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Baltimore Health Examiner
Showing entries for Category: infectious-disease
Showing entries for Category: infectious-disease
The common cold: Sweat yourself to health
 As I lay here snuffling and coughing and fighting the fuzz in my brain, it is hard to concentrate on anything but my misery. I’m not dying. I just have a cold. I am a cold aficionado. I think my husband has had 2 colds in the 14 years we’ve been married, but I can’t count high enough to figure out how many I’ve had. The cold viruses love my upper respiratory system just as mosquitoes love other people’s legs. I’m my own research lab. I’ve tried just about every symptomatic medicine and remedy around, and I’d like to share my wholly unscientific results. First, the basics. The ‘common cold’ is caused by one of several viruses, including rhinovirus. Antibiotics are of no use at all, so if your primary symptoms are runny nose, mild cough, sore throat and fatigue but you don’t have a fever, there is no need to run to the doctor. While it is true that bacterial infections can occur after a cold (a sinus infection, for example), taking antibiotics during the cold phase won’t prevent that unpleasant consequence. The best weapons are the types of treatments your grandma recommended: rest and fluids and soup. Chicken soup has actually been found to have anti-inflammatory properties (see abstract). Grandma, you were right. If my husband gets even a tickle in his throat, he bundles up in sweats and a sweatshirt with a hood, puts the electric blanket on high, and sweats his way to health. I quietly tolerated this weird behavior for years before I finally put it to the test. It turns out, he’s not as crazy as I thought! Since I have adopted this hooded, fuzzy socked, super heated method, my colds have drastically decreased in length. This is, of course, a completely unscientific assessment -- but I’m convinced. I decided to look into this phenomenon to see if there was any evidence to support the sweat-yourself-to-wellness theory. Guess what? There is! Rhinoviruses, which cause many of the nasty colds that send us to our beds, replicate more slowly at higher temperatures. This means fewer ‘bugs’ for your body to fight off, and potentially a quicker recovery. So for me that means no Tylenol, Ibuprofen or other fever reducers – I want to be as hot as possible! When it comes to over-the-counter cold medicines, I find plain old pseudoephedrine to be the best. A constantly runny nose is distracting, especially if you are trying to work, and pseudoephedrine does a good job of drying up the goo. People with high blood pressure, heart trouble and some other illnesses shouldn’t take it – check with your doctor. Also, you have to ask at the pharmacy counter for it now since it is no longer available in the ‘cold’ aisle of the drug store. We have methamphetamine producers to thank for this small inconvenience – they were buying it in bulk in order to manufacture meth. So if you’ve noticed that your favorite cold medicine doesn’t work as well as it used to, it may be because pseudoephedrine was replaced with another decongestant. My hood is up. My socks are on and my bed is heating up. It is time to sweat myself to health. (photo courtesy of Discovery Health) |
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Lyme Disease - don't panic, just get informed
 It is lyme time again. Almost everyone has heard about it and some of us are vaguely afraid of it. But do you really know what it is, how to protect yourself and when to call the doctor? Read on. Lyme Disease is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, a bacterium that is passed to us by a tick bite. The good news is that it takes that tick 24 hours to actually give us Lyme Disease, so we have plenty of opportunity to foil his plans. Our first goal should be to prevent the tick from jumping on us in the first place. Using a tick repellent containing DEET (no more than 30% DEET for kids) and wearing closed-toed shoes in grassy or wooded areas is a good start. I am supposed to tell you to always wear long sleeves and long pants, but I can’t bring myself to do it. Have you ever gone hiking in August in long sleeves and long pants? I think that if you are hanging out in high-risk areas between April and October, you should assume that you might inadvertently pick up a little, black hitchhiker. The next step is to find and eject the ticks before they have time to transmit Lyme Disease. Since you have 24 hours before they cause you any trouble, checking yourself carefully every day that you might be at risk should keep you safe. They are tiny so be sure to check everywhere: between your toes, behind your ears, and even between your legs. If you find a tick, don’t panic. Just grab him near to your skin and pull straight away from your body until he pops off. Be sure to mark the date on your calendar in case you need to tell your doctor about it. Even if you do get infected, all is not lost. Lyme Disease is usually treatable when caught early, so your next step is to watch for a rash and other Lyme symptoms. The rash is called erythema migrans (see above picture) and other possible symptoms include: fever, headache, fatigue, joint pain, and swollen glands. Be alert for a month or so because the rash can take between 3 and 33 days to appear. If you have found a tick on your body and develop any of these symptoms, call your doctor right away. The scary outcomes that you might have heard of, like arthritis, meningitis and nerve problems, are generally associated with untreated Lyme Disease. So here are the Cliff notes: • Keep ticks off by using repellent and cover-ups in wooded and grassy areas • Check your body daily – be sure to eject any unwanted tenants within 24 hours • If you find a tick, watch for signs of Lyme and call your doctor if they appear Lyme Disease is preventable and you have the power. Happy hiking! (picture courtesy of Maryland Department of Health & Mental Hygiene) |
Dr. Delia Chiaramonte
Dr. Delia Chiaramonte is the founder and president of Insight Medical Consultants, a private medical advising and patient advocacy company. She is board certified in family medicine and is Medical Director for Hospice of Baltimore.
Dr. Delia Chiaramonte is the founder and president of Insight Medical Consultants, a private medical advising and patient advocacy company. She is board certified in family medicine and is Medical Director for Hospice of Baltimore.
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