We’re well into the sniffly season, where it seems that those pesky winter illnesses are continually doing the rounds! We take a look at four of the most common winter illnesses and how to treat them.
Colds
Forget about visiting the doctor – colds and mild flus are usually viral, so antibiotics are useless. They are incredibly infectious too, so practising good hygiene like regularly washing your hands, using disposable tissues and binning after every nose blow, sneezing into a tissue and covering your mouth when you cough can help prevent you from spreading the virus to others, especially more vulnerable people like the elderly, pregnant women and babies.
There’s no cure for the common cold, but you can treat the symptoms. Stay indoors and keep warm, and use over-the-counter painkillers and decongestants to help painful sinuses, sore throats, headaches and congestion. If you are pregnant or taking any other medication, or if your child has a cold, consult your pharmacist before trying any remedy, natural or otherwise, as it might not be suitable for you.
Flus
Influenza, or flu, is not the same as a cold. It is caused by a different group of viruses and tends to come on more suddenly and be far more severe. Common symptoms include a temperature of over 38°C, tiredness or weakness, headache, muscle aches and a cough. If you’re usually healthy, the best way to treat a flu is to stay at home and rest, use over-the-counter remedies (as advised by your pharmacist), and drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration. If you are pregnant, aged 65 years or older or suffer a long-term medical condition, consider seeing your GP if your symptoms are bad. In addition, if you experience shortness of breath, chest pain or start coughing up blood, seek medical attention. If you are pregnant or in a high-risk category, make sure you get the flu vaccination to protect yourself.
Sore throat
Sore throats are a common side effect of colds and flus, and are usually nothing to worry about. The general advice is to take over-the-counter painkillers (as advised by your pharmacist), and try other remedies like throat lozenges or gargling with salted water. Avoid smoking and smoky rooms, and drink plenty of cool or warm fluids. If your tonsils are inflamed, enlarged or feature white spots, see your GP as you could have tonsillitis. If these symptoms are accompanied by swollen glands, you could have strep throat and again should see your GP.
Norovirus
Otherwise known as the dreaded winter vomiting bug, norovirus is highly infectious and seems to be constantly doing the rounds these days! It can strike at any time of the year, but is most common in the winter as people are gathered inside for longer and therefore germs are spread more easily. There is no cure for norovirus, but it usually passes within a few days. Stay at home to prevent spreading it to others, drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration (but avoid giving fruit juices or fizzy drinks to children as they could make diarrhoea worse; continue feeding babies formula or breastmilk as usual), get plenty of rest and eat plain food like soup and bread if you feel like eating. Call your GP if you feel concerned; try not to call in unnecessarily as it’s very contagious. Get medical advice if your symptoms haven’t improved after a few days, if you have a serious underlying condition, if you are showing signs of dehydration like passing small amounts of urine or feeling dizzy, or if you have bloody diarrhoea. Always seek help if your child is feverish, pale or is less responsive, or has severe vomiting or diarrhoea.