What is Coughs?

A cough is the body’s response to inflammation or irritation in the throat, larynx, bronchial tubes or lungs.

Tips to Control Cough

• Breathe the steam from a vaporizer, hot shower, or pan of boiling water. The moist air will soothe the airways and loosen sinus congestion and phlegm in your throat and lungs. A few drops of the oil of eucalyptus will help this process.
  • Elevate the head of your bed. This will allow your sinuses and nasal passages to drain better and not create that “tickle” in your throat.
  • Stop smoking. Passive smoke or other irritants, such as chemicals, can be a cause. Household cleaners, new carpeting, paneling and mattresses are some of the many possible sources of chemical irritants.
  • Drink at least 8 eight ounce glasses of water. This is especially important if your cough is due to an illness. Water is the best expectorant you can take and will help thin the mucus and loosen the cough.
  • Do not use over-the-counter expectorant cough remedies as they just suppress the symptoms and do not address the underlying problem. If you have the kind of cough with mucus you want to get it out of your respiratory system, not suppress it. Try one of the natural expectorant remedies below.
  • Try eating hot chili peppers, horseradish or other spicy foods. They will help loosen mucus.
  • During the winter, if your house is dry, use a humidifier and a cool-mist vaporizer in your bedroom at night. This will help thin the mucus. Be sure to thoroughly clean the vaporizer, as it can harbor bacteria.
  • Drink hot tea to break up the mucus and open and moisten the airways.
  • Cough drops or hard candy will help stop the tickle if you have a dry cough and will moisten the throat.
  • Avoid foods that increase the production of mucus, such as dairy products, meat and fried foods.
  • Hot packs placed on your throat and chest are very soothing.

So the swine flu is here in the United States. Does this mean that we all need to build bomb shelters under our homes and hide in there until the epidemic passes and vaccines are passed out to all who want it? No, no…of course not. The swine flu-though possibly fatal if not treated-is just as harmful as the seasonal flu most of us get each year-this time it just may have created new strains to be prepared for.

Tips to prevent contracting the swine flu virus:

1. Wash your hands often- Though this may seem like a given, not everyone does. Yes, you may wash your hands after using the rest room, but this is not enough. You should be washing your hands every time you come in contact with someone or something touched by someone else.

2. Avoid touching your face- We all do it. We rub our eyes, our nose, itch our chin-whatever it is, know that you do it, and even if you are washing your hands constantly, you aren’t necessarily getting all of the virus germs off your hands. Be better safe than sorry and avoid touching your face.

3. Avoid breeding grounds- Of course, most of us must go out into public places. We work, grocery shop, exercise- we live; but there are places you can avoid that will greatly reduce your chances of getting the virus. For example, if you typically use a gym, opt to jog outside instead. If you take the train to work, bicycle, drive or walk.

Dengue fever is a flu kind of illness spread by mosquito bites. Dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever are caused by any of the dengue family virus. This is also widely known as ‘Break bone fever’ due to the severe joint pain caused during the attack. Dengue can be diagnosed by blood test. The infected person as such cannot spread the infection but can be a source to spread it.

Dengue hemorrhagic fever is often complicated and severe. This rather can be termed as a complication dengue fever. Those bitten by the mosquito can get dengue fever and those already infected once if infected again are prone to higher risk of getting dengue hemorrhagic fever.

Dengue is an infectious disease causing frequent epidemics. There are various factors that contribute like lack of effective mosquito control, lack of public health systems to control the epidemic, the increase usage of plastic items which are the breeding sites of the mosquitoes.

Dengue is spread by the bite of an ‘Ades’ Mosquito. This mosquito bites the infected person and then bites someone else who is not affected thus transmitting the infection. These mosquitoes are active during the day time and spread the infection during day time. These mosquitoes live among human beings and breed in discarded tyres, flower pots, water stores etc.,

Dengue fever starts suddenly accompanied by headache, severe joint pain ,rashes, nausea and lack of appetite. The illness can last up to 10 days and the complete recovery could take about four to six weeks. Widely the dengue infections result in relatively mild illness however in some cases it may lead to the dengue hemorrhagic fever. In the complicated stage the blood vessels start to leak and cause bleeding through mouth, nose and gums. This is most prevalent among children and young adults. This stage requires close medical attention.

Treatment for Dengue and Dengue Hemorrhagic fever

As far as the treatment is concerned there is no specific course, However the affected person is treated with Paracetamol to bring down the fever. The person is usually adviced to drink lots of fluids. The infected person should be isolated until recovery from the rest of the family to prevent further infections.

Although there is no vaccine to prevent this epidemic certain preventive measures as specified below can be taken to control the epidemic.

Preventive Measures to control Dengue Fever

• Use mosquito repellents.
• discard all unwanted items getting gathered around the living area to avoid the breeding of mosquitoes.
• Keep the water stores clean and closed.
• keep yourself well covered when outside.
• Take prompt medical advice once fever starts.