FLU-DEFENSE STRATEGIES
BY Charles W. Moore

©  1998  Charles W. Moore

Myth #1: "There's nothing you can do to avoid flu and colds because 'they're just 
in the air.'" 

Fact: They are only "in the air" when you're sharing it with an infected person. You 
can't catch a cold unless you come in contact with someone who already has the bug 
(although some people carry and spread viruses without getting symptoms themselves). 
At polar research stations, no one gets colds during long periods of isolation from 
the outside world. That is why there is a moral obligation to isolate oneself when 
one has a cold or flu. Two-time Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling argued that: people 
have no "right" to "spread their viruses and infect others, so long as they themselves 
are able to stagger about.... A person with a cold or the flu should feel that he 
or she should go into isolation in order not to spread the virus to other people,... 
and social pressure should operate to help him or her to act in such a way as to 
not harm others."

Myth#2 "Flu and colds are spread by coughs and sneezes."

Fact: While airborne droplets from coughs and sneezes can indeed spread colds, research 
indicates that the most efficient means of transmission is hand-to-hand, or more 
precisely: "nose-to-hand-to-surface-to-hand-to nose or eyes." Viruses can survive 
on dry surfaces for up to 48 hours. It's wise to wash your hands a lot during cold 
season, and keep them away from your face.

Myth #3: "Colds and flu are trivial illnesses we should just resign ourselves to putting 
up with."

Fact: Colds and flu are a factor in about 23,000 deaths annually in North America. 
Complications of colds include bronchitis, sinus infections, ear infections, mastoiditis, 
meningitis, pneumonia, and exacerbation of chronic illnesses. "No one pays too much 
attention to a cold, except the body--it pays plenty," says pharmacist/author Earl 
Mindell. According to Linus Pauling, "every cold or other illness that a person suffers 
from damages his or her body in a permanent way to some extent, and shortens his 
or her life expectancy." Economic losses related to colds and flu amount to tens 
of billions of dollars each year.

Myth #4: "Medicines can cure colds."

Fact: No approved drug--prescription or over the counter (OTC)---is effective against 
colds or flu. As the saying goes, "with aggressive treatment a cold can be cured 
in seven days; untreated it will last a week." Despite this reality, thousands of 
OTC cough and cold remedies flood the market, and Canadians buy over $150 million 
worth each year. While some of these potions may make you FEEL better temporarily, 
they just mask symptoms and are emphatically NOT a CURE. They may even make you sicker. 
Citing side-effects like drowsiness and nasal membrane damage caused by OTC cold 
remedies, the Mayo Clinic's Joseph Liely, M.D., asserts: "The stuff we are taking 
[for flu/colds] is not only not helpful but harmful."

	Prescription antibiotics can't "cure" colds or flu either, although they may be effective 
against opportunistic bacterial infections that occasionally accompany viral illnesses. 
In the case of uncomplicated colds or flu, antibiotics are useless, and routine mis-prescription 
of these powerful drugs for simple viral ailments has contributed to development 
of antibiotic-resistant strains of many serious bacterial diseases.

	So, Is there anything really effective you can do for colds or flu beyond avoiding 
sick people, and if that fails resting in bed and waiting them out? Dr. Liely says 
chicken soup steam has been proved more effective than plain steam in relieving symptoms.

	Linus Pauling advocated mega-doses of Vitamin C (1 to 18 grams per day) for prevention 
and treatment of colds and flu. While Pauling's ideas have been ridiculed by many, 
no one receives two Nobel Prizes for being the village idiot.

	European researchers contend that a herb called Echinacea is effective in bolstering 
immune response to colds, flu, and other infections. Echinacea is thought to enhance 
the body's production of interferon and other immuno-active compounds. Echinacea 
can be taken in tablets, capsules, liquid infusions, teas, or homeopathic formulas. 
Unless you are fighting a specific infection, it is best to take Echinacea in a two-week 
on/two-week-off cycle to avoid over-stimulating your immune system.

	Homeopathic cold and flu formulas are the second-largest-selling single product in 
French pharmacies, behind facial tissue or something. Homeopathics don't treat the 
disease or its symptoms directly, but are purported to activate body's own healing 
processes to fight the illness. Many people (including this writer) have found homeopathic 
cold and flu remedies remarkably effective.







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