With cold and flu season in full force many people stock up on cough suppressants and fever reducers. Amazing enough, fevers and coughs are healthy "symptoms". Majority of foreign (bad) bacteria cannot reproduce above 100º. Therefore, a fever of 101-102º degrees is a healthy body's attempt to prevent foreign bacteria from reproducing making it easier for your body to fight off the infection. Fevers don't become damaging until your core temperature gets over 106º. A safe place to break a fever is between 103 and 104º and the safest way to break it is with ice bags in the armpits and groin. Common fever reducing drugs, NSAID's (Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs) like aspirin, account for 16,500 deaths a year in this country. Giving them to our children not only reduces a healthy fever and lengthens their time of sickness but puts them in danger. If the fever persists for more than a week please consult your doctor.

Coughs are another good symptom with a bad rap. The purpose of a cough is to expel foreign material from the lungs. A cough suppressant holds the bad material (dust, fibers, bacteria) in the lungs possibly making the condition worse. The best thing for a cough is an expectorant; the best expectorant is lots of water. If a cough persists for more than two weeks please consult your doctor.

The safest way to combat this flu season is to keep your immune system boosted with getting adjusted, taking a high quality multi-vitamin, probiotics, extra Vitamins C and E, and herbs like wild oregano oil. One study tested blood markers and states that people who get adjusted have a 200% greater immunity than people who don't. Probiotics are the good bacteria that protect us from invading bad bacteria (a recent article in Pediatric journal stated that probiotic have a huge effect in boosting a child's immune system. Oregano oil may sound strange but it's an anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-viral herb that helps the immune system for everything from UTI's to the common cold. Stop in and ask us what may be right for you. Good health to all of you this winter.

Thomas F. Antonucci, DC, CCSP