IS IT A COLD OR THE FLU? COMMON SYMPTOMS AND DIFFERENCES.

The terms cold and flu are incorrectly used in everyday language. 

This tends to happen because the differences are minimal but important.

FLU

The flu is a viral infectious disease that is commonly characterised for its sudden emergence during the winter season.

SYMPTOMS

The symptoms are:

• High fever. Higher than 38 degrees.
• Intense headache.
• Joint pain.
• Extreme tiredness.
• Sore throat.
• Blocked nose.
• Cough.

TREATMENT

• Bed rest for a week
• Ensure that you are well hydrated by drinking hot drinks and by taking medication to reduce the fever and the pain.

COMPLICATIONS

The most serious complications that can arise from having suffered the flu are bronchitis and pneumonias.

PRECAUTIONS

Pregnant women, diabetics, people that have low immune systems or that suffer from chronic pulmonary diseases have take precautions to avoid contracting the flu.

COLD

The cold is also a viral disease that is commonly contracted during the winter season.

SYMPTOMS

• A number of symptoms are different to those of the flu.
• Heavy secretions from the nose.
• Sneezes.
• A fever that is not higher than 38 degrees.
• A headache, however it is not as intense as the one that is experienced when suffering from the flu.
• Tiredness that does not prevent you from fulfilling daily activities.

These symptoms slowly emerge and last from three to seven days. 

TREATMENT

Hydration, hot drinks and pain killers.

PREVENTIVE MEASURES AGAINST CONTAGION

Both viruses are spread from person to person via saliva droplets that we expel when we talk, whether we see them or not.

The virus can also be spread when the sufferer coughs, sneezes, places their hand over their mouth or touches objects with their contaminated hands.

Preventive measures:

• Use disposable tissues
• Never cough or sneeze over your hands, always on your arm.
• Regularly wash your hands and never greet someone with them if you have a cold or the flu.
• Thoroughly clean the surfaces that everybody touches such as doorknobs, wardrobes, tables, toilets, etc.
• Maintain a high level of hygiene, especially where pregnant women, children and people that suffer from chronic illnesses or are immunosuppressed are present.
• Vaccines to be administered to as many people as possible, mainly to older people and people that suffer from chronic illnesses.
• Maintain a varied diet rich in vitamins and antioxidants, which are present in fruits and vegetables. 

¿ES GRIPE O RESFRIADO? SÍNTOMAS COMUNES Y DIFERENCIAS.

En el lenguaje común se suelen confundir los términos gripe con resfriado.

Esto es así porque las diferencias son pocas, pero importantes.

GRIPE

La gripe es una enfermedad contagiosa, de origen vírico, que se da fundamentalmente en la época invernal y que se caracteriza por su aparición brusca.

SÍNTOMAS

Los síntomas son:

• Fiebre alta. Más de 38 grados de temperatura.
• Cefalea o dolor de cabeza intenso.
• Dolores en las articulaciones.
• Extremo cansancio.
• Dolor de garganta.
• Nariz bloqueada.
• Tos.

TRATAMIENTO

• Mantenerse en cama durante la semana aproximadamente que dura.
• Mantenerse bien hidratado, bebiendo bebidas calientes y tomando medicación para la fiebre y el dolor.

COMPLICACIONES

Las bronquitis y las neumonías son las mayores complicaciones a las que puede llevar una gripe.

PRECAUCIONES

Las personas con defensas bajas, embarazadas, diabéticos, o con enfermedades pulmonares crónicas entre otros, deberán de tomar las mayores precauciones posibles para evitar el contagio de este virus.

RESFRIADO

El refriado es una enfermedad vírica al igual que la gripe, que se suele dar también en la época invernal.

SÍNTOMAS

Los síntomas son parecidos a los de la gripe pero con las siguientes diferencias:

• Secreciones abundantes por la nariz.
• Estornudos.
• Fiebre que no suele superar los 38 grados.
• Cefalea, pero menos intensa que la de la gripe.
• Cansancio, que no obliga a dejar de hacer las actividades cotidianas.

Estos síntomas se presentan poco a poco y duran de entre tres a siete días.

TRATAMIENTO

Buena hidratación, bebidas calientes y analgésicos.

MEDIDAS DE PREVENCIÓN DE CONTAGIOS

Los virus tanto de la gripe como del resfriado, se pasan de una persona a otra a través de unas gotitas de saliva que todos expulsamos al hablar, las veamos o no.  

El virus también se extenderá cuando el infectado tosa, estornude, se ponga la mano en la boca o toque objetos con sus manos contaminadas.

Medidas de prevención:

• Usar pañuelos desechables.
• Toser o estornudar sobre el brazo, nunca sobre la mano.
• Lavarse frecuentemente las manos y no saludar con ellas si se está resfriado o con gripe.
• Limpiar exhaustivamente las superficies que todo el mundo toca, como los pomos de las puertas, armarios, mesas, baños, etc.
• Mantener una higiene máxima, especialmente donde hay niños, embarazadas, enfermos crónicos o inmunodeprimidos.
• Vacunaciones para el mayor número de personas posibles, principalmente adultos mayores y enfermos crónicos.
• Llevar una alimentación rica y variada en vitaminas y antioxidantes, presentes  en las frutas y verduras.

PINEAPPLE. A JEWEL OF THE TROPICS.

Pineapple is a fruit that originated from South America; it has a sweet taste and various important properties.

PROPERTIES

• The pineapple is a fruit low in calories and with a high proportion of water. This high proportion of water present within their composition allows us to maintain ourselves hydrated at all times of the year, especially during the summer.
• Pineapple also favours diuresis thereby improving the work that our kidneys do in order to eliminate toxins from our body.
• It gives us more energy due to its richness in carbohydrates.
• This fruit also contains various sugars, mainly fructose and sucrose, which gives it its sweet taste that takes away that craving for foods rich in refined sugars when its eaten as a desert.

VITAMIN C

• Pineapple has high levels of Vitamin C.
• This vitamin is necessary to activate the immune system thereby increasing the defences of our organism.
• This vitamin also contributes to the absorption of iron that is present within various foods such as meat, fish, vegetables, etc.
• Vitamin C also affects the creation of collagen, which is a protein that affects the formation of bones, cartilages and teeth.
• Vitamin C is also a very potent antioxidant that protects us against free radicals that cause aging and degenerative diseases associated with age.

OTHER VITAMINS

Pineapples also contain Vitamin A in a smaller proportion, which enables us to have good eyesight.

Other vitamins from group B are also present within this fruit and together collaborate with other functions to ensure that our nervous system works effectively.

POTASSIUM

Pineapple is one of the fruits with the highest richness of this mineral.

Potassium also participates in the regulation of blood pressure; which is why people with this pathology are recommended to eat it.

Potassium is also a mineral that intervenes in cardiac and muscular contraction.

This mineral also has an important part to play in the transmission of nerve impulses.

MAGNESIUM

Magnesium is also another mineral that can be found within pineapples and that affect the formation of bones and teeth. It also intervenes within muscular contractions and in the transmission of nerve impulses alongside potassium.

This mineral also participates in the regulation of other minerals present within pineapples such as calcium.

FIBRE

• The fibre that can found within this fruit is a good food source for microbiota or the intestinal flora, thereby generating a feeling of fullness. This fibre also causes the sugars present within the fruit to slowly get absorbed into the blood as well as decreasing the absorption of cholesterol and fats.
• Additionally, it also helps to improve intestinal transit thereby countering constipation.

BROMELAIN

Bromelain is a natural enzyme that is present within pineapples that helps to digest the proteins of the foods rich in them such as meat, fish, eggs, legumes, etc. thereby helping us to have a good digestion.

In conclusion, we want to highlight that even though pineapples form a part of a variety of gastronomic plates, the fruit retains the majority of its properties especially vitamin C and bromelain, in its unaltered state as these two substances are destroyed by heat.

Dr. J Hurtado Martínez

Medical Director of HealthSalus