There's a huge worldwide, multi-billion industry devoted to helping people lie to themselves and spread diseases to the rest of the world.
It consists of every over the counter and prescription drug whose sole purpose is to hide the symptoms of a disease.
Decongestants, cough syrups and tablets, loperamide (Imodium) to stop diarrhea—the list is long one.
Too many people think that diseases are their symptoms. Get rid of the symptoms and you're disease-free, they want to believe. Never mind that the cause of the disease has simply been covered up.
Yet I can't really blame people. Symptoms are uncomfortable, often painful.
In fact, pain itself is not a disease or injury—it's nature's way of telling you that you have a disease or injury so you take care of it.
And usually can't see the actual causes of our diseases—they're tiny bacteria and viruses.
We don't feel them infect us—what we feel is the scratchy feeling in the back of our throats and deep desire to lie down before we throw up.
Same with H5N1. None of its victims have yet seen those pesky sub-microscopic critters jump from a chicken into their own mouths or noses.
None of its victims know they're sick until they feel a symptom:
High fever
Diarrhea
Muscle ache and Fatigue
Nausea and vomiting
Sneezing and Coughing
Yes, oh what fun these symptoms are. Yes, I cannot blame you for wanting them to be over and done with.
However, they're all mechanisms our bodies have developed over countless years of evolution to fight infections. They work, or the human race would have died out hundreds of thousands of years ago.
No, they don't replace medicines that actually fight diseases, such as antibiotics. But the only medications for bird flu are Tamiflu and Relenza, and they would be in short supply during a pandemic.
However, it's also true that some of these symptoms are dangerous if taken to an extreme.
High fever—a temperature over normal body heat helps kill bacteria and viruses. With bird flu, there is danger if the fever goes too high for too long.
Diarrhea—removes a lot of viruses from your body. There is the danger of dehydration if you lose too much water. Drink water with a pinch of salt, chicken soup and Gatorade or other sport/electrolite replacement drink. Small children should be given pediatric electrolite preparations.
Muscle aches—Your body is marshalling its strength to fight the infection. It wants you to lie down and rest. Do so. Right now.
Nausea and vomiting—another way of ejecting the virus from your body. Don't fight it—let it out.
Sneezing and Coughing—These are obviously ways that your body expels viruses out of your respiratory tract. These symptoms are not as applicable to bird flu, since it likes to infect us deep inside our lungs, unlike ordinary colds and flu.
This is good in terms of limiting bird flu contagion. Since avian flu victims don't cough or sneeze much, it's difficult for them to spread the virus to other people. This has undoubtedly helped to limit the spread of the disease.
However, it makes the infection more likely to be deadly to the victim who does get it, because they cannot get the deep-seated viruses out of their lungs.
It's possible that if a pandemic avian influenza does appear, it will be adapted to infecting our upper respiratory tracts. This will make it less deadly, but more contagious.
Whatever your disease—Don't cover up the symptoms, fight the disease.
That means, if you're tired, nauseated and sneezing . . . don't take some over the counter medication that allows you to go to work and spread your germs to the rest of us.
Stay home in bed, drink plenty of fluids, sneeze and cough, vomit and let the diarrhea out of you whenever it wants to come.
It's not any fun, but you'll let your body defeat the infection.
You'll be healthier—and so will the rest of us.
- Related Videos
- Related Articles
- Ask / Related Q&A




What is OTC Drugs?
By: caryfank | 14/11/2009OTC Drugs are over the counter drugs. These are medicines which are sold to the patient without any prescription from a health care professional when compared to the prescription drugs they are only sold on prescription to the customers. These drugs are mostly used by the patients who are suffering from the symptoms of common illness which may not require supervision of a physician.
Differin Online Pharmacies
By: caryfank | 14/11/2009Differin is a drug that is used for treating acne vulgaris commonly known as pimples. This drug consists of adapalene compound, which is more similar to vitamin A, and treats acne. Differin or adapalene are under the group of drugs which are called as retinoids.
Can Sleep Disorder Affect Your Mental Health?
By: Seomul Evans | 14/11/2009What are the common sleep disorders? Work at night - your biological clock gets disturbed if you remain awake at night due to work. In case you have sleep disorders you cannot breathe properly thereby causing the oxygen levels in your blood to drop. Medications - some medicines like antidepressants can cause...
Why Mental Health is Crucial For a Happy Social Life?
By: Seomul Evans | 14/11/2009STD or sexually transmitted disease is also called as venereal disease which is transmitted during the sexual intercourse. This is due to the fact that a good social interaction as seem to be by the participant gains many chemical levels in the brain which are connected to intelligence and personality...
How to Stay in Top Physical Health
By: Seomul Evans | 14/11/2009A state of happy, healthy and prosperous, in which a person individually understands his or her own powers, can satisfy or fulfill the normal emphasizes of life, can work profitably and productively, and is capable of making a share to his or her group of people is stated as mental...
Top Causes of Memory Loss Problems
By: Seomul Evans | 14/11/2009One problem is the brain's memory, but not limited to the brain. In addition, most things that surround us affect our ability to remember by whom or on the memory card. Emotional processes, physiological, ecological and social damage function are memory in everyday life. Memory performance could be the social pressure...
Everything You Need to Know About Anger Management
By: Seomul Evans | 14/11/2009Many folks believe that depression is infuriation turned inwards as stress and depression induce tiff string response to neglect from home and friends, gloomy interpersonal relationships, and mental as well as physical abuse. Mental health - Techniques of Anger power slow burn is a vital emotion that is experienced by each...
How Software Programers Can Become Rich
By: Richard Stooker | 20/03/2007 | CareersSoftware programmers and developers can use their expertise to make themselves financially independent and even wealthy if they focus on helping solve problems for people. Many are forming their own software companies, called micro-ISVs.
How to Protect Yourself from HYIP Frauds
By: Richard Stooker | 20/03/2007 | Non-FictionHYIPs are online frauds. Don't be fooled. Don't waste your time or money. Invest your money for income from real stocks, bonds and mutual funds.
How to Make Your Article Titles Sell More
By: Richard Stooker | 31/10/2006 | Online PromotionArticle titles are the headline for the article. Make sure they include a powerful benefit to the reader.
How to Sell More Through Marrying the Power of Testimonials to "Once Upon a Time"
By: Richard Stooker | 28/10/2006 | AdvertisingCase studies can combine the power of stories with testimonials to make an emotional impact that dissolves prospect sales resistance.
Benefits and Risks of the Annual Flu Shot
By: Richard Stooker | 28/10/2006 | HealthFlu shots train your immune system, but don't do the heavy lifting for you. The stronger your immune system, the better it can defend you against the flu and all other diseases, vaccination or no vaccination.
How to Use Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) to Improve Your Web Writing Results
By: Richard Stooker | 28/10/2006 | SEOWeb site writers should now use Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) to optimize their search engine optimization results. Keyword Density Analysis is out of date.
Symptoms are Not the Disease of Bird Flu Even Though They're Unpleasant
By: Richard Stooker | 22/10/2006 | HealthIn the long run we're better off suffering through the symptoms of a disease than covering them up. Many bird flu symptoms are the body's way of fighting the disease.
Changing to a Computer Career for Retired Baby Boomers
By: Richard Stooker | 22/10/2006 | CareersThe retirement of lots of baby boomers will create an opportunity for many people to change to a computer career . . . and many of them will also be baby boomers.