Ok, so you’ve stayed home, limited your contact, washed your hands like crazy, disinfected everything and still, you or someone you love gets sick. What can you do?
FIRST THINGS FIRST — STAY CALM. Remain at home, do your best to hydrate and take good care of yourself while avoiding others. Call our office for an assessment. Our goal is to keep you out of the hospital, so paying close attention to the illness and its progression is essential. Make a list of your symptoms and note any new symptoms should they arise.
What to do now
Use these tips as a potential means for reducing the severity of the infection should you become sick. You can view and print a pdf of these recommendations by clicking here.
Immediately do your best to isolate from your family or other members of your household. It is best to have an isolation strategy beforehand to limit the number of sick people in your home. According to the NIH, the average COVID-19 patient infects 2.2 other people. Many of those are close family members. It’s essential that you have a plan to mitigate transmission within your household.
Change your dosages of antivirals from a prevention strategy to active treatment. This means picking at least one of the anti-viral herbal combinations and tripling your dose. These antivirals include: Allimed, Cat’s Claw Elite, Olivirex, Viragraphis, Sinatrol, Samento, our custom herbal tincture based on the Buhner Protocol, and Beyond Balance IMN V and IMN V III.
Start taking natural anti-inflammatories — as many as you can stomach. This includes Quercetin, Curcumax Pro, Meriva, Cyflacalm II, Nrf2 activators, Melatonin and ResveraCel. Part of this disease ramps up the pro-inflammatory processes in the body called cytokines. Supplementing with natural anti-inflammatories may help by reducing these substances in the body.
Continue to take your basic immune support.
a. Vitamin C: 1000-3000mg throughout the day in divided doses.
b. Vitamin D3: 50,000 IU for 3 days then return to regular dose of
5,000 IU daily
c. Zinc: 30-60 mg daily with food
d. Probiotics: High dose 100 + billion CFU daily
e. Immunoglobulins: SBI Protect, Mega IgG
Add in additional lung support. This bug seems to have a special affinity for the lungs, so lung support is essential.
a. N-acetyl cysteine or NAC 1000mg 2X’s/day. Thins mucus secretions
b. Bromelain 2-6 caps on empty stomach to try to help dry out the lungs
c. Diamine Oxidase is good for runny nose, and excess histamine response
d. Honey or “Ivy Calm” for cough suppressant.
e. Melatonin has also been found to be useful in reducing inflammation in the lungs. Doses vary depending on your previous experience with melatonin. Start with 3 mg at night and slowly increase as tolerated. Max sick dose is 20 mg twice daily.
Try to be equipped with the proper home supplies
If at all possible, consider having some basic equipment to weather this illness at home.
- Thermometer. Use the thermometer to monitor and keep track of your temperature. 88% of COVID-19 patients run a fever.
- Home nebulizer. Nebulizers can be used to help if you become short of breath. It is possible to nebulize saline, or hypertonic Quinton water to help. Omron is a good brand, but there are others. You can try to find one on Amazon or we have had luck with justnebulizers.com. If you cannot find one, placing a towel over you head while breathing in a pot of steaming water can also be an effective tool. **Other nebulized solutions may be necessary during treatment: Nebulized Glutathione, NAC and/or albuterol can be very effective–all require a prescription from one of our doctors.
- Finger clip pulse oximeter. An oximeter monitors your blood oxygen levels. Oxygen monitoring is critical in knowing when it is time to get to the hospital if that becomes necessary.
- Spirometer. Some of you may have this piece of equipment from a previous hospitalization or surgery. An incentive spirometer helps to improve lung function. You can typically find them at a drug store on online.
Other ways to support the lungs naturally
There are some amazing practices that can help to support your lungs should you become sick. These methods can also be used to strengthen the lungs and prevent illness.
- Click here for some home osteopathic exercises to acute lung infection by Dr. Eva Shay
- Lymphatic self massage
- Try dry skin brushing
- Break a sweat. Viruses die at elevated temperature. Sweating can happen with a home sauna or you can even just take a hot steam shower or bath with essential oils.
- Qigong exercises for lungs
Buhner’s Ginger Tea Recipe & Recommendations for Dosing
- Two thumb sized pieces of raw ginger
- Roughly chop or grate into 1 quart of filtered water
- Place in a pot on the stove and bring to a boil
- Simmer for 1 hour.
- Drink one cup twice daily for prevention
- Drink one cup per hour for treatment
- Can add Manuka honey or a small amount of local honey for sweetness.
Potential Pharmaceutical Treatments
Some early studies are showing potential promise for hydrochloroquine and azithromycin. Consult with your provider to determine whether this is a good option for you.
References on Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin Treatment:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32150618
- http://www.zjujournals.com/med/EN/10.3785/j.issn.1008-9292.2020.03.03
- https://www.mediterranee-infection.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Hydroxychloroquine_final_DOI_IJAA.pdf