A TOP GP has revealed how to spot the differences between a cold and flu – explaining that one will leave you feeling like you have been “hit by a bus”.
Thousands of people have battled a viral illness over the past few weeks with cases of flu rocketing across the country.
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Dr Sumi Dunne, our 40 Day Health Challenge coach, says the flu jab is the “number one” way to fight the viral illness.
The lecturer also suggests going back to basics with hand hygiene and nutritious food can help build your defence system.
Here, Dr Sumi reveals steps people can take at home if they find themselves under the weather.
IT’S that time of year, it’s respiratory illness time and a lot of people are going to pick up these things.
Colds are going around, flus are going around, Covid is going around and pneumonia is also present. So you need to keep yourself as well as possible.
Anyone who is eligible for the flu vaccine should have it — that is the number one primary defence mechanism.
Vaccines work. We’ve got intramuscular injections, and a nasal flu vaccine for kids.
In addition, it’s about good hand hygiene — making sure you’re washing your hands and disposing of your tissues well.
But there’s also an element of eating well and getting up and moving.
So eating nutrient-dense and whole foods, and making sure you get some fresh air every day.
That builds your defence system in a very natural manner. You can’t actually stop getting these cold and flu viruses — if it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. It’s about keeping yourself well.
We always get concerned about our more vulnerable community members, particularly those who are immunocompromised, the elderly, children with underlying health conditions and anyone with a medical condition.
So we do need to keep people as well as possible.
The difficulty is that with all the illnesses, the symptoms start pretty much the same — a bit of a runny nose, a cough.
But where things start to differentiate is if you get a nasty high temperature, feel really unwell and you’re whacked — this is flu.
People with the flu literally cannot get out of bed and they’re absolutely wiped out.
If you ask them, ‘Do you feel like you’ve been hit by a bus?’, they’ll say, ‘Actually, that’s exactly what I feel like because I can’t do anything’.
HOW TO WATCH THE EPISODES
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WATCH this week’s episodes, where the challengers look back at week one by heading to 40dayhealthchallenge.ie.
Each week, the latest episodes will be released at lunchtime on Tuesday.
Readers can follow all the action and get the latest updates, meal plans, exercises and mental health tips from Thesun.ie and Ireland’s Classic Hits Radio during the 40 days.
- FOR more see 40dayhealthchallenge.ie.
People with a bad cold will often say, ‘I think it’s the flu’, but yet they are able to soldier on. If you can carry on, it’s not full-blown flu.
Things can develop and get worse, even with a common cold. You can get an upper respiratory tract infection and the flu.
It’s important to see your doctor sooner rather than later if your condition worsens.
In some cases, it can develop further into a lower respiratory tract infection, or pneumonia, and again we need to be aware.
If you feel your symptoms aren’t resolving, you’re short of breath, you have chest pain or your temperature is not getting better, you need to see your GP quickly.
Again, we need to be particularly vigilant when it comes to the medically vulnerable.
When it’s viral — colds and flu — there’s very little we can do except what we call ‘supportive measures’.
These are getting the temperature down, making sure you’ve got lots of fluids on board so you’re hydrated, and eating little and often. Keeping yourself well at home and resting is really important.
Don’t push yourself and do mad things if you are unwell.
People come in and say, ‘I can’t get rid of the cough and I can’t sleep at night’.
Unfortunately, it’s just one of those things — having a warm drink by the bed will help.
Actually, sipping ice cold water through a straw can help suppress the cough reflex. Propping yourself up with pillows can help, too.
PESTO SALMON & VEG
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Serves 2 (each serving contains approximately 528 kcal)
Suitable for vegetarians if an alternative to salmon is used.
Ingredients:
2 salmon fillets (120g each)*
2 tbsp red pesto (40g)
300g baby potatoes
2 carrots (300g)
160g frozen peas
*Suitable vegetarian alternatives for salmon are:
340g tofu
525g mycoprotein such as Quorn vegan pieces
425g chickpeas, drained and rinsed
The method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas mark 4. Arrange the salmon fillets in an ovenproof dish and spread the pesto on top.
Cover with tin foil and bake for 10-12 minutes until cooked through and tender.
Meanwhile, cut the baby potatoes in half and put them in a saucepan of boiling water, then cook for 8-10 minutes until tender.
Peel and thinly slice the carrots, then put into another saucepan and just cover with water.
Bring to the boil, then simmer for 1-2 minutes. Add the peas and cook for another 1-2 minutes until all the vegetables are tender.
Drain the baby potatoes and cooked vegetables and arrange on plates with the pesto salmon to serve.
Dietitian Sophie Pratt said: “Pesto provides a source of healthy fats necessary for brain and heart health, it also tastes great.”