Cold & Flu Tool Box
“I’m sick of getting sick”! This was the expression we heard most during the winter of 2016 in our clinic. There were unusually high rates of people coming to us for help with their common cold and flu and now with the corona virus epidemic ensuing I felt this would be a good time to remind everyone about the numerous ways we have to protect ourselves.
I personally have never been one to get sick all that often, but I get sick often despite all of my hand washing and avoidance of putting fingers in mouth, nose, and eyes. However, when you have young children who will cough and sneeze directly into your mouth, it’s a bit difficult avoiding rather large boluses of these viruses entering the body. For this reason, I have developed somewhat of a personal vendetta against viruses and I would like to share with you my strategy for the upcoming winter and against corona virus.
One thing I would like for you to keep in mind is that simple colds and influenza are viral induced. This means antibiotics would be contraindicated, so if you come in to see us this winter be prepared for the recommendations below instead of an antibiotic. All of the supplement recommendations (except Herbal Expec) can be found in our office dispensary or our online dispensary.
How Does a Cold/Flu Work?
In order to understand the strategy, some general knowledge on how a cold/flu works will be useful. Have you ever wondered why you feel so “crummy” when you’re sick? Well, those unwanted symptoms come from inflammatory chemicals produced by your immune system. It’s not so much the virus that’s making you feel sick, it’s your own immune system! However, these symptoms have a purpose as you will see below:
- Chills – this happens because in response to the foreign invader your hypothalamus has raised your internal thermostat set point so that you all of a sudden feel like you’re freezing! This is so that we can develop a fever.
- Fever – viruses and bacteria have difficulty replicating at high-temperatures and some will even be killed by the high temperatures. The increased body temperature will also help to decrease the viscosity and increase the flow of respiratory secretions or mucus.
- Mucus – this is basically the thick purulent ‘snot’ and ‘phlegm’ associated with respiratory infections. This helps to trap viruses and bacteria and so long as it’s flowing outwards (blowing nose, productive cough) will help to prevent deeper infections, such as pneumonia or a chronic bronchitis.
- Cough – this should be productive in order to get the mucus up and out of the lungs, if it is not productive it should be made productive to prevent deeper infections.
“An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure”
The first strategy should be to avoid exposure right? Exposure makes a huge difference in how often you get sick. If you don’t believe me, just ask anyone with kids. New parents will reminisce about how infrequently they got sick, until of course, when their child starts preschool or going to the local playgrounds. Kids are sharing these respiratory viruses left and right, which is important for immune system development, but often times we get caught in the ‘cross-fire’.
- Wash those kids hands – if you have kids or if you work with children, hand washing is extremely important. Wash hands before going to school, when leaving school, before the playground, and after the playground. This strategy would also be important when a co-worker is sick, being sure to wash your hands frequently and be cautious of shared objects.
- Stay Warm – it’s often been noticed that when it’s cold out or when someone is exposed to cold for a longer time than normal that they will catch a cold or flu. While this may seem like an old superstition, recent research has been able to explain why this observation is not mere superstition. As mentioned above, viruses can be killed or replication will be slowed at higher temperatures, well the reverse is true as well. It may be, that during the winter, we have many potential cold causing viruses in our respiratory tract and when exposed to cold temperatures our own heat supply draws inwards to protect the internal organs allowing viruses, say in the sinuses, to start replicating to high enough quantities that immune activation (cold symptoms) is necessary.
- Bundle up when out doors wearing layers and scarfs to prevent heat loss.
- Optimize thyroid activity, if you are starting with a lower baseline temperature due to hypothyroidism, it will be that much easier for your body to get cold enough for viral replication.
- Avoid cold or frozen foods during the cold winter months. Cold foods have to warm to body temperature in order to be digested, this robs your own body of warmth. Favor warm and even spicy foods to keep the body warm.
- Decrease Stress – physical, mental, and emotional stress taxes our bodies systems including the immune system making it susceptible to viruses and bacteria.
- Get Plenty of Sleep – this goes hand and hand with decreasing stress as plenty of rest will allow you to handle daily stressors with more ease. This is especially important when you first notice that you’re getting sick and getting some extra sleep can completely resolve those initial cold symptoms.
- Multivitamin – yeah I know this isn’t very exciting, but your immune system requires a full array of vitamins and minerals, so if you’re not getting all your nutrients from your diet, you better get on a good multi.
- Echinacea – everyone has heard of this herb and immediately think about immune health when they hear its name. Well, there’s a reason for that. Echinacea has been heavily studied and it’s effect on the immune system cannot be ignored. It has been shown to prevent the virus from infecting the cell both as a preventative, but also when there is a current infection. It also stimulates immune function and decreases cytokine production, which are the chemicals released by the immune system that can produce many of the undesired symptoms of being sick. There are two trademarked preparations most quoted in these trials that we recommend. These are BioClinic Naturals EchinaMed and A. Vogel’s Echinaforce.
- Reishi Mushroom – not only does this boost the immune system against viruses, but has also been shown to have anti-cancer properties. Take 500mgs before bed to help put you into a deep replenishing sleep as well. The product we recommend is Reishi SAP from NFH.
So You Couldn’t Prevent It, Now What Do You Do?
Our second strategy will focus on decreasing the cold and flu symptoms severity and duration. Here’s the thing about these viruses, they have stopped replicating and their numbers are plummeting just a few days after your symptoms started. What this means is that when someone comes to see us about their cold or flu, the virus has been mostly dealt with by the immune system already. So, why do you continue to have symptoms for the next 10 days? Well, the immune systems inflammatory chemicals (cytokines, histamine, bradykinin, etc.) continue to stay elevated due to the healing process that needs to happen after such an insult to our respiratory tissues. Decreasing symptoms at this stage is all about encouraging those processes listed above.
- Fever is your best friend – viruses may not cause a fever, but if you see signs of a fever, consider yourself lucky and don’t do anything to reduce it. As soon as you feel that feverish chill, if you’re in the position to do so, get in bed with plenty of covers and tuck in up to your neck. This will help encourage a fever that’s starting. As soon as you break out into a sweat, rinse off in the shower and wait for it to happen again. Cycling fevers like this is a healthy way to fight viral replication.
- Get the mucus out – mucolytics and expectorants help to thin respiratory secretions and expel them from the lower and upper respiratory tract. The mucolytic we tend to recommended is guaifenesin. You can get this from Mucinex or MucaPlex. I would recommend taking this until the congestion and drainage of respiratory secretions are finished. I would also recommend avoiding mucus producing foods such as dairy, sugar, and citrus. There are many herbal expectorants that can be used such as licorice, hyssop, elecampane, etc. The type of herbal expectorant depends very much on the type of cough you have. A combination formula we frequently recommend is Herbal Expec. Another mucolytic is n-acetyl-cysteine and can be taken alone or in a combination formula we like to use for difficult to treat lower respiratory infections such as bronchitis and penumonia, this is Broncheze from Karuna. Finally, there is an old Naturopathic and back in the day conventional standby called a Mustard Plaster. Take a look at the linked video on instruction.
- Zinc acetate Lozenges – zinc acetate directly inhibits the replication of the virus and may be the cure for the common cold, it’s that effective! However, it’s effectiveness is directly dependent on the type of zinc, amount of sugar in the lozenge, and the length of time it takes to dissolve the lozenge in the mouth. I have to be very particular about the company I’m recommended and that is Life Extension Enhanced Zinc Lozenge. Additionally, since this is directly affecting the virus and we now know it doesn’t hang around very long, this has to be taken as soon as you notice that characteristic tickling in the throat and sinuses. Dosing is one lozenge every two hours till the bottle is gone.
- Echinacea – as mentioned above, this herb can be taken both as a preventative and during an acute infection. Please see difference in dosing for prevention vs. acute on packaging for the brands mentioned above.
- Gan Mao Ling – most Chinese herbal formulas are meant to be used based on creating the contrary state of a person’s tissue state (i.e. excess wind, damp, stagnation, etc.), however, this formula has the more Western approach of combining some of the most potent directly antiviral herbs known to Chinese medicine. I like using the tincture and tablets from Kan Herb Company.
So, this is my strategy for the winter. I’m expecting to significantly decrease the number of respiratory illnesses I succumb to this year and I hope you can join me. Individualized recommendations may be needed and of course the proper diagnosis of the cold/flu, so don’t hesitate to see us this season for support.
