Cannabis is not a cure for the flu, but it can help reduce its symptoms. The influenza virus, which causes the flu, triggers the body’s immune system, resulting in symptoms of inflammation. If you have the flu and would like to include marijuana in your treatment plan, you must have a medical marijuana card. This will allow you to legally consume marijuana in your state and prevent you from facing legal issues.
There are numerous well-liked natural ways to treat flu symptoms, including taking ginger, garlic, and vitamin C, or drinking bone broth and lemon tea. There are ways that cannabis can help reduce some of the symptoms associated with the flu, even though research indicates that using it during the acute phase may increase viral replication.
Can Cannabis Be Used to Treat the Flu?
Cannabis won’t eradicate the virus, but it may help with flu symptoms like fever (antipyretic body temperature and fever-reducing).
The immune system’s reaction to the influenza virus causes inflammation, which cannabis lessens. Regretfully, the body is acting appropriately to get rid of the infection despite these unpleasant and occasionally severe symptoms. Using cannabis to suppress the immune response may make it more difficult to recover from the flu because the immune response and the ensuing inflammation are necessary to remove the virus from your body.
Emphysema and persistent cough are two more possible side effects. For this reason, it is usually advised to cease using cannabis during the early and severe phases of the flu. However, when used during the flu recovery phase, cannabis may alleviate symptoms.
Although there is no research on cannabis’s direct effects on the flu, it has been demonstrated to alleviate symptoms of other illnesses that share similarities, such as COVID-19’s cytokine storms.
How Marijuana Can Help Alleviate Flu Symptoms
Numerous cannabinoids are found in cannabis. The two most prevalent varieties are cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC is responsible for the psychoactive effects of cannabis, whereas CBD mainly has anti-inflammatory properties.
The CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors are how cannabinoids affect the body. The brain and nervous system contain CB1 receptors, which contribute to cannabis’s euphoric and antiemetic effects. The immune system and other bodily parts contain CB2 receptors, which play a crucial role in regulating both the immune system and the pain response.
The body’s immune response is triggered by the flu. This reaction includes inflammation, which is the cause of many flu-like symptoms. Pain, swelling, heat, redness, and loss of function are the five cardinal indicators of inflammation. These cardinal indicators encompass a wide range of flu symptoms. These indications already show that cannabis may reduce inflammation and the immune system to alleviate many of the typical flu symptoms.
It should be mentioned, though, that this type of inflammation is not always harmful because it can aid in the treatment of illnesses. Chronic inflammation can lead to negative consequences like fatigue or post-viral syndrome.
Muscle Aches
Cannabis may help ease flu-related muscle aches. By binding to the body’s CB2 receptors, CBD lowers inflammation. Furthermore, CBD modulates opioid receptors allosterically, which is crucial for controlling pain. CBD lessens pain all over the body by attaching itself to opioid receptors. THC produces a euphoric effect and lessens pain by acting on the brain’s cannabinoid receptors.
Fever and Chills
During the flu, chills happen as the body attempts to kill the virus by raising its core temperature. When the body is battling an infection, fever frequently coexists with chills. When the body’s core temperature rises above normal, a fever occurs. This is a component of the immune system-activating inflammatory response. Cannabis’s cannabinoids lessen the activity of immune system cells, reducing the symptoms of inflammation, such as fever and chills.
Congestion
Activation of the immune system causes the lungs to produce more mucus. This is due to the fact that mucus plays a crucial role in capturing pathogens such as influenza and keeping them from entering the lungs. Unfortunately, congestion is the result of excessive mucus production. Both THC and CBD aid in lowering mucus production, which eases congestion.
Runny Nose
Excessive mucus production in response to the flu causes a runny nose. Similar to congestion, cannabis reduces mucus production, which eases a runny nose.
Headaches
There are numerous reasons for headaches. Limiting blood flow to the brain, which causes less oxygen to reach certain areas of the brain, is one common cause of headaches. Cannabis may improve blood flow and ensure that the brain receives enough oxygen by relaxing nerves and widening blood vessels. In order to lessen the perception of pain. Cannabinoids also attach to brain receptors that control pain.
Fatigue
One common flu symptom is fatigue. Medical cannabis may lessen fatigue, according to studies, though the exact mechanism is unknown.
Using Cannabis to Relieve Flu Symptoms
There are numerous ways to administer cannabis. Smoking, vaping, using drops, and eating edibles are the most popular techniques. Some techniques are much more effective than others when you’re ill.
Drops under the tongue are the most effective way to administer or consume cannabis when you’re ill. It takes around 15 to 30 minutes for cannabis taken in this manner to begin reducing symptoms. By using cannabis in this manner, you can avoid breathing in smoke that irritates your throat and lungs, and the cannabinoids bypass the liver, accelerating their effects.
Another effective way to treat flu symptoms is by ingesting cannabis through edibles and capsules. When ingested in this manner, however, the cannabinoids pass through the liver and undergo metabolization prior to entering the bloodstream and exerting their effects. It takes between 60 and 90 minutes to see any results.
Vaping and smoking are not the best ways to treat the flu because they can aggravate your lungs and throat, making you feel worse. Thinners are frequently needed when vaping cannabis oil, and they can irritate the skin.
Unless you have another medical reason to continue using cannabis while ill, it is usually best to wait until you have recovered from the flu before starting to use it again.
The Bottom Line: Can Weed Provide Relief for the Flu?
When you are recovering from the flu, cannabis can help reduce symptoms. This is because THC and CBD, two cannabinoids, work by binding to the body’s cannabinoid receptors to lessen inflammation brought on by the immune system.
Regardless of cannabis use, you should consult medical marijuana doctors in Cleveland if your flu symptoms worsen or do not go away in a week.
