Things are not looking good if you’re unlucky enough to have caught the grim hacking cough that’s doing the rounds this winter.
The frightening thing about it, is that doctors can’t do anything to help, simply suggesting that people get rest, eat plenty of food and dose up on lots of water, the Mirror reports.
Hundreds of people have been knocked out with this vile virus and panicked doctors have now made the scary claim that even antibiotics won’t help those affected…
Dr Anna Kuczynska said:
We know there is a particularly nasty, persistent cough in the community that lasts a number of weeks and is leading a lot of people to attend their GP surgery.
Unfortunately, in most cases, unless the patient has another underlying chronic condition for example, heart or lung disease or diabetes, there is often nothing the GP can do to help other than recommend resting and drinking plenty of fluids.
Antibiotics will be of no help for most normally healthy people.
If you see blood or are breathless with your symptoms, have lost weight or symptoms are on-going more than three weeks, patients should get advice.
GP Steve Bassett supported this unnerving realisation that medicines won’t be able to help and that relying on your own immunity is the only cure…
He explained:
If you have a cough – even if you are producing green phlegm – if you are eating and drinking normally and are otherwise pretty well; then we don’t need to see you.
It’s only if you have other symptoms, such as a fever as well as a cough, or have problems breathing, or are vomiting, that we may need to investigate further.
Coughs and colds simply have to run their course. There isn’t any prescribed medication which can shorten or cure them, and that includes antibiotics which are not effective on viruses, and are more likely to cause you problematic side effects.
What’s even more terrifying is that a professor of virology at Queen Mary Univerity of London blames the outbreak on the scarily named adenovirus, saying that it is ‘highly likely’ that it’s at the root of the mass eruption of ill health.
Horrifyingly, health authorities in Wales have recently stated that the spike in winter viruses, flu and the norovirus have had a big impact on their bed situation.
The effect of these winter germs is far reaching, with the University Hospital of Wales seeing an increase in the number of ambulances dispatched increase by a quarter.
The Interim Chief Operating Officer for Cardiff and Vale UHB, Steve Curry said:
There has been increased pressure over the last few days as expected and we have increased capacity as part of our winter plans.
I would like to thank staff for their continuing hard work and ask the public to play their part by using the full range of health services available in the community such as their local chemist and optician who can help with a number of ailments that people often go to the GP for.
We also ask everyone to practice good hand hygiene to help fight the spread of common winter bugs and to avoid visiting hospitals if they have flu like or norovirus -like symptoms.
Well this is all really reassuring…
A great excuse to stay indoors, under a blanket and avoid January like the plague that it is though…
