"F" is for Flu

            

       I hadn’t had the flu in years and years – until this year. My husband, Steven, works in local hospitals everyday fixing medical equipment and we’re pretty sure that’s where it came from. Steven was the first to go down. He was praying to the porcelain god for a good 24 hours before he started to feel human again. At first, I thought I might be spared, but 4 days later it was my turn. I didn’t get near as sick and after 12 hours was feeling almost 100% better! In all honesty, I had a rib subluxation that hurt a lot more than the flu did – and my chiropractor, Dr. Loder, was on vacation! Suffering through my subluxation was worse than suffering through the flu! All in all, the flu experience at our house was a very mild one and I credit all of that to chiropractic. Keeping our spine in line and our nervous systems working at 100%, our immune systems were able to quickly mount a response and defeat the virus. We also live the chiropractic lifestyle at our house which includes daily exercise, eating organic, non-processed foods as often as possible, and taking daily whole food supplements including vitamin D. Recent studies show that vitamin D is actually more effective at fighting the flu than the flu vaccine. Vitamin D is dubbed the “sunshine vitamin”, and since living in Kansas during the winter = minimal sunshine, vitamin D supplementation becomes even more important.

Then of course there’s Laramie, our 4 month old – because she is exclusively breastfeed, she didn’t get so much as the sniffles! Babies get powerful antibodies produced by their mother that helps protect them from any and all “bugs” they may come into contact with. That’s one of my favorite things about chiropractic, how we learn to work with nature instead of against it. Because I let myself get sick and didn’t try to cover up the symptoms with medication, my body was able to mount a stronger response and pass on those fighting cells to Laramie.

Just in case the flu decides to visit your house, here are some helpful tips on how to cope:

1.     I know it sucks, but don’t try to stop the vomiting or diarrhea. Your body is trying to get that stuff out for a reason – it needs to worry about fighting the virus and doesn’t have time to worry about digestion.

2.     Make sure to stay hydrated. This is one of the most common complications from the flu – dehydration. Water is easily absorbed and requires little to no actual digestion. If tolerated, sip on some warm water with honey and lemon for electrolytes. Avoid over sugary drinks such as Gatorade and Powerade.

3.     Someone once told me, “The flu is nature’s way of telling you to take a day off.” I’d say that’s rather sound advice. REST!!

4.     And of course – get adjusted! One of the most important times to get adjusted is when you’re ill. Don’t cancel your appointment. Let us know you’re feeling ill and we’ll try to accommodate your appointment during a non-busy time or at the end of the day to reduce exposure for other patients. And don’t worry – we’ll be sure to clean the table well to keep from spreading the virus!

Even though “F” is for flu, “C” is for chiropractic and making sure you’re getting adjusted regularly can keep you on your “A” game!

- Dr. Emily