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When we use the term winter illnesses, we are referring to cold-related pathologies. However, these problems are not just seasonal because even a summer thunder shower or a swim in a freezing-cold river can cause cold-related pathologies. We should also mention the exaggerated use of air conditioning which causes a very rapid temperature drop in people who enter air conditioned environments immediately after having spent time (and sweated) in very hot ones.

People generally complain of the tendency to get sick which is actually a possibility. This is most often true for people who eat poorly, but the idea of a "child whose throat or lungs are fragile" is a myth: except in rare hereditary constitutional situations, a child (or an adult) who has this problem became so because of incorrect eating habits.; by balancing these food-related aspects and by repairing the damage of incorrect therapy, people are perfectly able return to being able to defend themselves from these pathologies.
At this point it might be useful to cite some practical examples to illustrate what we just said. We would like to emphasize the damages that can be caused by the abuse of antibiotics, improper diet, food intolerances and intestinal problems.

Antibiotics

Today's society uses antibiotics practically every time there's a fever, but in so doing it forgets that fever is only a symptom and that it expresses an individual's reaction against some aggressive agents.

Antibiotics are an excellent weapon which may be used effectively on a few rare occasions, but it must be kept in mind that it only acts on bacteria and on pathologies of bacterial origin (pneumonia, bronchial pneumonia, bacterial tonsillitis), but has no effect whatsoever on viruses, which are actually responsible for more than 90% of winter illnesses (colds, tracheitis, laryngitis, pharyngitis, etc, even when accompanied by fever).

Moreover, the possible side-effects of antibiotics are more and more evident and the prescription of useless antibiotics borders on criminality.

By contrast, intense fatigue and debilitation after a flu may well be caused by antibiotics, which alter the patient's normal microbial flora and lower his ability to defend from other infections.

In an excellent British study on cold-related illnesses of children, two groups of children were treated against illness in two different ways: the first group was given normal antibiotics while in the second group anti-fever drugs were prescribed, when needed, but the illness was allowed to run its course; the treatment lasted all winter.

The following year, the children who had been treated with antibiotics caught the same illnesses with the same frequency, while the illnesses of the children who were not treated were halved.

A similar study was done in Italy. In this study, one group of children was treated exclusively with trace elements . The following winter this group caught only 80% of the illnesses caught by the children who had been regularly treated with antibiotics.

Limiting damage from antibiotics

In some cases antibiotics are useful and MUST be taken, but in a targeted way, only when really necessary and after taking all reasonable measures to limit potential damages.

Vitamins - which are not prescribed by all doctors - are useful but insufficient, since antibiotics also damage live microbic flora. Any time antibiotics are taken, it is necessary to take supplements of vitamins of group B, vitamin C and Bioflavonoids but - most of all - with fermented lactobacillus (on an empty stomach) for at least four or five days following the assumption of antibiotics.

Some products that we recommend are Biodophilus (2 capsules per day), Probiofor (2 capsules per day) and ABCdophilus which is excellent for children.

Another extremely useful aid comes from the use of sulphuric anti-oxidant mixtures. These preparations help the body defend the respiratory system from the effects of pollution. They can be used alongside the mineral supplements mentioned above and when used in the proper dosages, they can often help one get through the winter serenely.

Food hypersensitivities or intolerances

These aren't actual food allergies (such as irritation after eating strawberries); they're rather a general intolerance with symptoms that are very similar to the ones of allergies. In the presence of a food intolerance , inflammatory reactions accumulate over time as if the body were slowly poisoned.

Food intolerances can develop for any type of food (the most frequent intolerances in Italy are for flour, milk, seed oils and yeast) or for any food contaminants. An individual may keep craving and eating bread and get sick as a result of contaminating chemical substances contained by bread.

One of the most frequent symptoms of this situation is the typical chronic phlegm in the throat that is there even though the doctor can't find anything in auscultation, and which - nevertheless - justifies a very harmful ingestion of antibiotics or even cortisone.

Treating these forms means identifying existing intolerances and formulating a rotational diet. In this way the immune system is able to regain its normal efficiency values and function properly; therapy of these phlegm is often preceded by a DRIA test for the identification of a hyposensitizing vaccine for mites or yeasts (home dust or mold).

Understanding this phenomenon almost always means healing this pathological tendency to sickness and being able to explain why some people seem fragile and unsuited for cold weather.

Valentina and Daniele: two stories about how to make the Immune system function properly

Valentina is 9 years old and has always been described as having a fragile throat and lungs. Every time winter comes around, she is afflicted by repeated bouts of tonsillitis. It starts with a cold, then she gets a sore throat and finally a fever that is systematically treated with antibiotics and anti-pyretics. These make the sore throat and fever go away, but leave behind a hacking cough that lasts from winter to late spring. An investigation into her eating habits is enough to show us that her diet is totally lacking in raw and fresh substances that could supply useful vitamins and minerals for fortifying her immune system. In addition, she eats an excessive amount of dairy products and baked goods: breakfast is composed of milk and cookies, pasta with butter at school (because Valentina doesn't like tomato) along with cooked ham (which often contains milk derivatives), fresh cheese at dinner and pizza on Saturday.

The very first step was to make Valentina and her family understand the importance of eating at least a small piece of fruit or vegetable before each meal (in our clinical practice we refer to this method with the motto Raw, fresh and colorful). A DRIA test revealed that she had delayed food allergies (food intolerances) to dairy products and yeasts and was sensitive to dust mites. Because of her young age, Valentina was only given two days per week of real diet for yeasts and dairy products. This treatment was associated with a low dosage hypo-sensitizing vaccine for mites to be taken every evening for the entire winter. We also prescribed a measure-spoonful of Oximix 1+ to be taken from October through March in order to supplement those minerals that are important in combating infection.

By introducing these simple modifications, Valentina was able to get through the winter without problems: every once in a while she might develop a fever, but it only lasts a couple of days. This doesn't worry her mother or her doctor who prescribes nothing stronger that a bland antipyretic if the fever goes above 39 C.

Daniele is a busy manager who can't afford to get sick and always has to be in top shape. In order to prevent winter illnesses, he has been using a dose tube of Oscillococcinum 200K every Sunday for the past 4-5 years. Every morning at breakfast, he uses a supplement of 1 gram of slow release vitamin C and a measure spoonful of Oximix 1+. If he feels a sore throat coming on, he has learned that taking 3-4 drops of melaleuca essential oil will make him feel like new the next day. If he catches cold during the week, he uses another dose tube of Oscillococcinum just to be safe. If by chance he feels the first signs of flu coming on, he just takes an evening off (so he can sleep) and before going to bed he takes a dose tube of Eupatorium perfoliatum 30 CH. Thanks to this strategy, he hasn't lost a single work day to winter illness in years.

Vitamin therapy and dietary supplements

As we already said, it's important to associate (even throughout the winter) Vitamin C - at least 500 mg per day (Ester C, Selenium vitamin C, Cellfood C Vitamin). The combination of vitamin C and selenium is an excellent support.

What we said about continued use does not apply to acute cases: during heavy stress periods in which individual defenses falter, or in case of intense chills that seem like a prelude to a sore throat or flu or when already sick, it can be very useful to increase these dosages dramatically for 3-4 days, up to 4-6 grams a day of both Vitamin C. They should be taken gradually during the day, so that the level of these substances in the blood is kept constant.

It is important to take vitamin supplements that don't contain excipients: it's not a good idea to eat ten grams of Vitamin C if, along with it, we take in 30 grams of talc, lactose, polyvinylpyrrolidone or other things of the sort, because these substances can give rise to severe intestinal alterations (diarrhea, nausea, etc.) which Vitamin C by itself will not cause if taken in high doses for a short period of time (3-5 days).

Propolis is another therapeutic possibility. It should be taken at the beginning of any infection in order to stimulate the body's defenses and also for its intrinsic value as a natural antibiotic and antiviral substance. Take 20 drops 2 or 3 times a day from the beginning to the end of the symptoms or for a few more days, if desired to accompany the convalescence phase.

If the oral-pharyngeal mucosa is inflamed, as in the case of sore throat or tonsillitis, propolis can be applied locally or gargled with during the day. Again, twenty drops in the same dilution, poured into a half glass of water.
For information on the fundamental usage of Melaleuca essential oil (Tea tree oil), read the instructions at the bottom of the page.

Trace elements and Minerals

Copper is the most important mineral element in acute infections: a daily dosage of copper, integrated with other trace elements such as Zinc or Manganese, can be part of a chronic preventive or therapeutic treatment. In an acute phase, moreover, catalytic copper is frankly irreplaceable and very effective.

As soon as an infection begins (viral or bacterial), I recommend the immediate use of 2 doses of Copper or Copper-Gold-Silver. Use one dose of it every 8 or 12 hours (depending on the patient's improvement), for two or three days.  Oximix 1+ is an excellent preparation in this case. It contains a pre-balanced combination of minerals suitable for the treatment of winter illnesses.

It can also be taken as a preventive treatment: when you feel a cold or flu coming on, take 2 or 3 doses together at night.

Copper has a powerful stimulating effect on individual defenses and initially it increases these defenses by stimulating, for example, the elimination of phlegm.

It may happen (especially in the case of children) that a patient takes copper and, if he's not able to expectorate, he ingests the phlegm. This irritates the stomach and may subsequently cause nausea and sometimes the vomiting of the phlegm. This happens frequently with traditional trace elements, but it almost never happens with oxyprolinates, which can be mixed together with food or beverages.

It is therefore advisable to give or take copper, at least for the first few times, some time before the main meals but followed shortly by a little food (a dry cookie or a piece of bread) to reduce the discomfort of phlegm in the stomach.

The taste of minerals is not always pleasant. Children especially should be given oxyprolinates mixed together with food or beverages.

In case of infection, copper can generally substituted by Manganese-Copper-Zinc (one dose a day for 7-8 days) when the infection is bacterial, and by Copper-Gold-Silver (again one dose a day for 7-8 days) when the infection is viral.

This trace element has an intense general stimulating function and can therefore be taken as a tonic to help with convalescence from any infection.

In more complex cases of disease an accurate diagnosis by a doctor (pediatrician in case of children) is clearly necessary. In the meantime, it's safe to proceed with the natural therapies described under the specific headings. We will evaluate in detail. For more information, also look at the chapter dealing with winter prevention of infections through homeopathic remedies.

Homeopathic therapy

Below you'll find a summary of some of the most useful homeopathic remedies useful for these types of illnesses, in relation to their general characteristics.

Bryonia, for example, is a useful remedy against tonsillitis as well as bronchitis, but in both cases the patient will seek some local warmth, will be very thirsty and will feel pain with certain movements (swallowing in case of tonsillitis and coughing in case of bronchitis).

If the characteristics of the illness match those of the remedy, a correct use of the latter can bring about a prompt recovery in many cases.

Aconitum: immediate, sudden outbreak, after being exposed to a cold wind; presence of sweatless fever and intense thirst for cold water.

Belladonna: raspberry-like red complexion, congested face, dilated pupils. Patient radiates heat, sweats.

Apis: prickly local sensation, patient desires cold or icy applications. Often on the right-hand side.

Phytolacca: local swelling and reddening which is also extended to nearby muscles. The pain is worsened by heat and radiates all around. Pus or membranes may be present.

Kali bichromicum: mucus or green secretions may be present. Small and painful cuts.

Mercurius solubilis: intense salivation, bad breath , worsening at night. May be accompanied by a burning fever alternated with chills. Pus or mucus may be present. Patient is quite thirsty.

Causticum: occurs after being exposed to dry cold. Patient desires local humidity or steam (inhalations etc).

Hepar sulphuris: symptoms are worse in the morning and improve with local warming. It has a tendency to suppuration. Foul smelling secretions.

Arum triphyllum: a feeling of local burning. It gets worse with local warming. Burning and scorching secretions.

Dulcamara: occurs after patient is exposed to damp cold or humidity. It improves with heat.

Lachesis: pain starts on left side and then moves to the right side. Pale red complexion, feeling of suffocation, patient disturbed by anything around the neck.

Lycopodium: it starts on the right side and moves to the left side. It usually gets worse between 4 and 6 p.m.

Bryonia: intense thirst. Any sort of movement causes pain. Very dry skin.

Eupatorium perfoliatum: intense thirst. Pain all over the back. Eyes sensitive to pressure.

Gelsemium: absence of thirst. General heaviness, chills even in presence of low fever.

Ferrum phosphoricum: temperature not excessive. Sweating does not lower fever. Chills. Red and congested face.

Arsenicum album: feeling of intense exhaustion. Secretions give a burning feeling. Pains are actually burning pains.

Oscillococcinum 200 K: preventive and healing remedy for all viral infections.

Doctor Attilio Speciani
Clinical Allergist and Immunologist

Italian version