USING CREATIVE IMAGERY TO BATTLE VIRUS INFECTIONS

If you carried out the hand warming technique just described, you have already used creative imagery successfully. Creative imagery consists of making clear, mental pictures of what you want to happen. You accompany the pictures with silently-worded suggestions. These powerful thought-images then make a clear statement to the subconscious of whatever you wish to achieve. Through regular repetition of these images, you send pictures of your goals deeper and deeper into your subconscious. Gradually, the subconscious releases powerful inner forces that work subliminally to make your goals a reality.

Although we intend to use creative imagery here to speed recovery from a cold or flu, the same techniques can be used to attain any kind of goal, whether it be financial prosperity, or owning a new home or car, or becoming whatever you want to become.

What actually happens is that we circumvent the conscious mind, with all its critical and analytical functions, and we communicate directly with the subconscious. The subconscious uncritically accepts all the thoughts, images, feelings and beliefs we feed into it. All we need do is to give the subconscious a clear, vivid picture of the goal we desire. The subconscious will then motivate the mind-body to make these images real.

In this case, we are asking the subconscious to fortify the immune system and increase its aggressiveness in destroying invading viruses. So for maximum success, it’s best to prepare your mental pictures and suggestions in advance. Write down exactly what you want to heal. Make a rough sketch of each mental picture and write out each suggestion.

For example, you will wish to visualize your B cells multiplying into huge armies and then manufacturing billions of antibodies. Imagine a B cell as a white bean. You need only visualize a dozen or so at one time. See each “bean” cell split itself in half and form two new cells. Then see each of these cells divide and become two more “bean” cells. And so on. Then visualize each B cell spewing out small antibodies shaped like darts. Each B cell can manufacture hundreds of antibodies.

Along with this mental image, you can silently suggest “My B cells are multiplying rapidly.” Later, as you picture the B cells manufacturing antibodies, silently repeat: “My B cells are producing billions of antibodies. Each antibody will destroy a cold (or flu) virus.”

You can also picture macrophages as large white cells. These, too, you can visualize as dividing and multiplying. Make a similar picture of killer T cells replicating. They are about the same size and shape as B cells.

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RELIEVING SINUS OR EAR PAIN. GARGLING TO SOOTHE A RAW AND HOW TO CLEAR NOSE

A sharp pain in the ear during a cold may indicate an ear infection. Try to stop sniffling and blow your nose very gently. The pain can usually be relieved by applying a heating pad to the ear. However, if pain persists, see a physician without delay.

Sinus discomfort may also often be relieved by applying a heating pad to the painful area. If persistent pain occurs on the surface or forehead, see a physician.

Gargling with salt water will provide temporary relief for a raw, scratchy throat. Dissolve half a teaspoon of salt in an eight-ounce glass of warm-to-mildly hot water. Throw the head well back as you gargle, being careful not to swallow.

Another gargle formula is to mix together equal parts of honey and apple cider vinegar in a cup of mildly hot water. This is a traditional folk remedy for relieving congestion.

Commercial gargles containing phenol or benzocaine may temporarily relieve a sore throat.

If one nostril seems completely blocked, dissolve half a teaspoon of salt in a glass of warm (but not hot) water. Insert the nose into the glass and suck up water through the unblocked nostril. Keep sucking up water until you feel it run down the back of your throat. Then remove the glass and allow the water to drain out of the nose. Blow the nose gently and steadily into a tissue. Repeat several times, if necessary, to unblock the nasal passage. The water will flush out excess mucus without irritating mucous membranes. You can repeat this natural decongestant four or five times a day.

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NUTRIENTS THAT BUILD IMMUNOCOMPETENCE

For example, in a French study of 100 healthy people aged over sixty, doctors found that the higher the vitamin A content in the bloodstream, the greater was the body’s ability to produce helper T cells. Subjects with the highest vitamin A content in blood plasma had the highest immunocompetence. The same researchers confirmed that the higher a person’s concentration of vitamin E in the blood plasma, the fewer the number of infections that person had experienced in the preceding three years.

Several studies on lab animals have confirmed that in animals deprived of vitamin A, the immune system is suppressed while supplementation with vitamin A bolstered immunocompetence in the test animals.

Other studies have demonstrated that a subtle zinc deficiency underlies a variety of impaired immunbresnonse functions, and that fewer than fifty per cent of Americans have an adequate intake of dietary zinc.

Part of the controversy concerning claims that vitamin C will subdue cold symptoms arises from the difficulty in using lab animals for vitamin C testing. Unlike humans, most lab animals synthesize copious amounts of vitamin C in their bodies, making it impossible to measure the results of supplementation.

It is because humans are believed to have lost the ability to synthesize vitamin C due to a mutation during evolution that the need for vitamin C supplementation has become apparent.

In support of this concept, numerous tests on humans have confirmed that people who maintain higher levels of vitamin C in their bodies experience fewer respiratory infections; and if they do catch a cold, symptoms tend to be twenty to thirty percent less severe.

For example, a study made by the Naval Medical Research Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, and reported in the journal of Applied Nutrition tested the plasma vitamin C levels of twenty-eight men on a submarine during a sixty-eight-day patrol. Among those with the lowest vitamin C levels, twice as many experienced common cold symptoms as among those with the highest vitamin C levels.

Another study made in Australia, and reported in the Medical journal of Australia revealed that when cold sufferers were given one gram of vitamin C per day, the duration of their infection was reduced by 19 percent.

Even more convincing results were obtained in a large, carefully-controlled study made by Dr. Terence W. Anderson of the University of Toronto School of Hygiene in 1971-1972. After observing results of over 4,000 subjects in a series of three tests, each employing varying amounts of vitamin C, the overall conclusion was that regardless of the amount of vitamin C taken, the cold symptoms of those taking the vitamin were reduced by 30 percent.

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HOW TO TELL WHETHER YOU HAVE A COLD

Without taking a lab test for antibody titer, no physician can positively identify whether you have a cold or flu. And the test takes so long to culture out that the dysfunction could be nearly over before the answer was known. Hence doctors rely on physical symptoms to diagnose an upper respiratory tract infection.

The symptoms are often so clear that you can make a fairly accurate diagnosis yourself.

Cold symptoms appear rather gradually and tend to be localized in the nasal area, spreading later down to the throat and larynx or bronchial tubes. The most common cold symptoms are a scratchy throat and sneezing, sniffles, watery eyes, and a stuffed-up, runny nose. Fever is not common in adults and is usually slight. A sore throat, a mild cough, and viral laryngitis, hoarseness or voicelessness may occur during later stages. A cold may cause a higher fever in children but high temperatures are rare in adults. A mild headache may occur. Symptoms actually experienced depend on the specific virus causing the infection.

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MAINTAIN REGULAR SLEEP PATTERNS

Sleeping with your head under the covers permits an oversupply of carbon dioxide to accumulate in blood vessels. Carbon dioxide is a powerful blood vessel dilator and migraine trigger.

Anyone who sleeps for under five hours or for more than ten hours each night also increases risk of migraine. Fatigue due to lack of sleep is another well-known migraine trigger. Thus it’s important to maintain regular sleep patterns throughout the week. Get up at the same time every day and avoid oversleeping on weekend mornings.

Those prone to tension headaches should avoid sleeping on the stomach. It forcibly turns your head to one side, creating muscular tension that could easily set off a headache. If you sleep on your back, place a small pillow beneath the neck to prevent the head from being tilted either backwards or forwards. Likewise, if you sleep on your side, avoid slumping the head forward.

Special “cervical pillows” are available, designed to allow the neck to relax while sleeping on the back or side. You may also obtain a horseshoe-shaped pillow stuffed with a gel pack which you can freeze in the refrigerator and place under the head and neck to relieve a headache.

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