By Dr. George Savastio, ND
Well, it seems there is another “new” virus circulating around the world. The news media lead every broadcast with announcements of new cases and rising death tolls, often without any context, such as the fact that most of the deaths in the USA (still single digits as of this writing) stem from a single nursing home in Washington state. Expert government commentators seem to arbitrarily fan or douse the flames of panic. We hear that it’s “not a matter of if but when”. Vaguely threatening words like “pandemic” scare us, but perhaps not enough to actually learn what they mean. Conspiracy theorists waste no time in spreading rumors. We live in a time when some people are worried that “The Big One” is coming that will decimate the population as did the plagues that swept across Europe in the middle ages.
While it’s impossible to predict the future, this virus doesn’t appear to be the carrier of mass death. If we look back just a bit, we can remember the media fomenting similar anxiety for the bird flu, swine flu, SARS and MERS, to name a few off the top of my head. I don’t know about you, but I never heard of anyone I knew getting any of those illnesses.
There is still much to learn about this particular coronavirus. It appears to be most contagious when the ill person is symptomatic and coughing and sneezing. It doesn’t seem to be especially awful for the average person. There is increased danger for people with chronic illnesses, as there is with the usual flu viruses that circulate every year. Symptoms range from mild to severe, and include fever, cough and shortness of breath. It seems to last longer than the flu on average, but usually passes through within 12 days, at least in China.
When we panic, we weaken ourselves and make bad decisions. The CDC is not recommending that we all wear face masks unless we are working with sick populations in close quarters. In addition to the usual CDC guidelines for being extra careful about washing your hands and covering your mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough, there are some things you can use to help your immune system fend off this most recent threat. Vitamin C is always a good place to start. I’d recommend 1000mg 3 times daily. Emergen- C is fine if you like it. The herb astragalus is useful to prevent infections. A “squirt” of the tincture 2-3 times daily could help, or 600mg twice daily in capsule form. I’m a big fan of colloidal silver as well. One teaspoon swished for 30 seconds, gargled and swallowed 3 times daily is good. If you come down with an infection, the same substances (except astragalus, which is used for prevention only) are useful, but at a higher dose. There are other good herbs we can use as well. Give us a call in that case. In China, where herbal medicine is commonly used, the death rate was cut in half when herbs were employed, and the duration of illness shortened by a couple of days.
I’m always a little disheartened to see images of people walking around with facemasks, or crews in armageddon-proof spacesuits spraying poisons all over everything. Living in terror and praying for technological interventions to ward off the Grim Reaper are symptoms of modern existence that signify our disconnection from the natural ebb and flow of life. If we were to graph the daily death rate for the world, this coronavirus would not appear as even a blip. When we’re relaxed and calm, we’re happier and our immune systems are stronger. Let’s stay calm and strong together.
