Suffering From Influenza

Corona Virus

For a couple of days, I have been sufferred from heavy flu. I never thought before that my last week activities has dropped my stamina. After my aunt's funeral, two days later, I went to my cousin's wedding at Malang. On the way to Malang with my wife by motor bike, our journey was stopped due to heavy rain at Lawang, just about 20 Kms from the destination.

We stucked from a store waiting for the rain to stop. We continued our journey with small drops of rain in our head, but not for a km we stopped again due to heavier rain. Finally, the rain did stop after a long wait at a gas station. The journey that normally takes an hour and half, we took until 3 hours.

It has been a month since last rainfall in my own city of Sidoarjo, that only for 20 minutes. The hot temperature in Sidoarjo everyday is 35 °C (95 °F), so the rain in Lawang was cooled our body. That is the main reason with the flu I was getting.

What is Influenza?

Influenza, an infectious disease caused by a virus of the influenza group. Influenza epidemics have been known since ancient times. An extensive world wide outbreak occurred in 1918-19, resulting in the death of an estimated twenty million people.

There are three distinct influenza virus types, A, B, and C.

• Influenza A
  It occurs in epidemic cycles every 2 - 4 years. The pandemic of Asian flu in 1957 was caused by a variant of the A virus. The 1968 epidemic of the so called Hong Kong Flu was a new A virus. The outlook was relatively mild compared with those of 1957 and 1968.
• Influenza B
  The epidemics occur every 4 - 6 years. Influenza B develops slower than Influenza A, but faster than Influenza C.
• Influenza C
  Rarely produces disease, but can be severe and can cause local epidemics. It usually causes mild disease in children.

The continued struggle with recurring epidemics reflects the ability of the virus to change. The influenza virus probably enters the body through inhalation of droplets discharged from the mouth, or nose of infected person.

After an incubation period of one or two days, the illness appears suddenly with chills, fever, pain behind the eyes, headache, lassitude, prostration, and severe muscular pains. There may also be coughing, congestion of the eyes, sneezing, or bleeding from the nose.

A fairly high fever usually persists for two to three days. The patient ordinarily recovers within a week, but fatigue, depression, and a tendency to perspire easily may persist for one to two weeks. The influenza infection is ordinarily not fatal itself, but death may occur from complications, particularly bacterial pneumonia. The use of antibiotics has decreased deaths from such infections.

Influenza vaccines can prevent illness in about 70% of those immunized. The virus which makes up the vaccine is grown in chick embryos, and then inactivated by formalin. People suffering from heart disease, chronic lung problems, and diabetes should be immunized each winter. But for those who allergic to egg, should not receive the vaccine.

There are no drugs that can cure influenza. Amantadine hydrochloride is sometimes used, along with time honored bed rest, to relieve symptoms. Amantadine does not kill the virus or prevent other person from becoming infected, and it should not be given to children.

The Natural Way of Treatment

Despite of no drugs that can cure influenza, you may relieve the symptoms by using several ways below:

Having Good Rest
Having a good rest does not mean you have to be on a bed for days. You could still do many activities, including go to work like I did.

Ask yourself? Have you ever been hospitalized? What do you do when you are hospitalized for a few days? What difference does it make if you do this when being treated in your own home?

Sleep may activate the immune system, and having good rest will make our body more comfortable, and boost immunity against diseases. The more quality of sleeping that you have, the more stamina you wil gain. The more stamina your body has, will relieve the influenza symptoms.

Multi-Vitamins
Some doctors would not prescribe vitamins along with antibiotics. It may because your medical records, and some patients with high hypertension are not allowed on taking multi-vitamins. Multi-vitamins might improve your stamina despite all that you did not get from your foods.

Garlic
Based on my previous post about garlic, it has been used as natural stamina booster since many years ago. And garlic also has been used to treat fatigue, preventing and fighting the common cold.

Sunbathe
It is not for intention to get a suntan, but having direct sunlight will get your body more natural vitamin from the Sun. As you know, Sun is the source of vitamin D, especially the Sun light before 9 am. After the first 3 hours in the morning, the Sun light will only burn your skin.

Reference:
Encyclopedia International
Influenza by Harold Neu, M.D.,
Associate Professor of Medicine, and Head, Division of Infectious Diseases, Columbia University.

Hodgkin's Disease

Hodgkin's disease, disease of unknown origin characterized by enlargement of the lymph glands. Many authorities, including American Cancer Society, consider it to be a form of cancer while others argue that an infection is responsible.

Hodgkin's disease which also known as Hodgkin lymphoma, was named after Thomas Hodgkin, an English physician, in 1832. Thomas Hodgkin was considered to be one of the most prominent pathologists of his time, and a pioneer in preventive medicine.

Manifestations of The Hodgkin's Disease

The disease attacks males more frequently than females, and may appear at any age, young adults are often affected. The lymph glands of the neck are usually involved first, undergoing a painless enlargement.

Later the lymph glands under the arms, in the groin, in the chest, and abdomen enlarge. General symptoms include loss of appetite and weight, fatigue, night sweats, intermittent fever, and anemia.

Enlargement of the lymph nodes in the chest with pressure on the surrounding tissues may produce cough, difficulty in breathing, and chest pain.

Expansion of the lymph nodes which lie on the rear wall of the abdomen may compress the contents of the abdomen, displacing one or both kidneys. Other manifestations of the disease may be found in the lungs, bones, nervous system, and skin.

The spleen and liver are often enlarged. In some patients, itching may be the major complaint. A curious unexplained phenomenon in Hodgkin's disease is the appearance of pain, in the involved areas following consumption of alcohol.

The Treatment

The disease may be treated with radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. The choice of treatment depending on the age and sex of the patient, the stage, and histological subtype of the disease.

X-ray (radiation) therapy is the preferred treatment, and may relieve symptoms for weeks, months, or years. Nitrogen mustard has also proved useful. Although these and other methods of treatment may temporarily improve the patient's condition, they do not cure the disease. Despite this, some patients with Hodgkin's disease may survive for as long as twenty years.

References :

Encyclopedia International
Hodgkin's Disease by Irving Solomon, M.D.
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, Mount Sinai Medicine School, New York.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hodgkin's_disease

Hansen's Disease

Hansen's disease, or known as leprosy, a chronic infectious disease, which involves primarily the skin and the peripheral nerves. Altough it's primarily a tropical disease, it has occurred as far North as Norway and Iceland.

The leprosy bacterium was first describe by the Norwegian physician, G. Armauer Hansen, in 1874. Its structure and characteristics is similar to the organism which causes tuberculosis. The bacteria are believed to be transmitted by direct contact.

Though it's not easily spread, but more than 5% of persons married to a person suffering from leprosy will become infected with the disease. The average period of incubation is five years or more.

Body Disturbances

The disturbances seen in leprosy are extremely variable. Skin is usually affected early while nerve damage appears later. There are many disabling phenomena result from nerve damage rather than infection.

The ulcers of the feet and the fingers are caused by damage resulting from of the infection along the nerves of the extremities. Facial disfigurement is seen only in advanced stages, when the infection is untreated.

Skin lesions vary from simple spots to thick infiltrations and nodule formation. The severity of the infections depends upon the type of leprosy. The most severe cases are caused by the lepromatous, which progresses steadily, and involves infiltration of the skin, producing nodular lesions.

The milder tuberculoid form usually improves spontaneously. In many instances, tuberculoid leprosy would be an unimportant skin condition were it not for the associated nerve involvement.

Leprosy is rarely fatal in itself. Death, when it occurs, usually results from complications, or a concurrent illness. The most serious complications are involvement of the nose and throat, which accompanies the advance disease. Trophic ulcerations of the feet with secondary infection, osteomyelitis (bone infection), and lesions of the inner structures of the eyes, which leads to blindness.

The Treatment

Since 1941, a group of drugs, called sulfones, which are related chemically to sulfonamides, have been widely used in the treatment of leprosy. Sulfones are highly effective in the milder types. Although they do not cure the lepromatous types, serious complications are usually prevented.

Because the similarity of the bacillus which caused leprosy, the sulfones were also tested against tuberculosis, but without success. Sulfones do not destroy, but surpress the leprosy bacillus, so that the patient's own defenses slowly overcome the disease.

Treatment failures are observed in approximately 5% of the cases, resulting from the development of drug-resistance by the leprosy bacteria. Although the sulfones act slowly, no better agents have been developed for control of leprosy.

Leprosy is being treated today with large-scale outpatient treatment programs. The U.S. operates a specialized hospital for the treatment of leprosy at Carville, La., and maintains clinics at hospitals, in New Orleans and San Francisco. Also two institutions in the state of Hawaii, to conduct a continuous program for the care of patients, and the control of spread of the disease.

Source : Encyclopedia International

• Leprosy
  U.S. Public Health Service Hospital, Carville, Louisiana.
• Sulfones
  Harold C. Neu, M.D., Columbia University.

Bacterial Infections

Bacteria are important in the production of cheese, butter, yoghurt, sour cream, sauerkraut, pickles, and vinegar. Bacteria are used to process linen and to soften animal hides. Certain antibiotic drugs are obtained from bacteria. The important industrial solvents, acetone, and butyl alcohol are produced by bacterial fermentations.

The primitive microscopic organisms belonging to the lowest division of the plant kingdom, are widely distributed in nature. Bacteria are being found in soil, air, water, on plants and animals. Bacteria exist in environments where few other life forms can maintain themselves, such as hot springs where the temperature reaches 180 °F (82 °C), in the Antarctic Ocean, and in deep oceanic waters where they live under pressures of thousands of pounds per square inch.

Despite their extremely important role to other living organisms and the cycle of organic processes, they are also responsible for many plant, animal, and human diseases. Few events in the history of mankind have been as devastating as the Black Death, or bubonic plague, which swept through Europe in the 14th century (1348 to 1350), killing approximately 25 million people, 30–60 percent of Europe's population. Physicians have been identified a host of ailments as being caused by bacteria, including syphilis, typhoid fever, diphtheria, scarlet fever, diarrhea, and many other.

Exposure to pathogenic (disease-producing) bacteria doesn't guarantee that disease will result. This depends upon particular bacteria involved, the number of organisms that enter the body, and the ability of the body to fight the infection (immunity). Some bacteria are everyday inhabitants of the skin and the intestinal tract. As long as they remain confined to these places they are harmless, however, should they gain entrance to other parts of the body, they are capable of producing serious diseases. Infections of the kidneys (pyelonephiritis) or bladder (cystitis) are caused by bacteria that have escaped from intestinal tract.

Bacteria may produced the symptoms of disease through the effects of bacterial poisons (toxins). These substances may be secreted by the bacteria (exotoxins), or be built into the structure of the bacterial cell (endotoxins). The endotoxins are liberated only upon the death of the cell.

Bacteria are selective in the parts of the body that they choose to invade. The staphylococci infect the skin, producing boils and acne. The streptococci attack the throat. Tuberculosis and pneumonia are caused by organisms that settle in the lungs. Meningitis, an infections of the tissues surrounding the brain, is caused by various organisms, including the meningococcus, pneumococcus, streptococcus, and staphylococcus.

Bacterial endocarditis, bacterial infection of the lining of the heart, particularly of the heart valves. It usually appears in anyone who have previously had rheumatic or congenital heart disease. Treatment is with antibiotic drugs and depends upon the proper identification of the infecting bacteria. Penicilin-resistant organisms may be responsible in some cases and require special selection of antibiotics.

Diseases such as diptheria, tetanus, meningitis, and typhoid can be prevented by immunization, and many other bacterial diseases can be treated by antibiotic drugs. Tuberculosis patients must daily consume of antibiotic drugs for 6 month treatment. Most death from bacterial infections are caused by organisms that have become resistant to the action of antibiotics.

The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time by John Kelly

Source Encyclopedia International by :

• Jerard Hurwitz, Professor, Department of Development Biology and Cancer Research, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York.
• Jerome D. Waye, M.D., Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, Mount Sinai Medicine School; Chief, Division of Gastroenterology, Trafalgar Hospital, New York.
• Irving Solomon, M.D., Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, Mount Sinai Medicine School, New York.