Flu Therapy

Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is viral in origin.

Every year that amazing virus finds different ways to re-invent itself and evade scientists who were busying making the current years Flu vaccine from the previous year’s flu strains. Each year new viral strains of the flu present themselves and debilitate the general population with fevers, chills, aches, and fatigue. In addition, we can get a bacterial infection in conjunction with a viral infection and develop congestion, yellow & green discharge, strep throats, ear infections, and gastrointestinal distress. Antibiotics are commonly prescribed for the above symptoms. Antibiotics only treat bacteria. This means that they only treat bacterial infections. The influenza virus is viral in origin. And herein lies the problem.

Conventional medicine is powerless in treating viral infections.

At best conventional treatment can help to control and reduce symptoms such as cough, fever, and congestion. This is an area where natural medicine shines. Mother nature has provided an entire shopping bag of ways to combat viral infections.

Watch this video: Living Proof: Vitamin C Miracle Cure?

Natural therapies can effectively reduce the duration and the severity of Flu viruses while boosting the immune system and preventing relapse. The best way to avoid the flu is to avoid getting sick in the first place. Remember, prevention is the best medicine.

Lung Health
Influenza primarily affects the nose, throat, and lungs. Influenza induced lung complications are more likely in individuals with a past or present history of chronic lung conditions such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and cystic fibrosis.

Keeping lungs healthy is the best way to combat influenza.

Symptoms of influenza where the lung tissue is affected are made much worse by the immune system responding in an exaggerated way to the virus, rather than by the virus itself. During influenza infection, the prolonged response of the immune system can cause the lungs to become inflamed resulting in airway blockage and difficulty breathing. Generally, this occurs between day 2 and 4 of the illness, in which the body symptoms begin to subside and respiratory symptoms begin to increase.

A Supplement that optimizes lung health is N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC). NAC may help decrease  lung symptoms and complications during an influenza infection. NAC is a derivative of the amino acid L-cysteine and can increase the level of the potent antioxidant glutathione. NAC is used in the treatment of  lung conditions due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and expectorant and mucous thinning activity.

NAC acts directly on the immune system to stimulate the immune response by enhancing T-cell proliferation.4

If in fact you do feel that your immune system has been weakened and that you are coming down with a bug, do not delay! You have the best chance at recovering if you act fast before the full-blown disease has manifested in your body. Our patients who come in as soon as they are feeling sick always recover sooner than the patients who come in after 5 days of having the flu symptoms.

The longer you wait the deeper the disease process will manifest in your system.

References
Hadzic T, Li L, Cheng N, et al. The role of low molecular weight thiols in T lymphocyte proliferation and IL-2 secretion. J Immunol. 2005 Dec 15;175(12):7965-72.

Susceptibility to infections depends on the status of the immune system. The goal of treatment with the booster shot (homeopathic combination therapy) is to activate and support the defense mechanisms of the body by strengthening the natural immune response to viral invasion.

Numerous studies document the therapeutic and preventative benefits of this homeopathic preparation in cases of infections with or without fever such as bronchitis, herpes, ear infections, and influenza.

The components of the immune booster shot have been scientifically proven to reduce the duration and severity of symptoms during an acute viral infection as well as prevent from further infection.

BENEFITS OF THE IMMUNE BOOSTER SHOT:

*Used for both prevention and treatment of viral infections
*Turns on the immune defenses
*Scientifically demonstrated as safe and effective
*No known side effects of contraindications
*Safe for children and pregnant or nursing mothers
*May be combined with other natural immune or conventional therapies.

HOW IT WORKS:

*Basic research revealed the antiviral activity of the components of the booster shot against viruses such as: Influenza, Herpes simplex type 1, Rhinovirus, Adenovirus Type 5, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).

*In vitro tests have shown that the ingredients of the immune booster shot specifically, Engystol and Gripp homeopathic preparations improve the fighting capacities of white blood cells, which digest microorganisms by 41%.

*The components of the immune booster shot assisted 88% of patients achieve a good result suffering from infections with fever or influenza.

*Preventatively, influenza infections were reduced compared to the control group. The duration and severity of the symptoms were considerably lower in the immune boost group.

RESEARCHED ARTICLES:

In vitro evaluation of the antiviral effects of the homeopathic preparation Gripp-Heel on selected respiratory viruses.

Glatthaar-Saalmüller B.Clinical Immunology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, A-1210 Vienna, Austria
Gripp-Heel is a homeopathic preparation frequently used in the treatment of respiratory viral infections such as various types of influenza and the common cold. The antiviral activity of Gripp-Heel was studied in vitro on human pathogenic enveloped and nonenveloped RNA and DNA viruses. Before the antiviral assays, in vitro cytotoxicity of Gripp-Heel was determined with cells used for the infection experiments (HeLa, HEp-2, MDCK, BGM) as well as with mitogen-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes. A concentration of 0.5 of the commercially available product slightly reduced cell viability and proliferative capacity, and experiments on antiviral activity were determined starting with a dilution of 0.2 of the commercially available product.

The antiviral activity was determined against a broad panel of enveloped and nonenveloped DNA and RNA viruses with plaque reduction assay, cytopathogenic assays, virus titrations, analysis of the viral proteins in virus-specific enzyme immunoassays, and haemagglutination tests. Control substances were acyclovir (10 microg/mL), ribavirin (6 microg/mL), and amantadine hydrochloride (5 microg/mL), depending on the virus type.

Gripp-Heel demonstrated dose-dependent in vitro activity (significant reductions of infectivity by 20% to 40%) against Human herpesvirus 1, Human adenovirus C serotype 5, Influenza A virus, Human respiratory syncytial virus, Human parainfluenza virus 3, Human rhinovirus B serotype 14, and Human coxsackievirus serotype A9. The mechanisms of this antiviral activity are still unclear, but type I interferon induction might be a possible explanation. Further research on this homeopathic preparation seems warranted.

PMID: 18066110 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
1: Can J Physiol Pharmacol. 2007 Nov;85(11):1084-90.

THE JOURNAL OF ALTERNATIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE

Volume 11, Number 5, 2005, pp. 855–862
©Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
Antiviral Activity of Engystol®: An In VitroAnalysis

Objectives: To study the effects of the homeopathic preparation Engystol®(Biologische Heilmittel HEEL GmbH, Baden-Baden, Germany) on a panel of human pathogenic viruses in vitro.

Design: The effects of Engystol were studied using plaque-reduction assays and virus titration assays, and
by quantification of newly synthesized viral proteins in virus-specific enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assays
(ELISAs).

Subjects: The DNA viruses Adeno 5 and herpes simplex type 1 (HSV-1), the RNA virus respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and human rhinovirus (HRV)

Results: A 73% reduction of Adeno 5 specific proteins and an 80% reduction in HSV-1 specific proteins
were observed in ELISAs of virus-infected cells treated with Engystol after infection. The effects appeared to
be dose-dependent. With these viruses, similar results were observed in titration assays of viral offspring from
cells treated with Engystol. Pretreatment of adenovirus with Engystol did not inhibit the infectivity of the virus
suspension and no Engystol-induced stimulation of interferon-??could be observed. Plaque-reduction assays
with the RNA viruses, RSV and HRV, showed reductions in infectivity by 37% (RSV) and 20% (HRV), respectively.

INTRODUCTION
Many respiratory viruses, most commonly influenza virus, respiratory syncytial viruses (RSV) and rhi-novirus, are capable of causing respiratory disease, either by their direct effects or by exacerbating underlying conditions. A number of substances are available for effective treatment of viral infections, such as amandatine,1neuraminidase inhibitors,2 and nucleoside analogues.3 However, many antiviral substances are associated with side-effects4–6 and there is still a need for antiviral substances with good efficacy and tolerability, and low toxicity. The homeopathic preparation Engystol® (Biologische Heilmittel HEEL GmbH, Baden-Baden, Germany) is frequently used in complementary medicine for the prophylactic treatment of infectious diseases.

Engystol is used in the form of tablets or in solution for injections and contains two main active ingredients, Vincetoxicum hirundinaria (swallowort), which has been associated with stimulation of host defense mechanisms, and sulfur, which has been used homeopathically for treating a range of conditions, including skin diseases, acute and chronic inflammations, and hepatic and gastrointestinal complaints. The remedy has been
shown to be effective in various clinical settings for treating viral and respiratory infections.7–9Other studies have indicated Engystol treatment to be associated with a stimulation of the immune system in terms of phagocytic activity, granulocyte function, and improved humoral response.10–13

CONCLUSIONS
The scarcity of antiviral drugs without problematic side effects may be one reason why complementary and alternative medicine is enjoying a rising popularity in both the United States and Europe. If it can be shown conclusively that Engystol, a plant-derived substance at quite a high dilution, has antiviral effects, this would be a welcome addition to the treatment options for viral infections.

Thus, it seems homeopathic agents in general have a well-established record of tolerability and there are no adverse effects indicated for Engystol.18