Although the cold and flu season is slowly winding down, the waiting rooms of health centers across Serbia are still packed with patients with respiratory infections.
The data of the Belgrade City Institute for Public Health reveal that around 17,000 people with acute respiratory infections were registered in Belgrade alone over the course of first ten days of February, which is a rise of 18.5% compared to the last week of January. Epidemiologists have warned of a possible ‘stronger strike’ of flu epidemic at the beginning of the year, which actually happened, and sudden cold wave in February favored an additional increase in the number of people suffering from cold.
Flue strikes suddenly
You have started sneezing, your nose is clogged, you have a sore throat, you cough - how do you know if you have a cold or maybe the flu?
‘Cold and flu are distinguished according to the speed of onset of symptoms. In case of the flu, the symptoms appear suddenly and are more intense, while the signs of a cold appear gradually. In case of a cold, there is no high body temperature, loss of appetite, which are typical for a flu condition that lasts for about a week.
Children and adults can have a cold several times a year, and a cold is considered the most common 'unpleasant reason' that obstructs us from accomplishing our usual daily errands’, explains Neda Burić, graduate pharmacist and Marketing Manager OTC/CHC Portfolio West Balkans at Hemofarm.
Both cold and the flu are caused by viruses. More than 200 types of viruses cause the same symptoms such as cough, sneezing and sore throat.
‘Viruses that cause cold can be present in the mucous membranes of the nose and throat, even several days before the manifestation of the first symptoms such as sneezing, itchy nose and a feeling of sensitivity of the throat and pharynx. These are all signs that a virus is present in our body. This is followed by nasal secretion and congestion, sore throat and sinus pain, all that accompanied by fatigue’, says our interlocutor.
Prevention comes first
A cold, like the flu, is transmitted by physical contact with an infected person, where the infection is transmitted through droplets, by touching infected objects such as mobile phones, computer keyboards, door handles, etc., to which the infected person has transferred virus particles.
‘With proper hygiene, more frequent and thorough hand washing, avoiding contact with infected people during flu and cold epidemics, and definitely getting vaccinated against the flu, you can protect yourself and spare yourself the discomfort caused by the aforementioned infections. You should simultaneously strengthen your immunity with a varied diet and the use of appropriate supplements. The mentioned prevention measures will either completely protect you, or the form of the disease will be much milder’, advises Neda Burić.
Prevent complications
In Serbia, all three types of influenza virus, AH1, AH3 and type B, have been confirmed, with the predominance of the AH1 subtype.
‘In case of the flu, high body temperature, joint and muscle pain, malaise, and cough are usually present, while diarrhoea and vomiting occur more often in children. The flu imposes a threat because in the elderly, as well as in chronic patients, a viral infection can be followed by a bacterial one, which leads to bronchitis, ear or sinus infections, as well as bacterial pneumonia. In order to prevent major complications, it is very important to contact your doctor in a timely manner and receive adequate therapy’, warns our collocutor.
What would you, as a pharmacist, recommend for the treatment of the first symptoms of a cold or flu?
‘If you do not have a fever, but only sneezing, stuffy nose, sinus pain, the medicine of choice could be a combination of pseudoephedrine and triprolidine substances in the form of tablets for adults or in the form of syrup for children, which quickly relieve the above symptoms. Nevertheless, in case of an elevated body temperature, fever, muscle pain, the medicines of choice could be paracetamol or ibuprofen, which relieve pain and lower the elevated body temperature’, explains our collocutor.
And in case of bronchitis or pneumonia, what else would be useful in addition to the regular therapy?
‘In acute and chronic diseases of the bronchi and lungs, it is recommended to use tablets and syrups intended for both children and adults, which contain the active substances bromhexine, i.e., ambroxol, which facilitate expectoration and dissolve secretion in the respiratory tract. However, do not take any of the above 'on your own', but only on recommendation of your doctor or pharmacist’, says Neda Burić, graduate pharmacist from Hemofarm.
