Understanding the Coronavirus in relation to Chinese Medicine and Homeopathic Remedies
The world health organization states: "TheCoronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans.
Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people. Detailed investigations found that SARS-CoV was transmitted from civet cats to humans and MERS-CoV from dromedary camels to humans. Several known coronaviruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humans.
Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death."
People may be asymptomatic (no symptoms) or have very mild symptoms depending on your immune system and be able to infect others with the virus unknowingly.
The incubation period for the virus is at least two weeks in some cases more. So this means you can be infected and it takes at least two weeks for the virus to replicate to a particular strength to the point you start to notice symptoms.
If the virus progresses to later stages the lungs fill with fluid and mucus that than begins to form a gelatin like substance. This substance will get denser and denser to the point fibroid like tissue form at a fairly fast rate in the lungs and other organs. This process can eventually cause the organ(s) to stop functioning and leads to death.
Lessons learned from China's Coronavirus(COVID-19) data (direct from viable medical professionals in China):
Through China's current data they found that the provinces (states) that were the poorest that they have had better success rates in recovering from the coronavirus symptoms and less deaths in comparison to the wealthiest provinces. The reason being is that the wealthiest provinces relied more on modern day medicine which relies more on supportive care for the symptoms and unable to administer any type of viable anti-viral medication that can combat the virus. The poorer provinces had less access to modern medical care so they had to rely more on the use of Traditional Chinese Medicine in particular Chinese herbal medicine. These herbs offer the benefit to strengthen the immune system and have been proven to contain multi anti-viral components that appear to be effective in combating the symptoms and slowing and suppressing the virus replication process which allows a person's body to effectively fight off the viral infection and recover in many reported cases. Chinese medicine is well experienced in dealing with many viral epidemics through its 5,000 year history of such medicine with well collected data and findings documented in many books over the past 2,500 years. Some Classic Chinese herbal books are solely dedicated to the treatment and prevention of airborne pathogens like viral and bacterial epidemics.
So what can you do to help yourself?
1) Use proper hygiene wash your hands regularly and try to avoid touching your face.
2) Cover your mouth when coughing and sneezing, and wear a mask (N95 masks stops virus inhalation) if in large crowds of people or traveling.
3) When you come home from work change into clean clothes and use lysol spray on exposed surface areas of living space especially if other sick people have been in those areas because other respiratory flus are circulating around, so getting sick may leave you open to catching the coronavirus.
4) Take vitamins and herbal supplements to strength your immune system (adult dosages recommended below):
(if in midst of a viral infection you can double dose that is recommended below)
- Take 1,000mg of vitamin C per day and 20-25mg of zinc per day make sure to take with food, as zinc can upset your stomach if its empty.
- Take 500mg of astragulas root extract per day (2 capsule per day of solaray brand). Astragulas root is one the best immune boosters (increases production/activity of phagocytosis-immune cells that consume bacteria and viruses and increases humoral immunity-antibody production in the body fluids). This herb is generally safe to use with blood thinning medications. Yu Peng Fang San (common Chinese herbal patent pills) which has astragulas plus two other herbs (fang feng-siler root and bai zhu - atractylodes root) that are very effective at strengthening the immune system especially from air borne pathogens. Just follow the recommended dosage on the bottle.
- Olive leaf extract 500-1000mg per day (1-2 capsule per day). Olive leaf increases CD8+ and natural killer cells, plus it increases interferon production and T helper cells which are all key components in your body that is used to fight viruses. This herb should not be taken if you are on a prescribed blood thinning medication, as this herb has some thinning effect on the blood.
- Other common herbs you can find at the health food store that are anti-viral in nature are (which I would advise seeking medical advice before taking this herbs to find proper dosage and choice) are as follow: Licorice (gan cao), Bupleurum (Chai Hu), Echinacea, Golden Seal root, pleurisy root (if a lot of lung congestion), Isatis Leaf (Da Qing Ye), Honeysuckle flower (jin yin hua), Xiao Chai Hu Wan (immune/antiviral), and many more. These herbs mentioned work better during the beginning stages of a virus, once the virus has progressed significantly into the lungs or you develop extremely high fever than stronger more potent herbs and dosages are recommended.
- Great immune boosters and anti-viral homeopathic remedies you can take during the a viral infection especially if there is high fever, swollen glands, cough with congestion, body ache, strong headache is belladonna 30C or 200C and/or phosphorus 30C or 200C. You can take 10 pellets under tongue every week or every 4 days as a preventative or if you are actually sick than 4-5 pellets 4 times per day under the tongue until symptoms resolve . These are both common remedies used during plagues and epidemics during the old days which were affective, so something worthwhile to consider with a bad viral infection like the coronavirus. 30C for less severe symptoms and 200C or higher potency for more severe long lasting symptoms.
5) Avoid immune suppressing foods and drinks in your diet including: caffeine products (tea, coffee, soda, energy drinks), high sugar foods(cookies, candies, soda, concentrated fruit juices, cakes, etc.), alcohol (beer, wine, hard liquor, etc.), street drugs, and tobacco products.
6) Go to bed at a reasonable time. Try to go to sleep by 10:00pm or before. The later you go to the sleep the body is less likely to recoup and replenish the body especially the immune system. This is one of the most important things you can do and it does not cost you a cent.
7) Avoid stress!!!!!. Try to let things go and not over dwell on negative events or thoughts. Slow down the pace of your life style, if you are excessively on the go you will stress out the body and deplete the body of essential vitamins and over produce too much cortisol (steroid) which will suppress your immune system. If this describes you, a B50- complex once per day will help your body recover and replenish the lost vitamins that help you deal with stress. Also a 1,000mcg of methyl B-12 sublingulas once per day under the tongue for several months can be of great benefit.
8) Exercise 15-30 minutes per day or every other day. Exercise has a special positive effect on your body that no prescribed medication or herb can replicate. It literally super charges all systems of the body which insures your body is getting rid of excess toxin build up in your system by increasing circulation and allowing for more active immune production and response. Exercise brings more oxygen into the body which many foreign invaders do not do well in a heavily oxygenated environment.
9) Drink 64 oz. of plain water a day or something close to that. This number may vary if you live in a dry climate or humid climate. Water is the only way our body can get rid of toxins, especially the toxic waste that is produced by bacterial and viral infections. It is this toxic waste from these microbes that make us feel ill. Water also thins the blood which makes it easy for our immune cells to move through the blood stream and let them do their job more effectively.
10) Certain medications have immune reducing effects such as: steroids (often found in inhalers for asthmatics, sinus sprays for allergies, cortisone shots for injuries, a direct pill form for various inflammatory and auto immune diseases), immune suppressant medications for autoimmune inflammatory diseases, prolonged use of anti-acid medications can deplete B-12 Vitamin which has a major effect on your immune system, long term or frequent use of antibiotics, and sometimes just taking large quantities or many varieties of prescribed medications at once over a long period of time may have unforeseen effects on the body and its immune system. If you fall into this category you need to be extra cautious being around people who are sick with viral and bacterial infections.
11) DON'T PANIC!!!!! Humans tend to over worry to the state of paranoia when comes to the unknown, especially when it occurs so suddenly without much notice. This is when people start doing harmful acts to themselves and others which only makes a situation worse. So don't live in fear. Be calm and responsible and take control of your life. When you panic you are out of control in your life, don't give into chaos.
If you feel you have a compromised immune system or fit some of the food/life style categories above. I would suggest seeing a Chinese Medicine Practitioner that uses herbs as they will be able to diagnose and asses your body and find the proper herbs to help strengthen your immune system and provide a more balance environment in your body. In this way you have a greater chance in avoiding bacterial and viral infections.
If you already have contracted a viral infection especially the coronavirus, besides contacting your own primary care doctor or emergency room, speak to a Chinese medicine herbalist/acupuncturist and they will be able to prescribe a proper antiviral herbal formula for you that contains anti-viral and immune boosting herbs. These herbs may help to shorten the duration and intensity of the symptoms, slow the replication and progression of the virus, and give your body a better chance to recover from the coronavirus/viral infection.
Bacteria and viruses are becoming more virulent and the modern world society as a whole is showing signs of lowered and suppressed immune systems. These new and mutated old viruses and bacteria will take time for modern medicine to adapt and find new methods to combat them. During this interterm time frame, we should focus on what we can control and improve which is the state of our body and its immune system. A strong human immune system has been known stave off some of the most horrible and life threatening diseases through out history, so don't lose faith in yourself and be proactive.