Prevention of flu and colds. Prevention of colds with folk remedies. Prevention of colds and infectious diseases

Introduction.
Medical science does not know the concept of "cold". In the popular mind, a “cold” means a variety of phenomena: from the consequences of banal hypothermia, SARS, influenza to the manifestations of herpes simplex on the face. In this article, we will not talk about "colds on the lips", but about the prevention of SARS / influenza.
Why is SARS called a cold? Apparently, from the manifestation of ARVI with chills (frosts) and the connection of ARVI with cold and the cold season. With the cold season, everything is clear: people hide in closed heated rooms, which leads to an epidemiological process. With the cold itself, everything is more difficult. SARS are caused by viruses, FLU is SARS caused by the influenza virus, cold does not cause these diseases. Many studies have been conducted on the effect of cold on susceptibility to respiratory viruses and the development of symptoms of SARS. The results of studies are contradictory - there is no consensus on this matter.
In one study, volunteers' feet were dipped in cold water. It turned out that the cooling of the feet causes the onset of symptoms of acute respiratory infections in approximately 10% of persons subjected to cooling. Therefore, there is evidence of the possible development of ARVI symptoms from exposure to cold. The mechanisms of this influence are the influence on the immune system, the tone of the vessels of the nasopharynx, the reactivation of a latent (latent) infection.

Individuals with conditions that may affect susceptibility to the common cold or the severity or duration of cold symptoms were excluded from the study. Individuals who received medications known to affect rhinorrhea, cough, or nasal congestion within 7 days prior to study entry were excluded. Pregnant or breastfeeding women and participants who reported sensitivity to any of the ingredients in the study product were also excluded. Participants received financial compensation.

Active medicines and placebo were identical in terms of appearance, taste and smell and were packaged in identical 100 ml bottles. Participants were randomized to receive either echinacea or placebo, 5 ml 3 times daily for 14 days. Each participant was asked not to blow their nose for 30 minutes after being infected with the virus. Before use, the virus pool was tested for safety. During their stay at the hotel, participants continued treatment with either echinacea or placebo, as previously indicated.

By the way, the English term corresponding to our concept of SARS - common cold can be literally translated as "banal cold", or as "ordinary cold". The term itself also indicates a connection with the cold.

1. Disconnection from the source of the pathogen. This obvious way of prevention is easy to implement only on desert island. It is impossible to completely avoid contact with various ARVI pathogens. Being with society, we are constantly in contact with people who carry ARVI in symptomatic and asymptomatic forms. If the former can be shunned, the latter cannot be recognized. The greatest risk of infection through contact with the patient occurs indoors. The risk of infection on the street tends to zero. A coughing person on the street will not infect, but in a tram it can become a source of infection. At the same time, one should not look at a coughing person as an enemy of the people and a source of mortal threat. Firstly, cough and runny nose do not always reflect a contagious disease. Secondly, there are many apparently healthy individuals carrying an asymptomatic infection around. Thirdly, the respiratory virus is not as terrible as it is painted. Most healthy people do not become ill after contact with a sick person, and most sick people do not attribute their illness to contact. Of course, much depends on the specific pathogen. But in general, statistically it turns out like this.

Viral culture samples were obtained by nasal lavage during the subject's hotel stay to identify the presence of rhinovirus. Clinical measurements of the disease. The recognized symptoms were rhinorrhea, congestion, sneezing, cough, sore throat, headache, malaise, and chills. Thereafter, symptoms were assessed once daily until completion of the study.

Methods for preventing colds

Clinical illness, i.e. the presence of a cold, was defined as a 5-day total symptom score of ⩾5 and 1 or both of the following: 3 consecutive days of rhinorrhea or a positive response to a question about whether he or she had developed a cold since exposure to the virus . Demographic parameters were tested for differences in group differences by Student's t-test or χ2 analysis. Corresponding treatment proportions were also compared with Fisher's exact test and χ2 analysis.

Stay away from people with obvious signs of a respiratory infection. This is especially important for risk groups for complications: young children, the elderly, pregnant women, people suffering from severe chronic diseases mi. In order not to infect others when signs of a respiratory infection appear, you should not go to work, cover your nose and mouth while coughing and sneezing, using disposable handkerchiefs with your eyes, nose and mouth;

The use of medicines

The study was designed as the first step in a two-stage adaptive design based on the methodology described by Bauer and Koehne. The primary endpoint, defined a priori, was the development of cold, defined separately as laboratory infection and clinical illness. When ~50 subjects completed the study and the clinical and virologic endpoints were known for each subject, an adaptive intermediate statistical analysis of the data was performed to determine the final study sample size and redefine the primary efficacy parameter.

2. Personal hygiene measures. Hand washing comes first here. A huge role in the transmission of respiratory infections is played by the contact route of transmission through the hands. On the hands of respiratory viruses can live up to a day, the virus gets on the hands of the patient from direct contact with the face or with drops of saliva / sputum through the air. Simply covering your face with a tissue when sneezing and coughing also prevents the spread of infection.

Otherwise, the study had to be terminated at the stage. When infection was used as the primary endpoint, the power for stage 2 was estimated at 5%. When the clinical disease criterion was used, the power for stage 2 was estimated at 94%. Given the paramount importance given by the sponsor of the study to the criterion of infection, the sponsor decided to terminate the study at the stage.

A total of 48 volunteers, 24 in each treatment group, were enrolled and randomized to receive study drug. All participants completed the study. Two participants, both of whom were from the placebo group, were excluded from the efficacy analysis. One participant had an episode of moderate sneezing in her daily diary before virus inoculation, and 1 participant had a positive neutralizing serum titer at inoculation. There were no significant differences in terms of gender or mean age between the echinacea and placebo groups.

3. healthy image life, mode of work and rest, physical education, hardening. A varied diet rich in vitamins, the consumption of vegetables and fruits is the key to health and the prevention of many diseases, including colds. Wet, fresh air indoors will contribute to the preservation of the protective function of the mucous membranes. It is reasonable to supplement this effect in the cold season with regular moisturizing of the nasal mucosa with saline. table salt. Actual airing, regular wet cleaning premises. It is wise to spend more time outdoors.

Rhinovirus was isolated from 88% and 95% of volunteers in the echinacea and placebo groups, respectively. The frequency of virus recovery was similar in both groups. Overall, the proportion of participants who demonstrated laboratory evidence of infection was 92% for echinacea recipients and 96% for placebo recipients.

Colds developed in 58% of echinacea recipients and 82% of placebo recipients. The difference in rates was 24%. The overall 7-day symptom score was 34 ± 43 for echinacea recipients and 17 ± 56 for placebo recipients. Individual symptom scores were not significantly different between treatment groups.

4. Wearing a mask. The use of a mask has a proven protective effect on the transmission of respiratory infections.
The main purpose of the mask is to put on the patient and prevent the release of the pathogen into the environment. It has also been found that wearing a mask healthy people, in close contact with patients, gives some protective effect. Therefore, in the family focus of infection, you can wear a mask for everyone. It is useless to wear a mask on the street!

Six participants reported 8 adverse events. There were no side effects limiting treatment. The 2 adverse events reported by subjects treated with echinacea were insomnia and severe oral aphthous ulcers, which resolved spontaneously with treatment. Both events were rated as ineffective or incredibly related to the treatment study.

About nutrition in the season of colds

The results of the study show that echinacea is not effective in preventing rhinovirus infection, as determined by laboratory criteria. Among those who were infected and received echinacea, there was a trend towards a reduction in the number of clinical colds compared to those who were infected and received a placebo. In a number of studies using different study designs and different plant parts such as root or aboveground components from certain types echinacea, alone or in combination with other herbs, have reported various effects, although mostly not significant - in the prevention of natural colds.

5. Vitamins and microelements. Vitamin C is not recommended for the prevention of SARS in the general population. However, studies show that individuals exposed to cold and significant physical activity prophylactic intake of vitamin C reduces the risk of developing ARVI by 50% and somewhat shortens the duration of ARVI, if it does develop.
The role of vitamin D in the prevention of respiratory infections was established in a population study conducted in the United States, where a high blood level of vitamin D was associated with a low incidence of SARS. A large randomized study was conducted on the effect of vitamin D on the prevention of SARS. The experimental group for 18 months (two winter seasons) received monthly intramuscular injection of vitamin D, the mean level of vitamin D in the blood was 48 ng/ml in the experimental group versus 25 ng/ml in the control group, which had no effect on the incidence of respiratory infections.
Vitamin E (200 IU/day) has been studied as a means of preventing SARS in one randomized controlled trial. A retrospective analysis of the study showed a statistically significant but very modest in absolute value reduction in the risk of acute respiratory viral infections in the experimental group, which does not justify practical use vitamin E as a means of preventing SARS. It should also be borne in mind that vitamin doses in excess of 400 IU / day can increase overall mortality and the risk of developing prostate cancer in men.
Multivitamin and mineral supplements do not affect the incidence and severity of SARS in the general population, however, in hospitalized elderly patients and in chronic patients suffering from polyhypovitaminosis, such supplements reduce the risk of SARS.
Zinc. Clinical studies show some efficacy of zinc preparations in ARVI when administered within the first 24 hours from the onset of the disease, however, the preventive efficacy of zinc preparations has not been convincingly proven.
A systematic review of two randomized trials showed that children who took zinc sulfate for five months were less likely to have SARS. It is not possible to transfer data to adults. It should also be noted the side effects of zinc preparations, namely the ability to cause a violation of the sense of smell (anosmia).

The tablet recipients had 38% fewer nasal symptoms than the placebo recipients, but other results were similar. They reported a 15% reduction in incidence that did not reach statistical significance. They found no significant difference in infection rate or time to first infection. There were no significant differences in the frequency, severity, or duration of the common cold between echinacea and comparable placebo in 108 subjects. Diverse definitions of respiratory diseases, endpoints, data collection methods, and differences in timing of treatment initiation during illness make it difficult to compare studies.

6. Garlic. AT Several very high-quality studies by Japanese authors have proven the preventive efficacy of garlic. Persons who daily consume garlic or garlic extract are significantly less likely to get ARVI. This strategy allows additional costs reduce risk colds.

7. Probiotics. The effect of probiotics on the immune response is associated with an increase in local protection of the mucous membranes and a general immunotropic effect (increased phagocytosis, increased production of cytokines). A Cochrane review reviewed 14 studies, showing that probiotics significantly reduce the incidence of SARS. The evidence base on probes cannot be attributed to top level reliability, but the reason to use these is quite safe means there is. The use of probiotics is especially relevant in cases where there are concomitant gastrointestinal problems, such as IBS with a tendency to diarrhea. It is not possible to highlight the particular effectiveness of specific probiotics. Any probiotics with lacto- and bifidobacria can be used in this context.

Clinical efficacy has been noted in many treatment studies, suggesting that echinacea is associated with more benefit in treating the common cold than in preventing infection. One explanation for trends in improving clinical disease without affecting infection rates is that these observations could be the result of a beneficial effect of echinacea associated with the treatment of established infections rather than prevention, since therapy was continued for 7 days after inoculation. virus at the time the subjects were symptomatic.

8. Vaccination. Vaccination is effective only in terms of preventing influenza, there is no vaccine yet to protect against other acute respiratory viral infections. The vaccine gives the greatest proven effect in risk groups for influenza complications. Also, vaccination is necessary for those who live or work with persons belonging to risk groups. The rest can get a flu shot if they wish for their own protection. Studies show that influenza vaccination in healthy adults modestly reduces the risk of getting influenza and relieves symptoms of influenza when it develops, but does not prevent complications such as pneumonia.
It should be noted the importance of vaccination against hemophilic infection included in the vaccination calendar and the use of pneumococcal vaccine for risk groups for the development of complications. The vast majority of people on earth are healthy transient or permanent carriers of Haemophilus influenzae. Haemophilus influenzae manifests as a cold with frequent development of severe pneumonia and meningitis, mainly in children under 2 years of age. Every child who does not have a vaccination exemption must be vaccinated according to the calendar, including vaccination against Haemophilus influenzae. Vaccination against pneumococcal infection necessary for risk groups for the development of severe pneumonia (elderly people, people suffering from severe chronic diseases of the cardiovascular, respiratory and endocrine systems).
Bacterial lysates are a kind of oral vaccine preparations that have a proven effect in terms of preventing recurrent bacterial infections of the upper respiratory tract and SARS. They prevent SARS by stimulating the local and general non-specific immune response.

The use of an experimental cold model may have allowed an early assessment of symptoms that was more accurate than for trials associated with natural colds. Unfortunately, our study was compromised by his small size samples. The results are consistent with most of the data previously presented regarding the lack of efficacy of echinacea in preventing natural or experimental colds. Further research into echinacea for the treatment of experimental rhinovirus infections, with big amount subjects and with specific standardized echinacea preparations of known efficacy, should clarify the effectiveness of echinacea in treating the common cold.

9. Chemoprophylaxis. Two drugs have a proven effect in this regard and only in relation to influenza. These are zanamivir and oseltamivir. They are prescribed for the purpose of short-term prevention only to persons at risk for complications who have had contact with a sick person with influenza.

10. Correction of diseases and conditions that provoke frequent colds. Rejection bad habits improves the protective functions of the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract. Airways affected tobacco smoke are more sensitive to respiratory pathogens, more often lead to the manifestation of ARVI as bronchitis. Alcohol abuse is also detrimental to the organs of the respiratory system, ethyl alcohol, being a fat dissolver, destroys cell membranes, damages mucous membranes, and increases the risk of developing colds and complications. Special attention should be given to the treatment of bronchial asthma, COPD and iron deficiency anemia.
Iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia, especially common in women of childbearing age, often manifest with frequent colds. With low-normal hemoglobin, there is often a latent tissue iron deficiency, the elimination of which will be beneficial in general and in relation to the prevention of colds in particular. Therefore, it is reasonable to include in the plan of preventive measures general analysis blood. If a low or low-normal hemoglobin is detected, an analysis should be performed for the exchange of the gland: serum iron, TIBC (Total Serum Iron-Binding Capacity), ferritin. Treatment is planned according to the result.
Last year, Japan completed a study of alcohol on the incidence of SARS. It has been shown that the frequent use of reasonable doses of alcohol is very beneficial in terms of preventing SARS. Prior to this, an American study showed that red wine, unlike other alcoholic beverages, contributes to the prevention of SARS. It is dangerous for “our” person to report the results of such studies, because “our” person will not limit himself to a glass of red wine!

Healthy Habit: You are loading lots of colorful fruits and vegetables. Prepare her: Confident, vibrant foods like cabbages and oranges have nutrients with cold water but don't lose sight of their pale counterparts. Include balls in omelettes, pasta, and kebabs. While you're at it, throw in some garlic. And be sure to add the garlic at the end of the cooking process to prevent it from neutralizing.

Healthy Habit: You log seven to eight hours of sleep at night. Turn it up: The quantity of your sleep is important, but so is the quality. “Interrupted sleep can increase the production of stress hormones that wear out immune system says Michael Brace, Ph.D., author of the Doctor's Sleep diet plan. Example: When researchers at Carnegie Mellon University exposed the cold virus to study participants, those who did not party as well were six times more likely to get sick than people who slept like a rock.

Cold prevention is a set of measures aimed at reducing colds. More than 30% of annual hospital visits are related to the common cold. Colds are especially susceptible to the elderly, children and pregnant women. These categories, due to the weakened functions of the immune system, have the highest likelihood of complications, which can even lead to death.

Fresh air and exercise

To maximize your closed eyes, tie your sneakers on most days of the week: regular exercise has been proven to help you fall asleep faster and spend more time in restorative deep sleep. If you're worried about being awake, write down everything you're worried about, along with a solution for each, before you go in, Breus suggests. This will make your mind and body rest.

Healthy Habit: Always, always wash your hands. Pick it up: If you like the vast majority of us, you probably won't wave it right. A study done in Michigan state university, showed that 95 percent of people do not smoke within the recommended 20 seconds, and one in three do not use soap. Then dry thoroughly; germs cling to wet surfaces more easily. Use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.

Prevention of colds in children

Prevention of colds in children special place. Many parents have repeatedly encountered this problem and must understand that it is much easier to prevent a cold than to treat a child for a long time.

Remantadin. belongs to the most accessible and effective means cold prevention.

Healthy Habit: Exercise is a regular part of your Everyday life. Prepare it: Working out strengthens your ability to fight colds and flu. But pushing your limits regularly can bring more harm than good. For a healthier workout, include breaks in your routine. Nieman found that exercises with built-in pauses—say, tennis, football, or interval training—didn't have the same effect. negative impact like working at a constant pace. Far event learning?

Proper dressing can reduce inflammation that weakens your immune system. reusable bottles can breed bacteria, however, so wash your hot soapy water everyday. Consider humidifying the air you breathe. Colds and flu thrive in dry air, so using a humidifier may be your ticket to healthy winter. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that approximately 74 percent of virus-infected cells survived after an hour in a room with 23% or less humidity; However, only about 18% of the virus survived indoors with 43% or more humidity.

Arbidol. An antiviral drug most effective against influenza A and B. In addition to the antiviral effect, it increases the production of interferon, stimulating the body's defenses.

Oxolinic ointment. Suitable for all ages.

Kagocel. For the prevention of colds, the duration of the drug depends on the severity of the disease.

Amiksin. It has a positive effect on the immune system and effectively fights the virus. Designed for use in children and adults. It has minimal side effects, but, nevertheless, is contraindicated in pregnant and lactating women.

Tamiflu. Enough effective drug, which improves the immune system and fights viruses. This medicine should not be used for a long period of time, some of its side effects are psychosis and depression.

Anaferon. A homeopathic medicine that has a wide range of uses. Can be used by both adults and children.

Aflubin. A product of natural origin, suitable for taking by children at an early age. Available in tablets and drops.

Denial of responsibility: The information provided in this article on preventing colds is intended to inform the reader only. It cannot be a substitute for the advice of a health professional.

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