Last summer my neighbor had the dreaded swine flu. It was so hard for all of us knowing there is no much help we could give. In fact I had to buy for her food and put outside the door. I could not see her or talk to her. All in good faith since I had myself and my family to protect.
You know how awful it feels to have the flu. The shivers, the aches, the runny nose… You can minimize the symptoms and drown yourself in drugs, but you can’t really cure the flu. It is important to note that just like AIDS there is still no swine flu treatment regime.
With all the technology, modern medicine and holistic medicine alike have yet to find a cure for the disease. All they can do is boost your immunity, diminish your symptoms and let your body take care of it.
The flu is caused by a virus named influenza. Viruses are very illusive creatures – they infect your cells and live inside them. They cannot truly be killed because they are not even alive – they can only exist as long as there are cells providing them with means for reproduction.
This “immortality” is so true that even your body isn’t able to kill the flu. Instead, your white cells kill any infected cells, thus stopping the virus from reproducing. In the meanwhile, other type of cells produce antibodies that link to the virus and stop it from infecting other cells by blocking essential proteins on its surface. Current drugs do the same as these antibodies.
This defense mechanism is why young people often have worse symptoms. Their immune system is far more active and thus their white cell armies flood the respiratory tract, killing all cells in their path. This can lead to death by pneumonia and drowning, the main cause of death by flu.
But you don’t need to worry. If you provide your immune system with the nutrients it needs by eating healthily and you rest your body you will soon have recovered. Your body has an incredible capacity for healing; you just need to give it a chance.
Other ways to boost your immune system include taking probiotics, flaxseed oil, cod liver oil and having big doses of vitamin C. This should be taken even if you do not have flu symptoms. At such times everyone should work to boost their immunity. I have already stocked my fridge with cod liver oil and flax seed and I give it to my children too.
There is alot of panic and fear but if we can replace that with aggressive preventive measures we will be able to have some peace. The fact that there is no swine flu treatment is scary but adding stress in our lives can actually lower the immune system and that is one thing that you really want to avoid.
You can read more on simple preventive measures for the swine flu at Help help fight swine flu-some preventive measures
So don’t panic when you hear that “you can’t cure the flu”. It may be true, but you can help your body destroying it and you can take measures to minimize symptoms.
To your good health,
Sandema
