KUOW
Every year, tens of millions of Americans get some version of the flu, resulting in massive amounts of hospital visits and even deaths. When you get it, you’re quickly looking for the best over the counter flu medicine to help pull you through by relieving congestion, cough, itchy eyes and accompanying flu symptoms.
Diagnosing the Flu
The flu is a common viral infection that attacks the lungs, nose and throat. It ranges from mild to severe and can lead to serious health complications if not treated appropriately. For most healthy people, the flu is an uncomfortable, but short-lived illness that usually resolves itself. Your immune system, recognizing the threat, springs into action and eliminates the infection. Symptoms usually appear from one to four days after initial exposure to the virus, and they usually last from five to seven days.
Symptoms of the flu include a runny or stuffy nose, cough, sneezing, fever, chills as well as headache and body aches. In short, from top to bottom, your whole body can feel like it’s affected and this is why it has the capability of putting people back to bed for days on end.
Avoiding the Spread of Germs
The flu spreads from person to person and most experts believe that it spreads mainly from droplets made when people cough, sneeze or speak. A range of about six feet is what the experts figure the danger range to be. You want to be wary of how close you get to people, which is difficult when you’re engaging with them in close quarters.
If you are feeling under the weather, it might be a good idea to stay at home and avoid any kind of social interaction. Washing your hands often is important because not only does it keep them clean, but people are apt to bring their hands up to their faces more than you might think. With that in mind, you should avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth during flu season.
Keep a Healthy Diet & Exercise Routine
Chest congestion remedies include maintaining a healthy diet and exercise routine as best as possible. This isn’t easy, though, when you’re in the midst of the flu. Doctors say that brain food is the best thing that you can eat while enduring the flu. Toast, bananas, rice and applesauce are all good choices. You also want to keep hydrated by drinking lots of fluids like water, tea or even drinks with electrolytes, such as Gatoraid. Remaining hydrated helps with both the duration and the infection as well as the severity of the symptoms.
Flu season brings with it loads of potential discomfort. There are things that help, both in terms of physical aids and personal habits. From aspirin to flu medicine without acetaminophen, and from washing your hands to keeping some distance from other people, there are ways to mitigate your risks. Visit an online health and wellness store today to explore the options available for flu relief so that you can have a healthy tomorrow.
