NEWS from the FDA

Unusual Flu Season Calls for New Approach

Heightened Stress Can Weaken BodyÕs Defenses & Intensify Flu Symptoms

o 20,000 die from the complications of flu each year nationwide and more than 100,000 are hospitalized in an average year

o The nationÕs leading flu-tracker is predicting that this flu season will be earlier and more severe than last year by 18%-22%- Surveillance Data Inc.

o Research shows that stress intensifies cold and flu symptoms Š Psychosomatic Medicine (1999)

o 34% of people in the United States use natural remedies before conventional medications when treating common illnesses up 6% from the year before Š Roper Starch Worldwide

Fever, cough, muscle aches: They are all symptoms of the flu, and symptoms that are even more likely and intensified when youÕre under stress.

As Americans experience record levels of stress brought on by the ongoing threats of terrorism, the conditions are in place for a record flu season. In preparation for this yearÕs flu season, when attention to symptoms is at an all time high, people are looking for flu medicines that wonÕt give them side effects and wonÕt mask the symptoms that could signal a more dangerous condition.

Homeopathic medicines, which are regulated as drugs by the FDA, are receiving a marked increase in consumer interest because they are safe, have no side effects, wonÕt interact with other medications.

A recently published clinical study indicated that more than 60 percent of users of an over-the-counter drug, Oscillococcinum (O-sill-o-cox-see-num), Oscillo for short, showed clear improvement in flu symptoms within 48 hours.