We are living up in Washington State for the time being... Our state, Washington State, has been practicing isolation/social distancing for going on 2+ weeks now. Our schools K-12 and institutions of higher learning have all shutdown, with a transition to learning on-line only for the foreseeable future. Restaurants, bars and other entertainment venues (e.g., movie theaters and malls) have shutdown completely. It's a ghost-town out there, a precursor to what you'd likely see in a post-apocalyptic world if you were to fast-forward ... The movie "I am Legend", with Will Smith springs readily into my mind. Thankfully, some restaurants are still processing/delivering takeout options for the time being --who knows how long that will be allowed to last?-- and larger grocery chains and pharmacies have been allowed to remain open as well. I still see/hear children giggling, playing and running about the neighborhood in small groups. The other day as I sat out in our backyard soaking up the glorious rays of sunshine on the first day of Spring 2020 --and Spring came really early this year; first time in 124 years Spring has 'sprung' this early! I take that as a good omen for weathering our current pandemic storm-- our neighbors' elder daughter (5 years old) was teaching her younger sister (3 years old) how to sing the "ABC" song. It was so adorable, not to mention uplifting! Kids are so remarkably resilient. We adults would do well to take our present cues from them ... life in the moment, right? It's happening right now ....
Latest news on this pandemic is not overall great? Bottom line, this is serious stuff people! Sorry, I am the one to offer a sober, embracing reality-check. For now, you'll have to look for the shiny, happy, uplifting post elsewhere -- I hear a lot of talented musicians are posting free on-line concerts and my eldest swears by "Paint with Bob Ross" on YouTube. Getting right down to business, first off: As I mentioned in my previous post, I am concerned about long term damage to the lungs of those who contract the Covid-19 virus --at any age-- per the data seen by Mount Sinai doctors in a review of patient data from China for those had contracted the Covid-19 virus. This potential risk of longer term lung damage has yet to be adequately addressed --confirmed or denied by health officials her in the United States-- or conveyed to the public at large; this concerns me greatly. Perhaps health officials are hoping to avoid outright panic by not addressing this particular aspect of the disease at this particular moment in time??? The reasoning being, let's get through this storm and we'll deal with longer term consequences later? Hence the delay in disseminating additional facts about how this virus actually affects people???
Secondly, more recent data out of Europe suggests this strain of Corona virus we are presently experiencing may also have longer term negative impacts on the hearts of patients who contract Covid-19. So it's not just the potential for longer term negative impacts on the lungs of patients who contract Covid-19, now the virus may weaken/damage the heart of these patients as well (will discuss this further below**)? Finally, in recent days with wider spread of testing for the virus throughout the United States, they are "now seeing that an approximate 13% of cases testing Positive for the virus are asymptomatic" [According to the Director of the CDC, Dr. Anthony Fauci]. This means these asymptomatic Positive Covid-19 individuals are now carriers of the virus, but they are not exhibiting any of the symptoms associated with the virus (i.e., no fever, no cough, no shortness of breath, fatigue, etc.). As such these asymptomatic people --in the absence of testing-- are not even aware they have the Covid-19 virus and more importantly that they can spread the virus to others. And these are just the asymptomatic people who have been tested --likely because of suspected exposure to Covid-19; who knows how many others who have not been tested are running around out there???
The fact that asymptomatic Positive Covid-19 individuals are out there --most likely not even aware that they have been infected with the virus-- means that people who assume they are perfectly healthy can be out and about, in public places, while actively spreading the virus to others. This dramatically increases the risk of community spread, despite our current ramped up efforts to contain the spread of the virus (i.e., "social distancing" and in some states "stay at home" orders), thereby further endangering the particularly vulnerable among us ... our elder parents, grandparents and anyone with underlying lung, hearts or weakened immune systems. Given the likelihood that any one of us can be carriers of Covid-19 virus -- i.e., Positive, but asymptomatic-- We ALL Have a civic DUTY to stay at home in order too help our local communities, States and the nation at large to get a handle on community spread of Covid-19, which has gone rampant in places like New York State. The above means that just because you, as an individual don't seem to have the virus and/or are "not afraid of contracting the virus" because you are "young and healthy" --and I cannot tell you how many times I have heard this from gen-Z individuals-- doesn't mean that you cannot be a carrier for spreading the disease throughout your community! You may feel perfectly healthy and invincible ... You may not have loved ones who fall into a high risk category, but someone you encounter in public probably does. And your, self-serving and quite frankly reckless behavior of continuing to go out into public for non-essential reasons puts the loved ones of others at risk should they contract the virus from you and then bring it back 'home' to expose loved one(s) in the home. And be forewarned, more recent data out of France suggests that Millennials are being hard hit with longer term lung and heart complications as a direct result of having contracted Covid-19 virus.
Bottom-line, those of you who choose not to follow the directions of State Governors to stay at home and practice "social distancing", opting selfishly to be out and about for non-essential reasons --where essential reasons include going to the grocery store/pharmacy-- are basically completely negating the sacrifices of all of the rest of us, who are staying at home, are making. If we can slow the spread of the disease, we buy ourselves valuable time within which to bring anti-viral treatments and ultimately a vaccine online. Moreover, if we can "flatten the curve" --basically, contain the spread-- of the disease we can get our nation open and back up and running once again!
As Kevin Bacon has posted on Social Media with his #IamStayingHomefor campaign--based on his infamous 'six-degrees of separation'-- now is the time for all good men and women to think beyond themselves, to think of our nation as an integrated whole and STAY HOME! If we all do our part, we WILL get a handle on this deadly contagion.
Okay, BAD news out the way ... onto good news! Usage of the drug prescription (ONLY!) drug Hydroxychloroquine --developed in the 1930's as a treatment for Malaria-- in patients, in both China and France, appears to have shown significant impact on reducing both the symptoms of Covid-19 virus as well as the duration of the Covid-19 virus (i.e., this drug reduced inflammatory symptoms that would lead to further lung complications (e.g., pneumonia), while also attacking the virus itself to prevent further replication and spread within the body). This drug has been around for awhile, it is relatively in expensive to produce and for the moment widely available. While not yet 'FDA approved', doctors in the U.S. can prescribe this drug to their patients should they choose to do so. This anti-viral treatment option should help to significantly reduce the number of deaths we are seeing from Covid-19 if employed on a larger scale, with the following caveat: One of the detrimental side effects of Hydroxychloroquine is a negative impact on the heart. According to Dr. Orlov, of St. Elizabeth Hospital in New York** --courtesy of TV show the "Ingram Angle"-- more recent data on Covid-19 virus seems to be indicating the possibility of longer term lung and now heart disease complications in patients who contract the virus at any age. But according to Dr. Orlov, these risks associated with heart complications can be monitored and mitigated with proper treatment.
So perhaps you now know a bit more about this pandemic Covid-19 virus? Because we are All in this together, hopefully YOU are willing to do your part to help us weather this storm, so we can emerge victorious together!!! With the ideal longer term, ideal outcome being a widely available and viable vaccine for Covid-19 --and clinical trials for a vaccine developed at a biotech lab out of Cambridge, MA began at University of Washington Medical Center about a week ago ... Meanwhile Biotech firms in Canada and Israel think they are onto a vaccine as well. So bottom line: 1) Stay at home and stay healthy!; 2) Use good hygiene practices being put forth by CDC and NIH links: CDC Covid-19 and NIH Covid-19 ; 3) Disinfect common surfaces regularly; 4) Use this time to reconnect with people --i.e., people living in your home or via Face-time, Skype, etc.-- and the things that truly matter -- i.e., read an actual book or listen to one, learn a new language, pick up an instrument, paint or draw, create something =)))); 5) Send out good intentions/prayers for those working on the front lines of this epidemic, our vital Healthcare workers and those working to keeping our supply lines going (truckers, warehouse workers, deliver personnel): All of the above are the true HEROES of the day! ... Maybe if you can do so safely, consider making a donation to your local Food Bank or perhaps an on-line monetary donation? Be SAFE and Be well!!
[Will revise/post my personal tips for staying healthy soon ... 1) Increase Vitamin C to 4,000 mg daily (spread this dose out over the course of an entire day, not all at once!; 2) Qi Gong for immune system and/or meditation and other movement [will try to post some video links soon Immune Boosting Qi Gong VIP Note: During this Covid-19 outbreak, I would OMIT the coughing part of this video!!! Breathing out the 'Bad' is more than sufficient for this exercise. ] ... movement is critical to engage and drain our lymphatic system, as well as to remove toxins/metabolic wastes from muscle/other body tissues into the lymph system. Meditation also helps to reduce stress, which in turn improves immune function; 3) Get plenty of sleep! Our bodies heal and repair while we sleep, courtesy of our Liver which releases HgH --only when we sleep-- and is also a key player in immune function. 4) Burn incense with antiviral properties to help disinfect household surfaces and purify the air (e.g., Frankincense, Temple Blend, etc.) 1-3x a day. Note: Some say, putting 1/4 cup of household vinegar into a large pan of steaming water on the stove top also serves to disinfect surfaces, but be warned it is rather harsh smell to breath and can irritate sensitive eyes. 5) Gargle each evening with a warm salt-water rinse to kill germs in the mouth and throat. When I have a sore throat I gargle with a mix of 8 oz. of water, 1 rounded teaspoon of table salt/sea salt and 2-3 drops of Tea Tree Oil --Warning: not for small children and DO NOT SWALLOW!!! Mix the batch up once and store in a jar, with a lid at room temperature, not in direct sunlight, for later use. Shake well before reusing]; 6) Diffuse essential oils with anti-viral properties; 7) Massage the webs in between each of your fingers several times a day. No joke! The webs in between the fingers are energetic points, intimately integrated with our immune systems, courtesy of our embryological development. Kind of interesting when you stop and think about the origins of folded hands in praying, right?!]
Other Tips I heard on TV today. All of the following items can carry the Covid-19 virus:
o remove shoes outside the home to avoid tracking virus inside
o discard takeout boxes immediately
o disinfect grocery bags or discard single use bags immediately
o discard packing from UPS, Fedex and USPS immediately outside
o place mail inside clear plastic bag in direct sunlight to disinfect for 1-2 hours
o place coats and jackets in direct sunlight to help disinfect/and or wash every 2 days
o change clothes worn out in public when you get home and wash immediately or store in a closed container until washed
3/25/2020 !! Marijuana WARNING !!: Interesting insight today from a doctor on television. This doctor pointed out that use of marijuana both 1) lowers the immune system response and 2) serves as a bronchiodilator --meaning it opens up the lungs. This could be why teens and younger people, in their twenties and thirties, are being hard-hit in Europe? Namely, pot lowers the ability of users' immune systems to fight off the Covid-19 virus, and once infected if the virus successfully spreads into the wide-open lungs the progression of the disease becomes much more severe and even deadly.
!! Ibuprofen WARNING !!: Also heard that WHO issued a warning that taking OTC pain medications -- e.g., ibuprofen, Aleve (naproxen-sodium), aspirin ... but for some reason particularly ibuprofen-- can speed up the progression and worsen severity of the Covid-19 virus (i.e., moving into the lungs). I have yet to fully to understand the mechanism here --may have something to do with interfering with/impairing ability of lungs to move out toxins/metabolic wastes???-- but I would heed the warning just the same. Apparently, however, taking Tylenol/acetaminophen is okay.
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