Influenza is more commonly known as the flu. It is an infection that affects the respiratory system and is caused by the influenza virus. This injection is recommended for kids who are under the age of 6 months. It ensures that the baby is safeguarded from the virus during an influenza outbreak. Since the nature of virus changes year on year, the immunity doesn t last for more than 1 year. This vaccination is ideally taken during the month of October and November. The effect of the vaccination typically lasts for 6-8 months.

Ideally, kids who have never had a flu vaccination should take 2 vaccinations within 4 weeks. Kids who have received a shot of flu should undertake this vaccination once in a year. This arrangement is ideal up to 9 years of age. Flu shot is extremely important for a kid due to the following reasons:

It saves a kid from chronic lung and heart disorders such as asthma and cystic fibrosis
Kids suffering from immune deficiency, cancer, and HIV should take this vaccination to avoid further complication of the existing disease
Kids suffering from diabetes, kidney diseases, and metabolic disorders should go for this vaccination without a second thought
Kids suffering from a neurological disorder, haemoglobin deficiency, and anaemia should take this vaccination to refrain from the risk of aggravation of the present disease
Pregnant women should ideally take it for the safeguarding the fetus
Flu shot should not be taken be taken if:
1. A baby is under the age of 6 months.
2. The baby has thimerosal allergy.

Is flu shot safe?
The flu shot is considered to be very safe. It does not result in flu. Few side effects include:
a. Soreness of the place where the needle is injected. This doesn t last for more than a couple of day.
b. Body ache and mild fever for the first couple of days after the vaccination is done.
c. There is little to no pain in the place where the injection is injected by the doctor.

What is nasal flu vaccine?
This is an influenza dose that is not injected into the body but given in the form of nasal spray. Healthy kids above the age of 2 years are fit to get this injection. For those kids who have a history of chronic illness should check with their doctor to go ahead with nasal spray. Each dose is given in each nostril. Like the influenza vaccine, nasal flu vaccine should be undertaken once for those who have already taken this dose once. Kids who have not undergone this vaccination are eligible for 2 dosages each 4 weeks apart from each other.

Influenza Vaccine - Why is it Important for Kids?

If there is one disease which most people would definitely be affected by, it has to be the common cough and cold. It is not without reason that it is called  common cold.  When we look back though, common cold and cough was not so common. It is evident that it has become common due to the lifestyle and environmental changes and can be managed again by looking at how it used to be managed earlier.

Ayurveda believes that health is determined by the balance between the tridoshas in the body, namely vata, pitta, and kapha. Common cough and cold are caused by an imbalance between all 3 components. The type of cough, phlegm, congestion, etc., will vary depending on which dosha is predominant. People who repeatedly have attacks of common cold would be delighted to know there are remedies which are commonly available and can keep these attacks at bay. Read on to know more.

Garlgling with salted lukewarm water soothes the throat and helps in relieving cough.
Taking a combination of honey, lemon, and lukewarm water 3 times a day is very effective in preventing common cold.
Drinking warm liquids like herbal teas and clear vegetable soups with garlic added soothes the throat and also provides antioxidant benefits against cold and cough.
Boil some handful of tulsi leaves in a litre of water, strain and drink it through the day to get rid of cough and cold.
Eating onion dipped in honey also can prevent chronic cough and cold.
Boiling tulsi seeds and ginger in water and drinking this after straining also helps the throat.
Drinking juice of betel leaves is another natural remedy.
Add some salt to mustard oil and rub it on the nose and throat to get immediate relief.
Similarly, a mixture of curd, sugar, and black pepper powder provides relief from cough and congestion.
A mixture of cinnamon, honey, and pepper also helps people with cough and cold.
Add a small quantity of asafetida (hing) to a glass of warm water and feel the relief in the lungs and throat.
Boil water with jaggery and coriander seeds, strain and drink twice a day.
A mixture of ginger and milk can be used in concentrated form to be instilled in the nose.
A mixture of fennel seeds and clove powder mixed with honey provides great relief.
Inhale the vapour of ladies finger from water in which it was boiled. This relieves throat infections and dry cough.
In addition, Ayurveda has specific yogasanas like jal neti, sutra neti, kapalbhati and setubandha, which are aimed at clearing out nasal and airway passages.

Common Cough & Cold - Ayurvedic Remedies For It!

A cough is probably one of the most common respiratory diseases that people suffer from. In most cases, it is nothing to worry about and can be cured with cough suppressants and salt water gargles. However, coughing of blood is a serious problem. The coughing up of blood that originates from below the level of the larynx is known as hemoptysis. This can vary in terms of severity depending on the amount of blood being expelled. This disease is a common condition, but on an average, less than 5% of hemoptysis cases are life threatening.

Hemoptysis rarely affects children. The symptoms of this condition include:
Sudden onset of a cough with bloody phlegm

Fever
Anorexia and weight loss
Dyspnoea
Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea
Fatigue
Chest pain: Medical attention should be sought in cases where this condition recurs often, if it lasts for longer than a fortnight or if the volume of blood expectorated is more than 30ml per day. The various tools that help in the diagnosis of this condition are:
Chest radiography: This imaging modality helps lateralize bleeding and understand the amount of lung involvement. It is quick, inexpensive and can also help detect other underlying abnormalities.
Bronchoscopy: This involves the insertions of a rigid or flexible endoscope into the bronchial passages to check the airways and determine active bleeding sites.
MDCT: A multidetector CT is a non-invasive imaging tool that provides a comprehensive evaluation of airways, lung parenchyma, and thoracic vessels. It can also be used to uncover potential causes of bleeding such as bronchiectasis, pulmonary infections and lung cancer. In some cases, a multidetector CT angiography may also be used.

Oral antibiotics are usually the first stage of treatment for this condition. Smokers will also be urged to quit cigarettes as this can worsen their condition. Treatment for minor hemoptysis may also include:

Oral hemostatics
Cough suppressants
Anticoagulants
Radiation of laser treatment
Therapeutic bronchoscopy
In its later stages, hemoptysis can be treated with a minimally invasive procedure known as endovascular embolization or with surgery. In some cases, endovascular embolization may also be sued to stabilise the patient before surgery. This procedure reduces the pressure in the hypertrophic arterial blood vessels and decreases the risk of perioperative bleeding.

Hemoptysis is also one of the most common complaints of lung cancer patients. Depending on the stage of cancer and the amount of blood expectorated, treatment in some cases may not be possible. In such cases, a parenteral opioid and fast-acting benzodiazepine may be administered. 

How to Treat Coughing Blood (Hemoptysis) Problem

One thing that a weather change brings about is lung infections - most commonly cough and cold. Most people dread the change of seasons from one temperature to another because of the fear of how their body will react to the weather change. Be it extreme hot or cold, most people end up with a cough and cold. The more affected age groups again are the children and the elderly. However, all it takes to prevent this is to plan a little so that the body can get used to the change and not react with a cough or cold.

Prevention: There are few things that can be done which can help avoid catching cold.
1. Avoid sudden exposure to cold, from a heated room to the cold outdoors, especially in the evening and morning. Those who are used to a morning and evening walk may have to change the routine.
2. Avoid cold food items such as cool drinks, milk shakes and ice-creams.
3. Having a warm bath, early morning and late evening is advisable.
4. Avoid foods such as sour stuffs, pickles and fried foods.
5. Eat small, frequent meals that are prepared fresh are nutritious and of moderate temperature.
6. If there are infected people in your neighborhood, avoid being in close contact with them as you might get infected as well.
7. Wash your hands enough to keep them free of germs
8. As much as cold weather does not make you thirsty, push enough fluids so that your body stays hydrated. If water is not appealing enough, drink warm water or tea or lime.
9. Ensure the house, especially kitchen and bathroom are clean and disinfected.
10. Avoid exposure to dust and pollen as they carry lot of germs.
11. Avoid staying in a poorly ventilated room, enough circulation ensures germs are not concentrated in one room
12. Timely vaccination against flu

Treatment: Despite these measures, once the cough and cold has set in, the following are some easy remedies:

1. Steam inhalation, preferably with eucalyptus oil added to it.
2. Having warm soup with ginger and garlic added to it to soothe the throat
3. Ginger and other spices like cardamom and cinnamon can also be added to tea.
4. Lemon and honey can be added to a glass of warm water. This will soothe the throat and help fight cold.
5. Chewing Tulsi leaves can be beneficial
6. Yoga exercises such as Pranayama and Jalneti can be done to cleanse the nasal cavity, prevent sinus congestion, and clear mucus

Cough and Cold Due to Weather Change - Prevention & Treatment Tips

Have you been coughing so often that it is intervening with your daily routine? Drop that bottle of cough syrup that gives you an instant relief but along with a feeling of drowsiness. Though coughing may appear to be a simple issue, it is very harassing and can lead to various severe problems. Ayurveda has the power to alleviate the suffering to a considerable degree. The Pranavaha Srotas show how the  vata  that controls the respiratory systems in the body can be balanced with Ayurvedic means so that you are relieved.

Symptoms and their mistreatments
There are two types of cough, one with the phlegm that s termed as wet cough and creates congestion, due to which you are unable to breathe. The other type of cough is the dry one, which hurts your throat and forms a pressure on the chest area while you cough. Well, whether dry or wet, a simple disease related to coughing is powerful enough to deprive you of your night s sleep. If you are a patient of bronchitis or any other respiratory disease like sinus, then you are required to deal with the nagging problem of cough.

Ayurveda offers a great way of relieving cough.

Gargles: Whenever you feel soreness around your neck, take a glassful of warm water and add a pinch of salt in it and start to gargle. The salt would help to drain out the excess fluids from the inflamed areas, thus, reducing the symptoms. It also helps in removing the mucus and thinning of the mucus. Gargling with salt should be avoided by patients suffering from hyper-tension. Such people can use simple warm water without salt.
Take honey: It is not feasible to gargle anywhere and everywhere and in such cases, you can have a spoonful of honey as it is believed to soothe the irritation in the throat area. If you have a particular tendency to cough during the night time, then a glassful of warm milk with some honey can relieve your suffering. Diabetic patients should avoid honey.
Turmeric remedies: A traditional Indian remedy to alleviate soreness of the throat region is to drink hot milk mixed with honey. You may even opt for turmeric gargles where you will have to mix half teaspoon of turmeric along with the same quantity of table salt in a glassful of lukewarm water and gargle with it. To get rid of dry cough, alternately, you can mix some turmeric powder in a spoonful of honey and take it thrice in a day.
Allopathic and synthetic medicines are generally loaded with numerous side-effects including nausea and drowsiness. In the worst case, it may lead to dependence and addiction as well. Thus, embracing Ayurveda can help you get out of the ailment permanently.

Cough - 3 Easy Home Remedies for Treating it!

There are a variety of reasons why a person can fall sick. A good number of these illnesses cannot be prevented though a person may take general precautions. Having said that, in the case of influenza, it can be prevented to a large extent and it does not seem all that smart to avoid taking easy precautions when one has an option, right?

Every year, thousands of people die from influenza, which is so unfortunate because an annual shot can reduce that number by almost 60 percent. So what exactly makes a flu shot or vaccine work? As a result of the vaccine, after about two weeks or so, antibodies begin to develop in the body. These antibodies help fight off infection, specifically the kind that is targeted by the vaccine. It is important to get vaccinated for this flu on an annual basis.

Choosing the right flu shot
Considering the great number of options there are when it comes to flu vaccines, which are the ones to be injected? It is a good idea to get the opinion of a doctor to see which one to choose. This is because the choice is dependent on a variety of factors, which a medical professional would be able to assess appropriately. Note that it is important not to use the nasal spray version of the vaccine as the medical authorities have recently found that it is not as effective a method as it once was.

When should you get it?
Flu season does vary across the world, but in the US, it starts in about October and goes on till May. During this time, the flu viruses are a lot more active. When one gets a flu shot, it is this period that one needs to look out for. So, it is better to get vaccinated in late September or the start of October, so that there is minimal unprotected exposure to the viruses.

Who is it for?
It is to be kept in mind that every individual who is older than six months should be vaccinated. While it is said that getting a vaccine shot year after year reduces its effectiveness, it is still important to do so. This is because each year, the shot is altered to reflect the biggest virus threats in that year. There might be few side effects of the flu vaccine such as redness in the injected area, soreness or swelling. However, as long as one gets a flu shot in time, it is almost a given that there will be almost no time spent  down with the flu .

Flu Shot - Why Is It So Important?

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