Getting sick this winter is almost a fact already, the runny nose, sore head, and sore throat have become part of most of us. "Winter Diseases" is a name that includes a wide variety of symptoms and illnesses that erupt during the winter, including colds, flu, laryngitis, and more. Most winter diseases are caused by viruses.
Winter infections are different from person to person, and from child to child: some are not nearly infected with the disease despite exposure to the same viruses and bacteria, while others tend to get sick again and again. how does it happen? The answer is simple - there are those whose immune system is stronger and their body is able to fight off the same infectious agents very easily.
What could weaken your body's defense system?
According to the approach of natural, alternative medicine, strengthening the body's defense system and speeding up the healing process, are the main goals. For example, with the help of herbs, such as echinacea. The conventional medical approach is unable to treat the viruses and diseases they cause, in most cases. Therefore, the recommendation is usually to relieve the symptoms through anti-cough medicines, cough medicines, and the like. Antibiotic treatment is intended for cases where the infection is bacterial.
Surprisingly, one of the reasons for the weakening of the immune system is due to the use of antibiotic drugs, which although the bacteria win, but at the same time may weaken the immune system. In other words, according to natural medicine, which treats a person as a whole and treats it rather than a bacterium or a common disease, antibiotic intake can be just as problematic as the bacterium itself.
How can herbal medicine help deal with winter sickness?
Natural therapy works on two levels. In the long term - it helps strengthen the immune system, in the short term - helps improve the patient's condition in a short time. There are several ways to deal with winter sickness, through etiquette, dietary supplements, probiotics, and herbal remedies, and with proper nutrition.
One of the most widely studied plants in the context of winter diseases is echinacea. Taking echinacea helps the body's natural protection, so this herb is one of the most popular winter preparations. It is a plant whose main virtues are immune support by activating white blood cells, and the ability to increase interferon production - an important component of the body's response to viral infections.
In various studies that have addressed the health benefits of using echinacea in the last decade, it has been found that taking echinacea may reduce the relative risk of getting colds and flu and even shorten the duration of the disease. Further research has found that taking an echinacea extract may reduce the virus's ability to infect and has anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial capabilities. And there were also research findings that proved that the echinacea plant was able to effectively prevent the spread of swine flu virus and other influenza viruses effectively.
How much echinacea can you take?
The recommendation is to take echinacea immediately after the onset of colds or throat pain. You can take 4-3 ml of liquid echinacea or 300 mg of echinacea in powder, capsule, or tablet, every two hours as soon as symptoms start, and then three times a day for 10-7 days.
