How to quickly recover from a cold: expert advice

Professor of the Federal Scientific and Clinical Center of Otorhinolaryngology of the FMBA of Russia, Doctor of Medical Sciences Tatyana Garashchenko answered the questions of Antenna readers.

– The nasal septum is almost never even, by adolescence it is curved to a greater or lesser extent. The diagnosis of “curvature of the nasal septum without difficulty in nasal breathing” or “difficulty in nasal breathing of the first degree” is not an indication for surgery. Often, with a slightly curved septum, there is rhinitis. But it is necessary to offer surgical intervention after examination and exclusion of other factors that cause a runny nose. Allergies are often the culprit. Get tested by a specialist, see the general level of histamine. The septum must be corrected if one half of the nose does not breathe all the time or the runny nose ends in sinusitis or otitis media on the side of the curvature. This means that a curved nasal septum creates conditions for the concentration of allergens, bacteria, and becomes a source of infection.

– You have subatrophic or atrophic (this is the next stage) rhinitis, in which, usually due to infectious inflammation, the nasal mucosa can partially lose its function. Often there is a family predisposition or external factors influenced. Atrophy can be associated with a dysfunction of the thyroid gland, changes in hormonal levels, or with prolonged exposure to dry hot air. When dusty, the nasal mucosa must constantly release mucus, since it contains many protective factors that destroy viruses and bacteria: interferon, secretory antibodies, lisacin. And when the secret is not enough, the glands of the nose do not work well, crusts appear. They interfere with breathing, which is accompanied by whistling, itching. But they cannot be torn off, otherwise the nasal septum will also be injured. To choose a treatment method, you first need to find out the cause of rhinitis. And to get rid of crusts, insert tampons with olive or peach oil into your nose, and then rinse your nose with isotonic or hypertonic solution purchased from a pharmacy. It is good to bury peach, olive oil in the nose, you can use folk recommendations – to put a piece of unsalted cow oil or ghee into the nasal cavity. It softens the crusts and nourishes the mucous membrane with the necessary vitamins E, D, A. Special preparations with dexpanthenol contain a complex of B vitamins, which improves the nutrition of the nasal mucosa. It is useful to go to the salt caves, they are now in the clinics. Travel to the sea, a sanatorium course of inhalations with sea water containing iodine, bromine, laser therapy, phonophoresis of the back of the neck help.

– Our nose has everything it needs to protect against infection. When a virus enters it, it itself begins to produce interferon – a universal protective factor. If you get sick, as a rule, there are only three reasons: either the virus is evil, or there are many of it, or your immunity is low. First, you need to help the body cope with the infection: rinse the nose, take drugs as prescribed by the doctor: vasoconstrictor (three to five days), antiviral, phyto-, homeopathic. Phytopreparations that contain only plants, for example, “umkalor”, “sinupret”, “tonsilgon”, have been shown to have a powerful effect not only on the treatment of the common cold, but even the ability to suppress respiratory viruses and influenza. And only if, two weeks after the start of treatment, rhinitis does not go away, there is a pronounced nasal congestion, you can use corticosteroid drugs that do not have a systemic effect.

– You have attacks of vasomotor neurovegetative rhinitis. This is a type of rhinitis, in which the tone of the vessels of the nasal mucosa is disturbed. The nose has a conditioning effect. In order to restore the temperature in the cold, which was in the nasopharynx in a warm room, the glands produce a secret with protective properties. But you have such an excessive reaction. Take a cervical spine exam. Nasal discharge is controlled by a sympathetic ganglion in the neck. A course of electrophoresis in the cervical region may help. Your reaction may also be related to allergies. The state of the nasal cavity is stabilized by systemic antihistamines in the nose: “vibrocil”, “allergodil”, “cromohexal”, homeopathic in the nose: “euphorbium”, homeopathic inside: “rintal”, “corizalia”. You can bury the drying drops “otrivin complex” before going outside (no more than seven days). Contrasting washes will help you. Take small pieces of ice and massage the nasal cavity and cervical spine. Then, alternately apply a hot and cold towel compress to these areas 10–20 times.

– Indeed, the spouse can be a carrier of the infection. The cause of tonsillitis is inflammation of the tonsils. Bacteria or viruses are to blame. If a child is born with a constitution similar to the dad, then he may inherit a certain local or general defect of the immune system, and then he is prone to diseases. The main source of transmission is the hands and throat. The husband needs to follow the hygiene rules. Before approaching a child, you need to wash your hands, rinse your throat after eating. If the patient is sick at home, he should wear a mask. It is important to quartz the room where the baby is.

– Tonsils are like a dishwashing sponge. They have deep cells into which food products enter. And this is biologically justified. Enzymes of the immune system dissolve food masses, extracting information. But you yourself bring yourself to the appearance of traffic jams. Even the dog, after eating, goes to drink water. The tonsils are specially laid in the pharynx between the muscles. If you rinse your throat after eating, food debris is squeezed out of the cells. When there is no such skill, the plugs are decomposed by putrefactive bacteria, and this gives the smell. You need to gargle after eating. Train your tonsils. Singers and trumpeters do not have sore throats, because they tense the muscles with the tonsils, and they always have good blood circulation in their throats.

– Pharyngitis – inflammation of the mucous membrane and lymphoid tissue of the posterior pharyngeal wall – can be associated with problems of the stomach, kidneys, endocrine system, food addictions. People with diabetes and obesity have low immunity, so frequent throat problems. The pharynx is the beginning of the digestive tract, not the respiratory tract. You describe the symptoms of hyperacid gastritis, that is, an increase in acidity. It is usually the result of lingering stress that is certainly present in your family. With such gastritis, the acidic contents of the stomach are thrown into the pharynx and burns it and part of the larynx. This is gastroesophageal reflux. Hence the soreness, hoarseness. First of all, you need to contact a gastroenterologist, treat gastritis, take drugs that accelerate the excretion of food from the stomach into the intestines, before bedtime – antacids, in spring and autumn – a course of drugs that reduce acidity. Avoid eating two hours before bed and sleep on a high pillow. Drink a sedative, I love to brew valerian herb.

– The constant presence of staphylococcus in the intestine can be a sign of immune deficiency. It can even be located in cells. There are no antibiotics against staphylococcus. Take phytopreparations “tonsilgon”, “umkalor”, homeopathic “tonsillotren”, “anginhel”, “girel” in courses. There are agents that increase local immunity: Imudon, Ismigen, IRS19. But above all, you need to train your immune system by creating microclimatic stresses. Place two glasses of hot and cold water and gargle alternately 10–20 times, changing the water. You can add a teaspoon of beetroot juice or a decoction of calendula or chamomile to the water. If you ate ice cream, drink a cup of hot tea, after that you will not get sick. Start by hardening. Put a bucket of water on overnight. In the morning, stand in the bathroom on a rubber mat with “thorns”. The pharynx is connected to the plantar receptors and receptors of the skin, and this alone will serve as an irritation for it. And pour the water over your head or neck. Or accustom yourself to cold gradually. First, take water at 37,5 degrees and reduce the temperature by half a degree every two days. Travel in the summer to the sea, to the Baltic, to Scandinavia and swim at 18 degrees and the hot sun. Or relax in Russia, walk in the morning in the cold morning dew – this is the best hardening. Cold stress activates the adrenal cortex to release corticosteroids, a universal anti-inflammatory hormone, which will also improve the condition of your skin and inhibit the formation of wrinkles. You will look young until old age! But remember that the cold should not be prolonged, you cannot overcool. Now there are special cryosaunas for hardening and raising immunity. There the temperature reaches minus 170 degrees, but only for two minutes.

– When you chew, speak, the sulfur masses come out on their own, and the external auditory canal of the ear is freed. In children, the ear canal is short, about a centimeter, and straight. Often, parents with a stick, on the contrary, push the sulfur plug to the eardrum and even pierce it. Using candles that need to be lit is quite dangerous. We have already received children with ear burns. It is better to see a doctor, he will prescribe drops. After two days, the sulfur plug becomes soft and can be washed out with a jet of water. For adults, sulfur at a depth of 3-5 mm can be removed with a stick. There are special devices, “aquamaris”, “a-cerumen”, “removals”, capable of liquefying sulfur plugs and rinsing the ear.

– Maybe, especially if you are taking anabolic hormones, they can reduce immunity. Fitness is good if you need to pump up muscles and remove the belly, but there are a lot of people and dust in the club rooms. Overtraining, excessive loads are dangerous for the body, two sessions a week are enough under the control of blood pressure and pulse. Better to buy sticks and walk with them in the fresh cold air. The pool may contain sources of infectious diseases: chlamydia, ureoplasm, pathogens of worms. Moreover, if the pool is chlorinated, then 25 centimeters in the air above the water there may be chlorine vapor, which irritates the mucous membranes of the nose and throat. If you really need a pool, choose one that is treated with ultrasound, ultraviolet light. The sauna is also suitable for few, it has a very high temperature, which dries out the mucous membrane of the nose and throat. The sauna is suitable only for contrast, as the Finns do: from the steam room they immediately throw themselves into the snow or shower themselves. Go to the bathhouse. Put two sprigs of eucalyptus or fir in a birch broom, steam and breathe. 60-80 degrees is a sufficient temperature for a healing effect.

– Most likely, the cause is vascular disorders. It may be that the patency of the vessels that are involved in blood circulation in the middle ear and auditory nerve is impaired, but most often the problem is in the neck, where the vessels are narrowed. You need to see a neurologist. You may need to do a CT scan of the auditory analyzer, cervical spine. So, in Chinese medicine, patients with ringing, noise and dizziness do special exercises to stretch the neck. You need to stand up straight, sit down a little so that your legs are bent, fold your arms on the solar plexus, lower your shoulders down and say to yourself: “I was hung by the top of my head.” Pull the shoulders and whole body down, and the top of the head up. By the way, this exercise is useful for everyone who has problems with the nose, throat, neck. In our Federal Center for Otorhinolaryngology, FMBA of Russia, there are otoneurologists and a whole department where they examine and treat such patients.