Due to the warming effect, the summer is hotter and the winter is colder, so this winter seems to be colder than other years. In particular, this winter, I was worried about a double demic in which flu and corona are prevalent at the same time, but the threat of the BF.
In the case of the United States, after the summer BA.5 epidemic, BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, which are descendants of the mutant, became popular in the fall, and now another Omicron mutant, XBB.1.5, is about to become the dominant species. On the other hand, in Korea, BA.5 has been the dominant species since summer, and BN.1, a BA.2.75 family recently called a centaur mutant, is expanding its market share, but the Chinese mutant virus is L and S-type mutants, not Omicron BA sub-mutants. If there is a crisis, you don’t know what kind of crisis will come in the future. In that respect, protecting the health of our children is not just dependent on vaccines, but a more important solution is to create an environment in which children can fight the virus and win.
In oriental medicine, the lung is an organ belonging to water. Just as a sharpening knife needs water on a whetstone, the lungs need water to breathe and move. Just as a waterwheel cannot turn when its lubricating oil has dried up, the role of moisture in the lungs helps circulate air and plays an important role in removing fine dust or yellow dust coming from the outside.
Diagnosis cannot be made only by symptoms, but influenza A and B, which are prevalent this winter, are mainly caused by the influenza virus. It is accompanied by coughing, runny nose, and nasal congestion. If you have a high fever of 40 degrees or higher and a sore throat that lasts for a long time, you should suspect the flu. On the other hand, coronavirus symptoms such as sore throat, smell disorder, foreign body sensation and dryness in the pharynx, and mild cough often develop into fever, headache, general malaise, and anorexia. Since these two are viral diseases, they must be confirmed by PCR or kits at the hospital.
On the other hand, colds show various aspects such as throat cold, nose cold, fever cold, cough, etc. depending on the causative virus such as rhinovirus and corona virus. The schedule also gets better as severe symptoms develop. On the other hand, in the case of pediatric rhinitis caused by atrophy or dry rhinitis that occurs frequently in adults and the elderly, the mucous membrane inside the nose becomes dry, causing a tight feeling in the nose or a lot of snoring, and there are many symptoms of nasal congestion accompanied by pain in the face or head. The normal humidity inside the nose is 75 to 100%, which should be maintained in a humid state, but when the room is dry, the nasal mucosa also becomes drier. For those who feel an explosive cough and nasal congestion even with a slight irritation or a cold wind, rhinitis can become more severe as environmental hormones and allergens generated during heating stimulate the nasal mucosa.
If you wisely prevent heating disease and rhinitis management in dry air in winter and the symptoms do not subside easily, receiving differential diagnosis and treatment for flu, corona, cold, and rhinitis through medical treatment can prevent progression to sinusitis or chronic rhinitis.
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1. Keep the indoor temperature between 20 and 22 degrees and the indoor humidity above 50%.
2. Light stretching increases oxygen supply to the brain.
3. Between 2 and 4 p.m., ventilate the room frequently for about 30 minutes to purify the air.
4. In the middle of a meal, drink enough water at least 1.5 liters a day to maintain humidity in the nose.
5. For overall ventilation, it is good to ventilate the old house once or twice a month, and if it is a new house, 4 or 5 times.<숨쉬는한의원 호매실점 김성일 대표원장>