The term used to describe acute infections of the head and the chest, upper respiratory infections can be nasty things to endure. They generally hit the nose, throat, and airways the hardest, but can cause havoc for the sinuses and ears as well. They usually stick around for a lot longer than people would like and over the counter medications vary in their effectiveness.
The worst symptoms are usually done by the end of the first 3 to 5 days, where starts a slow but steady improvement towards full recovery.
Most of these infections have resolved on their own after a period of up to two weeks, even without treatment, and given that antibiotics only work on bacterial infections, having a few tricks up your sleeve to overcome URIs are always going to come in handy. Fortunately, as you’ll see here, there are plenty of ways to help someone alleviate their symptoms.
1. Be familiar with ingredients
This is something that hardly anyone does, but absolutely everyone should do. Being familiar with the ingredients in your over the counter medications just not just means recognizing the brand packaging or singing the radio jingle for a particular brand of cough medicine. This is important to take note. You should be crystal clear when it comes to understanding each and every ingredient in each and every medication you put into your body.
Firstly, this will help you treat your symptoms effectively, as there’s no point introducing chemicals into your system if they won’t do a thing for whatever is ailing you. And secondly, your body is a temple! You need to study those bottles and pillboxes like vegan studies the entrée menu. Meticulously and with a fine-tooth comb. Know what you’re putting into your body. It’s up to you to keep a check on that stuff, so take it seriously.