How to deal with a viral infection. Treatment of a viral infection

Human body at any age is capable of being exposed to various infectious diseases. The most common among them is either a viral infection. The disease is transmitted by airborne droplets, so any virus is easy to pick up and get infected. A person feels lethargic, his temperature rises. Without timely intervention, the virus can lead to complications, the disease can become chronic.

Causes of the disease

in spring and autumn period time, viruses spread twice as fast. Prolonged stay in rooms where there are many people is main reason infections. This can happen at work public transport, in supermarkets, shops, schools and kindergartens. The respiratory tract is the first to suffer, so if nasal congestion begins and appears, you should not hesitate to visit a doctor.

The causative agents of the disease are bacteria and viral infections. Antibiotics on initial stage infections are not usually applied, so microorganisms and bacteria are not killed immediately. It is for this reason that the treatment is delayed and difficult to medicate. Antibiotics are already prescribed if the pathology worsens and leads to other health problems.

The most common causative viruses are adenoviruses. Concerning bacterial infection, then it is caused by category A streptococci and pneumococci.

It is also easy to get infected if you do not follow the rules of hygiene, eat unwashed foods, do not wash your hands with soap after the street or the bathroom.

Symptoms of a viral infection

To distinguish the common cold from a viral infection, you need to pay attention to the characteristic signs.

Here are some typical symptoms characteristic for this state:

runny nose
inflammation of the larynx (sometimes there may be a discharge in the form of mucus)
the temperature rises, no more than 38 degrees
lethargy, weakness and soreness in the muscles
drowsiness
poor appetite

When the condition is neglected, the symptoms worsen. In this case, the signs are:

temperature above 38 degrees
nasal discharge acquires a mucous consistency, when blown out, purulent accumulations come out
inflammation of the tonsils, pus accumulates in the back of the larynx
wet cough
dyspnea
severe prolonged headaches
soreness in the abdomen

You should not wait for viruses to cause complications. The sooner treatment is started, the sooner recovery will come.

Varieties of viruses

There are different viral infections. Before Appointment medicines the doctor must make sure that the diagnosis is correct, because not all viruses are treated equally.

The next type is rhinovirus infection. Characteristic for this disease symptoms are: liquid discharge from the nasopharynx, sneezing, lacrimation. The bronchi, lungs and trachea will be clean. The maximum temperature is 37.4 degrees Celsius. At timely treatment visible improvements will come in 5 days.

The third type is adenovirus infection. This disease already has a more complex degree of development, pathogens affect not only respiratory system, and also extend to the entire lymphoid part. The disease is manifested by abundant mucous nasal secretions, may develop, tonsillitis and increase The lymph nodes. Severe cough and fever from fever can last up to twelve days. Intoxication, even at very high temperatures, will not be expressed. To prevent complications, it is important to take timely antiviral drugs.

The fourth type is respiratory syncytial infection. The infection often affects lower section respiratory tract. Concomitant diseases are, and if a child is infected, then bronchiolitis. In a neglected state, pneumonia can begin. Pneumonia can even be fatal.

Coronavirus infection - infection occurs upper organs breathing. This type of viral infection is more common in young children, adults in very rare cases.

Any type requires specialist advice and proper diagnosis.

Diagnostics

Diagnosis primarily includes the delivery of all tests:

finger blood test
blood test from a vein

You may be asked to take a sputum sample for examination. laboratory conditions or get a x-ray. This is carried out if the doctor detects intoxication and murmurs in the lungs.

Urine and blood will help to establish the antigen viruses that caused this ailment.

First aid rules

There are certain steps by which you can independently provide first aid in the fight against the virus.

First you need to sit at home, no trips to work. Visiting crowded places will bring complications, and there is also the possibility that you yourself will infect someone.

Bed rest. The more the patient sleeps and rests, the more the body will have the strength to produce antibodies and immunity against this infection.

Also get well soon promotes plentiful drink. Very good to drink not only clean water, but also Polyana Kvasova and Borjomi, where there is more alkali. Required amount liquids will quickly remove the harmful toxins that the viral infection has created. If the patient cannot drink a lot of plain water, you can drink rosehip broth, lemon tea and drink fruit drinks from various fruits and berries.

If severe intoxication occurs, the patient suffers from a high temperature, he is feverish and shivering, then ordinary raspberries will help in this case. Raspberries can be used to make tea. This folk remedy is useful and tasty at the same time, ideal for treating young children. You can prepare a drink from fresh, dried and frozen berries. You can use raspberry jam. Sugar should not be added, as it is still a medicine.

Treatment Methods

It is not difficult to treat viral infections, especially if you start treatment on time. Primarily used symptomatic therapy, this includes the reception:

IN modern world We are in for a lot of trouble. But the treatment of a viral infection with folk remedies at home can be done very easily. At home, you can stop the disease on initial stage when symptoms such as weakness, weakness, unmotivated irritability by medicinal methods are barely felt.

Therapy begins with the patient being put to bed. With a viral infection, sweet tea is regularly given. You can apply a heating pad to your feet at home. Before falling asleep to a patient suffering from a viral severe infection, you can rub your feet with crushed garlic (about 10 cloves). After that, you need to put on woolen socks. You can put dry mustard in them. It is necessary to ensure that the patient drinks enough during treatment. This helps to remove harmful toxins and metabolic products, which intensify with increasing temperature. The disease is gradually receding. Perfect for fruit and vegetable juices or morses. AND traditional tea with raspberries and lemon.

Treatment of a viral infection based on herbs

Mix two table. spoons of cognac with two of the same spoons of milk. Give this mixture to drink 30 minutes before meals, three times a day. Soon, in a patient with a severe viral infection, the symptoms disappear.

This folk and simple remedy is also different good taste. One tablespoon of cognac (vodka) is mixed with the same amount raspberry jam. Half a lemon (squeeze) is added to the infection composition and the resulting mixture is poured into a glass with hot water. The patient must drink this remedy, after two hours the procedure can be repeated. Viral disease will gradually recede.

Pass through a meat grinder 50 grams onion. Add 20 grams of vinegar, squeeze through gauze, add 60 grams of honey to the liquid and mix. Take a teaspoon every half hour for a viral infection. Alternative treatment can be combined with tablets only after agreement with the doctor!

To alleviate the condition of a patient with a viral disease with a sore throat and a runny nose, we take 400 g of beets, pass through a grater, drip the resulting juice into the nose. 2-3 drops, 2-3 times a day.

As an expectorant for home folk suitable for treatment honey with lemon and glycerin. Boil the lemon for 10 minutes. Squeezing its juice, we get an excellent method of treating a patient who has a viral infection. Add 2 tablespoons of glycerin to it, add honey to a full glass. Take one teaspoon at night at home. At strong cough- a teaspoon three times a day.

Also good for treatment is a mixture made on the basis of honey - 2 tsp. , to which 2 yolks of fresh eggs, a spoonful of flour and 100 g are added butter. Mix thoroughly and take from a viral and even rotovirus infection several times a day, 1 tsp.

Folk treatment with honey is very effective: compositions of aloe cut into pieces, mixed with cahors and honey, work well. For two weeks, let it brew, and then squeezed out the mixture, with a viral infection, give three times a day for 1 hour. l.

Another composition can also be used: 4 tablespoons of anise seeds must be mixed with honey and add a pinch of salt. Pour this mixture from a viral infection warm water and bring to a boil, leaving on low heat. We filter and take at home three times a day, treatment will go Very good.

Kalanchoe juice will effectively act with the onset of a runny nose, smearing the nasal mucosa.

Japanese kombucha - a proven remedy

Infusion kombucha has antiviral property, therefore, it helps well with influenza and other complicated viral infections.

Kombucha infusion with honey and pepper

Required for treatment: 100 ml of a 5-day infusion of kombucha, 1 teaspoon of honey, 0.5 teaspoon of ground red pepper. Cooking. Mix all ingredients and heat slightly. Take during viral therapy complex infection every 2-3 hours 1 tbsp. spoon.

Kombucha tincture

Required to create a composition at home: 2 parts of kombucha infusion, 8 parts of vodka. Cooking. Pour the infusion into a glass container and pour vodka. Leave for 10 days in a dark cool place. Strain the folk remedy, store the composition for therapy viral disease in a refrigerator. Take for the treatment of infection for 1 tbsp. spoon 1 time per day.

Home therapy with Indian sea rice and chaga

Sea rice drink has a strong antiviral effect, so it is good not only for treatment, but also as prophylactic from infection with acute respiratory infections and SARS.

Preventive infusion

Required: 100 ml of rice infusion. The use of folk remedies. Take from a viral infection 0.5 cup 2 times a day before meals. Treatment will be fast.

Infusion for treatment

Required: 150 ml of rice infusion. Application. Drink at folk treatment 0.5 cup 3 times a day 10 minutes before meals.

Decoction and infusion of chaga help to alleviate the course of viral flu and infection. They are widely used in alternative medicine as an antipyretic.

Oil Blend

Required: 2 drops of chaga oil, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of jojoba oil. Cooking. Mix oils. Application for viral flu and similar infections. Apply the mixture on the forehead, wings of the nose, behind the ears and on the chest. Apply 3 times a day.

Aloe juice and chaga oil

Required: aloe juice, 1 teaspoon of chaga oil. Drip 2 drops of juice into each nostril in the treatment of a viral infection that does not pass for a long time, lubricate the wings of the nose with chaga oil. Massage composition of the people With natural remedies 3 min.

Oil infusion of chaga

Requires: 3 drops of oil infusion birch fungus(mix 2.5 tablespoons olive oil from 1 st. spoon of chaga infusion), 100 ml of water. Preparation for treatment. Combine ingredients, mix. Gargle for a patient with a highly troubling viral infection. The tool softens muscle pain and helps to lower the temperature.

A mixture of infusions of echinacea and chaga

Required for the composition according to the folk recipe: 100 ml of infusion of purple echinacea herb (1 tablespoon of dry herb per 1 liter of water, pour boiling water, leave for 30 minutes, strain), 50 ml of birch fungus infusion. Combine ingredients, mix. Use for infection and viral disease. Take 1 tbsp. spoon 3 times a day 35 minutes before meals.

Tibetan milk mushroom

When infected with an infection transmitted by airborne droplets, kefir from fermented Tibetan mushroom milk can provide invaluable help, because with timely treatment, you can not only speed up recovery, but also avoid complications. To do this, at the first signs of the disease, it is recommended not only to choose folk proven remedies, but also to eat exclusively kefir and drink boiled or mineral water without gas (up to 2.5-3 liters per day). If the temperature rises during a complicated viral infection, one must overcome the desire to wrap oneself up and cover oneself only with a sheet. In this case, it is necessary to apply compresses from a mixture of water and serum (1: 1) on the forehead, wrists, ankles. This will be facilitated at home and microclysters from water and serum, taken in the same proportion and carried out every 2 hours.

As soon as the temperature drops to 37 C, a patient suffering from a viral infection can cover himself with a blanket. Treatment in a hospital or at home is accompanied by a plentiful drink.

Tonic

Required: 100 ml of "mushroom" kefir. Cooking. Kefir slightly warm. Application. Take 0.5 cup 2 times a day.

At home, the treatment of a viral infection with the help of folk remedies should not lead to illness in the caregiver. wear gauze bandage, wash your nose weak solution iodine (2 drops per cup of slightly salty water), eat more vitamins.

Acute respiratory viral infections are the most common childhood diseases. In some babies, they are fixed up to 8-10 times a year. It is precisely because of its prevalence that ARVI has become overgrown with a mass of prejudices and erroneous opinions. Some parents immediately run to the pharmacy for antibiotics, others believe in the power of homeopathic remedies. antiviral drugs. Authoritative pediatrician Yevgeny Komarovsky talks about respiratory viral infections and how to act correctly if a child gets sick.

About the disease

ARVI is not one specific disease, but a whole group of similar general symptoms ailments in which the airways become inflamed. In all cases, viruses are “guilty” of this, which enter the child’s body through the nose, nasopharynx, less often through the mucous membrane of the eyes. Most often, Russian children "catch" adenovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, rhinovirus, parainfluenza, reovirus. In total, there are about 300 agents that cause SARS.

A viral infection is usually catarrhal in nature, but the most dangerous is not even the infection itself, but its secondary bacterial complications.

Very rarely, ARVI is registered in children in the first months of their life. For this special “thank you” should be said to the innate maternal immunity, which protects the baby for the first six months from the moment of birth.

Most often, the disease affects children of toddler, kindergarten age and goes into decline towards the end. elementary school. It is by the age of 8-9 that a child develops a sufficiently strong immune defense from common viruses.

This does not mean at all that the child stops getting ARVI, but viral diseases it will happen much less frequently, and their course will become softer and easier. The fact is that the child’s immunity is immature, but as he encounters viruses, over time he “learns” to recognize them and develop antibodies to foreign agents.

To date, doctors have reliably established that 99% of all diseases, which are popularly referred to as one capacious word "cold", are of viral origin. SARS are transmitted by airborne droplets, less often through saliva, toys, common household items with the sick person.

Symptoms

On early dates development of infection, a virus that entered the body through the nasopharynx causes inflammation of the nasal passages, larynx, a dry cough, perspiration, and a runny nose appear. The temperature does not rise immediately, but only after the virus enters the bloodstream. This stage is characterized by chills, heat, a feeling of ache all over the body, especially in the limbs.

High temperature helps the immune system to give a "response" and throw specific antibodies to fight the virus. They help to cleanse the blood of a foreign agent, the temperature drops.

At the final stage of the ARVI disease, the affected airways are cleared, the cough becomes wet, and cells of the epithelium affected by the viral agent leave with sputum. It is at this stage that a secondary bacterial infection can begin, since the affected mucous membranes against the background of reduced immunity create a very favorable conditions for the existence and reproduction of pathogenic bacteria and fungi. It can cause rhinitis, sinusitis, tracheitis, otitis, tonsillitis, pneumonia, meningitis.

To reduce risks possible complications, you need to know exactly what pathogen the disease is associated with, and also be able to distinguish influenza from SARS.

There is a special table of differences that will help parents at least roughly understand which agent they are dealing with.

Manifestations of the disease	Influenza virus (strains A and B)	parainfluenza virus	Adenovirus	respiratory syncytial virus
Start (first 36 hours)	Sharp, sharp and heavy	Acute	Gradual with transition to acute	Acute
Body temperature	39.0-40.0 and up	36,6 - 37,5	38,0-39,0	37,0-38,0
Fever duration	3-6 days	2-4 days	Up to 10 days with alternating decrease and increase in heat	3-7 days
Intoxication	strongly pronounced	Absent	Gradually increases, but generally quite moderate	Weak or absent altogether
Cough	Unproductive dry, accompanied by pain in the sternum	Dry, "barking" dry, hoarseness, hoarseness	Wet cough, the intensity of which increases gradually	Unproductive dry, breathing difficult
The lymph nodes	Increase with flu complications	Slightly enlarged	Markedly enlarged, especially cervical and submandibular	Virtually no increase
Airway condition	Runny nose, laryngitis	Severe rhinitis, difficulty breathing	Inflammation of the mucous membrane of the eyes, pharyngitis, severe runny nose	Bronchitis
Possible Complications	Hemorrhagic pneumonia, hemorrhage in internal organs, myocarditis, damage to the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system.	Choking due to croup development	Lymphadenitis	Bronchitis, bronchopneumonia, pneumonia, development of bronchial asthma

Distinguish viral infection from bacterial at home is quite difficult, so laboratory diagnostics will come to the aid of parents.

If in doubt, a blood test should be taken. In 90% of cases, a viral infection is observed in children. Bacterial infections are very difficult and usually require treatment in a hospital. Fortunately, they happen quite rarely.

Traditional treatment, which the pediatrician prescribes to the child, is based on the use of antiviral drugs. It is also provided symptomatic treatment: for a runny nose - drops in the nose, for sore throat - gargles and spray, for coughing - expectorants.

About SARS

Some children get SARS more often, others less often. However, everyone without exception suffers from such diseases, since there is no universal protection against viral infections transmitted and developing by the respiratory type. In winter, children get sick more often, because at this time of the year the viruses are most active. In the summer, such diagnoses are also made. The frequency of diseases depends on the state of the immune system of each individual child.

It is a mistake to call SARS a cold, says Yevgeny Komarovsky. A cold is a hypothermia of the body. You can “catch” SARS without hypothermia, although it certainly increases the chances of contracting viruses.

After contact with a sick person and penetration of the virus, it may take several days before the first symptoms appear. Usually the incubation period of SARS is 2-4 days. A sick child is contagious to others for 2-4 days from the moment the first signs of the disease appear.

Treatment according to Komarovsky

When asked how to treat SARS, Evgeny Komarovsky answers unequivocally: "Nothing!"

The child’s body is able to cope with the virus on its own in 3-5 days, during which time the baby’s immunity will be able to “learn” to fight the pathogen and develop antibodies to it, which will come in handy more than once when the child encounters this pathogen again.

The same goes for homeopathic medicines("Anaferon", "Oscillococcinum" and others). These pills are "dummy," the doctor says, and pediatricians prescribe them not so much for treatment as for moral comfort. The doctor has prescribed (even if it is a deliberately useless drug), he is calm (after all, homeopathic remedies absolutely harmless), the parents are happy (they are treating the child), the baby drinks pills consisting of water and glucose, and calmly recovers only with the help of his own immunity.

The most dangerous situation is when parents rush to give antibiotics to a child with SARS. Evgeny Komarovsky emphasizes that this is a real crime against the health of the baby:

Antibiotics against viruses are completely powerless, since they are designed to fight bacteria;
They do not reduce the risk of developing bacterial complications, as some people think, but increase it.

Folk remedies for the treatment of SARS Komarovsky considers completely useless. Onions and garlic, as well as honey and raspberries, are useful on their own, but in no way affect the ability of the virus to replicate.

Treatment of a child with acute respiratory viral infections should be based, according to Evgeny Olegovich, on the creation of the "right" conditions and microclimate. Maximum fresh air, walks, frequent wet cleaning in the house where the child lives.

It is a mistake to wrap up the baby and close all the windows in the house. The air temperature in the apartment should not be higher than 18-20 degrees, and the air humidity should be at the level of 50-70%.

This factor is very important in order to prevent the mucous membranes of the respiratory organs from drying out in conditions of too dry air (especially if the baby has a runny nose and breathes through his mouth). The creation of such conditions helps the body to cope with the infection faster, and this is what Yevgeny Komarovsky considers the most right approach to therapy.

With a very severe course of a viral infection, it is possible to prescribe the only Tamiflu drug that acts on viruses. It is expensive and not everyone needs it, since such a drug has a mass side effects. Komarovsky warns parents against self-medication.

In most cases, it is not necessary to bring down the temperature, because it performs an important mission - it contributes to the production of natural interferons, which help fight viruses. Exception - children infancy up to a year. If the baby is 1 year old, and his fever is above 38.5, which has not subsided for about 3 days, this is a good reason to give an antipyretic. Komarovsky advises using Paracetamol or Ibuprofen for this.

Dangerous and severe intoxication. With vomiting and diarrheathat may accompany fever, you need to drink plenty of water for the child, give sorbents and electrolytes. They will help restore the water-salt balance and prevent dehydration, which is extremely dangerous for children in the first year of life.

Vasoconstrictor drops in the nose with a runny nose should be used as carefully as possible. For more than three days, young children should not drip them, because these drugs cause a strong drug addiction. For cough, Komarovsky advises not to give antitussives. They suppress the reflex by acting on the cough center in the child's brain. Coughing with SARS is necessary and important, since it is in this way that the body gets rid of accumulated sputum (bronchial secretions). The stagnation of this secret can be the beginning of a strong inflammatory process.

Without a doctor's prescription, no cough medicines, including folk recipes with a respiratory viral infection, it is not necessary. If the mother really wants to give the child at least something, let it be mucolytic agents that help thin and remove sputum.

Komarovsky does not advise getting involved in medicines with ARVI, since he has long noticed a pattern: what more pills and syrups the child will drink at the very beginning of a respiratory viral infection, more drugs then you have to buy to treat complications.

Moms and dads should not be tormented by conscience for not treating the baby in any way. Grandmothers and girlfriends can appeal to conscience, reproach parents. They should be relentless. There is only one argument: ARVI does not need to be treated. Reasonable parents, if a child is sick, do not run to the pharmacy for a bunch of pills, but wash the floors and cook dried fruit compote for their beloved child.

How to treat SARS in children, Dr. Komarovsky will tell in the video below.

Do I need to call a doctor?

Yevgeny Komarovsky advises to call a doctor for any signs of SARS. Situations are different, and sometimes there is no such possibility (or desire). Parents should learn possible situations in which self-medication is deadly. A child needs medical attention if:

Improvements in the condition are not observed on the fourth day after the onset of the disease.
The temperature is increased on the seventh day after the onset of the disease.
After the improvement, there was a noticeable deterioration in the condition of the baby.
Appeared pain, purulent discharge(from nose, ear), pathological pallor skin, excessive sweating and shortness of breath.
If the cough remains unproductive and its attacks become more frequent and stronger.
Antipyretic drugs have a short effect or do not work at all.

urgent health care is required if the child has convulsions, convulsions, if he loses consciousness, he has respiratory failure(inhalation is very difficult, wheezing is observed on exhalation), if there is no runny nose, the nose is dry, and against this background, the throat hurts a lot (this may be one of the signs of a developing sore throat). An ambulance should be called if the child vomits against the background of a temperature, a rash appears, or the neck is noticeably swollen.

As soon as the street is slushy, damp, chilly wind - get ready for seasonal diseases in the form of acute respiratory infections, SARS, influenza. What are these diseases and how do they differ?

ORZ- an acute respiratory disease caused by viruses, bacteria and other infectious representatives.

SARS- an acute respiratory viral infection, the causative agent of which is viruses and only viruses, such as: rhinoviruses, adenoviruses, reoviruses, as well as influenza and parainfluenza viruses.

For seasonal diseases such as SARS, you must always be prepared.

It all starts with what you feel:

malaise
discomfort in the body and aching joints
stuffy nose
sore throat and discomfort when swallowing

If you do nothing after these manifestations, then colors will be added to this picture in the form:

temperature
runny nose, at first in the form of a clear incessant discharge, turning into a viscous thick mucus
cough
sore throat

How to cure SARS?

If your plans did not include at least a week's absence from work and other important places, then the first thing you need to do is stay at home. At home, take the following steps quickly:

bed rest
plenty of warm drink
cool room temperature

Such measures for early stages in the treatment of SARS will stop the onset of more severe symptoms and will help you get back on your feet in a day or two. These rules apply to both adults and children.

For the treatment of SARS, you need to drink plenty of fluids and bed rest.

If the temperature has already risen above 38 ° C, is it possible to quickly defeat SARS and bring yourself into normal condition? It is definitely difficult to answer. This is where your the initial state: strong immunity, you lead healthy lifestyle life, eat well, are not in a state of stress - in this case, the body will not be difficult to overcome the infection.

There are times when "well, you really need not get sick." If on the first day you take Flukold (4 tablets) or any of the antipyretic teas and provided good immunity, then perhaps everything will stop at the initial stage.

If for some reason the time was lost and you could not take the above measures, then most likely it will not be possible to cure SARS in 1 day.

Of course, it's better not to get sick, but preventive action more pleasant and less expensive, but, since it happened, you need to take measures to quickly cure SARS at home.

cold drinks

When you take them, remember two simple rules:

Drinking should be plentiful, in small portions, but on the first day a lot, this will promote sweating, which means that toxins will be removed with sweat
The liquid should not be hot, not cold, but warm, why? Because in order for it to be rapidly absorbed, the temperature of the liquid must be the same as the temperature in the intestines. If the drink is hot, then the absorption process will occur only after the liquid has cooled down, and if it is cold, then you will need to wait for it to warm up

The body will spend its energy and strength on the process of regulation, and not on fighting the infection. In addition, time will be spent on this, which will not contribute to fast treatment SARS.

If a viral infection small child up to a year, then the best option for the baby there will be “raisin water”. It is easy to prepare: a spoonful of washed raisins is poured with a glass of boiling water, cover, leave for 30 minutes and give to drink, pouring into a bottle
For older children, a regular dried fruit compote is suitable.
Suggest for adults Herb tea with lemon and honey
Chamomile tea will work as a mild anti-inflammatory
Ginger tea, rosehip decoction and echinacea tea will help strengthen the immune system
Spices (black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, turmeric) can be added to tea with raspberries, linden, mint to enhance the diaphoretic effect
And of course cranberry juice- a storehouse of vitamins and minerals

Ginger tea strengthens the immune system

It is better if the drinks are without additional sugar, warm and freshly prepared. If the child is naughty and does not drink the drink you suggested, offer another, eventually water. Let him drink whatever he wants. It's better than not drinking at all.

Cough with SARS

Viral infection enters the human body different ways. One of them is the respiratory tract. Penetrating into them, the virus causes a cough, in fact, this is one of the main symptoms of the disease. Getting on the mucous membrane, viruses destroy epithelial cells and actively breed their own kind. Going down the trachea and bronchi, they irritate the receptors that are there. The cough reflex is triggered, which is an assistant to the body during illness, as it allows you to remove the accumulated sputum.

How to cure a cough and cold on your own with folk remedies

Of course, the doctor prescribes medicines, and an experienced doctor will definitely prescribe you and folk remedies for help in speedy recovery from SARS. When treating a cough, what is the goal? It is necessary to remove sputum and clear the airways. To do this, you need to turn a dry cough into a wet one. You can choose one of the options, unless your doctor prescribes something specific:

Helps well breast collection. There are 4 types of them and each of them helps to quickly recover from a cough, and therefore, in general, from a viral infection. They have antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory and expectorant effects. Which one is right for you - the doctor will prescribe. The composition and instructions for preparation are usually indicated on the pharmacy packaging.
Cocoa butter is very helpful in treating cough. It will appeal to both kids and adults, because it has pleasant taste and smell. The oil very well softens the inflamed, cough-scarred throat, and facilitates the removal of sputum, leaving respiratory tract thin fatty film. It has a healing, regenerating property. If the cough is dry, you can dissolve small, pea-sized pieces of oil up to 6 times a day. You can add it to warm milk or tea, wait until it dissolves - and drink.
The following recipe is also known from grandmothers: a lid is cut off from a black radish, a small depression is cut out in the radish itself, which is filled with honey, covered with a lid and left overnight. In the morning there will be juice with honey in the depression. You need to take it in a tablespoon before meals and in the evening before going to bed, not forgetting to report honey to the recess.
Frayed viburnum promotes easy coughing. Many do not like it because of the smell, but you can stir it in warm boiled water and add lemon. If you want to quickly cure SARS, then you can put up with the smell. Take with caution, as viburnum lowers blood pressure.
If you mix 3 tablespoons of aloe juice, 100 g of unsalted butter or cocoa butter, 100 g of honey, then you need to take the mixture by adding it in a tablespoon to warm milk 2 times a day. Not recommended for pregnant women.

Cough medicines

Treatment of the respiratory system should be carried out comprehensively and take into account all key points illness. Since the cause of the disease is a virus, in addition to antiviral drugs, pathogenetic therapy means are used that contribute to the restoration of bronchial patency. These are primarily mucolytic drugs, which not only thin the sputum, contributing to its excretion, but also regulate its amount.

Mucolytic drugs can help with coughing

Mucolytics do their job very well if the patient - Small child with an underdeveloped cough reflex, old man or bedridden patient. The accumulated sputum can cause a lot of trouble. But since the cough is still defensive reaction organism, then the goal of treatment is not to get rid of the cough, but to alleviate the condition. All medicines are prescribed only by a doctor.

Temperature

One of the hallmarks of a viral infection is fever body. In both children and adults, it signals that the body is taking action to fight a cold. High temperatures stimulate the body to produce its own interferon, a special type of protein that can neutralize viruses. Its maximum amount is reached on the 2nd-3rd day of illness, and it is thanks to this that most acute respiratory viral infections end on the 3rd day.

If you bring down the temperature below 38-38.5 ° C, then this may help your body not fight the disease itself, it will not use its immune system and fighting to become stronger. By lowering the temperature, you allow the infection to spread. The body will weaken, conditions will be created for the development of complications.

If the disease was mild, and on the third day of a cold, the temperature rose, this may indicate that a complication is developing (pneumonia, tracheitis, otitis media, bronchitis, sinusitis, etc.).

What is the right thing to do in this case and help yourself recover from ARVI and from its companion - high temperature?

First, as mentioned above, drinking plenty of warm water will encourage sweating. Sweat, evaporating, cools the body and saves it from overheating. Secondly, the air in the room should be cool (16-18 ° C). If these two basic conditions are not observed, then all other steps will be ineffective and the risk of adverse reactions will increase.

What is the danger of high fever in children

Here it is worth paying more attention to the moment when the child has a high temperature. Up to the limit marks (38-38, 5 ° C), you do not try to knock it down, but only observe the reaction of the baby. If the temperature rises above 38.5 ° C and lasts for more than two hours, there may be a danger of blood clotting, the water-salt balance will be disturbed and the body's energy reserves will run out. At the same time, the load on the heart and blood vessels will increase and the regulation process in the structures of the brain may be disrupted. All these negative phenomena may contribute to febrile seizures.

Febrile seizures can occur due to a high temperature in a child

Children with a predisposition to them have birth pathologies if the central nervous system. Every mother should know these nuances and be warned how to act in such cases.

What to do if a child has seizures:

Do not panic and fall into hysterics. Make sure that the child's face is open and nothing interferes with breathing (pillow, blanket)
Do not open your mouth with a spoon or other object, this is not the case.
As soon as the attack has stopped, give the baby an antipyretic, give him a drink and call an ambulance
If he's asleep, don't wrap him up

You will have to undergo an examination: make an electroencephalogram and ultrasound, as convulsions may indicate impaired brain function.

Runny nose with SARS

Another symptom of a cold is a runny nose. Probably there is no such person who would not experience all the delights of a stuffy nose, heaviness in the head, lack of air.

When illness strikes, we become vulnerable and defenseless. Don't worry, there are a few simple recommendations and rules that can alleviate this condition:

Make sure that the mucous does not dry out, constantly moisturize it. To do this, use saline solutions. You can buy them at a pharmacy, or you can cook it yourself, it's not difficult at all: in 1 liter of cooled boiled water dilute 1 teaspoon of regular table salt. The resulting solution should be washed and irrigated nose regularly, preventing drying.
It is necessary to blow your nose correctly, not to overdo it: in turn, each nostril separately with an open mouth.
Use vasoconstrictors in the form of drops and aerosols with caution, as they are addictive and provoke vasospasm.

A runny nose is one of the symptoms of a cold.

Don't take a cold lightly. This ailment can cause a lot of trouble if you do not take the necessary steps to treat SARS and carry the disease on your feet. It is also worth noting that all procedures in the form of inhalations, applying mustard plasters and compresses can be performed only in the absence of temperature, otherwise you can only do harm.

Respiratory viral diseases (ARVI, Influenza, Rhinovirus infection, Parainfluenza, Adenovirus, Reovirus, respiratory syncytial virus infection) belong to the group infectious diseases transmitted by airborne droplets.

Viral infections are caused by viruses. They have a very simple composition: nucleic acid, protein, and a few substances such as fats and sugars. Viruses reproduce thanks to the cell into which they are introduced. They seem to change the cell development program, customizing it to fit their needs. In fact, contracting a virus infection is like taking over a ship by pirates and changing its course.

Respiratory viral infections are usually seasonal, as viruses survive best with moderate exposure. low temperatures and high humidity. Although there are a number of respiratory viral infections that can be contracted at any time and in any weather conditions(herpes virus, adenovirus).

Usually seasonal respiratory diseases people are exposed as a result of hypothermia, stress, physical overload, chronic dysbacteriosis and other factors that reduce and weaken the immune system, which cannot properly reflect the attack of viruses.

Before you start viral infection treatment, it is necessary to deal with differential diagnosis viral infections, that is, to understand how they differ from bacterial infections. Viruses are inherently very different from bacteria. Therefore, the methods of influencing viruses and bacteria are different. If antibacterial drugs (antibiotics, bacteriophages) are suitable for the treatment of a bacterial infection, then antiviral drugs have not been developed for all types of viral infections (there are such drugs for the treatment of herpes, AIDS, viral hepatitis).

How to distinguish a viral infection?

The gradual development of the disease is distinctive feature viral infections (as, indeed, all infectious diseases), that is, there are four stages - four periods of development and course of a viral disease:

The incubation period is the time when the virus enters the body, but has not yet made itself felt, since it did not have time to multiply to a shock amount. For a person, this stage of the disease proceeds imperceptibly, without symptoms. For respiratory viral diseases, it can last from 1 to 5 days. The duration of the incubation period depends on the virulence (degree of toxicity) of the virus, and since there are about 300 varieties of respiratory viruses (they all fit into groups: ARVI viruses, Influenza viruses, Parainfluenza viruses, Reoviruses, Adenoviruses, Rhinoviruses), then incubation periods may vary in duration.

The prodromal period (translated from Greek as “harbinger”) is the stage in the development of the disease, when non-specific (atypical for a particular disease) signs of a violation are outlined. general condition organism ( general weakness or brokenness; bad dream or, conversely, excitement; headache, neuralgic pains). According to the symptoms of this period in the development of a viral disease, it can be judged that a person has a disease, but which one is not yet clear.

The peak of the disease is the stage at which the disease "gains strength". During this period, symptoms characteristic of certain diseases, which makes it possible to clarify the diagnosis.

The symptoms of a viral illness are:

Runny nose (sneezing)
Sore throat
Edema of the mucous membranes of the oral cavity and nasopharynx
Subfebrile temperature (37 - 37.5 C o)

Minor violations of the general condition of the body (the flu is different from other respiratory diseases a sharp violation general condition and high temperature)

Such an indicator as an increase in temperature indicates that the immune system has already begun to counteract virus attack, since, as mentioned above, viruses do not like high temperatures. It follows that the temperature below 39.5 C o should not be brought down, since this is one of the body's immune responses to the introduction of a viral infection.

Neuralgic pains different nature caused by neurotropic the action of a virus (for example, toothache(sometimes they hurt a little nearby standing teeth at the same time), headache, pain in the limbs).

Why we are talking O neurotropic action? Because there are strains of viruses that can move around nerve trunks CNS and damage neurons. Such viruses are called neurotropic viruses and they are not accessible to leukocytes and macrophages, acting only within the system. blood vessels(in other words, they are beyond the reach of the immune system).

Fever
Crushing pains in muscles and joints

Recovery is a stage in the course of the disease, when the signs of the disease decrease and gradually disappear. The duration of this period depends on the severity of the course of the disease, the quality of treatment, concomitant diseases and associated infection. During this period, it is necessary to distinguish residual effects diseases and complications that arose during the course of the disease and / or due to an associated infection. Often, the addition of a bacterial infection to a viral one complicates the treatment of viral diseases and prolongs the recovery period. For example, a sore throat that occurs at the time of a viral infection can turn into a cough, which in turn is a sign of bronchitis or pneumonia, and these are already complications, and they are treated differently (if necessary, with antibacterial agents).

One of the main evidence signs of a viral infection is a blood test that tells the doctor about the presence of an increased number of leukocytes (monocytes and lymphocytes) in the blood. Lymphocytes and monocytes are an indicator of the immune response to a viral infection. Monocytes will subsequently turn into macrophages. With a viral infection, the number of lymphocytes is greater than monocytes (macrophages). With a bacterial infection, there are more monocytes than lymphocytes. So the immune system selects the tools to influence the appropriate microorganism (virus or bacterium).

What can help the immune system in the fight against a viral infection?

Recognition of the beginning and end of each of the periods of the flow viral disease necessary for correct distribution therapeutic actions- the use of drugs.

There are two groups of drugs that can counteract a viral infection:

Immunostimulants - make the immune system produce white blood cells (as if they “shake up” the immune system and stimulate the production of interferon).

Immunocorrectors- they themselves contain human leukocyte or recombinant interferon and add it to the already existing amount of interferon produced by a sick person.

Immunostimulants are better and more effective to use in the prodromal period, and immunocorrectors - at the height of the disease.