You should not self-diagnose: what you take for a common cold may be the beginning of a serious illness.
Photo: Svetlana MAKOVEEVA. Go to Photobank KP
ATTENTION TO THE SYMPTOMS
“Sometimes even we, doctors, find it difficult to understand the symptoms,” says the head of the Department of Infectious Diseases, Public Health and Public Health, Dr. IATE NRNU MEPhI. Vladimir Alexandrovich Petrov. “But there are some key points we need to pay attention to.” Imagine your body is a fortress and illness is an uninvited guest. When he has a cold, this guest knocks on the door politely and slowly. At first, you may feel a slight pain in your throat, as if someone was tickling you with a feather. Then a runny nose appears: your nose becomes like a water faucet with a faulty valve. The temperature during a cold usually behaves modestly and rarely exceeds 38 °C.
But the flu and Covid are true invaders that are taking the fortress by storm. You can go to bed perfectly healthy and wake up feeling like you’ve been hit by a truck. High fever, pains all over the body, such weakness that even going to the bathroom seems like a feat – these are the calling cards of these insidious viruses. With the flu, a dry, hacking cough usually appears, in which the lungs seem to be about to burst, and a headache, as if someone were hitting a hammer from the inside of the skull.
Covid can present a special “surprise”: a sudden loss of taste and smell. Imagine that your favorite borscht has suddenly become tasteless, like water, and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee no longer tickles your nose. This can be a very worrying sign.
But I want to warn you: you should not self-diagnose. Symptoms can be deceiving and what you think is a common cold may be the beginning of a serious illness.
PROCEDURE FOR ARVI
“When you realize that you have an acute respiratory viral infection, the first and most important rule is to give the body a break,” explains the expert.
Step number one: stay home. Yes, yes, I know, you have a lot to do, work, meetings, but believe me, all this can wait. Your health is more important. Put everything aside and allow yourself to lie down in bed. This is not laziness, it is taking care of yourself and others. After all, if you go to work sick, you risk infecting your colleagues and then your entire office life will turn into epidemic madness.
Step number two: drink, drink and drink again! No, I’m not talking about alcohol, God forbid. I mean healthy liquids. Imagine that your body is a big washing machine that is now trying to eliminate all toxins and harmful substances. To help her in this difficult task, it is necessary to provide her with a sufficient amount of water. Drink warm tea with lemon – vitamin C will not harm you, and a hot drink will warm your throat. Fruit drinks, compotes, plain water – all these are your allies in the fight against the disease.
The third important step is to ventilate the room. Do this every two hours for 10 to 15 minutes. Fresh air is the enemy of viruses and bacteria. Of course, you don’t want to have arctic conditions in the room, but a light cool breeze will do you good.
If the temperature exceeds 38.5 °C, take an antipyretic. But you should not lower the temperature if it is below this mark; This is how the body fights infections. However, if you have a chronic illness or do not tolerate fever well, talk to your doctor about a lower threshold for taking medication.
And finally, most importantly: be sure to call a doctor or make an appointment. Only a specialist will be able to correctly assess your condition and prescribe the necessary treatment. Resist the temptation to self-medicate or blindly follow Internet advice. Each organism is unique and what helped your neighbor can hurt you.
WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT DO
-How many times have I seen how people, having gotten sick, start doing things that make my hair stand on end! – continues Vladimir Alexandrovich. – Let me tell you what you absolutely should not do when you get ARVI, although many of us, unfortunately, are guilty of this.
First of all, don’t even think about being a hero and running to work! I know, I know, you are irreplaceable, without you the office will fall apart and the project will fail. But believe me, nothing will fall apart in a couple of days of your absence. But your health can seriously deteriorate if you don’t give your body a rest. Furthermore, if you come to work sick, you run the risk of infecting your colleagues. Imagine that you bring a box of viruses to the office and distribute it generously left and right. It’s not the best gift, do you agree?
Secondly, and this is just a cry from my medical soul, do not take antibiotics without a prescription! For some reason, many people consider antibiotics to be some kind of magic pill for all diseases. But this is fundamentally wrong! Antibiotics are powerless against viruses and ARVI is caused by viruses. Taking antibiotics for a viral infection is like trying to put out an electrical fire with water: it’s not only useless, it’s also dangerous. You will only weaken your body and create a favorable environment for fungi to multiply. If you are afraid of complications, use drugs with complex antiviral and antibacterial effects, such as Rafamin.
Third, stay away from alcohol. Yes, your grandmother may have treated a cold with a glass of vodka and pepper, but times have changed and medicine has advanced. Alcohol weakens the immune system, dehydrates the body, and can have dangerous interactions with medications. So save strong drinks for parties, not treatment.
Don’t get carried away with home remedies. Jars, mustard plasters and herbal remedies of unknown origin can do more harm than good. It is especially dangerous to experiment with “traditional medicine” for children and the elderly. What didn’t hurt your great-grandmother can be dangerous for you.
