At this time of year it is actually very difficult to dodge the bugs. The big question is do you need an antibiotic or not.
How do you answer that question for yourself and possibly save yourself the fee of a doctors consult.
If you have serious body ache with fevers (hot and cold) and only mild nose and throat symptoms you in all liklihood have a VIRUS and in all liklihood the influenza virus which can resond to an ANTIVIRAL (Tamiflu) if caught within the first 48 hours.
If you have blocked nasal passages with thick gloop and are coughing up gloopy stuff you more likely require an antibiotic. Some throat infections do as well. There are other infections like middle-ear, chest and skin infections that require antibiotics.
If you have mainly a head "cold" so runny but clear nose and headache this is a common cold and there is no medication that your doctor can give you to fix this. This is where the lemon and honey (with a little brandy) comes in handy.
A top tip to arm yourself for winter is Echinacea Forte tablets both as prevention and cure for viral as well as bacterial infections.
A healthy immune system requires minimal stress, enough (8 hours) of sleep, good nutrition (less sugar) and peace in the home.
Written by Dr Claudine Lee 033 343 2243 26 Hilton Avenue.