Now that the winter season has arrived in the Kingdom, flu has arrived with it.

The TU Libraries have some books of advice available for loan:

http://koha.library.tu.ac.th/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=634064

http://koha.library.tu.ac.th/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=634066

Experts from the Mayo Clinic and the National Institute of Health, as well as Dr. Andrew Weil, disagree on how to best prevent and treat the flu, but by combining some of the more sensible advice, it is more likely that you can get through the flu season without getting ill.

http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/Flu/understandingFlu/Pages/diagnosisTreat.aspx

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/flu/basics/causes/con-20035101

• Wash your hands a lot and dry them on paper towels. Medical studies have shown that the quickest way to get the flu is by getting the virus on your hands. That means you should wash your hands and ideally dry them on paper towels which are then thrown away:

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA401237/Best-Way-To-Dry-Hands.html

In the TU Libraries office, the Thai style of drying hands on rolls of toilet paper is awkward and far from ideal, but it is better than sharing a cloth towel with people who may already have the flu virus.

• Try to keep your hands away from your eyes, nose, and mouth. Since the fastest way to get the flu virus inside your body is through the eyes, nose, and mouth, if you make it a point not to put your fingers anywhere near these weak points, it becomes less likely that you will get the flu. When you eat, wash your hands thoroughly before and after the meal or snack.
• While there may be no proof about this, some experts swear that if you take vitamin C tablets, you will be less likely to get the flu. It is certain that people who are run down or otherwise tired, or ill with some other problem, have less strong immune systems, so building up your own defences against the flu virus with multivitamin and vitamin C tablets is probably a good idea.
• Dr. Andrew Weil says that eating lots of garlic can help fight off the flu or if you have the flu, eating garlic can help get rid of it. Thai people usually eat lots of garlic, but not raw, which is the way Dr. Weil recommends it, chopped up in a sandwich or in soup. If the idea of eating raw garlic is too awful for you, then eating cooked garlic is better than no garlic at all.
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• Another piece of advice from Dr. Weil is not too difficult for Thai people to follow: eat lots of mushrooms, since many favorite Thai dishes are prepared with mushrooms. Yet Dr. Weil is specific about the kinds of mushrooms that are best for combating colds and flu: maitake and shiitake mushrooms have antiviral properties and help your immune system. Reishi mushrooms also encourage the immune system and have anti-inflammatory effects as well. If your nose, throat, lungs, or whatever is inflamed by the cold or flu, eating this mushroom should be one possible way to help the situation.
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• Among other herbs widely recommended for treating symptoms of flu are echinacea:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/252684.php

http://nccam.nih.gov/health/echinacea/ataglance.htm

http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/echinacea

andrographis:

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-973-andrographis.aspx?activeingredientid=973&activeingredientname=andrographis

and astralagus:

http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/astragalus

You are probably already familiar with ginseng, often used in traditional medicine:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/967.html

Before you take any herbal remedy, it is always a good idea to check with your doctor to make sure that it does not conflict with any medication you may already be taking. Also, a doctor can tell you about possible side effects that herbal medicines may have that could make them a better or worse choice for some people.

• Eat a piece of lime with salt. One of the most effective remedies for colds and flu is rejected by many people as too awful. Try taking a quarter of a fresh lime, salting it, and eating it. The combination of salt and lime juice will help clear up even a very sore throat. Many people find this too horrible to do, just as gargling with salt water is another excellent remedy for the sore throats that can often result from colds and flu, but if you hate the taste of salt water too much to gargle with it, there is no point in making yourself miserable. Some people gargle with salt water or eat a salted piece of lime, and then to make themselves feel better, eat a nice piece of candy.
• Stay home and rest. While it can be very difficult, it is probably best for you and your co-workers if you stay home and rest if you have flu. That way, it is less likely that the whole office will get flu. Also, staying home means you do not have to ride on the bus or sky train with lots of people coughing and sneezing. Coughing and sneezing are ways in which the flu virus is spread from person to person.
• Consider getting a flu shot. While generally flu shots are recommended for anyone around 65 years old or who has a chronic medical condition such as asthma, if you have received any serious medical treatment lately such as surgery that will have lowered your immune system, you might ask your doctor whether it would be a good idea to get a flu shot. While you cannot get the flu shot if you are suffering from a cold or the flu, when you are feeling better, it is never too late to get the shot. The flu shot is not a 100 percent guarantee that you will not get the flu. Instead, it is meant to reduce the seriousness of your experience with the flu if you do get it. If you take the flu shot and get the flu, you will probably only feel ill for a couple of days rather than a couple of weeks or longer if you try to be brave and adventurous and do not get the flu shot.
• Drink lots of fluids. When doctors advise you to drink lots of fluids to feel better when you have the flu, they generally mean fluids without caffeine, which tend to dehydrate you. So drink water and other healthy beverages such as herbal tea. Do not drink any dairy product, such as milk.
• If your flu symptoms go on and go, see a doctor. Even if you hate going to the doctor, it is better to get treatment than to suffer with undiagnosed swine flu or other serious forms of flu that require antiviral medication, such as Tamiflu.

(all images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)