Usually each year, during late summer I start writing articles about the cold and flu season that seems to impact us more during fall and winter months.

One well known herb that has most often been a great help for colds and seasonal flu has been Echinacea.

This item comes from my web site, leaflady.org, and in general, it is very good information.

When considering Echinacea, please use it properly. It is best used when you feel a cold or the flu coming on.  Fresh plant tincture is my choice and recommendation. Take the number of drops equal to one-half of your body weight, for a week or two. If you are not improving, then switch to a deeper acting herb, such as elder.  It may be that your body needs additional herbal support to strengthen your immune system. If this is the situation, then contact your health care provider. 

While this information is helpful, this year, beginning as far back as April, we at Creating Health Institute have not been recommending Echinacea for flu.

The reason is “swine “flu or what is called H1N1.

“Swine” flu is a new virus and one of the severe complications associated with it is bacterial pneumonias that seem to reacting very differently in your body.  “Swine” flu and seasonal flu also present with the same symptoms so differentiation and diagnosis may be difficult.

While pneumonia is a complication of flu viruses it appears to be much more virulent with “swine” flu.  This may lead to an over production of white blood cells most often referred to as “Cytokine storm”, an inflammatory reaction.

The risk with Echinacea in this situation is that it is an immune stimulant and it increases the number of white blood cells to fight infection.

This overabundance of white cells can lead to breaking down of the mucous membrane lining in the lungs and increase risk of death.

One of the most helpful herbs to combat cytokine storm is nettle. Vitamin D lowers inflammatory cytokines as does vitamin C.  Vitamin A (beta Carotene and fish oil based vitamin A combination) is a key nutrient for mucous membrane health; in high doses over a short time it is helpful for pneumonia.