Alternative Cures for the Flu - Part 1

There are hundreds of different cold and flu viruses, most of them routinely alter themselves on an annual basis in response to their own environment. This means that any traditional medical cure is not possible. This is because of the way in which current antibiotics and medications are developed. For this reason many of the same treatments which were used by our ancestors continue to be used today in order to shorten the length of time the flu virus affects your body. The flu will typically affect between 10 and 35% of the population each year, depending upon the virulence of seasonal flu variety and how well protected individuals keep themselves.

There is no real cure needed for the flu virus because the body will recover spontaneously. However, using protocols to prevent the onset of the illness, and treatments that can shorten the length of it once you contract the flu, you will not have to spend as much time suffering.

In close quarters, conditions are always ripe for the spread of the virus which explains why the highest incidence of the flu is in children between the ages of five to 18 who spend most of their time in school. However, the most serious complications occur in older adults and those whose immune system is compromised from underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, asthma, cancer or AIDS.

In the past several decades, the overuse of antibiotics has become a serious problem. It has led to the resistance in several disease causing bacteria and the mutation of the influenza virus when exposed to these drugs. (1) Over-the-counter cough and cold medications sales are several billion dollars each year. Every year the pharmaceutical industry comes out with another flu shot to help with the seasonal flu variety, but it is unable to prevent illness, as well as anticipate it, because the flu virus mutates from year to year and the vaccine is produced based on the previous year’s virus.

In an effort to decrease the amount of symptoms and illness which is experienced, many people are turning to alternative forms of treatment that are believed to be less invasive and less toxic to the body. One of the best cures for the flu is prevention. It is much easier to prevent the body from contracting the flu virus than it is to cure it once it is already happened.

References:

(1) KidsHealth.org: The Danger of Antibiotic Overuse

http://kidshealth.org/parent/h1n1_center/h1n1_center_treatment/antibiotic_overuse.html

(2) Natural News: The Harmful Effect of Sugar and Choosing Healthy Alternatives

http://www.naturalnews.com/022692.html

(3) Dr. Mercola: The Vitamin Which Can Cut Your Flu Risk Nearly in Half

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/12/14/study-shows-vitamin-d-cuts-flu-by-nearly-50.aspx

(4) University of Maryland Medical Center: Influenza

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/influenza-000062.htm

(5) Microbes and Infection: Antimicrobial Properties of Allicin from Garlic

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10594976