Consult Now The common cold is the most frequent infection in all age groups. Children especially contract a lot of colds. Colds are caused by a viral infection that effects the respiratory system. Colds often respond well to homeopathic remedies which is a tremendous advantage over modern medicine which has no cure for the common cold. Homeopaths generally advise that a cold or two every year is not a bad thing, as it “cleans out” the system and hence, the adage: don’t cure a cold, let a cold cure you. Still others say that you never know what your “innocent/ordinary” cold might erupt into–a flu, a pneumonia? Consequently, if you see a clear remedy picture, you might be safer giving the remedy than risking what may be down the line. Jim Henson, creator of “Sesame Street”, died from a cold gone horribly wrong. If you are finding that you are having more than two colds a year it would be advised to seek help from a professional homeopath to strengthen your immune system. Homeopathy emphasises treating the underlying imbalance in the immune system rather than simply fighting the infection–although in the moment, fighting the infection may be the priority. Note that some of the remedies below say, “for the first stage of the cold”. So, don’t wait around to see what your cold is going to do, or you might miss the opportunity to give Aconite or Belladonna or some other first-stage remedy, which may have been your only chance to prescribe with confidence for the duration of the cold.

Consult Now What is Swine Flu / H1N1 Influenza?
Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza virus that regularly causes outbreaks of influenza in pigs. Swine flu viruses cause high levels of illness and low death rates in pigs. Swine influenza viruses may circulate among swine throughout the year, but most outbreaks occur during the late fall and winter months similar to outbreaks in humans.
The 2009 flu outbreak in humans is due to a new strain of influenza A virus subtype H1N1 that derives in part from human influenza, avian influenza, and two separate strains of swine influenza. The origins of this new strain are unknown. It passes with apparent ease from human to human, an ability attributed to an as-yet unidentified mutation. The strain in most cases causes only mild symptoms and the infected person makes a full recovery without requiring medical attention and without the use of antiviral medicines.

Swine Flu / H1N1 Influenza Symptoms
The symptoms of swine flu in people are expected to be similar to the symptoms of regular human seasonal influenza and include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing. Some people with swine flu also have reported runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Symptoms of Swine flu may include all or some of the following:
• Fever
• Muscle aches
• Lethargy
• Coughing
• Headache
• Sore throat
• Runny nose
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Lack of appetite

Complications Of Swine Influenza
Those at higher risk of catching influenza in general include those with the following:
• Age of 65 years or older
• Chronic health problems (such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease)
• Pregnant women
• Young children
But the past epidemics and pandemics of flu have shown that during pandemics most people who succumb are healthy young adults.
Complications of Swine Flu can include:
• Pneumonia
•Bronchitis
• Sinus infections
• Ear infections
• Death
Transmission of Swine Flu (How does Swine Flu spread?)
As with other flu like illnesses, Swine influenza is spread as follows:
• Coughing
• Sneezing
• Kissing
• Touching infected objects
• Touching nose, mouth and/or eyes with infected hands
• Swine flu does not spread by eating pork.

Treatment of Swine Flu / H1N1 Influenza
Swine Flu Vaccination / Swine Flu Shot
The protective ability of influenza vaccines depends primarily on the closeness of the match between the vaccine virus and the epidemic virus, so the presence of non reactive H3N2 SIV variants suggests that current commercial vaccines might not effectively protect pigs from infection with a majority of H3N2 viruses. The current vaccine against the seasonal influenza strain H1N1 is thought unlikely to provide protection. The director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases said that the United States’ cases were found to be made up of genetic elements from four different flu viruses—North American swine influenza, North American avian influenza, human influenza A virus subtype H1N1, and swine influenza virus typically found in Asia and Europe.

What You Can Do to Prevent H1N1 Influenza / Swine Flu?
There are everyday actions people can take to stay healthy.
• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
• Influenza is thought to spread mainly person-to-person through coughing or sneezing of infected people.
• If you get sick, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
Above all. Don’t get stressed by the fear of getting the swine flu. Stress can undermine your immune system. The flu doesn’t kill everyone and in most cases may prove benign. Mild exercise, meditation or yoga and healthy nutritious diet can help keep your immune system in good condition and able to ward of any infections. Not every ‘infection’ becomes a full blown ‘disease’. Most infections are taken care of by your body even before you know that you were infected. Most infections affect gravely those people who are vitally deranged. So instead of panicking about the flu, stay calm and focus on becoming a healthy ‘you’.

Consult Now Influenza is a disease caused by a member of the Orthomyxoviridae. Many features are common with those of the paramyxovirus infections of the respiratory tract.
Influenza is characterised by fever, myalgia, headache and pharyngitis. In addition there may be cough and in severe cases, prostration. There is usually not coryza (runny nose) which characterises common cold infections.

Consult Now Chicken Pox, also called varicella, contagious viral disease that affects mainly children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 4 million people develop chicken pox each year, and more than 95 percent of Americans will have had chicken pox by the time they reach adulthood.

Sign and Symptoms of Chicken Pox
Typically, chicken pox begins with a low fever, headache, rash, and a general feeling of sickness, or malaise. The rash, which usually covers the face, scalp, and trunk of the body, starts as red bumps but quickly develops into small blisters. The rash and the blisters are extremely itchy. As the disease progresses, the blisters break open and form scabs, which fall off after about one to two weeks. The incubation period—the time between initial infection and the first appearance of symptoms—is approximately two weeks.

Consult Now Chikungunya (also called as Chicken Guinea) is a form of viral fever caused by an alphavirus that is spread by mosquito bites from the Aedes aegypti mosquito, though recent research by the Pasteur Institute in Paris claims the virus has suffered a mutation that enables it to be transmitted by Aedes Albopictus (Tiger mosquito). This was the cause of the actual plague in the Indian Ocean and a threat to the mediterranean coast at present.

Sign and Symptoms of Chikungunya
The primary symptoms of Chikungunya include –
• Fever which can reach 39°C, (102.2 °F)
• A petechial or maculopapular rash usually involving the limbs and trunk
• Arthralgia (bodyache) or arthritis affecting multiple joints which can be debilitating. The joint pains can be severe and even crippling.
There can also be headache, conjunctival infection and slight photophobia. Fever typically lasts for two days and abruptly comes down, however joint pain, intense headache, insomnia and an extreme degree of prostration lasts for a variable period, usually for about 5 to 7 days.

Consult Now Measles is an infectious viral disease that occurs most often in the late winter and spring. It begins with a fever that lasts for a couple of days, followed by a cough, runny nose, and conjunctivitis (pink eye). A rash starts on the face and upper neck, spreads down the back and trunk, then extends to the arms and hands, as well as the legs and feet. After about five days, the rash fades the same order it appeared.
Measles is highly contagious. Infected people are usually contagious from about 4 days before their rash starts to 4 days afterwards. The measles virus resides in the mucus in the nose and throat of infected people. When they sneeze or cough, droplets spray into the air and the droplets remain active and contagious on infected surfaces for up to two hours.

Cause of Measles
Measles is caused by a virus. Symptoms occur generally 8 to 12 days after exposed to the virus. This is called the incubation period. Persons with the measles typically have a fever, cough, redness and irritation of the eyes (conjunctivitis), and a rash that spreads. Those who have had an active measles infection or who have been vaccinated against the measles have immunity to the disease.

Symptoms of Measles
• Sore throat
• Runny nose
•Cough
• Muscle pain
• Fever
• Bloodshot eyes
• Tiny white spots inside the mouth (Koplik’s spots)
• Photophobia (light sensitivity)
• Rash
• Usually appears 3 to 5 days after the first signs of being sick
• May last 4 to 7 days
• Usually starts on the head and spreads to other areas, moving down the body
• Rash may appear as flat, discolored areas (macules) and solid, red, raised areas (papules) that later join together
• Itchy

Consult Now Smallpox (also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera) is a highly contagious disease unique to humans. It is caused by two virus variants called Variola major and Variola minor. V. major is the more deadly form, with a typical mortality of 20-40 percent of those infected. The other type, V. minor, only kills 1% of its victims. Many survivors are left blind in one or both eyes from corneal ulceration, and persistent skin scarring – pockmarks – is nearly universal. Smallpox was responsible for an estimated 300-500 million deaths in the 20th century. As recently as 1967, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 15 million people contracted the disease and that two million died in that year.
After successful vaccination campaigns, the WHO in 1980 declared the eradication of smallpox. Because of these efforts, not one documented naturally occurring case of this once high-mortality infection has occurred since October 26, 1977.

Consult Now Mumps is a disease caused by a virus that usually spreads through saliva and can infect many parts of the body, especially the parotid salivary glands. The parotid salivary glands, which produce saliva for the mouth, are found toward the back of each cheek, in the area between the ear and jaw. In cases of mumps, these glands typically swell and become painful.

Signs and Symptoms of Mumps, Parotitis
Cases of mumps may start with a fever of up to 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39.4 degrees Celsius), as well as a headache and loss of appetite. The well-known hallmark of mumps is swelling and pain in the parotid glands. The glands usually become increasingly swollen and painful over a period of 1 to 3 days. The pain gets worse when the child swallows, talks, chews, or drinks acidic juices (like orange juice).
In rare cases, mumps will attack other groups of salivary glands instead of the parotids. If this happens, swelling may be noticed under the tongue, under the jaw, or all the way down to the front of the chest.

Mumps can lead to inflammation and swelling of the brain and other organs, although this is not common. Encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord) are both rare complications of mumps. Symptoms appear in the first week after the parotid glands begin to swell and may include: high fever, stiff neck, headache, nausea and vomiting, drowsiness, convulsions, and other signs of brain involvement.

Mumps in adolescent and adult males may also result in the development of orchitis, an inflammation of the testicles. Usually one testicle becomes swollen and painful about 7 to 10 days after the parotids swell. This is accompanied by a high fever, shaking chills, headache, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain that can sometimes be mistaken for appendicitis if the right testicle is affected. After 3 to 7 days, testicular pain and swelling subside, usually at about the same time that the fever passes. In some cases, both testicles are involved. Even with involvement of both testicles, sterility is only a rare complication of orchitis.

Consult Now Typhoid fever is an illness caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi. You can get typhoid fever if you eat food or drink beverages that have been handled by a person who is shedding S. Typhi or if sewage contaminated with S. Typhi bacteria gets into the water you use for drinking or washing food.

Signs and Symptoms of Typhoid Fever
Persons with typhoid fever usually have a sustained fever as high as 103° to 104° F (39° to 40° C). They may also feel weak, or have stomach pains, headache, or loss of appetite. In some cases, patients have a rash of flat, rose-colored spots. The only way to know for sure if an illness is typhoid fever is to have samples of stool or blood tested for the presence of S. Typhi.