The Flu is Real. The Flu is Serious. And so is COVID-19.
It is of utmost importance to first realize that Influenza and any other respirator illness spread virally are very serious invasive diseases, particularly virulent when the influenza virus or coronavirus has sufficiently mutated that the human body is confused when attempting to identify the threat.The flu is no joking matter at this point, and the chief reason that the so-called "flu vaccine" is worthless, even on the best of days (and they prophesy the advent of a "universal flu shot," yeah, please hold your breath). The flu mutates. There is no cure for influenza. Coronaviruses mutate. There is no cure for coronavirus.People generally make one of two major mistakes when contemplating Influenza. The first, they are terrified of the virus, and buy into the media hype and hysterical logic, and succumb to fallacy of accepting a flu shot (flu jab, vaccine), which offers no better protection than the power of placebo (and admittedly, placebo is a real phenomenon, tapping into the power of the human brain, and belief, and the healing power of the immune system). But if you require a placebo, take a sugar pill. Do not take a dangerous vaccine that contains aluminum, mercury, raw egg product, as well as many other toxins, and offers no real protection in return. The flu constantly, constantly, constantly mutates. It changes. This is why the health experts can never create a real flu vaccine that fights the flu, that does what it is supposed to do, e.g., give your immune system a blueprint on how to disassemble the influenza virus. Even with a miniscule change, your body is fooled, and the influenza machine takes over, hijacking your healthy cells and converting them into steampunk monstrosities that pump out an almost endless replication of the influenza virus. Wake up people, Jimmy Kimmel may be your prophet, but you still have some brain matter in reserve. Think.
The second mistake is to scoff at the flu, to believe that the disease is not serious, that it "can't get me," that you have gone this long without dying from the flu, and you can only imagine your life continuing in the same trouble-free vein. You listen to those who scoff at the idea of doing anything, that the flu is no worse than the common cold.
Wake up. Take Influenza seriously. Fight the flu. Bite it, sink deep your teeth, rip and tear, and don't give up. Put everything you got into the battle. Fight!
There are simple steps to follow when you exhibit the tell-tale symptoms. First, the symptoms. Especially when experienced in quick succession, or all at once, these signs of illness may indicate something much worse than the common cold. Take these symptoms seriously, as they might be the klaxon call, that ominous siren ululating the presence of Influenza.
Symptoms of Flu.
- Ache in the Bones. A deep, ominous soreness in the long bones of the leg, the shoulders, and around the neck and spine. This is your immune system, kicking into gear the production of white blood cells from your bones. Your body is responding to an invasion.
- Leaky, Dripping Nose. Water sometimes pours from the nose, or begins a constant drip. This is the immune system attempting to clear out an offensive invader that probably gained entry through the nasal passages. Mucus is the first line of defense. Wash your hands all day long and you do nothing to prevent the entry of the virus to this most likely invasion point.
- Sudden Feeling of Chills. When you begin to grow ill and you feel that cold wave pass over your body, this could be the start of a fever, your immune system elevating the body temperature to heat up the battle against the viral invader. As your fever increases, you feel colder and colder (kind of like the notion of global warming).
- Sore Throat, Pain Swallowing. The sore throat generally occurs when the viral invader has progressed from the nasal passages into the throat. It is a backdoor passage. The nasal drip. Sometimes this is the first symptom that breaks through the denial (I'm not sick, it's nothing, my muscles are sore, my nose drips because of allergies, I got cold because a goose just waddled over my grave, but YOUCH, my throat actually hurts!). This is generally the wake-up call. And of course, as these things go, it is far too late to take a magic pill or shoot yourself with the proverbial magic bullet. At this point, hold onto your hat, because things are about to get bumpy.
Steps in Fighting the Flu.
First, please recognize the absolutely truthful fact: there is no magic bullet in killing, let alone fighting, influenza, the flu. Not the media-hyped flu shot, not over-the-counter medicinal remedies. There is no silver bullet. Instead, resolve yourself to the fact that you must fight the flu. Especially in the case of a flu pandemic, the herbs in your cupboard may do much more to save you than a jam-packed ER waiting room, huddled amidst coughing victims of influenza.- Proper Attire. Get into the right gear, hopefully thermal wear, or comfortable pajamas. You should be comfortable, and hopefully there will be someone to help you in this battle against the flu. Wear sweat pants and sweat shirt, warm things, because you are going to be feeling very cold. The most important attire? Bed. Wrap a bed around your body, and rest.
- Salt Water Gargle. Prepare a tall glass of warm water, with a tablespoon of sea salt (iodized preferred, but not a must, as it is chiefly the salt that is doing the fighting) stirred in and dissolved, warm enough for your mouth to register the water as warm, but not hot enough to burn the mouth. Do not drink this solution (unless you feel your require an emergency loosening of the bowels). Gargle this salt-water solution, keeping the mouthful for about 30 seconds, swishing beneath the tongue, through the teeth, in the throat. Gargle and spit, repeating until the glass is empty. This is a means of creating a hostile environment for the flu virus that is present. This also soothes the swollen mass that is your throat, removing mucus and phlegm.
- Vaporizer. Get a vaporizer pouring steam, as soon as possible. It has been proven in studies that the flu virus does not like moist, warm air, but prefers cool, dry air. Hopefully you have a $15 Vicks vaporizer in your pantry, just waiting to be filled with hot water (and a pinch of salt).
- Nasal Flush. The $12 NeilMed Nasal Rinse bottle is amazing, and might smack you as disgusting upon first attempt, but it truly fights the flu virus (as well as being the most viable tool in CURING the common cold). Use only purified water (bottled spring water is fine), heated up and just a tad above lukewarm. A quick simplified method of getting the right temperature: boil water, add half a cup to a glass measuring cup, add to meet the one-cup level from a newly opened bottle of spring water (so now you have a cup of hot water that is half boiled water, and half lukewarm spring water). Depending upon your own personal heat resistance, you may need to experiment to arrive at a temperature you find comfortable. To this one cup of warm water, add one teaspoon sea salt, and one teaspoon baking soda (not baking powder). Stir and fill the Nasal Flush Bottle. While exhaling, hold the nozzle firmly against one nostril, and carefully, slowly squeeze the Nasal flush Bottle to gush water up through one side of your nasal passages, which cleans and clears its way, to rush out the other nostril. It is best to do this process in short, 5-second slow bursts, applying mild pressure, until the Nasal Flush Bottle is empty. If you are able, replenish the water from your prepared warm water measuring cup, and fill the Nasal Flush Bottle again, and repeat the nasal flush for a second time. This actively clears invading viruses, and makes the landscape very unfavorable to the flu virus, which does not appreciate a salt-water flush. If you feel pain in either ear slow down on the pressure of saline flow, do not rush the water too fast.
- Sauerkraut/Kimchi. Even if your appetite has deserted you at this point, eat some cold sauerkraut, or kimchi (or warm it up, whatever you can manage to stomach). Both fermented vegetable matter (sauerkraut is cabbage), have been proven effective in fighting the deadly form of Bird Flu. Granted, both sauerkraut (sour!) and kimchi (spicy) are acquired tastes, but both are delicious (especially when fighting the flu). Throughout any long-term illness, make this a key illness-fighting foodstuff. Eat it once a day while sick, even if in only very small portions.
- Ginger/Oregano. Both of these common spices are antivirals, and Ginger is great at soothing nausea, and aids in fighting stomach flu (not to be confused with Influenza). Add these spices to food, or take in capsule form. Oil of oregano is a strong medicine, and taking ginger and oregano is the best practice, as these two, taken together, make for a stronger complementary potency. Swallow, with fresh spring water, 2 capsules of Ginger, 2 capsules of Oil of Oregano. Some ginger ale sodas, such as Blue Sky, contain real ginger (but stay far away from any kind of soda with high-fructose corn syrup, or any synthetic sugar or toxic sweetener).
- Green Tea. Keep it flowing. Hydrate by sipping at green tea, a proven influenza fighter. Keeping the body hydrated is one of the most important. Adding ginger and honey to green tea aids in soothing the stomach, allowing for more intake of water. Note, any fever will burn away water from your cells, thus it is of utmost importance to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Or, drink water. Try organic green tea with natural lemon juice, a tablespoon of raw unfiltered honey, and a sprinkle of powdered ginger, and sip and replenish and sip all the day long, and keep it by your bedside at night when you waken with a dry throat.
- Raw Unfiltered Honey. Honey is an almost magical elixir, nature's potent virus fighter, and the very best treatment for when flu invades the lungs. Honey is better than any cough syrup. Administer honey by the spoonful, and if you want to fortify a dose, mix one-half teaspoon of cinnamon with one teaspoon of honey, and allow this concoction to dissolve upon your palate. Take it by the tablespoon if you have a big enough mouth. Keep the honey in the mouth as long as possible, swishing it around the teeth and under the tongue and around the gums. This is not just silliness, but you are providing your body the chance to begin digestion in the mouth, and are liberally spreading important enzymes throughout your mouth, and honey kills bacteria, and it fights viruses. Great for treatment of the flu, plus it soothes a sore throat, and is an effective cough medicine better than the strongest over-the-counter or even behind-the-counter cough bromides, which really only dabble about with the symptoms of the cough, and do nothing to treat the underlying causes. And if you can afford it, and can find it in the store: Manuka Honey from New Zealand. It is the best honey you can obtain, and the best for medicinal purposes. But if you cannot find it or afford it, go with the raw, unfiltered honey, the darker color of the honey the better.
- Medicinal Herbs. You should be using these herbs even before you become ill with influenza, as these natural plants and herbs strengthen the body and the immune system. Garlic, Onions, Elderberry, Ginger, Oregano, Green Tea, Cinnamon, Apple Cider Vinegar. These are powerful immune-system boosters, as well as virus fighters. You have garlic waves emanating from your body, and viruses will hate you as much as everyone else that passes within a 3-foot radius of your body! Add cinnamon to everything you can while sick (and before you get sick, seriously, try cinnamon in your coffee or tea, with raw unfiltered honey, and a sprinkle of ginger).
- Chopped Onions. Urban legends extend as far back as the 1918-1919 Great Flu Pandemic, that chopped onions spread about your house somehow suck down and trap viruses from the air. It is a silly notion, and reality does not work that way; however, there may be some benefit to the practice in times of flu epidemics and pandemics, as onions, and garlic as well, contain and release sulfur, which does fight viruses. Note, this is a smelly practice, and if you do it, your home will smell like a big mushed-up onion, but it very well may provide more unsavory terrain for the virus. Just as running a vaporizer warms and wets the air, which no flu virus appreciates, it may behoove you to use chopped-up onions in conjunction with warm-steam vaporizers. It is inexpensive, chop an onion in half, and place each diced half in a paper bowl, and place these bowls near your bed, in the kids' rooms, one in the kitchen, one in the family room, and even if you change out the onions every week, purchasing ten pounds of onions is relatively inexpensive. And don't hesitate to chop and stir onions into soups, stews, as well as any dish you serve. Onions are one of the healthiest foods in the world.
- Vitamins. Vitamins D3 and C are especially important, both before you are ill, and especially when you are sick with Influenza. Vitamin D3 is of special note, and most people are sadly deficient in this vitamin. Vitamin D3 is easy to get into your body, as well as children, with the advent of Gummy vitamins. Wrapped up warmly in a blanket, sitting in the sun is a wonderful thing to do when ill with the flu. Sunlight produces Vitamin D.
- Probiotics. Get these into your system, via yogurt, Kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi. Take supplements. Drink coconut water with probiotics. Drink almond milk with probiotics. Take probiotics every single day of your life, healthy or sick, and go for more when ill. The good bacteria is battling the bad bacteria, and they need reinforcements, especially when a virus runs amuck.
- The Terrible Cough. For that overwhelming cough that robs the afflicted (as well as their loved ones) of sleep, mix equal parts Vaseline, Vicks VapoRub, and crushed garlic (if you have a few cloves of garlic and a garlic press, this works great, but if not, crushed wet garlic in the bottle works great, or even granules of dried garlic, or garlic powder; note, the fresh, crushed garlic is most powerful, but in a pinch, garlic is garlic is garlic is good), and take this goo (garlic, petroleum jelly, and Vicks VapoRub or eucalyptus oil, and this is truly a grotesque concoction) and liberally coat the ill person's feet, especially the soles of the feet, and pack the concoction in thick between the toes. Then cover the feet in two pairs of socks, if possible the outer socks should be thermal socks (but the socks should not be too tight, just bulky and warm). Perhaps it cannot be currently explained why or even how this works, but it does work, and it works better to get a good night's sleep than compared to anything else that can be done. The secondary medicine is Manuka honey, from New Zealand, which has been proven to work better than any cough syrup. This honey is available at health stores such as Whole Foods, and it is very expensive, in the neighborhood of $25 for a tiny bottle. If you cannot afford this, purchase a big bottle of raw unfiltered honey, preferably the darker the better. For a big mouth, take a tablespoon, and for a little mouth, take a teaspoon, and allow the honey to remain in the mouth for as long as possible, swish it around the teeth, under the gums, and then slowly allow it to drain down the throat (this is also a worthy treatment for sore throat).
The key is to strengthen your body and your immune system, and give the flu every hardship imaginable. Like running from a shambling monster, throw things in its path (it just might trip, that foul beastie). Drop a banana peel or two behind you.
Strengthen your body and weaken the flu. With these two objectives, you will not be overwhelmed, and your immune system will not freak out and trigger a cytokine storm (when your immune system declares a scorched earth policy and nukes the good cells right along with the bad cells). You DO NOT want to turn your immune system off (as many people think this is a good strategy, but don't believe it, as you will almost immediately succumb to pneumonia, which somehow works paw in paw with Influenza).
Strengthen your body. Add ginger and oregano to your food. Eat more salads. Switch to organic fruits and vegetables. Drink lots of pure water, as pure as possible. Get the sleep your body requires (usually 7 hours to 9 hours), and if you are sick, that is a whole lot more sleep. Get it. Eat as little meat and dairy as possible when suffering with Influenza. Up the probiotics, take them religiously every single day, as these little warrior will join the fight against Influenza and pneumonia. Eat more garlic. Eat more onions. Ginger, oregano, ginger, oregano, remember that, okay, ginger and oregano.
Drop all notions of accepting a flu shot. Ever. Never, ever again. Drop the placebo, drop the mercury, drop the witch-doctor magic, and stick with true healthy remedies that are proven to work. Mercury will not aid you in this battle. Injecting aluminum has no positive side effects or purposes. The flu shot is bad, pure and simple (not that there is anything pure or simple about a bad flu shot).
Pray. There is a God, there is help, there is peace that surpasses human understanding. Turn to your spiritual side before you get sick, while you're getting sick, and if it looks like there is no hope. There is hope.
And never give up.
Art et Amour Toujours
Douglas Christian Larsen
