Jay Tor

MedLinePlus [the NIH Medical online Library]:

Influenza & Colds Page: Use this as your starting point. If you have a more specific question, go to the search function, type in influenza [or cold] and pull up additional links.

[url="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/influenza.html"]http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/influenza.html[/url]


Flu and cold symptoms can be similar to those of other infections/diseases. If your flu/cold doesn't clear up within 7-10 days, it may be [a] a long-lasting flu/cold strain or [b] some other type of infection.

For [a] call your department of public health and ask if there's a new or particularly long-lasting flu/cold strain in the area. If you travel, you would need to obtain this information from wherever you had visited at the time you picked up the flu/cold.

For [b] start with the infectious diseases page, and refine your search as needed.
[url="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/infectiousdiseasesgeneral.html"]http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/infectiousdiseasesgeneral.html[/url]

In the U.S., the CDC monitors all infectious diseases, including influenza. Below is the link to the alphabetized health topics page of the CDC:
[url="http://www.cdc.gov/health/default.htm"]http://www.cdc.gov/health/default.htm[/url]

The FDA issues alerts and recalls of meds, foods and supplements that can pose a health risk for various reasons including contaminants such as bacteria and other pathogens as well as mislabeled or unlabeled ingredients.

[url="http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html"]http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html[/url]

If you choose you self-treat and are interested in alternative or herbal remedies, try some of these links:
[url="http://nccam.nih.gov/health/"]http://nccam.nih.gov/health/[/url]

Herbal supplements are medicines, so always check for drug/herb interactions.

[This message has been edited by moderator2 (edited 07-06-2002).]

[This message has been edited by webmaster (edited 07-06-2002).]