Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine is a Toronto naturopathic clinic dedicated to providing safe and effective treatment of a wide variety of health conditions using natural therapies and the principles of naturopathic medicine.
Influenza (flu) is effectively prevented, and treated, using naturopathic medicine. Influenza is a viral infection that affects respiratory system, including your nose, throat, bronchial tubes and lungs. There are three types (strains) of the virus: Influenza A, B and C.
The influenza virus is transmitted through the air in droplets by coughing, sneezing or talking. You can inhale these drops directly or indirectly by touching a contaminated object (e.g., doorknob, telephone) and touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Generally, healthy persons rarely require hospital care for an influenza (flu) infection, but for those with weakened immune systems, influenza (flu) can be fatal.
Other complications of influenza infection include ear infections, acute sinusitis, bronchitis, pneumonia (inflammation of the lung) and encephalitis (inflammation of the brain).
Professional healthcare should be sought out you are at risk of developing complications of influenza (flu) infection (i.e., have a weakened immune system – suffer from frequent infections).
Seek emergency medical care if you have symptoms of pneumonia, including:
• High fever
• Severe cough that brings up phlegm
• Sharp pain on breathing deeply
Symptoms of influenza (flu)
Influenza (flu) symptoms are similar to those of the common cold, but appear suddenly and are more severe. Possible symptoms of influenza (flu) include:
• Fever higher than 38 °C (101 °F) (as high as 40.5 °C [105 °F] in children)
• Dry cough
• Nasal congestion
• Sweating and chill
• Headache
• Muscle ache
• Fatigue and weakness
• Loss of appetite
• Diarrhea and vomiting (in children)
Treatment of influenza (flu) at Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine
At Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine, the goals of influenza (flu) treatment are to reduce symptom severity and duration and prevent recurrence.
Conventional treatment for influenza (flu) includes vaccination, antiviral medications (e.g., Tamiflu®) and antibiotic medications if complications occur. These medications can cause side effects. For this reason, you may choose to try natural treatment to possibly avoid use of conventional medications, or together with conventional medications in order to decrease dosages of conventional medications required to manage your influenza (flu) symptoms.
Naturopathic treatment of any chronic health concern must be recognized as a process that involves identifying specific treatment goals, a thorough understanding by your naturopathic doctor of all factors affecting your health, including physical, psychological, emotional and lifestyle factors, development of a comprehensive treatment plan and execution of that plan through periodic monitoring and adjustment.
At Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine, a typical approach to treating influenza (flu) may be to first manage symptoms and shorten duration of the existing influenza (flu) infection using botanical (herbal) or homeopathic medicines, identify and address underlying factors in your lifestyle (e.g., poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, poor stress management) or general health (e.g., diabetes mellitus, human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] infection, pregnancy) that may contribute to your susceptibility to infection and strengthen your immune system to prevent future infection.
Where appropriate, a number of therapeutic options are available, to be used alone, or more often in a complementary fashion, including:
• Nutritional supplements
• Botanical (herbal) medicines
• Homeopathic medicines
• Hydrotherapy
• Diet therapy
• Lifestyle counseling
• Acupuncture
• Relaxation techniques
• Exercise prescription
• Cleansing protocols
• Homotoxicological medicines
References
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Influenza [Online]. [cited 2010 Jan 15]; Available from: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/influenza/DS00081.