COLD AND FLU SEASON IS BACK, OR MAYBE IT NEVER LEFT?

COLD AND FLU SEASON IS BACK, OR MAYBE IT NEVER LEFT?

ARE YOU READY?

Well it’s that time of year, when everyone starts moving inside and shutting up the house for winter, unless you live in a mostly warm climate year round.

Every year the Cold and Flu team seem to build momentum, usually introducing a new high-powered strain, This year the new edition is The Swine Flu a.k.a. H1N1 influenza.

Contrary to popular belief the Cold and Flu season never really goes away, it is actually here year round, it’s just not as prevalent in the summer. Unless, you spend a great deal of time indoors in air conditioning, such as your house, work place or any other air conditioned public building.

The work place and day care centers are the worst because these are the areas that family members spend large amounts of time at. And they are air conditioned.

I want to spend a little time explaining why colds and flu are stronger in winter and can be equally as strong in the summer months. There have been studies from the Mount Sinai School of medicine in New York that explain why colds and flu viruses are stronger in the winter.

Their research show that cold and flu viruses have a protective gel like coating that protects them allowing them to live for long periods of time. In the winter time the cold temperature actually allow the gel like coating to get thicker and more rigid. The air in the winter is dryer and lighter and allows the particles to stay afloat in the air.

Once the bacteria or viruses get inhaled by the human body which is at a constant 98.7°f the warmth of our bodies melts the gel coating and releases the bug, which multiplies rapidly. And because the air is dryer in the winter months our nasal passages create less mucous that we used to capture these foreign enemies and unfortunately the viruses get through.

In the warmer climates and summer months the air is more humid and doesn’t allow the virus particles to stay air born very long and the heat melts the protective gel coating and significantly reduces the life of the virus, However…

These bacteria and viruses can sustain life in the right environment even in the summer, such as I mentioned before in air conditioned buildings or homes. Homes built 50 years ago were not well insulated and were considered loose built, but today they are built very tight and fresh air ventilation is very limited. This is precisely why the cold and flu season is no longer seasonal, but instead year round.

To Sum It Up:

We need to be more aware of how to protect ourselves. There are a lot of simple things to do that are effective. First and foremost, get in the habit of washing your hands a lot, I know that seems superficial and silly but that is the single most popular way of spreading germs. Let’s face it we touch everything.

Refrain from using products that are anti-bacterial, such as hand soap, hand sanitizers, dishwashing liquid and shower soaps. We need bacteria in our bodies as strange as that may sound. It helps our immune system to create anti-bodies that defend against sickness.

If you are someone who is reasonably healthy and you get colds or the flu, tough it out. Your body needs to build up defenses naturally. Now let’s be reasonable about that statement because I don’t want to catch a lot of flack over that.

If it involves babies or very young children or the elderly or people with chronic ailments such as asthma or other respiratory problems, you are at higher risks, so seek medical help.

My point is that too many people get the sniffles and run right to the doctor for antibiotics. Not realizing that this wipes out all bacteria, the good and bad and actually allows the cold and flu bugs to get stronger by building resistance to the antibiotics.

In Closing; no one is infallible to all of the different strands of viruses that are out there, but if you get smart and concentrate on being healthy you can significantly minimize your risk. If you smoke try and find away to quit, smokers are at an incredibly high risk for colds and flu. If you drink alcohol excessively on a daily basis, try and cut way back, because alcohol depletes the body of essential vitamins and minerals and drastically weakens the immune system.

Get in as much exercise as you can and make sure you are getting plenty of rest as this is crippling also to the immune system and look for an all natural immune system boosting product to make up for essential vitamins and minerals that you are not getting.

I hope this article was insightful and I wish you a happy and healthy life.