There are three things that I know about Katherine Davis. She is the author of twenty-two romance novels, stands six feet tall in her stockinged feet, and she never, ever calls me unless something is seriously wrong.
I first met Katherine when her husband was hit by a minivan. As he was brought to the emergency room, his lung collapsed and I was called for a consultation. While we were working on Nate, his heart stopped briefly and we had to scramble to get his cardiac system working again. The next time Katherine called, her furnace had had a puff back and she and her family had inhaled oily, black soot. So when she called me again at home late on a rainy spring night, I imagined the worst.
"Neil, I can't believe what happened!" she began anxiously.
I peppered her with questions: "Is Nate all right? Is he short of breath? Is he in pain?"
"No! No!" she exclaimed. "It's this awful cold! You doctors can bring people back from the dead. Isn't there anything that you can do for this miserable stuffed nose and sore throat?"
I was so relieved that I burst out laughing. "It's not funny!" she wailed. "We had to cancel our trip to Italy because of this stupid cold."
Katherine is hardly unique in her cold or in her sense of frustration. Each year Americans suffer an astonishing 1 billion colds. We spend $5 billion on cold and sniffle remedies. These all-too-common virus infections are responsible for the loss of 50 million workdays and 60 million school days. Influenza, the simple cold's evil twin, affects up to 60 million Americans and is fatal to twenty thousand people annually. In fact, influenza and pneumonia together are the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.
The Good Doctor's Guide to Colds and Flu will show you how to avoid illness, the most effective approachs to reducing congestion, fever, and discomfort when a cold, flu, or other respiratory infections do strike, and what to do if an infection becomes serious.
We tend to call any illness accompanied by coughs and sneezes a cold, but there are actually six different types of respiratory infections that begin with seemingly similar symptoms. In addition to colds and flu, bronchitis, pneumonia, sore throats, and sinusitis affect different parts of the respiratory system and require individualized strategies for prevention and treatment. For example, Katherine Davis's cold had actually developed into bronchitis, and she needed a short course of bronchodilators to reduce irritability of her airways. If her cold had been treated early and correctly, she could likely have avoided the lung problems that forced cancellation of her trip.
While modern diseases such as SARS and mad cow disease have captured the world's attention, the history of colds is as old as the history of man. Early Egyptian hieroglyphs depicting cough and cold are found on the walls of ancient buildings. The famous Ebers papyrus offered a potion for cold symptoms called galena that included dry incense and honey. The earliest description of a cold was given by fifth-century B.C. Greek physician Hippocrates, who is considered the father of medicine. Hippocrates carefully described a runny, swollen nose and fever. He did not offer remedies, but he rightly rejected his era's favored approach of bleeding as a cure for colds.
The care of colds, considered a minor problem, was left to homemade concoctions and folk medicine, a tradition that continues today. In the first century, Pliny the Elder recommended kissing the hairy muzzle of a mouse for the relief of cold symptoms. At that same period of time in Rome,...
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The latest and most effective information on preventing and treating colds and flu. Under the weather? Eminent lung specialist Neil Schachter, M.D., arms you with the knowledge you need to boost immunity and avoid illness. And when colds, flu, and other respiratory infections do strike, you'll know exactly how to relieve uncomfortable symptoms like congestion and fever. In this book you'll find: Treatment plans for the most common respiratory infections, including colds, flu, bronchitis, pneumonia, sinusitis, and strep throat; The right way to use vitamin C and zinc to combat a cold; The important difference between a head cold and chest cold; The five best ways to quiet a cough; Three signs that indicate if it's a cold or flu; Three symptoms that signal it's time to call a doctor; Why humming five seconds a day can reduce risk of sinus problems; The surprising reason why women catch more colds; And much more With Dr. Schachter's guidance, you'll stay one step ahead of colds and flu.
