Our Opinion: What To Do about Coronavirus
With everyone freaking out about coronavirus, we thought we’d address the issue via email as thousands of you read these every week.
I had Dr. Lantelme write a letter about what he thinks is the best way to prepare for this illness (hint, these steps are easy to follow)…
And he’s here to let you also know there’s no need to panic.
Panic is deadly, and taking precautions will help to protect you.
_______________________________________________________
From the desk of Dr. Lantelme:
Founder Robinhood Integrative Health
Co-founder Health As It Ought To Be
When it comes to coronavirus, there are some important things to know.
First, Covid 19 is the name of the disease caused by novel coronavirus: i.e. the coronavirus that everyone fears, leads to a disease called Covid 19, and that is what is causing some people to die.
That’s just a point of clarification.
In my mind, there has been excessive fear generated by the press reporting on this illness and the disease it causes.
Why that’s true is in anyone’s guess, especially as the total cases seem to be declining at latest report. Yes, the deaths may climb somewhat over the next month, but I doubt dramatically.
From what I can tell there are wild speculations about worldwide death rates going around.
What most people don’t realize is we really do not know how many people have been infected. It could be that millions of people are infected with coronavirus and haven’t reported it mainly because they simply think they’re sick…but not “coronavirus’ sick.
So with that being true, we cannot really know what the death rate is, and for the press to speculate that the mortality rate is 3-4% and even higher is irresponsible at this point in time.
You see, corona viruses in general (there are several kinds) usually do nothing more than cause the common cold.
This kind is a bit different from other corona viruses as it is a SARS (Severe Acute RespiratorySyndrome) form of coronavirus.
The other 2 viruses like this are SARS and MERS (Middle Eastern Respiratory) viruses.
If that’s confusing, just look at this break down of these 3 viruses:
Common human coronaviruses
- 229E (alpha coronavirus)
- NL63 (alpha coronavirus)
- OC43 (beta coronavirus)
- HKU1 (beta coronavirus)
Other human coronaviruses
- MERS-CoV (the beta coronavirus that causes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS)
- SARS-CoV (the beta coronavirus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS)
- SARS-CoV-2 (the novel coronavirus that causes coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19)
People around the world commonly get infected with human coronaviruses 229E, NL63, OC43, and HKU1.
This form of coronavirus virus is more infective and less fatal than these SARS and MERS.
I truly believe the abject fear around the coronavirus is unfounded. Yes, it’s a serious illness, and it’s worse than influenza, but it’s not the harbinger of the apocalypse the press makes it out to be.
First, let’s talk about the symptoms of coronavirus to make sure you’re aware of how it manifests.
Coronavirus Symptoms
“There appears to be three major manifestations of lung symptoms: mild illness with upper respiratory tract symptoms; pneumonia that isn’t life-threatening, and severe pneumonia with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The latter course can start with mild symptoms for around a week and then progress rapidly to much difficulty breathing, requiring life support.”
“The clinical syndrome is nonspecific and characterized by fever and dry cough in the majority of patients, with about a third experiencing shortness of breath. Some patients have other symptoms such as muscle aches, headache, sore throat, and diarrhea7. The median age of patients is between 49 and 56 years.
Cases in children have been rare. Although most cases appear to be mild, all patients admitted to the hospital have pneumonia with infiltrates on chest x-ray and ground glass opacities on chest computed tomography. About a third of patients subsequently developed acute respiratory distress syndrome and required care in the intensive care unit. This is particularly true for patients with comorbid conditions such as diabetes or hypertension.”
The Good News From Researchers Concerning Coronavirus
The truth is many researchers familiar with this virus are not the ones fanning the flames of fear.
Consider these reports that are coming out of the medical literature.
Researchers from Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong:
[The researchers] “reported that zero healthcare workers contracted coronavirus (COVID-19) and no hospital-acquired infections were identified after the first six weeks of the outbreak, even as the health system tested 1,275 suspected cases and treated 42 active confirmed cases of COVID-19. Eleven healthcare workers, out of 413 involved in treating confirmed cases, had unprotected exposure and were quarantined for 14 days. None became ill. The researchers also conducted an experiment taking air samples from close to the mouth of a patient with a moderate level of viral load of coronavirus. The virus was not detected in any of the tests, whether the patient was breathing normally, breathing heavily, speaking or coughing, and tests of the objects around the room detected the virus in just one location, on a window bench.”
And another recent report from Singapore:
“Clinical features are summarized in the Fever (13 [72%]), cough (15 [83%]), and sore throat (11 [61%]) were common symptoms. Rhinorrhea was infrequent (1 [6%]), while 6 patients (33%) had an abnormal chest radiograph finding or lung crepitations. No patients presented with a severe acute respiratory distress syndrome, and only 1 required immediate supplemental oxygen. Lymphopenia (<1.1 ×109/L) was present in 7 of 16 patients (39%) and an elevated C-reactive protein level (>20 mg/L) in 6 of 16 (38%), while kidney function remained normal.”
Finally, another JAMA article said:
”the predominant human receptor for the SARS S glycoprotein, human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), is found primarily in the lower respiratory tract, rather than in the upper airway. Receptor distribution may account for both the dearth of upper respiratory tract symptoms and the finding that peak viral shedding occurred late (≈10 days) in illness when individuals were already hospitalized.”
How to Treat Coronavirus and How to Prevent It
While there are no drugs that have been shown to be effective against coronavirus the fact that various physicians in China and elsewhere have been experimenting with known antivirals at the bedside… and other trials have been initiated with success… lead me to believe we’re not in grave danger of being overrun by a disease that wipes out humanity.
As far as the spread of coronavirus is concerned it looks like saliva, stool and aerosolization (sneezing and coughing) are the main modes of transmission.
At least that’s what’s being reported. If you look at the Hong Kong report above the aerosol theory is questionable, which means I don’t think people should worry about walking into a grocery store and fear coronavirus is lingering in the air.
Steps You Can Follow to Stay Safe
If you’re going to be among crowds or go to visit sick people in the hospital, do the following:
- Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with plain soap and water.
- Don’t touch your mouth, nose, eye… unless you have recently washed your hands.
- Manage your nutrition and lifestyle. Eat as clean as you can. Sleep as well as you can. Get as much sun as you can. Practice grounding for 10 minutes a day ( bare feet on the ground),
Take Vitamin C4000 mg daily, (triple that if you are starting to get sick). There are scattered reports from China that IV vitamin C at relatively low dosages have quelled the virus in treated individuals, so there’s a basis for vitamin C and helping to fight this scourge.
We also know that pico sized silver called Argentyn23 has tremendous antiviral properties, so I recommend using that in the nose and mouth if you’re out among people.
Take Vitamin D5000 iu a day (increase to 30000 iu a day if you are starting to get sick).
Take oral zinc 50 mg daily.
- Do your best to avoid sick people, for now.
- IF you have a cough, cough into your elbow and wash your hands frequently. If you have a dry cough and some of the symptoms listed above seek help.
- There are few studies that some herbs and supplements may help.
The Covid 19 virus is similar to SARS and attaches through the ACE2 receptor (this is the same receptor that ARBS (Angiotensin II receptor blockers), block, such as losartan, valsartan, telmisartan).
So, blocking these receptors gives less for the virus to engage. There are herbs that have been used with SARS: And also have been studied for their effects on ACE2.
They are Kudzu tincture Hawthorne, salvia miltiorrhiza, knotweed, Chinese skullcap, cinnamon.
SARS and Covid19 also incite an inflammatory response which means taking herbs that cool down inflammation can be helpful. Consider adding astragalus, echinacea, Boswellia, turmeric, knotweed, skullcap, into your routine if possible. While taking all would help, even if you take a few it is enough to calm inflammation.
High levels of free radicals are produced by this infection, so antioxidants like Rhodiola really helps here. Our Plantoxidants supplement would also be helpful as it contains a number of these herbs.
The virus attacks the cilia of the lungs which are the micro hairs that sweep mucus and debris up and out into the throat. Olive leaf extract, berberine and cordyceps can modulate this effect and help protect you.
Other helpful herbs are Bidens Houttuynia Isatis, and licorice.
Our proprietary herbal mix BBVII (only available for patients and can only be ordered in the physical store) that we use for Lyme disease has knotweed, skullcap, salvia miltiorrhiza, cordyceps, kudzu andrographis and atractylodes and can be used, too.
That’s about it as far as what I’d recommend now.
Bottom Line?
Be wise but not afraid. Washing hands for 20 seconds seems to be the best defense.
Regarding testing. Testing for Covid 19 is only done at the CDC but soon all state health departments will have access to testing. So keep listening to find out when these tests are available.
