“The body has forgotten how to defend itself from influenza B, which is as good or as bad as any flu. Several viruses are now infecting people and they need to maintain discernibility on medicine to be used. They should keep themselves hydrated and eat healthy food,” said Dr Sampat Dash, senior pulmonologist. Influenza virus, especially B causes upper respiratory difficulties while influenza-A also causes complications in lower respiratory tract.
“It (influenza B) can cause reactive airway dysfunction syndrome (RADS) that lasts for three weeks and people have jerking cough. There is nothing to panic,” Dash added.
Airway Dysfunction Syndrome (RADS), an abnormal hyper responsiveness of the airway following viral infection, is being seen as a post-Covid complication in the third wave, doctors said.
Doctors said patients complaining of mild breathlessness, wheeziness, congestion in airway and breathing out should consult doctors get medication under their supervision. Though it is a self-limiting disease (can heal with time) and people themselves can heal by natural ways like breathing exercise, exposure to sun and cleaner air.
Professor Dr Jayant Panda, department of medicine, SCB medical college and hospital, Cuttack said symptomatic treatment in majority of the cases is the best available option to deal with flu (any kind of influenza and viral) infection currently happening.
In viral infections involving upper respiratory airway, inflammation is caused resulting in irritation in throat and hyper responsiveness of airway.
People feel these are small bout of coughs and can heal with time.
Doctors said once you have problem in breathing out, you gather a lot of carbon dioxide in the body, which can cause headache in the person .
