through fine particles released into the air after a sneeze, cough or contact with the saliva or nasal secretions of an infected person, either directly or from contaminated surfaces.

Mom was right! “Cover that nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze…”For the cold, no vaccines are available. Hand washing and avoiding a contagious person is your best prevention. For another reason to hand wash your hands read MRSA: The “Superbug”, http://sunpowerkidz.com/blog/?p=71.

The type of soap that you use is irrelevant, offering no protection against the cold virus. Instead, the act of washing is what disrupts the virus.

Common cold symptoms are sore throat, runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, and cough. One can experience muscle aches, fatigue, malaise, headache, muscle weakness, or loss of appetite. Once the symptoms blossom, spreading of the virus can be for five days. Cold symptoms ease after about one week. Some people experience the cold for two weeks. The cold virus enters the body between the nose and throat with the eyes another potential entry portal. Infants and young children may experience more severe symptoms.Influenza can have the same symptoms as the cold with the addition of a rising temperature, exhaustion, and irritated throat. The symptoms of nausea and vomiting are more typically found when it goes south in your body, that is stomach flu or 24-hour virus. The most striking serious affect is that it can lead to pneumonia, which can be fatal in young children and the senior citizen.

Presently, there are no approved drugs to eliminate the cold virus, although many offerings are found but none scientifically proven effective specific to the cold virus.There are various cold viruses that can change and reproduce often. This can cause acute bronchitis and other lung, ear, or throat infections. Then, antibiotics may enter the scene for these advanced complications but just treating the cold is ineffective. Those who suffer from chronic lung diseases such as emphysema and asthma are more vulnerable with the possibility of an acute attack.The treatment seems to be rest, lots of fluids and oh yes…mother’s chicken soup. Although it’s not an absolute cure…what’s better? Mother’s chicken soup may not make the cold virus run for the hills, but it does offer warmth, liquid, delicious tastes, and a large sampling of love.

The best way to prevent the flu is to get an annual influenza vaccination. Anyone can get influenza. It generally spares no one. However, high-risk groups, such as the pre-school children and the senior citizens, should receive the vaccination.

Viruses are unpredictable. Therefore, you can be vaccinated and still come down with the flu. Vaccines are produced for particular flu strains, but because there might be a strain undetected, one can develop the reaction to that particular flu virus.The wise decision still favors the annual flu shot as it becomes available. It might just be what the doctor ordered. And besides, the chicken soup couldn’t hurt.

Caldwell Chicken Leg™ one of the Cool Dudes in the SunPower Kidz™ Jazz band plays into the night.