Between September and March, people are often falling victim to upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs). The term covers a wide range of conditions that mainly affect the area around a person’s upper airway. This includes the nose, lungs, and everything in between. With the wide range of potential conditions, many things can go wrong.
A trusted urgent care clinic, along with medical professionals, share some tips on how to handle URTIs with minimal problems for yourself:
Drink a Lot of Fluids
One of the best moves to make when you are suffering from URTIs is to drink a lot of fluids. Water is the main fluid of choice but other fluids can also help. Drinking a lot of water helps greatly by loosening the mucus in your throat, allowing you to expel it easier. Additionally, more water in your system thins the mucus, making it easier to handle. Besides that, soups and broths can help keep your strength up. Warm lemon water can also be great since it soothes the throat a lot.
Take a Break
URTIs can take a lot out of your body. It eats up a lot of energy so taking a rest is a good move for yourself. While it may seem like too much for a cold, it can quickly get worse if you don’t do something about it. So you should stop for a day or two and relax. This allows your body to properly rest so that you can recover more quickly. Rest can also help a lot of symptoms like body aches and headaches. It can also prevent you from infecting others with your infection.
Fix Room Temperature and Humidity
To help ease your symptoms, you need to have the right temperature and humidity in the room you are resting in. Cold temperatures can only encourage your sickness to get worse. Put the temperature at a comfortable warmth so that you aren’t being chilled. As for humidity, you want the room to not be overly dry.
This would make it difficult for you to breathe. Get a humidifier so that the air has the right amount of moisture in it. Don’t forget to clean it since a dirty humidifier can be the perfect place for bacteria and germs to grow.
Get Some Medication
You shouldn’t forget to take some medicine for your URTI. Several over-the-counter medications can help greatly with a lot of these conditions. Simple decongestants and antihistamines can be great help relieving a lot of the symptoms that you are facing. However, you have to be careful. Don’t mix medication and only use them as per their instructions.
Additional medication like antibiotics might be prescribed by your doctor. Follow their prescriptions when using them. You might also get some saline drops to help decongest your nasal passages. A few drops should give you a lot of relief.
Do a Saltwater Gargle
A good home remedy for bad throat infections is a salt gargle. Salt is a natural disinfectant and regular gargling exposes the infected areas to it. It is also pretty simple. Get a glass of warm water and then dissolve half a teaspoon of salt in it. Gargling should be thorough and reach the back part of your throat but be careful not to swallow anything. If you are finding it difficult to gargle, then a cup of hot tea or sucking on ice chips can help a lot with a sore throat.
A Hot Bath or Shower Can Do Miracles
Another nice home solution to URTIs is a good shower or bath. A hot steamy bath can have several effects on your respiratory tract. For one, it can open up your nasal passage, especially if you mix in some herbal leaves like mint with the water. The smell should help ease the mucus and help you breathe easier. Besides that, the warmth can relax the body and your chest area.
For those suffering from muscles aches, this can be a big help. Take note that if you can’t spend a lot of time in the bath, a hot shower can be good enough. After the bath, quickly dry yourself so that you won’t get a chill.
If you take the right precautions, you will have minimal risks of catching URTIs. But you still have to be careful. You’ll need immediate treatment if things can get severe. A trip to an urgent care facility might be necessary if your condition gets worse. The tips above should help keep the symptoms manageable. With their help, you should be fine in no time.