Healthy_Food_Guide_UK_-_January_2020

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IMAGES

M

OSTOFUSWILLSUCCUMB

toatleastonecoughorcold

thiswinter,whichis likelyto

takeseveraldaysoutofourdiaries

andmaylasttwoorthreeweeks.

Butupto1%ofBritishadultswill

developpneumonia,a potentially

fatalconditionthatneedsurgent

medicalattention.Sadly,around

30,000peopledieeachyearinthe

UKfrompneumoniaandmanyof

thesedeathscouldbeprevented

with earlier diagnosis.

Who’smoreatrisk?

Pneumoniacanbecausedbybacteria,

virusesorfungi.It’smorecommon

intheveryyoungorthefrailelderly,

anyonewhosmokesorwhohasa

pre-existinglungconditionsuchas

asthma,chronicobstructivepulmonary

disease(COPD)orcysticfibrosis,and

inthosewitha weakenedimmune

system(forexample,patientsreceiving

chemotherapy).Butit canalsoaffect

peoplewhowerepreviouslyfitand

well,soit’simportantforusalltoknow

thesignstolookoutforastheycan

developveryquickly.Thesoonerthey

arerecognisedandtreatment is started,

the better the outlook.

Thetelltalesigns

Mostcoughsandcoldscanbemanaged

athomewithouttheneedfora doctor’s

appointment,andtheNHSencourages

ustousepharmacistsasa firstportof

callforsuchconditions.Restassured

thatif yourpharmacistis concernedthat

what you have is more than just a cough

DR DAWN’S

medical notes...

How to spot when a

‘bad cold’ is pneumonia

ora cold,they’llsendyoustraightto

yourGP,andyourdoctor will see you

asa prioritythatday.

A coughis a protectivereflexallowing

thebodytoexpelanirritantorinfection.

Whilethecoughassociatedwith

pneumoniacanbedry,it’smorelikely

tobeproductive.Patientsmaynotice

theirsputumis discoloured– often

yelloworgreen,orit mayhavea brown

tingeorbeblood-stained.Thereis

usuallya highfeverandtheperson

willfeelveryunwell.Theymayhave

difficultybreathingorbreathemore

rapidly,andtheirchestmayhurtif

theytrytobreathedeeply.Mostpeople

withpneumoniawillbeofftheirfood.

They are also likely to have a rapid

pulseandsmallchildren may seem

floppy and listless.

Whattreatmentinvolves

If yourdoctorsuspectspneumonia,he

orshemayaskfora sampleofspitto

sendtothelaboratoryforanalysisand

mayalsoarrangea chestx-ray.Theywill

almostcertainlystarttreatmentbefore

waitingforresultstobecomeavailable.

Patientswithpneumoniamayneed

tobetreatedinhospital,butif they’re

allowedhome,it’simportantto

rememberthey’recontagious.Viruses

andbacteriacantravellongdistancesin

a cough,soalwaysaskpatientstocough

intoa tissueandtodisposeofthattissue

straightaway.Thegermsthatcause

pneumoniacansurviveoutsideofthe

humanbody– sometimesforseveral

hours– soleavingcontaminatedtissues

onsurfacesincreasesthechancesof

them being passed on to others.

Yourstay-wellplan

Thegoodnewsis thatwecanallreduce

ourriskofdevelopingpneumoniaby

keepingourimmunesystemsingood

order.Thatmeansmanagingstressand

eatinga healthy,well-balanceddiet

that’srichinfruitandvegetables.It’s

alsoimportanttoensureyouget

enoughsleep– ourimmunesystem

repairsduringsleepandmostexperts

recommendbetweensevenandnine

hoursa nighttomaintaina robust

immunesystem.Unfortunately,fartoo

fewofusprioritisesleeping,soif you’re

lookingfora newyear’sresolution,

maybe this should be it!

Coldsspreadrapidlyinwinter,buta fewprecautions,a littleknowledgeandmoreattention

to our immune systems can help us resist a deadlier infection, says Dr Dawn Harper

❛Wecanallreduceour

riskbykeepingourimmune

systems in good order❜

JANUARY 2020HEALTHY FOOD GUIDE 89

HEALTH