Tag: sinus treatment


Is it ‘just a cough’? Or should you be worried?

7
January
Is it 'just a cough'? Or should you be worried?

Is it 'just a cough'? Or should you be worried?

We will get to the answer in a bit but first, all of us here at Urgent Care Atlanta want to wish all our readers a Happy New Year and hope that 2012 brings continued health and happiness to you! And if the cold January weather has you feeling a bit down, don’t worry, just drop by the MedHelp clinic and we will have you as good as new again.

Speaking of January, one of the biggest health complaints at this time of the year is the cough. Now coughs can be no more than just a harmless occasional tickle in the throat. But they can also be the sign of something more dangerous. And that’s why you need to know how to tell the difference between the benign and the malignant. Most of the time you can just clear your throat and go on about your day. But it’s important to know when you should see a doctor.

CASE 1: WHEN YOU HAVE A VIRAL INFECTION

Coughs are the body’s natural mechanism to clean up your respiratory tract. And you can usually make them go away by getting rid of the cause- so if your cough is caused by pneumonia or an allergy, you can take an antibiotic or avoid the cause of the allergy respectively. When coughs are caused by viral infections, they can take up even a week or two to go away but you can at least easily treat yourself with over-the-counter medicine, lots of rest and plenty of fluids.

CASE 2: WHEN THE COUGH ALONE IS YOUR MAIN SYMPTOM

If you aren’t suffering from the pneumonia, allergy or some other identified viral infection and you still have the cough, it could be a strep throat or just a bad case of sore throat. You should consider seeing a doctor for these.

CASE 3: WHEN THE COUGH JUST WON’T GO AWAY

Coughs caused by ‘tickles’ or viral infections should be gone anywhere from a minute to a week. Any cough that lasts longer warrants a visit to your local clinic.

CASE 4: CALL THE DOCTOR IMMEDIATELY

You should call or see a doctor right away if you have any of the following in addition to the cough:

- Symptoms like wheezing, chest pain and/or breathing trouble
- You are coughing blood- or ‘bloody’, yellow or green mucus
- You also have a high fever
- Your condition is worsening instead of getting better
- Unplanned weight loss
- You start sweating heavily during the night

If you have a cough and want to make sure that nothing’s wrong, just drop by the MedHelp clinic. Our medical experts will provide you with accurate diagnosis and the best treatment!

969 comments » | Urgent Care Atlanta

Have a Healthy Winter! Best Ways to Avoid the Flu and Common Cold (Part 4)

30
December
Best Ways to Avoid the Flu and Common Cold

How to avoid the flu

By the time you read this post, you will already have a number of good Christmas meals behind you and made up plans for which New Year parties you will be attending. We here at MedHelp Clinic hope you had a really good Christmas and, most importantly, stayed happy and healthy throughout the holidays. To make sure you enter the New Year flu-free as well, our last post of the year will impart some more super effective tips on protecting yourself from common illnesses.
(You can read tips 1 – 9 in our last three posts).

10. DISPOSE YOUR SNEEZE PROPERLY

This heading may sound strange but what it basically means is that you should not sneeze or cough directly into your hands (as we all tend to do). The reason is the same one as we have discussed before: because we use our hands to touch our faces ever so often, any germs on the former get easy access to the latter. A good alternative to using your hands? The crook of your elbow or a tissue you dispose off soon after.

11. QUIT SMOKING

Can any ‘health’ list ever be complete without telling readers to quit smoking? Well now you can add one more reason to getting rid of your smoking habit: Because smoking adversely affects the respiratory tract and weakens the immune system, it can leave you more susceptible to flu and cold viruses. More particularly, research has shown that smoking can destroy the cilia (the tiny fibers inside the nose) which can increase your risk for contracting infections.

12. BE HAPPY!

Feeling positive, having a good time and being happy have more great effects than just the obvious: they can help increase your immune system! Pleasurable events- smiling, playing with a pet and, yes, sex- can all give a boost to your immunity and help you fend off infections better.
At any rate, you should absolutely begin the New Year on a happy note! Go out with friends, have fun at parties and be sure to make positive resolutions for the year to come.

You will now hear from us next week. Happy New Year!

P.S. If you have been a bit too careless in the Holidays and now feel a chill coming, get yourself checked at the MedHelp clinic in time. Our trained medical staff will have you treated and ready to enjoy the beginning of the New Year in no time.

765 comments » | Urgent Care Atlanta

Sinus Signs: Symptoms and Treatment

21
November
The common cold- and how to get rid of it

Sinus Signs: Symptoms and Treatment

Okay, so we’ve already discussed colds and the flu in the last two blog posts. But now it’s time to turn our attention to another related infection type: sinus infections (termed medically as sinusitis).

SINUS INFECTION: SYMPTOMS

Let’s say you have a runny nose and you keep sneezing and coughing. You could put it down to a common cold and you just might be right. However, if your condition seems to last longer than the general term of colds (that is, 10 – 14 days), you might actually be suffering from a sinus infection. Some other sinusitis symptoms are high fever, puffy eyes and bad breath. Before we get into treatment for the infection, let’s get a little background knowledge on the subject.

WHAT ARE SINUSES?

A sinus is not an infection in itself though people colloquially refer to the associated infection- sinusitis- as ‘sinus’ too. Actually, sinuses are the natural multiple ‘air pockets’ found in head and face bones. While that may sound a tiny bit alarming, it just means they are empty ‘airy’ spaces. We all have a total of eight sinuses (which start developing even before we’re born!) and their purpose mostly seems to be keeping the weight of our skull lower than it would be if it were all bone, and adding tone/depth to our voice. Much like the nose, these sinuses are lined with a thin ‘mucous membrane’ tissue which helps trap dust and germs in the form of mucus/snot. The tiny hair on the membrane’s surface, called cilia, then help clear the mucus by transferring it to our swallowing tract through a narrow nasal opening.

If you have a cold or allergy, the sinuses get irritated and consequently start producing excess amounts of mucus. The cold virus can also damage the ‘cilia’ which stops the tiny hair from clearing away the mucus. This excess mucus production or un-cleared built-up can also block the nasal opening that previously drained the mucus. When mucus starts clogging the sinuses, it becomes a good launching pad for bacteria, fungi and viruses to grow. This sinusitis can be either acute or chronic based on how severe and/or persisting it is.

TREATMENT

A doctor can diagnose sinusitis by careful examination of the ear, nose and throat, and by tapping the sinuses externally. If you have a cold that seems to be persisting longer than expected and you want to get checked for sinusitis, just walk into your closest MedHelp clinic any day and our staff will be happy to help you through the entire process. For a bacterial infection, your doctor might prescribe you an antibiotic which helps in killing bacteria. Antibiotics will not be effective against viral infections though. The doctor might suggest a CT scan to see exactly what’s going on and how to treat it in the best possible way. During your visit to the MedHelp clinic in Atlanta, you can also ask your doctor to prescribe you a decongestant or nasal spray that can help you feel better while you recover.

75 comments » | Urgent Care Atlanta

     

↑ Back to top