All year round, we are vulnerable to an array of health disorders, be it due to poor lifestyle choices, a pre-existing disease, or changing climate/weather. While most people focus on the cure of grave diseases, the most common ailments are often overlooked. One such condition is cold and flu   a viral infection of the nose and throat. Although the infection usually occurs in winters, the viruses causing cold and flu can make you fall sick anytime, and when you do, you are forced to sit back at home and keep away from people because the infection is contagious.

What are the symptoms?

If you catch a bad cold and flu, you are likely to experience the following symptoms  

  Runny nose

  Nasal congestion

  Sneezing and coughing

  A sore throat

  Headaches

  Body or muscle aches

  Tiredness/fatigue

  Fever and chills

Usually, the symptoms resolve in a week or two and most people recover on their own. However, if the condition does not improve and if you fall sick repeatedly, you might have to turn to medications.

Who gets a cold and flu?

Ever wondered  Why am I getting sick all the time ? That is probably because you have a weak immune system. Certain autoimmune conditions exhaust the immune system and make you prone to infections, flu and cold. People, who have chronic immune conditions, tend to fall sick and take longer to recover.

How do you stop from getting sick?

If you have been falling sick more than once in every few months, then you can ask your doctor for supplements that will help build your immunity. Probiotics, zinc supplements, and vitamin supplements are good for cold and flu. You can also avoid getting cold and flu following a few preventive measures, such as the following  

  Get vaccinated against flu and cold, influenza, and seasonal allergies

  Keep your surroundings clean and free from pollutants because such viral infections are air-borne. If you need to go out, make sure you are using a mask to cover the mouth and the nose.

  Viruses that make you sick often spread by coming in contact with an infected person or contaminated surfaces. Therefore, you must always practice good hygiene. Wash your hands with soap or a sanitizer immediately after touching an unclean surface. Also, make sure you clean your hands before eating.

  Exercise at least thrice or four times a week. Any sort of physical activity helps build immunity, improves your overall health and reduces the risk of a number of ailments.

  Eat a balanced diet that includes enough proteins, fibre, healthy fats and lots of fluid. It is very important to keep yourself hydrated, especially in summer to avoid falling sick. The above measures not only prevent you from contracting flu and cold but also keep a dozen other ailments at bay.

How To Avoid Getting Sick?

Indigestion spares nobody. No matter how healthy you are, at some point or the other, everyone suffers from acidity, bloating and gas. On its own these problems are rarely serious but they can leave you feeling quite uncomfortable and can be embarrassing as well.

Homeopathy can be very effective when fighting against indigestion of any kind. This form of treatment has negligible side effects and hence can be given to both children and adults. Homeopathy does not address only the symptoms but goes to the root of the problem. Thus it also stops the problem from recurring. Here are few common homeopathic medicines that can help ease indigestion.

1. Nux vomica
Nux vomica is known as the remedy for overindulgence. This homeopathic medicine can be used to treat stomach problems of all kinds. It is very effective against bloating and gas and is also often used to treat constipation. Nux vomica is also known as the best homeopathic remedy for heartburn associated with excessive alcohol or caffeine.

2. Pulsatilla
This is often used to treat gastric problems that follow eating heavy food like pastries, ice cream and food fried in ghee or butter. It can also be used to treat loose motions.

3. China
China is an effective form of treatment against bloating and build up of gas. Abdominal pain caused by gas can also be treated with china. This homeopathic remedy can also be used to treat diarrhea that is accompanied by extreme weakness.

4. Arsenic album
Gastric troubles that are triggered by food poisoning can be effectively treated with arsenic album. Some of the symptoms it treats are nausea, loose motions, abdominal pain and vomiting. Acidity and a burning sensation in the stomach can also be eased with this medicine. Arsenic album is also used in cases of chronic vomiting where the stomach does not retain any food.

5. Lycopodium
Sometimes even eating a light meal can leave you feeling bloated and with a heavy feeling in your abdomen. This bloating and excessive gaseousness accompanied by burning burps can be treated with lycopodium. It also treats acidity triggered by starchy and flatulent food.
Along with taking homeopathic medicine, making a few changes to your eating habits can also help treat chronic gastric problems. Chew your food and eat slowly. Avoid eating anything that is too hot or too cold and drink plenty of water. Ideally you should hydrate your stomach half n hour before eating a meal.

Remedies for Stomach Acid, Bloating and Gas

Having a fever makes you feel weak such that you don t feel like doing anything. Medical treatment for flu includes usage of antiviral drugs as prescribed for decreasing the severity and duration of the infection. You may also consult your doctor to know about the antibiotics that can treat bacterial infections which may arise as an effect of flu. However, antibiotics are not always required for treating viral infections like flu. On the contrary, you can also follow a few home remedies to get rid of your suffering.

Home remedies for treating flu
You can treat flu by following a few home remedies like resting in bed and avoiding physical exertion. Hydration is very important and minor pains and aches can be relieved with over-the-counter medications as prescribed by the physician. You should avoid spreading the flu virus and germs and wash your hands often.

Stay hydrated: You should drink ample amount of water, clear soup and fruit juices. Though flu causes appetite loss, you should not depend on water entirely, as it doesn t contain enough amount of electrolytes that are required for your body to function optimally. Energy drinks can also help you in this respect. In case these products are not available, you can also prepare a homemade solution by mixing plain or rice water with sugar and a pinch of salt. You can also enhance the taste by adding orange juice and freshly cut bananas, and you can drink it right away irrespective of your age.
Getting rid of cough: Though expectorants and cough suppressants would help the cough to subside, steam inhalations can also prove to be useful for opening a blocked nose. To create steam, pour water in a pot and heat it. After removing the pot from the stove, cover your head with the towel and inhale the steam. The water should be hot, but not boiling, and you can also add eucalyptus oil and few slices of ginger to the hot water. Another way is to steam up your bathroom by allowing the shower to run with hot water and inhale the moisture from the steamy room. You should refrain from touching hard surfaces where the viruses would remain alive. Sneeze and cough into a soft tissue or a handkerchief and carefully dispose of the tissues once they are used. If possible, stay away from people who have flu.
With these simple homemade tips, you would be able to control the symptoms of flu. But in case it does not subside, you shall have to seek medical assistance.

Seasonal Flu in Adults - How It Can Be Treated?

Loose motion, commonly known as diarrhea refers to a state where the affected person suffers from frequent passage of loose, watery or unformed stool. It may lead to exhaustion and dehydration as with frequent passage of stool the body loses water and essential minerals. Here are some natural remedies which are capable of relieving you from loose motion effectively.

1. Lemon

Lemon juice has anti-inflammatory properties that assist in cleansing of the stomach. After extraction of the lemon juice it should be mixed with a tablespoon of sugar and salt. This solution should be consumed every one hour until you feel that all the toxins from your bowels have been flushed out.

2. Fenugreek seeds

Fenugreek or methi seeds have antibacterial and antifungal properties. You need to mix one to two tablespoon powder of dried up fenugreek seeds in a glass of water and have it in an empty stomach in the morning for three to four days. It may taste bitter might but it's bound to completely relieve you from loose motion.

3. Buttermilk

Butter milk not only works wonders for soothing your stomach but also assists the process of digestion. The acid content in buttermilk fights the bacteria and germs in your digestive system. Adding a pinch of turmeric powder or cumin powder or black pepper powder to your buttermilk increases its efficiency to cure loose motion.

4. Adequate rest

If you are suffering from several bouts of loose motion it is bound to cause weakness and dehydration as the body is drained of essential minerals and water. It is advisable that you take complete best rest for two to three days to recover from this fatigue completely. Using heat bags on your stomach can relieve you of cramps and pains. During this period you should abstain from rich and oily foods.

4 Natural Ways To Cure Loose Motion

Bacteria are the organisms that people must avoid. But is that true for all bacteria? According to many researches, the Gut Bacteria present in the digestive tract of the human body help in digestion and play an important role in the well-being.

These bacteria help to lower the probability of diseases like obesity, diabetes, colon cancer, depression, etc.

What is Gut Bacteria?

Gut bacteria live inside the gut and is a mixture of 300 to 500 different kinds of bacteria. These bacteria contain approximately 2 million genes. Not only bacteria, but they may also combine with other organisms like Fungi and Viruses to make Microbiome or Microbiota.

Like everyone s fingerprints are different, Gut mixture of bacteria also differs from person to person.

It depends on many factors like a person s lifestyle or diet. It also partly depends upon his/her mother s Microbiota.

How Gut Bacteria is Helpful to Lower the Risk of Diseases -

According to research, people who are sick have less amount or lack of bacteria variety as compared to a healthy person.

Although bacteria live throughout the body, bacteria inside the gut, intestine, or colon may be helpful for well-being and have the biggest impact on digestion. They also play a major role in everything from immune systems to hormonal balance to metabolism.

These friendly bacteria are helpful in the following illness:

1. Provides Immunity

According to a study published by the University of Chicago, bacteria play a vital role in the immune system. In this study, researchers introduced a bacteria strain with melanoma in the digestive tract of mice. These bacteria prompted the immune system of mice to fight against tumor cells. Bacteria in the body help the immune system make natural antibiotics. These natural antibiotics help fight against diseases.

2. Controls Mood

People may often think about how gut bacteria help maintain hormonal balance, but many studies and researches exist that shows the impact of these bacteria on the human mood or mental disorders. The doctors may call this link a "gut-brain axis.  According to Prof Dinan, people who are suffering from depression or any mental disorders have less microbiota than healthy people. Another scientist from McMaster University said that based on the mouse study, gut bacteria may play a major role in depression and anxiety.

3. Manages Appetite and Body Weight

Gut bacteria may also affect the metabolism of the body. They determine the calories the person gets from food, and the kind of nutrients he/she draws from it. High amount of Gut bacteria in the body may change fibers into fatty acids, which lead to the deposition of fats in the liver, and cause  metabolism syndrome.  This can even cause obesity. This shows that by maintaining gut bacteria, one can maintain his/her body weight.

4. Aids Nutrient Absorption

It is important to eat properly, but what if the food is not absorbed in the bloodstream of the body? According to a study at Washington University School of Medicine, gut bacteria play an important role in absorbing nutrients from food. This study indicates that irrespective of one's proper diet, gut bacteria are required to absorb vitamins and nutrients from food. These bacteria help in breaking down the food to provide nutrients to the body.

There are trillions of bacteria that live inside the digestive tract and contribute in many functionalities to the body. One should always eat healthy foods and exercise well to maintain the balance of these gut bacteria.

What Are The Benefits Of Gut Bacteria?

It is important for you to know about inflammatory bowel disease or IBD, it is a group of intestinal disorders, which leads to prolonged inflammation of your digestive tract. The digestive tract is made of the mouth, stomach, oesophagus, small intestine and large intestine. It performs the task of breaking down food, removing unusable materials and waste products, and for breaking down nutrients from food. Inflammation along with the digestive tract causes disruption in this process. IBD is a fatal condition which can be life threatening in some cases.

Major types of inflammatory bowel disease
The term inflammatory bowel disease is an umbrella term under which many diseases are included. The two major and most common diseases under IBD are ulcerative colitis and Crohn s disease. Crohn s disease (a chronic inflammatory disease of the intestines, especially the colon and ileum, associated with ulcers and fistulae) can lead to inflammation in any part of your digestive tract. It commonly affects the small intestine s tail end. In case of ulcerative colitis, inflammation takes place in the large intestine.

Causes of IBD
Although the exact cause of IBD is not known, several factors may lead to this condition. They are as follows:

Genetics: You are more likely to develop IBD if someone in your family has the disease. This is because of the genetic component of IBD.
The immune system: The body s immune system plays a role in IBD. Usually, your immune system defends your body from pathogens. A bacterial or viral infection in the digestive tract may lead to an immune response. The digestive tract becomes inflamed as the body fights against the bacteria or viruses. The inflammation goes away when the infection is gone.
However, in the case of IBD, the digestive tract inflammation may occur without any infection. Your immune system attacks your body s cells. This is called an autoimmune response. IBD can also occur when the infection is cured, but the inflammation remains.

Symptoms
The various symptoms of IBD depend on the severity and location of the inflammation. They are as follows:

Diarrhoea which occurs when the bowel cannot reabsorb water.
Bleeding ulcers which cause blood to show up in your stool.
Stomach pain, bloating and cramping because of bowel obstruction.
Weight loss and anaemia, which leads to delayed development and growth in children.
In patients with Crohn s disease, canker sores may develop in the mouth.
Ulcers and fissures may appear on the anus or genital area.
IBD may also be associated with problems such as eye inflammation, arthritis and skin disorders.
The major complications which may arise from IBD include colon cancer, malnutrition with weight loss, fistulas, intestinal rapture and bowel obstruction. It is important for you to consult a doctor on noticing any of the IBD symptoms.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease - Know the Types!

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