Influenza (influenza for short) is an acute respiratory infection caused by the influenza virus and is a highly contagious and fast-spreading disease. It is spread mainly through airborne droplets, person-to-person contact or contact with contaminated objects. Typical clinical symptoms are: acute onset of high fever, generalized pain, significant malaise and mild respiratory symptoms. The complications and deaths caused by the disease are very serious.
I. Typical symptoms
Influenza starts rapidly: incubation period is several hours-4 days, usually 1-2 days; high fever, body temperature up to 39-40℃, accompanied by chills, usually lasts 2-3 days; heavy symptoms of systemic toxicity, such as malaise, headache, dizziness, generalized aches and pains; long duration, malaise and other symptoms can last 1~2 weeks after the body temperature is normal; other symptoms of respiratory tract are mild, often with sore throat, a few with nasal congestion, runny nose, etc.; a few with nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, etc. A few patients have nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhea, abdominal pain, etc. A few patients have gastrointestinal symptoms as the main manifestation. Influenza can develop into pneumonia in the elderly, infants and young children, those with heart and lung diseases or those receiving immunosuppressive therapy.
II. Influenza viruses are divided into three types: A, B and C.
Type A: the most common, can be widely prevalent and zoonotic, type A virus can be subdivided into A1, A2 type, and according to the structure of subdivision, such as type A H5N1 strain (Hong Kong bird flu virus), type A H3N2 (occurred in Wuhan in 1995), type A H1N1 (occurred in Germany in 1995), etc.. The virus derives new strains due to unscheduled genetic mutations.
Type B: also epidemic, symptoms are lighter than type A, no further subtypes.
Type C: mainly emerged as epidemic cases; no further subtypes.
3. Chinese medicine’s view on “influenza”.
Chinese medicine does not have the concept of virus, for influenza or cold, all collectively referred to as “external invasion”, because the origin of the virus, whether it is the nasal mucosa or respiratory tract, are outside the internal organs, so called “external evil”. According to the symptoms of the disease and the body’s reaction, Chinese medicine is broadly divided into “wind-cold cold” and “wind-heat cold”.
Wind-heat cold symptoms: sore throat, fever, loss of appetite, runny nose (thick, yellow-green), and thick sputum.
Wind-cold cold symptoms: fear of cold and wind, fatigue, clear nasal discharge, no appetite.
Fourth, treatment methods.
1, general symptomatic treatment: bed rest, drink more water, give a liquid or fluid diet, appropriate nutrition, vitamin supplement, rinse the mouth with warm water or warm salt water after eating, keep the mouth and nose clean, anti-infection treatment is given when the systemic symptoms are obvious.
2. Early application of antiviral therapy.
(1) It can reduce the amount of virus detoxification, inhibit virus replication, reduce clinical symptoms, and prevent the spread of virus to the lower respiratory tract leading to pneumonia and other complications.
(2) Drugs.
(1) Amantadine is an M2 ion blocker, which can block viral adsorption to sensitive cells and inhibit viral replication, and is effective for influenza A. It is effective for influenza A. The drug is effective within 48h of onset of illness. Dosage: 200mg/day for adults, 100mg/day for the elderly, 4-5mg/kg/day for children; Usage: Take orally in 2 doses for 3-4 days; Side effects: dry mouth, dizziness, drowsiness, ataxia and other neurological symptoms.
②Methylamantadine dosage: 100-200mg/day; usage: divided into 2 oral doses; its antiviral activity is 2-4 times higher than that of amantadine, and has fewer neurological side effects.
(3) Precautions: Pregnant women, neurological and psychiatric abnormalities, and those with severely impaired liver and kidney functions are prohibited, and these two drugs are prone to drug resistance.
3.Chinese medicine treatment: There is a saying in Chinese medicine: “If the righteousness exists inside, the evil cannot dry up”, it is believed that if the body is strong and healthy, it will not be disturbed by external evil (virus). But this theory does not apply to the flu, the flu virus infection incidence rate is as high as 95%, is a basic ignorance of the immune system of viral diseases. Chinese medicine often uses cold and flu drugs such as Banlangen and Xiao Chai Hu, which do not have the function of fighting against viruses (but not bacteria).
4.Treatment by evidence
Influenza is divided into two types of illnesses: external sensation and internal injury.
External sensation: it is the feeling of foreign evil qi, guest in the lung meridian, closed its clear channel, the lung qi can not descend, the person must run clear snot, fever, evil wind, cold, headache body pain and other circumstances. The method is to promote dispersal, such as Gui Zhi Tang, Ma Huang Tang, Ge Gen Tang and so on.
Internal injury: due to the failure of kidney yang and yin-cold, the kidney complex is connected to the lung, the yang of the heart and lung is not enough to control the fluids, and the nose is clear and runny, the patient must not have the foot signs of external sensation, he must be sleepy and drowsy, or sneeze incessantly, or both feet are cold, the method is to support yang, such as Si Wei Tang, Bai Tong Tang, Feng Zhong Dan, Ephedra with seeds and spices, Jiang Gui Tang and so on.