Good home treatment of influenza

Cough from this cause is best treated with an antihistamine and decongestant rather than a cough suppressant.

The dry cough is the one we want to suppress, and the wet cough is the one we want to encourage.

Shortness of breath

When a person is short of breath, he is having a hard time getting a satisfying breath. He feels like he is not getting enough air.

Sometimes this symptom is due an asthma attack or when the air passages go into a spasm of tightening. When this happens, the patient wheezes when they inhale and exhale breath.

The higher the pitch of the wheeze, the more constricted the breathing tubes.

With some other causes of shortness of breath, the breathing passages are wide open, and the problem is deep in the lung being due to a buildup of fluid or pus.

These are serious complications of flu. So, shortness of breath developing in a patient with flu should be evaluated by a doctor or at a hospital as soon as possible.

Pneumonia usually causes the patient to have a wet cough with lots of mucus. The mucus can be clear or colored, and can be thick or thin.

Since those who develop pneumonia during the pandemic are at high risk of dying, if at all possible, they need professional medical treatment.

Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea

Vomiting and diarrhea occur when the virus affects the stomach or intestine.

These flu signs cause the patient to become dehydrated quickly especially in the presence of fever. When the intestine is infected and food is eaten, it can't be digested and this leads to a worsening of the diarrhea and stomach cramps.

Signs or symptoms of serious complications of Bird Flu

Supportive treatment of influenza

Keeping good records

It will be useful to keep well-organized notes on the patients you are caring for at home.

Having a standard approach is a good way to be sure that you have not overlooked anything of importance. Each day, write down the patient's vital signs.

Include their temperature, pulse rate, breathing rate, blood pressure, and weight if they can stand. Repeat the vital signs three times daily in routine patients and more often in very sick patients.

You can get a clear picture of how the patient is doing from these simple measurements. An important part of the daily record is to measure the patient's fluid intake and output.

To do this, you will need to keep track of the fluid they are taking in as well as passing out. Have patients save all their urine by urinating in a chamber pot or urinal instead of the toilet.

Measure the urine output using a large measuring cup. The amount of fluid we take in each day is always more than the amount passed out because of insensible losses. Insensible losses include fluid lost through the skin as perspiration, water vapor in the breath, and fluid in the stool.

If the patient is not drinking enough fluid their output of urine will fall off, and the urine will become darker and concentrated. If this happens, encourage them to drink more fluids.

Identification of dehydration

When patients have a fever, vomiting, and/or diarrhea, they lose much more water from the body than is commonly appreciated.

Symptoms of dehydration include weakness, dizziness, headache, confusion, and fainting. Signs of dehydration include dryness of the mouth, decreased saliva, lack of or very small urine volume that is dark and highly concentrated, sunken eyes, loss of skin elasticity, low blood pressure, especially upon sitting up or rising from the sitting to the standing position, and fast pulse rate, especially when moving from the lying to sitting or standing positions.

Preventing or treating dehydration in people with flu will save more lives than any other intervention during the influenza pandemic.

Treatment of dehydration

The Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) is an excellent treatment for all causes of dehydration.

It is just what the thirsty body needs to restore the lost fluid. The water, salt, and sugar in the formula team up to speed the patient's recovery.

The quantity of sugar in the ORS can be varied depending on patient preference. It can be increased up to 4 tbsp or reduced to 2 tbsp if desired by the patient.

For some people, the ORS will taste too salty. In this case, increase the water content to 1.5 or even 2 quarts leaving the remainder of the formula unchanged.

The Adult ORS formula for dehydration

• 1-quart clean water
• 1 level tsp table salt
• 3 tbsp table sugar

If you detect or suspect that dehydration is developing, administer the ORS by mouth.

If the patient is too ill to drink, someone must sit with them and administer the fluids using a teaspoon or the baby bottle to get one spoonful or dribble from the bottle down the patient's throat until she is strong enough to drink alone.

Don't stop until the patient has been able to keep down at least a quart of fluids, which may take several hours. You will know you are making headway with fluid therapy when the patient becomes more alert and begins urinating, an indication that their fluid deficit is partially restored.

While these are good signs, more remains to be done. With sick patients like these, you need to "push the fluids" so don't let your guard down.

If they are too weak to use a glass and straw or squeeze bottle, try an 8 oz. baby bottle, which may be easier to handle.

Your patient will be very tired. Let them sleep for a couple of hours and then get them to drink more fluids.

Be insistent; it is really important.

You can drink the ORS plain or add fruit flavorings or natural herbs like tea, vanilla, cloves, cinnamon, or mint.

A number of excellent powdered fruit drink products are available at the grocery store that can be mixed with the ORS. Once the patient is well hydrated and eating, there is no further need for the ORS. Even if the patient is not eating but can drink and remains well hydrated, you can switch them to one of the other fluids listed for use with the clear liquid diet such as juice, bouillon, or tea.