Tips to Stay Productive and Healthy This Winter

October often kicks off cold and flu season when cooler, less humid weather is an ideal environment for cold- and flu-causing viruses. This crisp air also dries out nasal passages, making them more susceptible to viral infections. Kids, who are notorious for not washing their hands, return to communal school settings and spread germs in your home or in your office via infecting their parents faster than you can say Oscillococcinum (That’s oh-sill-oh-cox-see-num or Oscillo for short). “Oscillo is what I recommend to have on hand during the season because the sooner you start treating flu symptoms, the better chance you have for a quick recovery,” says Christophe Merville, Ph D. Pharm., Director of Education and Pharmacy Development for Boiron USA. On the market for more than 65 years in France where it is one of the best-selling over-the-counter medicines in pharmacies and readily available on retail shelves in the U.S., Oscillo has been shown in four double-blind placebo-controlled clinical studies to help reduce both the severity and duration of flu symptoms. Merville explains that a lot of folks take great proactive steps like washing hands frequently and taking a multivitamin. Yet they sometimes wait until they are “sick enough” to use a conventional medicine because of potential side effects. “Oscillo is the solution for what to do at that first onset of symptoms—the step after the proactive vitamins but before it gets to the point where you think you need to mask symptoms with heavy duty medication,” Merville says. A Safe Homeopathic Choice This homeopathic medicine works safely and naturally with your body without causing side effects like drowsiness, letting you focus on what your busy schedule demands of you. Oscillo doesn’t interact with other medications, herbs or supplements. Nor is it contraindicated with pre-existing conditions. All this adds up to you being able to act quickly without hesitation to nip symptoms in the bud, which is important with the busy holidays approaching. Sweet-tasting, kid-friendly Oscillo dissolves quickly under the tongue. No water or chewing is required. Each dose is packaged individually in a compact and portable plastic tube making it convenient to take on the go and easy to keep handy in a purse, gym bag or desk. Because it’s appropriate for 2-year-olds to seniors, moms need only to stock the medicine cabinet with this one medicine for everyone in the household. More Tips to Stay Healthy Merville also recommends eating foods rich in vitamins C and E such as orange juice, citrus fruits, broccoli, green peppers, sunflower and corn oil, sunflower seeds, and nuts such as almonds and peanuts. Foods containing these vitamins are believed to be helpful in supporting the immune system while excessive sugar impairs the immune response. Get a full night’s sleep to keep your body’s natural defenses at optimum efficiency. Stay hydrated. Drinking extra fluids prevents dehydration caused by fever, loosens mucus, keeps your throat moist, and lessens the chance of you coming down with a cold or flu. And exercise regularly to lower stress, stimulate the immune system, and promote healthy sleep. For more information on Oscillococcinum, contact us. Is it a Cold or the Flu? Taking quick action in response to symptoms is important, but what if you have to wait to see a doctor? What if you can’t take an antihistamine or decongestion that causes drowsiness and may be dangerous to drivers, equipment operators, pilots, night workers, etc.? And sometimes it’s just hard to tell the difference between flu and the common cold. While homeopathic medicines, such as Oscillococcinum for flu and Coldcalm for colds, offer a safe solution for all these scenarios, here are a few tips to demystify the confusion between a cold and flu, which are often erroneously used in speech interchangeably:

• Colds develop slowly over a few days. Symptoms are typically confined to the upper respiratory area and include a scratchy or sore throat, sneezing, and stuffy or runny nose. Tiredness is fairly mild.
• Flu has a rapid onset within 3–6 hours. Symptoms typically affect the whole body. Tell tale signs are fever, chills, and body aches and pains. Tiredness is moderate to severe.

A bad cold could potentially cause mild body aches or a lower fever that would make it particularly difficult to determine the cause of illness. Since Oscillo is indicated for those flu-like symptoms and since homeopathic medicines don’t mask symptoms that could lead to an early diagnosis of a more serious problem, it is best to start with Oscillo and switch to Coldcalm if necessary. If flu symptoms become significantly worse after the first 3 days of illness, especially if your fever subsides and then returns, be sure to seek medical attention right away. The reason that flu is considered a potentially dangerous infection is because it leaves the body vulnerable to other infections, like pneumonia.