Cold hard facts

JUST when you thought the cold and flu season was over, up pops swine flu and worldwide panic stations.

Spring is turning into summer and Bahrain is heating up. And, that is great news for most of us.

It means longer days and sultry sunshine; and heavy doonas and Moroccan tea are replaced with crisp cotton sheets and icy lemon-mint drinks.

But, was there ever really a 'cold and flu' season to begin with?

Many people mistakenly believe that colds and flu occur because the temperature in their immediate environment is cold - thus the saying, 'I have a cold'. It is a fact that more people seem to get runny noses, sore throats and a cough in colder months, more often.

However, to draw the conclusion that such illnesses are from the weather is a flawed 'cause-and effect' myth. Colds and flu are not caused from the temperature you are feeling. People catch a cold or get flu from a virus. If an accompanying infection occurs such as bronchitis or tonsillitis, it is from a bacteria.

Granted, the cold weather does compound the effect and spread of the flu virus, called influenza. Influenza comes in many strains and some can be spread through water droplets in the air, or even from animals to humans.

Winter plays its part for three main reasons. Firstly, consider how the strength of your immune system is linked with your overall homeostasis (your overall inner well-being). When you feel cold, especially really, really cold (think of a London winter night), your immune function is impaired which leaves you open to become a host to the virus more easily.

Secondly, when it is cold outside, you tend to stay indoors. This means you are in closer contact with others, for longer, which means the transfer of the virus is made a lot easier.

Thirdly, the virus loves warm and moist places (like your respiratory tract and nasal passages), and it actually loves indoors in winter as much as you do! It could be lurking on your warm coffee cup handle; inside your slippers; in your shower and other cosy places. It does not live in the snow, or a swimming pool, the ocean, the ice-skating rink or your fridge! We need to stop perpetuating this myth and understand the virus better to find a cure.

Viruses and bacteria are mostly delicate too. They don't just 'hang around' when it is cold outside and jump into your lungs. In fact, they rarely survive for more than a few seconds, if at all, outside the human body. Some are airborne. Some will settle into your dirty tissue for a little while or live on your finger tips. In other words, you can come into contact with someone who has a cold and still be OK if you are very strong and healthy - and lucky.

Basic common sense applies to avoid colds and flu. Always wash your hands and be vigilant about hygiene around the house a bit more. Always maintain your fresh food diet with plenty of water (not too much coffee, hot chocolate or tea) and supplement with fresh juices for a vitamin burst.

Don't kiss anyone with the virus or bacteria and don't be afraid to get outdoors if you have to in winter. Going ice-skating is not going to make you sick. And don't panic if you get caught in the rain. Whoever heard of anyone getting ill from drops of water on their head and clothes? We are, after all, 70 per cent water and rain doesn't carry the virus.

The jury is still out on whether or not taking vitamin C helps prevent or shorten the lifespan of a cold or the flu, but this particular vitamin does have anti-oxidant properties and can help the immune system when it is under stress. It certainly will NOT kill the virus or bacteria. Only specific compounds and enzymes can do this.

Some are found naturally in foods and earth products like honey, garlic, tea-tree oil and lavender but sadly, not in vitamin C foods. So drinking orange juice or sucking on fresh pineapple (my mother made us do this when we were little if we got a sore throat) will not act on the actual virus or bacteria, but can give your immune system a bit of a leg-up. The very best cure for the cold or flu is rest and fluids. Antibiotics from your doctor can kill off bacteria but there is no such medicine that is 100 per cent effective on the virus. So stay in bed and stay away from others for at least three days when upon first symptoms.

The plague of the 17th century wiped out one third of all of Europe and was actually a severe influenza, the cause of which, it was later discovered, was viral and bacterial germs, that lived on the fleas that lived on the backs of London's black rats - thus the name 'Black Death'.

What made it alarming was the fact that is spread so swiftly. There were three strains of the virus and one of them gave you a death sentence within 72 hours of contact with the germ, via the lymphatic system.

What made the Black Death so strange was that this flu actually struck when the weather was unseasonably warm! First discovered in April of 1665, by the end of May, 11 people had died from it. Symptoms included 'cold and flu' like illnesses, followed by violent fevers and infected swellings.

Victims died in agony and forced thousands of people to just abandon their homes and leave London. Interestingly, in London, as the weather got colder, the rates of infection dropped dramatically.

Enjoy the warmer months and stay fit and healthy everyone. Did someone just sneeze? Bless you!!