Is it possible to carry ARVI and flu on your feet? Why can't you carry colds and flu on your feet? Why you can’t carry an acute respiratory infection on your feet

Being busy at work, the desire to demonstrate our resilience, dislike of bed rest - this and much more makes most of us endure the flu on our feet, demonstrating to others that everything is not as bad as it seems. However, doctors warn: such behavior entails very serious consequences, and therefore this disease should not be joked about. Let's try to figure out why the flu is much more dangerous than a common cold and what should be avoided during a sudden onset of illness.

Flu and the consequences it provokes

Most people are sure that the flu is a common cold, accompanied by fever and noticeable weakness in the body. Yes, in many ways the situation looks like this from the outside. However, if a cold can go away on its own in a week, then the flu without proper treatment, on the contrary, leads to complications such as: meningitis, otitis media, pneumonia, rhinitis, chronic bronchitis, sinusitis, sinusitis, and heart failure.

Moreover, viral pneumonia and inflammation of the brain are very serious diagnoses, and the former can even lead to death in two days.

In addition, according to statistics, several thousand people die every year from the most common flu in the world, and the main reason for this is not the lack of necessary medicine or the irresponsibility of doctors, but the basic reluctance of the patient to give his body the opportunity to independently cope with the virus that has affected him and fully restore his functions ( that is, the decision to go to work instead of lying in bed under the covers).

After all, if you look in detail at what modern medicines for this disease are, it will become clear: they are all designed to relieve flu symptoms in one way or another. As for the virus, it must be overcome by the human immune system, which a large number of desperate workers simply do not give such an opportunity - instead, they selflessly continue to go to work, hoping that “everything will work itself out somehow,” and the drug advertised on TV will save them from lying down.

As we have already said, this behavior is fraught with many pitfalls. And this applies not only to the threat to one’s own health. One of the main reasons why many adults decide to suffer the flu on their feet is their obvious reluctance to miss at least one day of work, but at the same time they forget: unwanted complications resulting from a careless attitude to the disease will require much more complex work from them. treatment and, accordingly, even longer sick leave than it could have been during the treatment of influenza. Therefore, we repeat once again: at the first signs of such a dangerous disease, you must immediately consult a doctor and happily lie in bed for as many days as necessary.

First signs of flu

Distinguishing the flu from a cold is not a task for simpletons. However, knowing some details about the nature of the course of two extremely similar diseases, this can still be done:

1. The flu, as an acute infectious disease of the upper respiratory tract, comes on suddenly, while a cold comes upon us gradually, giving its first signals in the form of a slight runny nose or sore throat.

2. When this disease occurs, the body temperature rises sharply to 39 degrees or more, and in a matter of hours. As for ARVI, 37 is more typical for it with rare rises to 38.

3. In addition, a distinctive feature of the flu is an unpleasant ache in the joints, making the patient feel completely overwhelmed and incapacitated.

4. A severe headache, general weakness and a deep cough are also often added to the overall picture.

If you notice all of the above symptoms, you should not self-medicate. A medicine recommended by a friend or a neighbor in the stairwell may not be the medicine that your body needs in the first hours of the disease. Therefore, if you want to get back on track as quickly as possible, feel free to go to the doctor and try to follow all the recommendations he gives you.

According to statistics, adults suffer from acute respiratory viral infections on average 2–3 times a year, and children – 6–8 times. And if in most cases, with a cold (and this is what we call ARVI in everyday life), parents still do not send the child to kindergarten or school (although there are also frivolous fathers and mothers), then adults, as a rule, endure the disease on their feet, while continuing to go to work or go to college. And only if the temperature goes beyond 38 degrees and there is no strength left to get out of bed, they take a sick leave. Doctors constantly remind us of the dangers of such behavior, but how many pay attention to their warnings? Firstly, the majority does not consider the cold to be a serious illness, believing that it does not require special treatment and will somehow go away on its own. Secondly, often the employer is not very happy with a sick employee: thus, the salary can be shortened, and sometimes even the job can be lost. Thirdly, for some reason we are sure that coming to work sick is almost a feat.

In fact, this is at least stupid and also dishonest towards others: colleagues, fellow travelers on transport, etc. After all, the virus easily enters the atmosphere, infecting everyone around. As a result, the entire work team sneezes and coughs in unison, but heroically continues to work. True, the fruits of such activity are unlikely to be fruitful.

Of course, the boss will not be too pleased if a valuable employee does not come to work due to illness, but here you have to choose: either his favor or your own health. Because ARVI or flu suffered on the legs can result in very serious complications.

Nowadays, people's immune systems are weakened, especially among residents of large cities. Polluted air and water, foods with chemical additives, stress and an unhealthy lifestyle are to blame. With weak immunity, the infection may not cause a high fever, and in such cases it is often believed that it is mild. But this is not entirely true. Sometimes a completely harmless ailment can result in a serious illness.

Most complications of ARVI and influenza are caused by the fact that a bacterial infection is added to a viral infection. Most often these are bronchitis and pneumonia, when viruses and bacteria infect the bronchi and lungs. Signs of such complications are a cough (this is not typical for ARVI) and the onset of a second wave of the disease: deterioration of the condition, rise in temperature, weakness - usually on the 3-6th day of illness.

When the sinuses are infected, sinusitis develops, manifested by pus from the nose, headache, and nasal voice.

When the infection spreads to the ears, otitis media develops - inflammation of the middle ear: pain appears in the ears, sometimes very severe, which intensifies with pressure on the ear. Otitis media can lead to deafness.

A complication of the heart is myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle. It is characterized by pain in the heart area, palpitations, severe weakness, shortness of breath even with light exertion, and pain in the joints. This is a serious disease that can significantly reduce the quality of life.

Another consequence of viral infections is cystitis, which can develop into pyelonephritis.

But the most terrible complications of ARVI and influenza are associated with the nervous system: meningitis, meningoencephalitis, cerebral edema. They are quite rare, but the most severe and can pose a threat to human life.

The following are more at risk of complications:

• small children - up to 3 years old;
• aged people;
• patients with severe chronic diseases and circulatory disorders;
• people with immunodeficiencies;
• patients who have recently undergone surgery.

Because of the possibility of developing complications, you cannot tolerate ARVI and flu on your feet; you must stay at home until you fully recover. If the disease is mild, you can avoid lying in bed, but try to move less and rest more.

A very important point in the treatment of viral infections is the air in the room. It should be damp and cool, no higher than 18–20 degrees. It is cool - in the heat and dry air, the mucous membranes dry out and cannot effectively fight infection. To avoid the cold, you just need to dress warmer. And be sure to ventilate the room as often as possible.

When sick, especially with a high temperature, the patient loses a lot of fluid (through sweat, snot), so he needs to drink a lot to replenish the losses. In addition, drinking plenty of fluids promotes increased urination, and all toxins leave the body with urine. The drink must be warm, there are no other restrictions (of course, alcohol is completely excluded). You should also exclude all kinds of smoked meats, pickles, and marinades. Food should be easily digestible, not irritating to the throat, and warm. If you have no appetite, do not force yourself to eat.

Well, what medications to take for ARVI and influenza, the doctor will tell you.

A few tablets instead of breakfast and off to work. This is what many of us do, unfortunately. We endure colds “on our feet” because we simply have no time to get sick. While in government agencies an employee can take sick leave, in private structures this is often regarded as a direct loss to the company. And at state-owned enterprises, patients are looked down upon because their work goes to their colleagues. Therefore, instead of being treated at home, we go to work, forgetting that even a common runny nose can cause complications.

A cold can develop into inflammation of the heart muscle

Doctors advised staying at home during a cold back in the Middle Ages, and this advice remains relevant to this day. The virus primarily affects the mucous membrane of the nasopharynx - the entrance gate of any droplet infection. Swelling of the mucous membrane occurs, vascular permeability is impaired, and local immunity is reduced. To make it easier to breathe, the patient usually drips vasoconstrictor drugs into the nose, which cause vasospasm and further impair blood circulation in the mucous membrane. Add to this the cold air outside, and you get extremely favorable conditions for another infection to enter the body.

Serious diseases such as meningitis, hepatitis, leptospirosis begin as a cold, so if you get sick, it is better to go to the doctor rather than to work

According to doctors, a common cold suffered “on your feet” can result in sinusitis or bronchitis. In addition, an infectious disease, especially the flu, even if it is mild, creates additional stress on the heart and kidneys. Viruses create a favorable environment for the addition of a bacterial infection and the activation of opportunistic flora, which the body coped with while it was healthy. The consequence can be severe complications: pneumonia (pneumonia), myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle), glomerulonephritis (inflammation of the kidney tissue).

Eliminate symptoms, but do not cure the disease

In addition to the fact that people go to work sick, they also uncontrollably take medications that eliminate cold symptoms, doctors complain, and this is also dangerous.

These medicines, which, by the way, are actively advertised on television, can alleviate the patient’s condition, but they are not able to neutralize the causative agent of the disease - a virus or bacteria. They only calm down for a while, and then “wake up” again. And when a patient, after taking such drugs, turns to doctors, the clinical picture of the disease has already been removed, and therefore the doctor will need more time, more clinical, laboratory, and instrumental methods in order to correctly make a diagnosis.

If you get sick at work and not in bed, you can get sinusitis and even kidney inflammation

All drugs that eliminate cold symptoms consist of three main groups of drugs - antipyretics, antihistamines and vasoconstrictors. People over 30 should take them very carefully, because often even young people have various diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. And uncontrolled use of drugs can provoke ulcers or bronchial asthma. There are even more contraindications for taking cold pills in patients over 50. At this age, people often suffer from heart and blood diseases, have a tendency to form blood clots, and such medications can accelerate their formation.

Hepatitis and leptospirosis begins as flu

In addition to the fact that uncontrolled use of cold medications can have serious side effects, they even interfere to a certain extent with rapid recovery. After all, a temperature of up to 38.5° during colds is a normal physiological reaction of the body; it produces interferon, which helps fight viral infection. That is why doctors advise not to lower the temperature until the critical level of 38.5. And by taking an advertised drug that contains an antipyretic, we lower the temperature and, accordingly, interfere with the synthesis of interferon.
To treat colds, it is better to use combination medications, separately vasoconstrictors and separately antipyretics, advises the therapist. And once again I want to emphasize that even a common cold should be taken seriously and consult a doctor. After all, headache, fever, cough, runny nose can be symptoms of much more serious diseases, for example, meningitis, viral hepatitis or leptospirosis.

Only a doctor can determine the duration of treatment and dose

All of the above does not mean that medications that eliminate cold symptoms should be completely abandoned. However, you should not take them and go to work the next day. You can take this drug if the night is ahead, and a person exhausted by illness needs to sleep. However, you should definitely visit the clinic in the morning. And it is likely that the doctor will advise you to take the same drug as in the advertisement. However, only a physician can determine the correct dose and duration of treatment, taking into account your age, weight, gender, and foresee possible adverse reactions to the drug.

Having a viral disease is not so bad, after which various post-morbid symptoms occur. After the flu, you may encounter such a symptom when your legs hurt. To understand how to eliminate this symptomatology, it is necessary to understand the reasons for its occurrence.

Frail people experience cold and crunching in their joints. People of large build experience swelling, heaviness of the legs, and aching pain even at rest.

The website notes the following factors that cause leg pain:

• ARVI.
• Hypothermia.
• Flu.
• Heredity.

An inflammatory process begins to develop in the joints, which leads to the development of rheumatoid arthritis. Inflammation has a destructive effect on the joint tissue, where salts begin to accumulate. In addition to the indicated reasons, factors in the development of this condition include irregular sleep and poor diet.

Features of the flu

Influenza is a common viral disease that affects people every year and is contagious and dangerous to children and those with weakened immune systems. It is not the disease itself that is dangerous, but the consequences that may occur behind it. That is why you should be familiar with the characteristics of the flu, which often becomes an epidemic in the winter.

The causative agents of the disease are viruses of groups A, B, C. About 30% of the urban population gets sick with influenza during the winter. Most of them are children. Features of influenza are:

• Easy transmission from person to person. Simple communication with an infectious person is enough to get sick. Here you can become infected through household appliances used by sick and healthy individuals.
• Higher risk of occurrence in childhood than in adults. Children are 5 times more likely to get sick than older people.
• The lifespan of a virus outside the human body. The infection can remain for a long time on any surface touched by a sick person.

The influenza virus is constantly mutating. Those drugs and vaccinations that helped last year may be useless this year. This is why medications are constantly being updated.

Various pathological factors are noted in the body after influenza:

1. Lack of nutrients, vitamins, elements in the body.
2. Reduced immunity, which is unable to fight new infections.
3. Low hemoglobin level.

If a person eats poorly, finds himself in a climate where there are changes in temperature and humidity, visits places with large crowds of people, and does not receive enough light, then he is more prone to the flu.

After the flu, a person should be attentive to his own body for about a week. Various pathologies and complications are possible after an illness, which can lead to death. Complications are especially common in children under 3 years of age. Their health should be monitored for more than a week after recovery from the flu in order to identify pathologies in time. Children with diabetes, asthma and disorders of the nervous system are especially susceptible to such disorders.

Symptoms of an infectious disease

In order to begin treatment for influenza in a timely manner, it is necessary to identify it in time. The symptoms that are inherent in this infectious disease will help with this. They are different from the common cold, so they will be easy to recognize. These include:

1. Temperature rises to 39-40°C.
2. Chills.
3. Pain in the head.
4. Pain in the throat.
5. Severe intoxication.
6. Pain in the body: neck, back, joints, limbs.
7. Nausea and vomiting in some cases.

If a bacteria is attached to the virus, then corresponding symptoms appear in the form of a runny nose, cough, nasal congestion, etc. In this situation, it is definitely necessary to consult a doctor, since we are talking about a complication of the disease.

If you ignore the symptoms of the flu and do not treat it, then complications will certainly appear, which are:

• Otitis.
• Bronchitis.
• Pain in the limbs and joints.
• Meningitis, etc.

Leg complications after influenza

During or after the flu, a person may experience leg complications. He feels pain in one or both limbs. This may indicate myositis, or muscle inflammation. Infectious myositis causes severe pain in the legs, which can develop during the flu period. This leads to the inability to rely on the limb that hurts, which reduces a person’s activity.

Pain in the legs is severe and increasing, which affects motor ability. If left untreated, the pain increases. The consequence of myositis can be absolute muscle atrophy. When you consult a doctor, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, massage, antibacterial agents, and physiotherapy will be prescribed.

Another complication after the flu can be rheumatoid arthritis, which affects joint tissue. This disease is no less dangerous than myositis. It can lead to disability due to deformation of bone tissue, which occurs during an illness that is not treated.

Doctors resort to long-term treatment, which depends on the severity of the disease. Here you will have to be patient and take time to eliminate this complication.

Rheumatoid arthritis is another complication of the flu, which also causes pain and inability to move normally. Gradually, the joint loses its mobility, which makes a person disabled if he does not use medical help.

Any complication can be prevented if flu treatment is started on time. This is possible by contacting a doctor who will make a diagnosis and begin drug treatment. It is better to prevent the development of complications than to treat them for a long time. Antibiotics are often used here to help kill the bacterial infection.

Do not forget about such a factor as a person’s desire to endure the flu on his feet. He continues to be active despite his painful condition. This soon leads to the fact that the legs begin to hurt, and the general condition worsens.

Why do my legs hurt and what can I do about it?

Why does the flu provoke such a symptom when your legs hurt? This can happen both during illness and after recovery. Doctors explain this process by disruption of blood and lymph circulation through the vessels, which leads to retention of antibodies in the joints. Since the immune system is in the fighting stage, it attacks both diseased and healthy cells. What to do about it?

First, you should be aware of the impact on this process. They are the ones who delay blood circulation, which leads to an attack of healthy cells by antibodies. A person begins to feel aches throughout the body, especially in the joints, which he begins to move and rotate poorly. Flexion and extension becomes painful.

Secondly, focus your efforts on eliminating the flu. It is he who provokes an immune attack on healthy cells. The body should be helped to destroy viruses so that they do not increase the temperature and do not make the immune system active to fight.

It is better to prevent a disease than to treat it. The following tips will help:

1. Proper nutrition that helps strengthen the immune system.
2. Maintaining an active lifestyle and proper rest. You should alternate between wakefulness and sleep so that the body is in good shape and constantly rested.
3. Avoiding stress, which causes a decrease in immunity.

After the flu, if your legs begin to hurt, you can use anti-inflammatory medications and painkillers:

• Nimesulide.
• Diclofenac.
• Analgesics.

Additional procedures to promote recovery and relieve leg pain are:

• Massage.
• Compresses.
• Warm baths.
• Herbal decoctions.
• Complete rest until the inflammatory swelling is relieved.
• Wrapping the painful joint with an elastic bandage to restore blood circulation.

Forecasts

On average, a person gets rid of leg pain within 2-3 weeks with the help of medical measures. If treatment is carried out independently, then the prognosis is unpredictable. You should be aware that complications after the flu are a consequence that can be avoided if the first disease is treated in time.

Late autumn is the traditional time for colds.

There is a boom in pharmacies - people are buying up medicines, thermometers and disposable handkerchiefs. It would seem that we have known everything about colds since childhood. However, no other disease is surrounded by as many myths, fictions and fantasies as this one.

Myth No. 1. We get sick because we are frozen.

Not at all like that. Everything that we call a cold, meaning hypothermia, is actually caused either by bacteria that live in our body, and then the person gets laryngitis, tracheitis, sore throat and other respiratory infections. Or respiratory viruses that come from outside - this is ARVI. Science knows more than 200 such viruses. And how much is unknown, no one will say. There are no vaccines for most respiratory viruses, and immunity is developed from each virus separately. This means that we can become infected with them one by one at least 200 times. Hypothermia serves only as a provocateur - when the body spends a lot of energy fighting the cold and weakens its defenses against harmful invaders. So it’s still not worth freezing.

Myth No. 2. There is nothing terrible about a cold - you can get it on your feet.

This is wrong. Any microbe (both bacteria and virus) is insidious and can cause not only a runny nose, but can affect any internal organ, provoke an exacerbation of chronic diseases and even cause disability. The author of these lines once, “heroically” enduring a cold on his feet, almost lost vision in one eye - a complication arose in the retina. So you shouldn’t treat a cold carelessly. It’s better to spend 2-3 days in bed than to spend years dealing with the consequences of your frivolity. In addition, by continuing your normal life, you will spread germs and infect others.

Myth No. 3. The temperature that rises due to a cold must be brought down.

An increase in temperature is a protective reaction of the body. Most respiratory viruses die from it. By lowering the temperature, you help them survive. For adults, it is better not to lower the temperature at all during ARVI, but for children (small ones) it is necessary to lower it only if it exceeds 38 degrees and there is a threat of seizures. And it’s better not to use drugs, but to wipe it with a damp towel.

Myth No. 4. Colds must be treated with antibiotics.

This is one of the most dangerous myths! Moreover, even some doctors share it, which is especially sad. In fact, viruses are not afraid of antibiotics; these drugs are powerless against them. Antibiotics can only be prescribed by a doctor and only according to indications. For example, when the body, weakened by viruses, begins to attack bacteria and develops sore throat, otitis media, bronchitis or other complications. Hence the conclusion: if after 3-4 days of a “cold” your condition does not improve, but, on the contrary, you only get worse, consult a doctor immediately.

Myth No. 5. Colds must be treated intensively.

There is an old joke about this: if ARVI is treated, you will be sick for a week, and if you do not treat, then for 7 whole days. Most respiratory infections go away on their own in 5-7 days without any treatment. Another thing is that you can slightly soften the symptoms of the disease - relieve headaches, clear your nose, make breathing easier. Folk remedies such as honey, lemon, garlic are also suitable for this. You can also create less comfortable conditions for viruses. This requires a lot of sour water - these small pests do not like an acidic environment.

Myth No. 6. To avoid catching a cold, you need to boost your immunity ahead of time.

This is one of the most common misconceptions. Our immunity guards our health by tracking down enemies that have entered the body and creating warriors to fight them - so-called antibodies. It is impossible to develop them in advance for all occasions. Another thing is to help the immune system during illness. The best immunomodulator is vitamin C. For colds, you can take up to 1 g per day - preferably in soluble form. To get this amount of vitamin from lemons, for example, you need to eat at least 25 pieces a day (one contains approximately 40-45 mg of ascorbic acid).

Myth No. 7. During illness, you need to eat well.

In fact, during this period the body itself often refuses food for a reason - this is also a way of fighting infection. Therefore, you should not stuff the patient (including children) with food. But you need to drink plenty of fluids, preferably warm and sour - the breakdown products of cells that the virus destroys are removed from the body faster and do not poison it.

We have already agreed - there are no drugs for respiratory viruses in nature. Everything that is offered in pharmacies is intended only to relieve symptoms: headache, runny nose, sore throat, etc. And therefore it is not at all necessary to spend a lot of money on expensive imported drugs such as “three in one”, “effervescent” or “soluble”. They contain banal and long-known components: anti-inflammatory (paracetamol or aspirin), decongestant (usually phenylephrine, which reduces runny nose and nasal congestion) and antihistamine (that is, medications for allergic reactions, which can also be caused by viruses). If you buy each medicine separately, and it’s also made in Russia, it will be 3-4 times cheaper.