Don’t take medicine for six kinds of “false colds”!

Fever, fatigue, and sneezing are symptoms of a cold, which everyone is familiar with. Therefore, once these symptoms appear, many people act as their own doctors and use medicine based on their experience. However, experts point out that the early symptoms of common diseases such as allergic rhinitis and acute nephritis are quite similar to those of colds. If they are not carefully identified, they are likely to be treated as colds. Now I will introduce the causes and prevention methods of the following six diseases. Because many of their symptoms are similar to those of a cold, we call them "false colds". Don't treat these "false colds" as real colds and take random medicines!

1. Influenza A or seasonal flu

1. Cause: Influenza is caused by influenza virus. Every winter, these viruses spread around the world. Typically, strains of these viruses mutate every year.

2. How to prevent and treat: Generally speaking, the common cold has mild symptoms and low infectiousness; influenza has severe symptoms and is highly infectious, often occurring in groups within a family, office, or even a school. The main symptoms of the common cold are nasopharyngeal congestion, runny nose, sneezing, coughing, etc.; while the nasopharyngeal symptoms of influenza are milder, mainly manifested as fever, fatigue, etc. Typically, the common cold clears up in a week, but the flu may last longer.

2. Allergic rhinitis

1. Cause: Also known as allergic rhinitis, it is an allergic disease of the nasal mucosa and can cause a variety of complications. There is another type that is induced by nonspecific stimulation, has no specific allergic causes involved, and is not an immune response process, but the clinical manifestations are similar to the above two types of allergic rhinitis. It is called vasomotor rhinitis or neuroreflex rhinitis. The stimulation can come from outside the body (physical, chemical aspects) or from inside the body (endocrine, mental aspects), so some people regard it as allergic rhinitis. However, because there is no antigen:antibody reaction in the body, desensitization therapy, hormones or immunotherapy are ineffective.

2. How to prevent and treat: Compared with colds, patients with allergic rhinitis have more severe nasal symptoms, such as clear nasal discharge and severe and long-lasting nasal itching, sometimes lasting for one or two months. Pay attention to the combination of work and rest, prevent cold, strengthen exercise, and maintain a good mental state. Control the occurrence of indoor mold and mildew. Kill pests such as cockroaches thoroughly and keep them away from pets.

3. Postpartum disease

1. Cause: Diseases caused by external infection or internal injuries suffered by women within one month after giving birth (including miscarriage), with symptoms similar to colds such as joint pain, chills, fear of wind, etc., which are left behind if not cured during the confinement period. After giving birth, women's muscles, bones and pores are opened, their bodies are weak, and their insides and outsides are empty. If wind and cold invade accidentally at this time, or if they are extremely angry or sad, or have too much sexual intercourse, these may cause postpartum disease. Therefore, mothers should try not to eat cold drinks or drink cold water in the short period after delivery, and especially pay attention to keeping the joints warm.

2. How to prevent and control:

(1) Pregnant women are prohibited from having sexual intercourse within one month after giving birth, otherwise it may endanger their lives. To be on the safe side, it can only be done after 100 days;

(2) Maintain a good mood, do not be angry or irritable, be open-minded, and think less;

(3) Pregnant women should not do too much activity during the confinement period, nor stand or sit for long periods of time, so as to avoid overwork and leaving behind the root of disease;

(4) Pregnant women should be moderate in their diet during the confinement period. They should not be too full or too hungry, and should not eat raw, cold or spicy food. They should not eat too much food other than grains at one time, and should not go on a diet for fear of obesity.

(5) Pregnant women should not wear slippers, short-sleeved clothes or short skirts during the confinement period. They should wear a hat when going out in spring, autumn and winter. After sweating, they must wait indoors to dry before going out. They should not use cold water to wash their face, hands, feet or take a bath (including in summer).

4. Lobar pneumonia

1. Cause: Mainly caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, with symptoms similar to a cold such as high fever, cough, chills, etc. An important feature of lobar pneumonia is that patients will have fever, and obvious substantial changes can be seen in the lungs during X-ray examination. Colds caused by cold, fatigue, drunkenness, or rain may all induce lobar pneumonia.

2. How to prevent and treat

(1) Pay attention to preventing upper respiratory tract infections and strengthen cold-resistant exercises;

(2) Avoid exposure to rain, cold, drunkenness, overwork and other inducements;

(3) Active treatment of primary diseases such as chronic heart and lung diseases, chronic hepatitis, diabetes and oral diseases can prevent lobar pneumonia.

5. Acute nephritis

1. Cause: Upper respiratory tract and tonsillitis often occur 2-4 weeks before the onset of the disease, manifested as sore throat, runny nose, nasal congestion and low fever, which can easily be misdiagnosed as a cold. Some cases of acute nephritis develop from colds, which is more common in young people and children. Patients typically have dark, foamy urine, and some have facial edema. At this time, it is best to go to the hospital for a routine urine test.

2. How to prevent and treat: Currently, scientists are developing specific treatments directly targeting the glomerular immune pathological process. It is mainly through symptomatic treatment of the pathophysiological process of acute glomerulonephritis (such as water-sodium retention, excessive blood volume), prevention and treatment of acute complications, protection of renal function, so as to facilitate natural recovery. Keep warm, do not take medicine randomly when you are sick, do not overeat, and pay attention to recurring tonsillitis. In addition, you should drink enough water and not hold your urine, eat a light diet to control diabetes and high blood pressure, deal with urinary tract stones and get regular check-ups.

6. Japanese encephalitis

1. Cause: "False cold" symptoms such as fever, headache, cough, sore throat, etc., with mild runny nose. The epidemic season of Japanese encephalitis coincides completely with the rampant period of mosquitoes, generally starting from May and ending at the end of October of the same year. The patient will experience fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, and drowsiness. The fever will subside after 7-10 days, and other symptoms will slowly fade away. The main means of prevention is vaccination with the Japanese encephalitis vaccine, followed by mosquito control.

2. How to prevent and control:

(1) Kill mosquitoes. Mosquito bites can carry germs into the body and cause Japanese encephalitis;

(2) Vaccination and population immunization. There are two main Japanese encephalitis vaccines currently used internationally, namely the Japanese rat brain purified inactivated vaccine and the Chinese hamster kidney cell inactivated vaccine.

(3) Symptomatic treatment.