Information Regarding The Coronavirus
COVID-19 is here and we are very much aware that it will certainly spread and affect many lives around us.
The good news is you can help protect your health and those you love.
WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW.
Well, there are things we know now, and things we still do not know.
A strong and clear public health measures greatly impact epidemic progression. The solution is not a scientific one but a public health one. The best and strongest variable or actions that help contain this, are strong political leadership at the highest level, with early detection and response, with good public awareness of the facts.
Don’t Panic! These things can and will happen, and we will rise up, help each other and get through this.
The Virus Will Probably Reach You
The COVID-19 virus is spreading quickly in many parts of the country. While still few in numbers, it is probable that the virus will be at all our doorsteps in the coming weeks to two months. It is very likely there are actually many, many more cases in our midst that we do not know about because the lab tests have been unavailable due to poor decisions by the government and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the manufacturing of lab testing.
Don’t Panic! The upside may mean that the effect of the virus has been mild enough here that we have not noticed anything more than the moderate to severe flu season that has been recorded. The reason we need to take this seriously is that it will disrupt our lives. We also need to protect those of us who are seniors, and those who have predisposing health issues, particularly those with lung diseases. People in this category are about 3 times more likely than otherwise-healthy flu patients to require ventilators and other intensive care.
Statistics show that 6 out of 10 people in the U.S. have at least one underlying health condition.
Average age of death for people from COVID-19 is 80 years of age. Therefore for populations at risk, this is more than just a flu.
We need to help ensure the spread is as minimal as possible, to protect the aged and the sick who are most at risk.
Public health measures like quarantines, washing hands, wearing masks, social distancing, etc… do work…
The virus is known to spread through the breath, the mucous membranes, including the eyes, and other yet unknown routes. People who contract the novel coronavirus emit high amounts of virus very early on in their infection, according to a new study from Germany that helps to explain the rapid and efficient way in which the virus has spread around the world.
Things to do!
Needless to say– Wash Your Hands: How many times have you heard this?…. but this is probably the best thing you can do to protect yourself. When you wash your hands, use soapy warm water. A hand wash should take as long as singing “Happy Birthday” twice, which should take you 20 to 40 seconds Studies show that most people don’t wash their hands long enough, and also show that we tend to miss our fingertips, our wrist areas and in between the fingers.
Washing with soap is the top way to remove coronavirus from your body. Alcohol wipes (70% or greater) are good, but the lipids or emulsifiers in the soap works best
If you cannot get soap and water and need a transportable alcohol-based virus-fighter, here’s a homemade recipe for homemade hand sanitizer: – 2/3 cup of 91% alcohol ( I was not able to get alcohol from drug store so I bought grain alcohol for my liquor store.) and – 1/4 cup aloe vera gel- optional: a few drops of your favorite essential oil, I like sweet orange, mix and place in a container.
I have also been using coconut oil to moisturize my hands as it does have antiviral qualities due to lauric acid and monolaurin compounds which help with disintegration of viral envelope.
Sneeze or cough into a tissue, then throw it out: and of course, wash your hands again. If you don’t have a tissue, sneeze into your elbow, and then wash that clothing since we don’t know how long the virus can survive on clothing.
Don’t Touch Your Face: Touching your face might be the main mode of transmission of the virus from a surface to your reparatory tract. so start practicing as it proves it much harder than you think, this is where wearing a mask could help.
Keep up the naturopathic basics: people who maintain healthy lifestyles are known to fair the best to not get sick, and have better outcomes if they contract the virus.
Here a few tips to remember:
- It is the perfect time to clean your diet- cut down on alcohol and sugar and refined foods. Today’s Western-style diet is proven to lead to increased inflammation, reduced control of infection, and increases in auto- inflammatory disease. Eating nutritiously is good for both prevention and treatment of viruses.
- I know a number of people have asked about fasting but fasting reduces may actually reduce white blood cells and help the virus take over, so I do not recommend fasting. But do minimize dairy products gluten sugary foods, fried foods, you should follow your BTD Diet or follow a Mediterranean Diet which is higher in fish, vegetables, nuts, beans, and olive oil.
- Ensure adequate rest, and get plenty of sleep: at least 8 hours a night for optimal immune function. your most restorative sleep is in the early evening. Try to be in bed by 10 to 11PM Studies on the rhinovirus shows lack of sleep makes us more susceptible to catching a virus.
- Exercise moderately: moderate exercise has been shown to improve immune function and potentially reduced the risk and severity of respiratory viral infection. However, extensive exercise is shown to stress your immune system.so right now, do what is comfortable for your body, but not too much more. Also, exercise can help burn off some of the stress hormones too…
- Stress lowers the ability of the immune system to deal with viruses. Keeping a meditation practice, and lowering stress load will help, and don’t keep watching the news – the media is very negative-driven. Take a walk out in nature.
- Stay hydrated -1/2 your body weight in ounces a day
- Make a plan if you do fall ill, make sure that someone is attending to you so that you have proper care
- Start taking any antiviral herbs/vitamins that you know about.
FYI, there is no clear direct evidence on supplements to prove that supplements will prevent or treat COVID-19. However, there is evidence from other corona and similar viruses that these supplements may help boost your immunity.
- Vitamin D -deficiency of vitamin d3 is known to be much more prevalent in Advanced Respiratory Distress (ARDS), which is the major concern in patients who get very sick from Covid-19. Low vitamin D is shown to directly contribute to the worsening of ARDS. Good vitamin D levels are important in keeping a balanced immune and inflammation reaction.
- Selenium: Selenium deficiency may make it easier to catch viruses. Supplementation can protect antioxidant capacity in the lungs in those with acute respiratory distress as well as help patients already being treated for advanced lung inflammation.
- Vitamin C -Possibly keeping levels in the body higher might help prevent it, although we do not know that for sure. it may help the immune system fight off infection. Higher levels of vitamin C as used in intravenous therapy may help patients who have respiratory distress syndrome as well.
- Vitamin A- may prevent viruses, and may be worth taking in low doses. Please remember pregnant women should NOT take extra vitamin A.
- Chinese scute (scutellaria baicalensis)
- Zinc
- Elderberry also called (Sambucas nigra)-
- Mushroom Immune Formula- one that has several mushrooms for immunity
- Resveratrol
- Urtica Diodica (Nettles Root)
Things you can do to prepare:
- Use a humidifier for your home environment: it is harder for viruses to thrive in a humid environment. Moist air keeps your lung and respiratory airways moist, which makes life tougher for a virus.
- If you can pick up a couple N95 masks, while it is not proven that face masks will prevent you from getting a virus, but if you are sick you can help stop others from getting sick, which is especially important around elderly and immune-compromised persons. The mask is likely helpful for people who tend to touch their face a lot, to help block the hands from getting to the nose and mouth.
- Nasal Rinses: Saline nasal irrigation is a therapy with roots in Ayurvedic medicine where you can bathe the nasal mucosa with spray or liquid saline to help get rid of the mucus that is harboring the virus. Getting rid of it earlier may help prevent the virus from getting into the lungs. Medical literature supports the use to help upper respiratory conditions.
- Prepare your home for quarantine: Hopefully, you will not have to, but it may become necessary to stay home for a few weeks to help stop the spread of viruses depending on where you live. This will mean you will need to prepare your home and purchase items like foods, toilet paper, and prescription medicines to have available.
If you are sick and under self-quarantine, these are some important precautions to follow:
- Stay at home, and don’t have visitors.
- Shop online to receive packages and food
- If you live with others, keep yourself in a ventilated bedroom don’t use fans but open windows, and don’t share towels and toiletries.
What to do if you think you have the coronavirus.
Don’t panic. Check-in with a call to your medical doctor. Proper testing will hopefully be available soon and your doctor can decide best when you may need testing.
It is best not to run to the doctor’s office or hospital.
The coronavirus can have a few stages.
- The first is cough and fever, like any cold or flu. Most people (probably around 80%) will only experience this particular stage.
- The second stage occurs when the virus starts to move into the lungs. In this phase, patients will experience lung symptoms, like more coughing, phlegm, and possibly like being short of breath.
- In the third phase, the lungs become very inflamed, and it can be very hard to breathe. Using natural medicine supplements can help with the first, second stages and is worth a shot in the third stage, especially if medical intervention is not available.
There are many things we can do to reduce those odds even further. Boosting our immune system to help stave off early symptoms is a good way to start.
To schedule an appointment, for a personalized protocol, please contact the front desk at Regenerative Health Clinic at: contact@regenerativehealth.doctor and we can schedule a phone consult for more advance treatments on becoming healthier and optimizing your immune system.
Regenerative Health and I are sending you prayers, and love during this time. Blessings and Health
Dr. Maria
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