预防感冒保暖很重要

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2008年12月7日

秋冬季节，是感冒容易滋生的时节。而感冒的常见症状是流鼻涕、昏昏欲睡等。维基百科上对感冒的描述是：

Rheum is a medical term for the natural watery mucus discharge from the eyes, commonly known as sleepydust, sleep, legañas, eye boogers, or some derivative thereof.

我们真正害怕的还是流感——流行性感冒（Influenza ，简称 flu），流感病毒的危害由来已久，如何在这个冬天不让感冒来侵袭我们的健康，做出一些防范措施很有必要。

先看看维基百科上对流感病毒的描述：

Typically, influenza is transmitted from infected mammals through the air by coughs or sneezes, creating aerosols containing the virus, and from infected birds through their droppings. Influenza can also be transmitted by saliva, nasal secretions, feces and blood. Infections also occur through contact with these body fluids or with contaminated surfaces. Flu viruses can remain infectious for about one week at human body temperature, over 30 days at 0 °C (32 °F), and for much longer periods at very low temperatures.^[4]^[5] Most influenza strains can be inactivated easily by disinfectants and detergents.

很典型的，流行性感冒是通过空气中含有点哺乳动物的咳嗽、打喷嚏时产生的雾气的流感病毒，和鸟禽类的排泄物来传播。流感还能通过唾液、鼻液及其他排泄物和血液来传播。通过接触被感染者的体液和体表也可能导致感染的发生。流感病毒在的人体内保有一个星期左右的感染能力，在零摄氏度（32华氏度）时有30多天的感染能力，而在更低的温度下可以存活更久。大部分流感病毒在消毒剂和洗涤剂的环境中不能存活。

由此看来，预防感冒，保暖很重要了。还有一个就是勤洗手。还有一个多星期就要考英语四、六级了，还有一个月就要进行期末考试和研究生考试，学校的教室都是复习的学生。坐在教室里感觉很冷，而且总有少数学生在流鼻涕，这个应该就是轻度感冒的症状了。在这个封闭的环境里，流感是很容易传染的。除了吃饱穿暖外，隔一段时间出去透透气也很重要，晚上在南湖宿舍也要坚持打打乒乓球，对晚上的睡眠也有好处。

昨天晚上有看见两辆消防车往元宝山方向开去，距离上次来了四辆消防车也才个把月时间，在网上搜一下，华师宿舍起火，不仅有华中师范大学，还有华南师范大学，还有华东师范大学，而且都是女生宿舍。据说我们学校的火灾起因是因为用热得快烧水，晚上11停电后，忘记拔出来，早上6点钟来电后，就烧糊了，着火了。紧接着就是上海某学校因这个问题出了命案。

扯远了，还是继续预防感冒这个话题。在VOA Special English上有两篇有关流行性感冒的文章，一篇是Colds, Flu and Folk Advice：可以在线听mp3学英语[audio:http://www.voanews.com/mediaassets/specialenglish/2008_10/Audio/mp3/voa-se-hea-colds-21oct08.mp3.Mp3]

This is the VOA Special English Health Report. Autumn and winter are cold and flu season — when people are most likely to catch the viruses that cause influenza and the common cold.
Is the old advice true that dressing warmly will help prevent a old? Or if you do get sick, should you follow the old saying, “Feed a cold and starve a fever”?
And what about that fever? Should you take medication to reduce your temperature, or is it better to let the body treat the infection itself?
Everyone seems to have an answer. But how much value is there in popular wisdom?
Doctor Alvin Nelson El Amin knows a lot about cold and flu season in California. He is medical director of the immunization program for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
Doctor Nelson El Amin says research may be just starting to provide evidence for long-held beliefs. For example, scientists for years dismissed the idea that getting cold and wet might cause colds or flu.
But recent studies have shown that cold temperatures cause stress on the body. That stress can create conditions more inviting to viruses. So maybe it does make sense to wrap up warmly before going outside.
And what about the advice to feed a cold and starve a fever? Doctor Nelson El Amin says if you have a cold and are hungry, you should eat. But a fever, especially a high one, suggests a more serious problem. He says people are usually not hungry anyway when they have a high fever. Eating might even cause a person to vomit. But drinking plenty of liquids is important. A fever can easily dehydrate the body.
Finally, when should you treat a fever? Doctor Nelson El Amin says a fever should be treated if it stays at forty degrees centigrade or above for a day or more. A temperature that high can damage brain cells. The doctor also believes in treating a fever if it prevents a person from sleeping.
Aspirin, acetaminophen and ibuprofen can all be used to reduce pain and fever. But aspirin should not be given to children because it can cause a rare condition.
One belief that Doctor Nelson El Amin wanted to make clear is wrong is that influenza vaccine can cause the flu. It cannot. Sometimes people get the flu from another person soon after they get vaccinated, so they blame the vaccine, he says.
But, flu vaccines do not protect everyone who gets them. Still, even if a person does get sick, the vaccine can limit the effects of the virus.
And that’s the VOA Special English Health report, written by Caty Weaver. I’m Bob Doughty.

另外一篇是When Flu Season Hits: Everything You Need to Know About Influenza，是讲流感在历史上的危害，mp3在线播放：[audio:http://www.voanews.com/mediaassets/specialenglish/2008_01/Audio/mp3/se-sin-2464-influenza-1-08-08.mp3]，文章可以点击上面链接查看原文。

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