BRACE YOURSELF FROM THE IMPACT OF COLD AND FLU

Cold was common respiratory illness most people felt every moment of their life especially during winter season or sudden changes of weather. This was the most distressing days that we have to handle with care and with dispatch. Getting cold and flu anytime of the day from sudden changes in temperature due chilly weather can affect the biochemistry of the body. 

The susceptibility to cold and flu is greater if the immune system can’t handle with the disruption of the normal condition of the body. Every alteration will mean something is boiling inside the respiratory tract, the starting point of having caught with flu.

Cold was the result of infection cause by virus. Anyone started coughing, sneezing. It can spread quickly by touching other people’s hands or speaking in front of others. The virus were still outside the perimeter of the body continuously enter inside the respiratory tract by just touching the nose, eyes and mouth with contaminated hands.

Cold and flu is fatal to small children and infants if the virus insisted on controlling human mechanism especially if the victim has problem with his lungs. The transmission of the flu virus is easy even kissing the child in the face.

Most common symptoms are stuffy or runny nose, coughing, sneezing, sore throat and fever. It may last a week or more. A cold and flu will inflamed the mucous membrane in the nose, throat and mouth. The more serious symptoms are headache, dry cough, chills and body pains.

Children affected will have vomiting or nausea during the period of distress. What is fatal is when it complicates other health diseases that will lead to life-threatening condition. It causes bronchitis, sinusitis, pneumonia and ear infection, heart disease and episode of asthma.

Coughing disrupted sleep, the fever that come and go, shortness in breathing and the inflame sinus cavity. Common prevention may minimize the impact to health if caught with colds and flu:

-Get flu vaccine during the year to seek immunity from colds and flu.

-Cover your mouth while coughing to prevent the spread of the virus.

-Always wash both hands most often especially if the contamination started to spread in different part of the body especially the respiratory system. Washing it with warm, soapy water for 15 minutes may help get rid the virus.

-Limit your socializing especially if anyone in the group has flu or cold.

-Help he immune system to fight back with the infection by getting enough sleep, physical activity and eating balanced diet.

-Drink many glasses of water or taking juice to loosen the sticky mucus and keep the body hydrated at all times. Virus can’t be killed using antibiotics. To loosen the mucus fully, use anti-phlegm syrup. A stuffy nose can be remedied by nasal decongestant. If cough will not go away, expectorant is the best choice. Sneezing can be stop by anti-histamine drugs. 

Pain reliever is useful in body and muscle pains. Fever can be relieves with acetaminophen medicines like aspirin and paracetamol.

If initial treatment failed, seek medical advice from doctor so that appropriate medical attention can be done to stop the infection in shortest possible time.

DEPRESSIVE DISORDER

Depression is a very serious illness. The disorder already affected portion of general population. It often interferes with the normal functioning of the body and cause emotional pain and suffering of the mind. A man with serious depressive disorder destroyed his will to live. It gives him an unsound relationship with the people he loved especially his family.

It is called the whole-body illness affecting the body, mood and thoughts. There is problem in eating and sleeping. He treated his self differently. He has different perception about things he knew. The disorder is an indication of personal weakness and differences in his line of thought. He has no initiative to heal his body and mind. He is going down instead of going better. Keeping away from seeking medical treatment will put his symptoms to remain in weeks, months and in many years of inattention disregarding the opportunity for the healing, aside from interference in the ability to eat, sleep and enjoyment to his favorite sport.

Dysthymia is a long-term chronic symptoms not disabling but failed to function well in steaming fully. He has no desire in feeling good because he did not care.

Bipolar disorder has cycles of depression and elation mania. There was mood swing changing interest from time to time. It may be dramatic, rapid and gradual. It affected the way he think, his correct judgment and social interaction with other people that later on cause him serious embarrassment.

Depression has persistent anxiety, empty mood (silent, unfocused). He has sad face as if the burden is in his shoulder. He was very pessimistic in his belief. He treated a simple problem as hopeless case. He treated minor differences with guilt. He felt he was worthless and helpless.

He suddenly lost interest to the things he normally enjoyed. It doesn’t give him pleasure instead it bored him. His wakefulness affected his normal sleep pattern. His insomnia worsened. But if he is not awake, he oversleep.

There was problem in his appetite. He ate little or not at all. It cause him to lose weight. But if he likes to eat, he over-ate increasing his weight to pass the borderline level no longer in his normal weight anymore.

He easily got tired. He loses his energy that gives him fatigue and lost interest to work. He has suicidal tendencies thinking about death. He can’t stay long in one position. He was restless moving from position to another. He was irritable in minor differences. He easily explode his temper.

He was out-of-focus losing better concentration. He has memory loss unable to remember important events in his life. He has hard time making decision and rely on other people’s advice. He has chronic pain whatever the source. He often has headache and his digestive system is growling.

Most common cause of depressive episode are due to financial problem, difficult relationship, chronic illness that has no chance to recover, loss of someone he dearly love and changes in his life pattern he was not accustomed to do.

To determine the degree of depression, a thorough medical evaluation is needed including diagnostic tests.  It demands complete medical history, genetic history. The purpose is the degree of the illness when did it starts, how long it affected him, his treatment history and other questions to determine the deepness of the disorder and other factors that cause it.

To reduce the effect of depression, do the following:

-Don’t make difficult goal that you can’t handle.

-Don’t take bigger responsibility if you think you can’t carry the burden.

-Sept priorities to some of your function. Divide your task into smaller portion easy to manage.

-Don’t expect too much expectation of your ability for excellence. If you fail it hurts.

-Go with your friend, interact with them, to allocate time for socializing.

-If you are in the state of confusion, relax and join in physical action to be able to shift your mood to more useful one.

-Don’t easily get upset. Try to calm your nerve.

-Be positive in dealing with life.

Depression can be treated. Only complete medical examination is needed and better treatment is important by using effective drugs to be able to lessen or remove the impact of the effect of this kind of disorder.

PANIC ATTACK

If there’s no fear in your eyes, what are you? Even the bravest man on earth sometimes felt fear in his heart, the fear of dying. Many told us that they are not afraid of death but when the hour came, there is terror in their eyes.  Their heart beats fast and suffocated their breathing.

Panic attack is one of emotional disturbance a human felt that he can’t control. It was a reflex of fear to something he wanted to avoid but can’t escape. This was the most distressing moment in his life trying to run away from the threat that will surely come. He wanted to hide but from whom?

Panic disorder is chronic illness, recurrent and has debilitating effect to person’s health, his work, his dealing with his family and his social interaction with other people. It can be felt spontaneously without apparent triggers. It may only last few moments but the effect is damaging to his personality. It restricted his movements and his ability to carry-out his function and normal activities during the day.

Panic disorder has biological and psychological components. The body will immediately give alarm response to a situation with no provocation. It has low tolerance and its response to stress. The disturbance in the mind is the coping mechanism of repeated stresses in life.

 It is a natural feeling human has to handle once or twice. It is not easy to be free from certain circumstances. He may know beforehand or may be caught in surprise or unaware of his fate. Upon knowing, he may be in sudden shock in several minutes, helpless what to do. There is beads of sweat in his face and chilled him to the bones.

Panic attack is a disorder. It was repeated experiences that weakened his strength. It occurred to him several times. It was a sudden feeling of fear, disabling emotions unprovoked even as he tried to conceal. 

A man that was afraid felt pain in his chest. He was dizzy, lightheaded and has nausea. There was difficulty in his breathing. There was pounding in his heart that is going strong and so fast. He felt numbed in his hands and feet. There was tingling sensation in the back of his neck.

A near-death experienced he felt while driving give chill to his mind. It missed his life a few seconds. His experience decided him not to drive again. His fear will just appear if he is at the wheel. His better concentration failed. His emotion was so sudden as if it suffocated him. He developed pattern of avoidance wherever he goes. He just rode with other transportation vehicle instead of driving alone in his car. 

It stressed him by just remembering what happened. He can’t move normally. He can’t live in total control with ease and comfort because it is an unbearable feeling that makes a point in his life. He was a slave to it.

Panic disorder is disabling emotional trauma. It is an illness that needs medical attention. Living normal life is harder for him because fear always shadowed his mind and controlled his movement. He is not sure of himself. He has doubts that he can’t avoid the creeping feeling and surge of fear.

Panic attack can be treated. Modern medicine has the ability to lessen the impact of fear. Fear can’t be completely prevented but the promise of relief can be done under the supervision of medical specialist. It can reduce the severity and frequency of the attack.

The physician will conduct series of tests to determine the source of your fear and the condition of the brain. The emotional difficulty has something to do with the function of the mind, the degree of experience that causes him to be afraid.

Panic disorder can’t be treated overnight. It is a long process of treatment until the mind able to control its action by relaxing the senses. If not completely healed, it may continue months or years.

It is easy for a child to develop fear. In the early stage of his life, fear controlled him until he is old enough to understand the consequence and the effect of it to his health.