Have you seen that TV advert for a cold treatment that helps the high-powered executive back to work within a day? The one where he has sorted out Far Eastern Futures in the meantime?

I hate it! And here's why. The first two weeks of January have just given us the flu outbreak we have been expecting for the last 10 years or so. It's not been a good start to 1999. At least that flu strain won't be with us quite as badly again - but in the meantime, if you were caught by it, there are some rules to obey.

The first is not to take it lightly. If you had to go to bed for a few days, you will still be under par for the next few weeks. Expect to be fairly unfit, a bit low mentally and physically, and don't push yourself to get back to normal life too soon.

"Post-viral fatigue syndrome" is a reality that thankfully affects only a few people after flu, but it does appear to be worse in people who have tried either to work through flu or to go back to work too soon. We seem to have forgotten that after any debilitating illness, one of the most important aids to recovery is rest.

It used to be called convalescence - there were "convalescent homes" all over the country for people recovering from all sorts of illnesses. The idea was to keep them resting, quiet, worry-free and fed well. Sleep and relaxation was encouraged - and people got back to work faster if they first spent a week or so "convalescing".

Now anyone suggesting convalescence is laughed at. It's "old-fashioned". Like the man in the advert everyone believes that it's up to medicines to get people well fast so that they can get back to their daily routine as soon as possible. That attitude has been encouraged by the drive to get people out of hospital as fast as possible, so that their bed can be occupied by the next customer, or "client" - note that it's bad form to use the word "patient".

I don't like this change, because "client" has the feel of a commercial arrangement about it, that "patient" never had. And "patient" suggests that you accept that it takes time for the body to get better. Because no matter how much our society has changed, one thing has not - the speed with which any body can recover from an infection.

The immune system can exhaust itself in its efforts to get rid of germs like the flu virus, and may take weeks to get back into fighting fettle. During that time we are susceptible to other illnesses. The less we ask it to do (by resting, sleeping, and eating wisely) the more energy it can devote to recovery, and the faster and more complete that recovery will be.

One example of what can go wrong is shingles. Family doctors expect a sprinkling of shingles cases after a flu outbreak. Shingles is a re-appearance of the chickenpox virus, many years after the childhood infection. Chickenpox viruses, like cold sore viruses (to which they are related) don't entirely die off. They travel into the spinal cord, where they lie dormant, controlled by our constantly active immune systems.

It's only when we are under par - such as after a virus infection like flu - that the chickenpox viruses can break out from their "prison" along the nerves connecting the spinal cord to the skin. That's why the shingles rash has such a distinctive one-sided pattern: the blisters accurately map out the endings of the nerves that carry sensation from the skin to the spine.

Anyone who starts to have an irritating rash limited to a particular area of face or body should self-diagnose shingles, then see the doctor as soon as possible. Starting an anti-shingles treatment within 48 hours can make a huge difference to the subsequent pain.

In the meantime, if you have had flu, make each night an early one for the next month. Sleep and rest as well as you can for as long as you can, and eat well. Make your home a convalescent one. And soon you should be enjoying life again to the full.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.