Immune & Mental Health Tips for You During This Time
Firstly, put your hand on your heart, smile and BREATHE. Chances are that in this moment you are absolutely safe.
Managing fear is a big piece of what we are working on globally right now. If you are having difficulty handling your fear, there are simple things you can do ….
Getting out into nature and walking is a simple one.
Unplugging from the news and sticking to checking Health Canada/reliable sources - https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health.html - as needed for updates -really check in for yourself as to what is becoming a over checking habit that’s driving up your fear and what is helpful.
Using the breath is easy and powerful. The 2 x breath is a simple one to help you stay regulated and out of a triggered fight or flight state. It’s easy - you simply exhale for 2x as long as you inhale. Do this sitting or walking helps - inhale for 2, exhale for 4, inhale 3, exhale 6 - find the count that feels best for you.
If you need help in dealing with stress and are getting symptoms of headaches, overwhelm, poor sleep, low energy & patience, tightness/tension in belly, chest, throat book a virtual consult. The Yoga Therapy Emotion Coaching/Stress Releasing Techniques I am trained in works to do with you in a virtual setting and can be effective in supporting you in clearing excess stress from the body and calming the mind..
Then the immune aspect. Virus-wise, normal prevention through hygiene, healthy lifestyle foundations, immune wellness and understanding how the virus spreads are all helpful:
#1 Take care of you. Rest. Even if you feel just a little off. Before you feel off. Skip powering through anything right now. Take 2 seconds longer to do everything.
Maintain your water - hot cup of water on waking and before meals is a great habit that will help ground you throughout the day and get some extra hydration in. Helpful for immune and brain health. The kidneys from a chinese medicine perspective hold fear so help your body process the chemicals of fear through staying hydrated.
Support the immune system with herbs and nutrients as we would at this time of year anyway -with Probiotics, Vit C, Vit D, EFAs, garlic, good Multi and Zn.
My favourite herbal immune tinctures that I have recommended during cold and flu season for over 15 years to optimize the body’s response to pathogens are the Cold and Flu Elixir - a great one for families (kids like the taste!) and Immune Activator - it doesn’t taste quite as good but not terrible - it has the medicinal mushrooms in it like Reishi as well as some Chinese herbs such as Bupleurum and Astragalus. Astragalus and Reishi are great lung tonics and Bupleurum is great for moving stuck emotions/stress as well as its immune role so really liking that one at this time. Bupleurum (root/extract) is loaded with "saikosaponin" a potent anti-viral compound.
Remember that fever within limits is an appropriate viral-killing response. Suppressing a fever will not shorten the symptoms and will not help your immune system respond. If you have a fever, continue fluids but minimize solids intake, other than broths.
Consider taking some stress adrenal support, like Adrenomend, Adaptogen, TAD or Stresscalm, Adreset, etc. Whichever one you typically take. B vitamins can be helpful too.
Quercetin is being studied right now and seems to have immune application with this virus. This is the main remedy I typically recommend at this time of year for those of my clients who experience allergies and for now if this is you this is a great immune balancing supplement to be on.
I like running Thieves Essential Oil through my home diffuser and to open the windows during the day for a bit to improve air quality.
This is a great time to do your yearly lymphatic/liver cleanse if you haven't yet. I would be recommending these strategies regardless at this time of year as there often is an increase of colds and flus in general at this time. Anything you do for your lymphatic system (which has more than 3 times as much fluid than the cardiovascular system but no pump) is excellent. I like the homeopathic blends Chelidoniumplex and Itires (available through our clinic) for this - you just add it to your water bottle so it’s simple to take. Skin brushing before taking a shower and finishing your shower with 10 seconds of cold water are two simple lifestyle habits that support lymphatic flow and immune health.
GETTING SUPPLEMENTS TO YOU DIRECT - TWO OPTIONS:
1. Order through myself through texting or emailing : I can get supplements you need sent right to your home from Seroyal or in some cases I will be able to drop supplements off outside your door if I have them in stock and you need them quicker.
2. Order direct: Metagenics has been a professional line around for over 25 years and has great products. You can order direct with 20% off through the coupon code 2020LOVE. Online link: http://mherwig.metagenicscanada.com . Best sellers are Phyto Multi (plant based multivitamin), Vit D, Omegas (their basic one is EPA-DHA 720, Ultra Potent C (best C I know of), Immucore and then there are excellent probiotics - Ultra Flora Balance is a best seller as is their probiotic for kids. Serenegen is a nice adrenal nourishing herbal supplement by this company for those who are feeling wired and tired from all this - you take it before bed.
BIG PICTURE HEALTH - BEYOND HAND WASHING - MORE IMMUNE TIPS & THOUGHTS
Bottom line is whatever you do for your overall health affects your immune health!👍
When I work with anyone who has come to me because they are getting sick often or have a hard time getting over colds or flus I check where the imbalance is coming from. It can be certain nutrients for immune health are missing (i.e. Zinc is common), gut health is suboptimal, low adrenals and higher stress levels present, low energy, poor sleep, food sensitivities, excess tension in the body, in need of a cleanse …
Even though this is a new strain of Corona virus there are countless measures you can take to optimize your overall wellness. Most of these are what you already know: the basic nutrition, nutritive herbs and lifestyle measures that are supportive. Do the things you already know make you feel your best!
What to do if you feel sick:
Evaluate your symptoms through the online Alberta Health Assessment at https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Journey/COVID-19/Pages/COVID-Self-Assessment.aspx The online calculator is basically guiding you to determine if you need testing or consultation.
Stay calm. This is cold and flu season in general and your body’s immune system is wise and strong. Whatever you are taking for your immune system preventatively once per day the general rule is that you increase that to three times per day. If you need extra support/guidance reach out.
About the virus (great synopsis written by my friend & colleague Dr. Alissa Gaul)
As you know this virus is a ‘new’ virus meaning that this specific virus has not been seen in human infections. Coronaviruses are a large group of viruses, many of which commonly infect humans in a mild way. This particular virus, the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is similar genetically to SARS-CoV-1, which we saw in 2003, and also came out of China originally. These particular viruses are very similar to those found naturally in bats. At this moment, no-one has proved for certain that this is a bat virus, but it likely has some association in the sense that the proximity of a live animal market to a very large, densely populated region makes such mutations more likely.
Both viruses can create viral pneumonia. That means that the lungs are infected by the virus, as opposed to just the nasal passages, like a cold.
The SARS virus caused a substantially more serious set of symptoms with a faster development (read: easier to identify quickly) of more severe symptoms and the death rate was quite high, about 1 in 10. COVID19, in comparison, has been substantially milder for the majority of cases, but when serious, and has looked a great deal like SARS when full-blown, but it has taken at least a week to look that symptomatic. Because it is asymptomatic or mild in the majority of cases, and also because it is taking time to become evident in severe cases, it has had a greater chance to spread. At the height of the SARS infections there were 8400 cases identified and around 800 deaths.
At present (March 15th, 2020), there are about 150,000 case reports of COVID19 worldwide, with 5700 deaths. There are 39 cases in Alberta. At present, 94-96% of patients are recuperating, in the oldest and at risk patients, 90% are surviving. Children are not at a high risk of serious illness, but they can transmit it to adults and seniors, even if not symptomatic. The death rate below the age of 9 is 0%, the death rate from age 10 to age 19 is 0.2%. One child in Alberta has acquired a case through travel to Florida.
The rate of infection in China has now slowed substantially. The first case identified there was December 1, 2019. They have now closed all temporary hospitals that were erected to handle the outbreak.
I have been paying attention, not so much to the news, but to the journal articles and clinical summaries coming from the clinical research sources that are available these past weeks. (Strangely, there is no mention of the crucial role of toilet paper in this epidemic in the journals. More research may be needed... ;)
There are a few interesting pieces of information that are coming out of my journal perusals:
The majority of serious cases are being found in older people (median age 56 years old) with co-morbid conditions, in particular those people with coronary artery disease, hypertension and diabetes. More have been male. Note: the Lancet just released an article that ACE inhibitors & Angiotension II type 1 receptor blockers may increase severity of COVID-19 symptoms which could explain why the rate of mortality is higher in these individuals.
The most common symptoms have been fever, a dry cough, followed by the development of sputum from the lungs, fatigue and shortness of breath. Respiratory distress is defined in an adult as 24 breaths per minute or more. The reason that the respiratory distress occurs is that there is a very significant inflammatory injury being caused by the virus in the serious cases which forms a membrane through which the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide is not efficient (usually your gas exchange occurs over a very tiny distance, this makes it much farther for gas exchange).
The duration of infectious viral shedding has been reported as 8 to 39 days. This means that if you have been infected, you can be considered infectious somewhere in between these values! The only way to know for sure is testing, which is why the suggestion has been to self-isolate for 14 days and see if you develop symptoms after being exposed.
The full course of illness to recovery (or death) has been 3 weeks.
The tissue samples are showing evidence of a great deal of Type 2 cytokine mediated inflammation. Cytokines are molecules that are usually helpful in combating infections, except for that in some instances, they can become dysregulated and create massive inflammation. In essence, this type of inflammation decreases control of viral replication and makes a more prolonged inflammation process than normal, in a type of self-perpetuating circle. This is part of what is likely making this more serious to people who already have an inflammation based illness.
Don't forget that this is not the only virus at present where people are at risk! Annual influenza epidemics are estimated to result in about 3 to 5 million cases of severe illness, and about 290 000 to 650 000 respiratory deaths. (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/influenza-(seasonal)). The rate of death is under 1% typically, but the math will still see us losing more to flu than to COVID19.
"Addressing the Munich Security Conference on Feb 15, 2020, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “we're not just fighting an epidemic; we're fighting an infodemic.” The ease through which inaccuracies and conspiracies can be repeated and perpetuated via social media and conventional outlets puts public health at a constant disadvantage." -- EDITORIAL| VOLUME 395, ISSUE 10224, P537, FEBRUARY 22, 2020 “ Thanks Allissa!
Lastly, breathe and be here. Offer yourself and our world kindness. Remember that happiness can only be found in one place (inside you) and at one time (now). Even in/with the outer craziness your inner happiness and peace is always in you (touch into it and it will boost your immune system!).
Do what you can to stay connected to yourself and to be here now. Gratitude is one of the quickest ways to stay regulated and out of unhealthy fear response so count your blessings twice, make the best of these days doing things that you love, keep your head up and know we will get through this!
xo, Dr. Monika
