Feel A Tickle? Get Some Zinc!
By the time you feel the tickle in your throat, it’s likely the flu has already gotten a hold of you. But there are some things you can do to stop the progressive symptoms of influenza from having their fullest effect.
Oftentimes when the flu comes, you’ll feel a bit of a tickle in the back of your throat. It’ll usually come after a slight cough over something–you might think you just swallowed your food incorrectly. At least, that’s what you hope. You’ll usually wait a few hours to be sure, hoping against hope you haven’t caught something. That’s the mistake! Whenever you feel that slight tickle, get some zinc in you immediately; also drink some water, and find a way of getting Vitamin C or Vitamin D. You don’t want to do too much of any mineral or vitamin substance; it’ll just be urinated away later. But immediately assisting your immune system is advisable. The next thing you should do is get a hearty, healthy meal and some rest.
Nausea
Influenza hits everybody differently. You might start feeling a slight cramping pain in your stomach that steadily worsens and precludes all thought of food. This is another early sign of the influenza virus. Certainly, it could just be garden variety cramps; but if you’ve felt weak at all, or fatigued, the stomach pain may very well be flu.
Sudden Excessive Weakness, Or Fatigue
Have you ever had your energy just disappear, out of the blue, only to come down with the flu the next day? Well, by the time you start experiencing secondary symptoms, your body’s already been flighting off the flu for a while. When you felt tired, that was probably when things really pitched into high gear. If you suddenly get tired like that, again, immediately replenish yourself with vitamins, minerals, and food in requisite portions. Be sure to hydrate, and then rest.
Aches and Chills
These don’t often manifest until maturity. Children do get aches and chills with the flu, but these symptoms are much more acute in adulthood. If you’re not nauseous, you don’t have a tickle in the throat, you aren’t suddenly weak or fatigued, but you’re unconscionably cold in an otherwise warm environment, or your body has that bone-tingling ache for no good reason, that’s a pretty clear indication of influenza infection.
Random Cough
Why are you coughing if you don’t smoke, and you haven’t swallowed something incorrectly? Do you have a chronic cough? If not, then it may be an early sign of the flu. Again, take health and rest measures. Airborne has some great vitamins in it, but zinc, Vitamin C, and Vitamin D are also to be recommended. Chicken noodle soup, orange juice, big glasses of water, gatorade, rest, sleep–these can help it go away. Also, tea can be very soothing to the throat and body.
The Best Defense Is A Good Offense
How can you be offensively defensive when it comes to the flu? Exercise regularly, eat healthy, avoid processed foods, and if you’ve got any addictions moderate them as much as you can. Quitting is recommendable, but between coffee, chocolate, medicines of the psycho-active variety, alcohol, tobacco, soda-pop, synthetic sugars, artificial butter, “enriched” flower, and a bevy of other unhealthy foodstuffs and vice, completely refraining from addiction may not be possible. But whatever you can do to strengthen your body should be done beforehand. And when you’re in the highest physical form, and the peak of health, then it is time for a flu vaccine. This will have the most cumulative effect.