Tame Flu Fears with Practical Advice and Natural Immunity Boosters

Theres an old newspaper saying, If it bleeds, it leads and heres the May 2009 update: It also leads if it sneezes, coughs, has a fever, or recently traveled to Mexico.

So far, one death in the United States has been reported. Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General, stated that From past experience, we also know that influenza may cause mild disease in affluent countries, but more severe disease, with higher mortality, in developing countries. She also notes that the course of this pandemic is unpredictable and countries must ramp up preparedness and response.

Flu viruses are notorious shape-shifters that can mutate quickly, so it's impossible to know exactly what course this pandemic will take.

As Dr. Chan says in her statement, The biggest question, right now, is this: how severe will the pandemic be, especially now at the start? It is possible that the full clinical spectrum of this disease goes from mild illness to severe disease. We need to continue to monitor the evolution of the situation to get the specific information and data we need to answer this question.

Taming my flu fears

Writing about natural medicine for a living doesn't give me immunity against having a few of my own flu fears. First thing I did when I heard the possible pandemic talk was to look through my big carton of samples I keep to see if I had any immune-enhancing formulas. I did find a bottle of organic hand sanitizer that I am now using frequently.

I also emailed Martha Howard, MD, director of Wellness Associates of Chicago, Center for Advanced Integrative Environmental Medicine. Her wisdom has informed my writing for about a dozen years, and I asked her how worried she is about the flu. Shed just returned from Los Angeles, and heres what she shared:

This will be my first day in the office since the outbreak, so I'll see. I'm sure everyone is worried. I just gave my daughter-in-law, who is principal of an elementary school with a largely Mexican first generation immigrant population, and who has twin 11-month-old sons, instructions on how to do a clean room re- entry into their home. I told her to put her whole outfit in a black plastic bag in the back hall, go immediately to the shower, wash, and put on a clean outfit. Then take the bagged outfits at the end of the week and wash them in the hot water cycle, put them in a hot dryer, and dispose of the bag.

Dr. Howards advice stems from an abundance of caution, (a phrase I heard President Obama use) and isn't something most of us need to practice unless we're in similar circumstances. Here are her tips for the rest of the country.

Wash your hands

Take C

Recognize the symptoms

Flu symptoms include any combination of these: headache, cough, sore throat, fever, nausea, dizziness, muscle aches. If you've got them, see your doctor ASAP, advises Dr. Howard.

Get treatment early

Try Chinese herbs

I believe that probably the most effective treatment for flu is Chinese herbs, says Dr. Howard. They're effective in both killing the virus and helping resolve the flu symptoms. The best thing to take is a combination of two Chinese formulas. I use Yin Chiao Chieh Tu Pian, and Zhong Gan Ling. Take as follows: two to four Yin Chiao tablets twice a day, and four to six Zhong Gan Ling tablets three times a day. They should be taken with food. Find these at ChineseHerbsDirect.com.

Seek care

If you have a high fever, feel so sick that you cant get out of bed, or are dehydrated, have someone take you to the emergency room, advises Dr. Howard.

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