Fall is upon us and so is the beginning of the cold and flu season. We all know those telltale signs of “coming down with something”; maybe it starts with more fatigue than usual, a scratchy irritated throat, tired puffy eyes, swollen lymph nodes in the neck or body aches?
The best advice is to take action now and not wait until you are down and out with illness.
An ounce of prevention can reduce symptoms, length of time spent sick and also reduce the risk of secondary complications from viruses such as pneumonia.
There are many natural supplements that foster good immunity while helping to create and maintain healthy mucous membrane tissue, which is essential for fending off germs.
My favorite immune supportive treatments this fall are: Vitamin C, Zinc, Garlic, Astragalus, Elderberry and Hydrastis. Each of the aforementioned botanicals bolster the immune system to keep it strong and working efficiently.
Case: April, a mom of three school age children, came into the office with a sore throat, nasal congestion with discharge, and the feeling of her ears being plugged. Her symptoms aired Monday morning after a late night out with friends. I diagnosed April with a common cold virus, an acute self-limiting infection of the upper respiratory tract.
Since the mucous membranes of head, nose, ears and neck drain through the lymphatic system, her white blood cells needed an uncongested and clear path to do their job.
After 30 minutes of focused Decongestive Lymphatic therapy to the affected areas her head, face and neck, her ears were no longer plugged and she felt them draining in the throat. April’s home treatment was to begin wet warming socks for the next 3 nights along with herbal capsules of echinacea, hydrastis and berberine every 4-6 hours for the next 3 days. April emailed our office 3 days later, her respiratory infection never progressed further to bronchitis as it had so many times in the past.
To reap the benefits of natural cold and flu medicines treatments must start early, so keep a few bottles of herbal tincture or capsules on hand this season.
