As I write this there is a slowly increasing health threat in the UK in the form of Coronavirus. The symptoms of this virus range from a mild cold or cough to more serious complications like pneumonia. Coming in the middle of Winter this virus just adds to the list of respiratory illnesses which happen at this time of year. Undoubtedly it also increases the worry factor.

Now I make no claims to banish these viruses with magic potions! But I do offer non-suppressive remedies which, if given early enough, can lessen the seriousness of a virus, and shorten its overall duration and weakening of our respiratory systems.

Therapies such as Acupuncture offer a way of expelling pathogens without harming the host, this being the opposite of western medical approaches which work by suppressing symptoms. If used quickly and correctly, Acupuncture can help in the short term by helping us get through viral attacks more quickly, and in the medium to long term by offering constitutional help to strengthen the overall energy (this usually is labelled as ‘strengthening the immune system’).

As said above, there is no miracle cure for winter viruses – the traditional advice of go to bed, keep warm, and drink plenty of fluids still holds!

But if you are worried by what you read and hear, or have a history of getting too many colds and coughs, then it is important to be active and do things to help yourself. Put simply this means eating well, resting well, taking appropriate exercise, and finding some non-suppressive way of strengthening our immune system.