Effective treatment for the flu

Sunday, January 13, 2013 by: Randall Neustaedter OMD
Tags: flu season, treatment, elderberry

(NaturalNews) Flu season has arrived and emergency rooms are packed with those unfortunate souls who have come down with these dreaded symptoms. Unfortunately, conventional medicine has no effective treatment for the flu. Turning to alternative treatments is your best option.

How do you know whether you have the flu or a cold? If you have the flu you probably feel so miserable that you think you will die. You can't go to work. You have a hard time even getting out of bed. Your muscles ache, and you have a combination of fevers, chills, headaches, sore throat, coughing, and congested sinuses. If you are just congested with a runny nose and cough and you are still taking the kids to school, going to work, and dragging yourself around, then you have a cold.

What should you do? First take elderberry extract. Elderberry has been shown in several clinical studies to reduce the duration and severity of flu symptoms, and it is safe for children. Echinacea will also help the body defend itself against viruses. Vitamin C in hefty doses (6,000 - 20,000 mg/day) is a good idea as well. Children's doses are usually about 1/3 that of adults. Vitamin A is helpful for viruses at a dosage of 20,000 - 40,000 IU/day. And finally, continue your regular dose of 5,000 IU vitamin D or even double it while you are sick.

Start taking a Yin Chiao Chinese herbal formula at the first onset of viral symptoms. These are usually available at health food stores and through online suppliers. The two primary herbal ingredients are Lonicera and Forsythia (Jin Yin Hua and Lian Chiao). A more specific Chinese herbal formula for flu symptoms with muscle aching and sinus congestion is Gan Mao Ling. These are inexpensive and everyone would do well to stock these two formulas in your first aid kit.

Homeopathic medicines are also mainstays in the treatment of flu symptoms. Often the most important homeopathic is Gelsemium, characterized by chilliness, lack of thirst, severe aching, and severe tiredness with headache and congestion. By contrast Bryonia is a homeopathic flu remedy for flu symptoms if you feel warm and want cool drinks and cool air, you are thirsty, and have bad headaches and achiness. These medicines are also perfectly safe for children. Take a 12 or 30 strength of one of these homeopathics every few hours until you feel much better.

This holistic treatment program along with plenty of water, soups, and fresh fruits will get you feeling back to normal and assure that you avoid the complications that sometimes accompany seasonal flus.

About the author:
Dr. Randall Neustaedter, OMD, has practiced and taught holistic medicine for more than thirty years in the San Francisco Bay area, specializing in child health care. He is a licensed acupuncturist and doctor of Chinese medicine, author of The Holistic Baby Guide, Child Health Guide and The Vaccine Guide. Visit his website, www.cure-guide.com, to register for a free newsletter with pediatric specialty articles and follow him on Facebook, at Dr. Randall Neustaedter, OMD.