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The latest 2009 Mexican swine flu outbreak involves the Type A H1N1 virus. And tests done so far have revealed that about 98 percent of Type A H1N1 viruses are now resistant to Tamiflu, which is considered the most effective antiviral flu drug available. Tamiflu resistance by the Type A H1N1 virus has risen dramatically from only 12 percent a year ago! It shows how badly defeated medical science is.
Even if the antiviral drugs work, scientific studies show that, at best, they reduce flu symptoms by ONE DAY. Since the average flu patient experiences symptoms for seven to 14 days, they will now sufferr from six to 13 days. Big deal! For that one extra day, they put themselves at risk of bizarre side effects that include strange behaviour, self-injury and suicide!
Is this the sort of solution that you want? You are much better off with natural flu remedies...
Rest and sleep
Of all natural flu remedies, flu patients need rest and sleep more than anything else. In fact, my personal belief, which stems from observations of my many experiences with the flu, is that the main cause of the flu is tiredness and stress, not contact with some virus as explained by the germ theory of disease.
My most recent bout with the flu only reinforces this belief. I fell sick after more than a week of intense work, combined with nightly sessions of photography, which is my hobby and my passion. I was both working hard and playing hard. I was very tired and I ended up with the flu. Quickly, the symptoms worsened.
A week later, I felt better and went out to visit a friend. While at it, I agreed to help another friend send his car for repairs. I also did not want to cancel a dinner appointment that I had made previously. It turned out to be a long day. Traffic jams and delays at the car workshop meant that my initial half day out stretched to a full day. I went straight to my dinner appointment, without any rest break in between. I was very tired when I reached home that night. Still, I spent half an hour at the computer to clear some work.
The next morning, I felt very very sick! Was it because I caught another virus? No. I was simply exhausted!
Water and lots of fluids
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A flu joke
What disease do former pilots get? What is the best remedy? |
There is basic wisdom here. When you have a flu, your body is fighting a battle with viruses or, for other reasons perhaps because of toxins formed by tiredness and stress, having a lot of clean up to do. So drinking plenty of water and other fluids will certainly help.
Moreover, flu symptoms like high fever and, in some cases, diarrhea, can lead to dehydration and this further increases the body's need for fluids.
But not all types of fluids will be suitable. Those unsuitable as natural flu remedies include:
Chicken soup
Chicken soup has long held its place among natural flu remedies. It helps meets the flu patient's requirement for fluids and also help strengthen those who are sick and who may not have much appetite for regular food.
But while this is again basically good advice, some writers are, I feel, too liberal in recommending any broth made with chicken, beef, mutton, pork or other meats. I disagree here and would restrict my recommendations to milder meats like chicken, pork and fish. Beef and mutton are considered "heathy" in Chinese medicine and not advisable for flu patients. At the same time, chicken and pork - and, to a lesser extent, fish - are considered "tonic" in Chinese medicine and are frequently used in the preparation of Chinese tonic soups.
Also, some writers seem to have so much faith in natural flu remedies such as chicken soup that they go to the extent of recommending canned chicken broth. I must voice strong disagreements here. Soup from a can, loaded with MSG and other chemical additives, and probably prepared with poor quality ingredients to begin with, cannot be all that good for healing the flu.
What would really be helpful is a home-brewed chicken soup prepared with plenty of vegetables, like carrot, onion, celery, dried mushrooms, etc. Some peppercorns, a mild spice, may also be helpful. The chicken provides protein and has a strengthening effect. The vegetables, and some salt used in preparing the broth, provide minerals that strengthten the body and its immune system. Pepper is one of the spices used in natural flu remedies.
In addition, minerals create an alkaline body environment in which viruses and bacteria cannot thrive.
Oscillococcinum
If you want natural flu remedies in the form of a "medicine", then look for Oscillococcinum. This is a homeopathic medicine, first formulated in 1925, that is generally prescribed for flu patients. Thus, it can be bought off the shelf and used by any one with the flu.
Other homeopathic natural flu remedies, however, may be customised according to the person and so would be best prescribed by a homeopath. But Oscillococcinum can be safely taken by any flu patient.
If you read my article on homeopathic medicine, which describes how these medicines are made, you will understand that they contain practically no trace of the original "medicine". Because homeopathic medicines are made by diluting in 100 parts of water, shaken to "potentise" the mixture and then diluted again and again, many times over. So they are free from harmful side effects.
Oscillococcinum has particular interest to us now because it was first studied in France during the 1987 flu epidemic caused by an H1N1 virus - the same type of virus associated with the current swine flu epidemic. A second study conducted in Germany in 1990 confirmed the findings of the original Frech study - that Oscillococcinum if highly effective in treating the flu.
Most patients experience significantly reduced symptoms within 48 hours while about 17 percent completely recover by that time. This is quite remarkable considering that average flu patients exprience symptoms for between seven and 14 days. Click here to read more details about the Oscillococcinum studies.
Aromatherapy oils
Essential oils used in aromatherapy are also effective as natural flu remedies. Oils used for flu treatment include:
This is not a subject that I know a great deal about, but I thought I'd mention a few useful pieces of information and suggestions, so that those who are keen can find out more from the appropriate books and websites about aromatherapy oils as natural flu remedies.
Firstly, while bacteria and viruses often develop resistance to drugs, they do not become resistant to pure essential oils - just as they also do not become resistant to (essential oils in) herbs like garlic So you need not worry about essential oils being ineffective against new strains of bacteria.
Secondly, if you are wearing a flu mask, you can drop a few drops of essential oils onto your mask and inhale the oils directly. This will greatly enhance the effectiveness of your flu mask.
Vicks VapoRub
The other reason why I want to discuss the role of essential oils as natural flu remedies is because there are some products based on the principles of aromatherapy that are widely used as natural flu remedies. Probably the most popular of these is Vicks VapoRub but there are other similar products as well.
I had used Vicks VapoRub when I was a child. Or rather, my mother had used it on me. But I hadn't used it in decades and, until I was researching for this article, I never bothered to find out what it really is. What I found out was a surprising bag of good news and bad news.
For one thing, I found out it is supposed to be a cough remedy, although it is widely used as a general cold and flu remedy, which is why I am writing about it here rather than on the cough remedies page.
The good news is that Vicks VapoRub seems both effective and safe. It has been used since 1891 and sales of the product shot up during the 1918 Spanish flu.
The ingredients in Vicks VapoRub, except for one, are basically natural and safe. Well, back in 1980 there were not many toxic synthetic chemicals around, were there?
On this note, I should point out that many medicines and food products from long ago, such as cough syrups and herbal candies, are nowadays made with the harmful artificial sweetener, aspartame. We cannot assume that just because a product had been around for a long time, it is natural and safe. We need to check the ingredients.
Anyway, the ingredients in Vicks VapoRub include:
Now for the bad news... I've only now learned that the use of Vicks VapoRub is safe only when it is applied on the chest and neck - and even on the feet as one lady wrote on the Internet about how she learned that applying it on her child's feet at night, and putting the socks on, helped stopped the child's cough.
Because the camphor is harmful when inhaled in large amounts, Vicks is not supposed to be applied around the nostrils! Argh! I've had Vicks VapoRub applied around my nostrils so many times when I was a child.
This is apparently stated on the manufacturer's warning. I was too young to read, my mother didn't read and the man who sold it to her probably couldn't read - he was probably some uneducated guy who ran a provisions shop or one of those street corner stalls that sells newsapers, sweets and miscellaneous items like Vicks.
Anyway, I am still alive and kicking :-)
And hey, I almost forgot about one of my all time favourite natural flu remedies: Umeboshi.
Apart from the natural flu remedies discussed here, click the following links to learn more about: