It is upon us.  Here on the West Coast the drizzly, grey flu-ridden fall is in full force.  If you haven’t gotten the yearly bug yet, you’ve probably thought a lot about it.  Every time we turn on the news or pass by newspapers we see how concerned the media is about the annual flu, H1N1 and how the supply of the vaccines is falling short of the demand.  But is it all worth the hype? Is avoiding the flu really that hard?

I’ve had a number of calls from worried parents over the last couple weeks.  Little one has a cough or a fever or both - a likely H1N1 diagnosis.  Should they get a prescription for anti-virals?  Should they vaccinate their other children or themselves?  Before they know it, they’re worked up into a tizzy, questioning their jobs as parents and expecting the worst.  Part of me understands their concern.  Both the seasonal influenza and the H1N1 variety can be serious and can kill people.  But lets look at the facts:

In an information bulletin from the Ministries of Health Services and Healthy Living and Sport in British Columbia, Canada, dated November 10, 2009, we learn that in the past week there have been 202 new, severe cases of H1N1, leading to 8 deaths for a total of 601 confirmed severe cases and 23 deaths since April 2009.  Twenty-two of those deaths occurred in people who had underlying medical conditions such as heart or kidney disease, diabetes, asthma and chronic lung disease, suppressed immune systems, neurological disorders, liver disease, blood disorders and severe obesity. “To put the H1N1 outbreak in perspective, 400 to 800 people die in British Columbia from the seasonal flu or pneumonia each year.”

Should we be really worried about avoiding the flu or the swine flu?

“The majority of lab-confirmed cases in B.C. have been mild or moderate in severity, with the patients either having already recovered or currently recovering.”

Most people who are exposed to either virus and/or catch it are completely fine.  Read that again.  Just to be sure.

That being said - it is important to stay healthy and a solid baseline is a good start.  So, what can you do to protect you and your family?  The following information is what we are telling our patients at Nanaimo Naturopathic Doctor:

PREVENTION - Avoiding the Flu:

1.  Proper hygiene is important and simple.

Wash your hands:

• frequently with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds;
• before or after you eat or after using the washroom;
• before touching your mouth, eyes or face;
• after you blow your nose, sneeze or cough

Cough or sneeze into your sleeve at your elbow (not your hands)
Toss used tissues into the garbage immediately
Don’t make close contact with people that are sick

2.  Important lifestyle factors to help in avoiding the flu:

Get 7-8 hours of sleep (a night not over two nights or even worse, three!)
Move your body every day.
Practice Stress Reduction Techniques.  A lowered immune system is one of The Symptoms of Stress.
Choose to eat nutritious, whole foods especially colourful vegetables
Drink ample water for your body weight (1/2 your weight in pounds is the number of ounces you should drink per day)

3.  Other things you can do to improve your chances of avoiding the flu:

Talk to your local Naturopathic Doctor about your individual immune and vaccine needs.

Consider taking an appropriate dose of Vitamin D and a high quality echinacea or mushroom supplement.

IF YOU GET SICK OR START TO SHOW SYMPTOMS:

Stay home, until you are feeling better.  Get plenty of rest.  It’s drizzly and grey and dull outside… cozy up with your favorite slippers and a good book.  You and your co-workers will be thankful.

Drink lots of fluids, like home made chicken soup (momma knew what she was doing) especially if suffering from vomiting or diarrhea.

Don’t fear the fever!  Fevers are the body’s way of fighting off the bugs and are vital to a complete recovery.  Suppressing the fever with drugs is taking away the body’s fighting chance.  Fevers of 38.9 degrees Celsius or 102 F) are optimal.  Typically, I tell my worried moms to only worry about fevers if they get to 40 C or 104 F (after which central nervous system damage and seizures might occur so it is advisable to get to an emergency room or clinic - pronto - especially if dehydration is a concern).  We can work WITH the fever to improve our chances of a healthy recovery. Check out Home Hydrotherapy - Get Stimulated for ways to help optimize a fever.

There is a plethora of information out there about avoiding the flu.  The best thing you can do is get informed and make the best choices for you.  If you need professional help with that choice try a visit with a Naturopathic Doctor.   Naturopathic medicineis a safe, effective and natural approach to you and your family’s health.  Naturopathic doctors can and will empower you to live a healthy lifestyle while treating and preventing disease.  Find more information on the services I offer at Arbour Wellness Centre at Nanaimo Naturopathic Doctor.

For more information on disease surveillance in British Columbia:

www.gov.bc.ca/h1n1

www.healthlinkbc.ca

www.fightflu.ca

www.phac-aspc.gc.ca

www.bccdc.ca

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This is the second of a three-article series that will cover stress in detail.  In the first article, I covered the sources and symptoms of stress.  In this article, we will cover the physiology of stress and look at why bad stress makes us sick.  In the last article, I’ll review some simple stress reduction techniques.

All of us have most likely heard about the fight or flight response.  In the face of danger, or a perceived negative stress (let’s use the classic example of a saber-toothed tiger), the chemistry changes in your body so that you can do one of two things: fight the tiger or run like stink to get away from it.  The goal of either option is the same: to survive the experience so that you can pass off your genes to your offspring.

In response to a stress (real or imagined) your nervous system reacts first.  Your brain sends a signal to a gland (like a hormone factory) called the hypothalamus.  This hormone factory sends chemical signals to different parts of your body such as the adrenal glands.  The nerve cells in the inside of the adrenal glands produce and release adrenaline and we see an increase in blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate, muscle tension and metabolism.  The blood flows from your digestive organs to the major muscles in your body.  Your pupils get bigger so your vision becomes sharper.  Your hearing and concentration actually improve.  The hormone system reacts after the nervous system.  Eventually, the outer part of the adrenal glands secrete cortisol.

Cortisol has many important jobs in your body during acute stress:

• Increases blood sugar levels in the body, providing the energy to fight or flee;
• Acts as a powerful anti-inflammatory agent;
• Increases blood pressure;
• Follows a daily pattern with the highest level secreted at around 8:00 am (to help us wake up), after which there is a gradual decline throughout the day. Levels are lowest between midnight and 4:00 am (to help us sleep).

The physiology of stress prepares us to battle or bolt. Once we have evaded (or killed) the tiger, our system ideally returns to normal.  In modern society our saber-tooth tigers come to us in many forms as discussed in the first article of this series.  Often, our modern tigers don’t even require a flight or fight, but our body still reacts this way.  Many social norms (manners, customs, insecurities) prevent us from actually facing the stress or running away from it.  Also, our tigers are more chronic in nature.

We find the following stress patterns in our western world today:

1. Our fight or flight response is often active even though there is no actual threat to our safety.
2. We are faced with chronic stress.
3. Social Courtesies prevent us from engaging in combat or cutting out.
4. The stress response remains unchecked and builds up.
5. The stress response build-up leads to the production and release of constant, unopposed cortisol.
6. We become sick from the stress cycle.

The less desirable effects of cortisol on the body in the face of chronic distress include:

• A suppressed immune system leading to a decrease in our resistance to infections, cancer, and illness;
• An increase in blood pressure which can lead to stroke, aneurysm or heart attack;
• A decrease in bone mass (in an attempt to supply the blood with ample amounts of nutrients);
• A depletion of natural pain killers (endorphins) which can aggravate pain anywhere in the body;
• A decrease in both male and female sex hormones leading to decreased libido, impotence, absent periods and infertility;
• Inhibiting the function of the digestive system (which works best when we’re relaxed) leading to diarrhea, constipation, bloating, abdominal pain or other related concerns;
• A decrease in insulin sensitivity leading to or aggravating diabetes;
• An increase in liver production of cholesterol which gets deposited in the blood vessels leading to heart disease;
• A thickening of the blood which can worsen your risk for cardiovascular disease;
• An affect on the functioning of the thyroid gland and thyroid hormone which can cause changes to your metabolism.

As you can see stress is a big player in our state of health.  Since stress is unavoidable, what can you do about this?  You can change how you cope with stress and improve your body’s capability to handle it.  Don’t miss the final article in this series, “Stress Reduction Techniques - Breath or Die, and I’m Dead Serious”

Naturopathic medicine is a safe, effective and natural approach to you and your family’s health.  Naturopathic doctors can and will empower you to live a healthy lifestyle while treating and preventing disease.  Find more information on the services I offer at Arbour Wellness Centre at Nanaimo Naturopathic Doctor.

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