Cold And Flu: Conventional vs Botanical & Nutritional Therapy

[Emily]

http://ijddr.in/old/Dacuments/IJDDR%20JAN-MARCH%202011%20ISSUE%20PDF/NO.%2036,%20VOL.3,%20ISSUE%201,%202011.pdf

Kalra. M, Khatak M, Khatak S ?Cold and Flu:
Conventional vs Botanical & Nutritional Therapy?,
Int. J. Drug Dev. & Res., Jan-March 2011, 3(1): 314-
327

Abstract
Cold and flu (or Influenza) are both respiratory illnesses and
the terms are used interchangeably. However, they are both
caused by different viruses. There are two main types of flu
viruses: influenza A and influenza B. The most serious and
deadly flu outbreaks are caused by influenza A because of its
ability to genetically shift into new forms against which no
person has developed immunity. Influenza B generally causes
less severe infection. Outbreaks of influenza B commonly occur
in schools and military camps, where many people live or work
in close contact. The flu is a more serious illness than common
cold. With cold, the symptoms are centered around the nose
and throat. But the flu affects the whole body. The symptoms of
a cold include a runny or blocked nose, sneezing, minor throat
irritation, mild fever, sore throat, a feeling of ears block, and
finally coloured mucus or nasal discharge (which means that
your immune system is fighting the infection). Symptoms of
influenza usually start suddenly with a high fever. Other
symptoms include, irritation in the throat, a dry cough, high
fever, shivering, sweating and severe muscle aches. The
conventional therapies for colds focus primarily on temporary
symptom relief and include over-the-counter antipyretics, antiinflammatory
and decongestants but for influenza it also
includes prescription antiviral agents and vaccines (for
prevention). This review presents the comparison of
conventional treatment options with selected botanicals under
different categories -antiviral, diaphoretic, expectorant,
febrifuge and immunostimulant- along with nutritional
consideration (Vitamins A and C, zinc, propalis) that may help
in the prevention and treatment of these conditions.

Copyright ? 2010 IJDDR, Kalra. M et al. This
is an open access paper distributed under the
copyright agreement with Serials Publication, which
permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original
work is properly cited.

Full text in PDF format at link. :tiphat: