#i mean like. flu symptoms. fever. etc. but you can take it whatever way you want. most people i know had short term symptoms for like. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ananapanini · 3 years

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Sicknesses, Disasters, and Weather

Trigger Warning! descriptions of injuries and death! For example: mention of blood, burning, drowning, freezing, heatstroke, etc.

Side note before hand because it's technically relevant

A state that's down south and almost always has hot weather would feel warmer to others and be affected by the cold easier, while a state up north with colder weather would feel colder to others and be affected by heat easier.

Fighting over thermostats and cuddles ensue

(Most people go to Alaska when they have a fever, and to Georgia when they're going through a cold front (they'd go to Florida but he's chaos and Texas is,, Texas. Besides, Geo has blankets))

Wisconsin: *opening all the house's doors and windows to enjoy the nice warm 60 degree weather*

Texas: *on the couch in a bundle of 5 blankets* how the fuck are you not dead

Florida: *next to Texas, trying to steal some blankets* Sconnie, I love ya dude but I will not hesitate to set this house on fire to warm up

Colds/Flus

The states can get sick two ways, outbreaks or just catching it.

Outbreaks

If there are a ton of outbreaks of something, for example: flu season, in their state there's a 50/50 chance they develop symptoms for however long the illness would last for someone who actually caught it. Though they'd suffer through the symptoms, they wouldn't actually have it and wouldn't be contagious or anything. But! Just because they're not contagious doesn't mean the other states wouldn't back up when they hear the news, being coughed on is still gross even if it doesn't endanger your health.

According to last year's report Louisiana had the most influenza outbreaks, followed by Arizona, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nevada, Tennessee and Texas. So for that years flu season Louisiana would be sick and at least half of the others listed would also be sick.

Catching it

Now, they probably have really strong immune systems.

Or at least, they should but things can happen in the state that compromises that.

If there's a natural disaster, somethings changing in the state's government (new governor, new law, system change, etc), or there's riots impeding/distracting the state government their immune systems would be weak for however long it takes to readjust or fix the problem. During this time they can actually get sick, symptoms and all.

If this happened then the state would be contagious to the other states, immune system be damned. It'd be like when another person is sick, you have a chance of catching it.

On the rare occasion there'll be a state with a naturally horrible immune system (his name's Washington, someone please get him a cough drop and some water)

He doesn't have people or land for outbreaks to affect him, only the government buildings.

Instead of having outbreaks he has government workers, if a handful of them or just the president gets sick he'll have the 50/50 chance of having symptoms.

Now, if the government is going through big changes or something is happening then DC will have a weaker immune system and would be able to get sick from the states. They honestly don't know if he could get them sick because he always self isolates and denies help when he is.

If there's some serious chaos going on with changes in government then he'll just straight up get sick. No catching it from anyone, nothing giving him a bug, he just develops symptoms of a really bad cold.

Recap:

Humans can't get states sick unless the state isn't at 100%, unless it's just an outbreak states can get other states sick no matter what, states can't get DC sick unless he's not at 100% leaving him as the designated caretaker when no one else wants to help (he would help regardless even if he could get sick, tis his job as parent friend)

Hurricanes + Tropical Storms

The way they affect the state depends how much damage was done and how their population reacts to it.

For example, a tropical storm or low level hurricane would maybe give Florida a bit of head rush or he'll get a little dizzy but nothing he can't ignore with a white claw. His people are used to them and honestly Don't Give A Fuck, if the house is fine and the car's still there we move on with our lives.

Then you have states that rarely get hurricanes and would panic when one hits, even if it's just a weak one. They'd have a headache, feel dizzy and sore.

Then there's higher level hurricanes, for those bruises will appear along with a migraine. Everything hurts and they're coughing up water, it's hard to breathe, and cuts from debris being thrown around by the winds are appearing everywhere.

In the end though, regardless of what scale it was, they're always left soaking wet and cold.

Earthquakes

First there's the feeling of a sea sick like nausea, that's the only warning they feel and only a few states (Literally just California and Alaska, someone please help them, the poor fault line babes) know how to recognize it instantly.

If they're outside of their own state then they'll get dizzy, balance is Gone and they fall over. If they're lucky enough to not hit their head or crash into something when they fall over then depending on the magnitude they could black out any number of times. I say black out and not pass out because while usually mixed up, blacking out doesn't always mean you loose consciousness.

Their vision goes completely, their eyes are open but all they can see is a dull black with staticky darker specks causing, well, static. They can't see if they try and if it's one of their first earthquakes they do try but it hurts to keep their eyes open, only worsening the feeling that their head is splitting open.

Sometimes their skin cracks. Sometimes if a highly urbanized area was hit and buildings go crashing they feel an invisible weight building up on their chest, it can lead to trouble breathing, or a broken rib, maybe multiple broken ribs.

Fires

There's two kinds of fires, fire season which is mostly for the western states and Florida who have the normal yearly stuff that the ecosystems need in order to function, and then there's when fires get out of hand and turn into disasters.

Fire Season:

Fevers that can range from low to high depending on how much land is burning, overheating when things, tiredness, dry skin, but overall manageable symptoms. Occasionally there are bad days but it's usually chill. It's not particularly nice, it sucks actually, but it's a yearly thing and they're used to it.

During the worse parts of fire season, for states with a ton of land on fire, smoke will come off them. They can suppress it but it takes a lot of energy. Statehouse living situation isn't the easiest because now it'd really suck to smoke out the house, others could get hurt, so they get good at minimizing it. (This mostly applies to California)

Irregular, Out of hand, or Man-Made:

A really high fever and burns slowly appearing everywhere. Smoke is harder to control and fills their lungs, making it hard to breathe. Sometimes they'll straight up faint, staying conscious while you're literally burning up isn't easy.

Death

They're immortal for as long as whatever they're a personification of exists. They can die just like any of person and it'll be painful but they always just,,, wake up. In the exact same spot they died except healed. If whatever killed them is still there then they'll die until it's over or someone saves them. If they die multiple times within a short period of time then every time they come back they'll have healed less and less.

Leftover Stuff

Floods = Initial flooding has them throwing up water and sometimes they can't breathe but afterwards it's more of just a cold, murky feeling in their chest (since these usually happen during big hurricanes just slap this on top)

Droughts = dehydration (dry skin, thirsty, insert symptoms of dehydration here)

Heatwaves = just, hot. For no reason. Air conditioning? Ice pack? Fan? Doesn't matter, they're hot.

Cold fronts = same story, different day. Blankets, jackets, and heaters don't matter or help much, they are cold. Depending how cold it gets and taking into comparison the usual temperature for their state they can develop hypothermia.

Tornadoes = Dizzy and disorientation. Bruises if they hit populated areas and destroyed stuff.

Dust Storms = trouble breathing, irritated eyes, more trouble breathing. Afterwards there's that feeling of when you went to the beach yesterday and suddenly there's the crunch of sand in your mouth.

Power Outage = they can't turn on or operate electric things, even living in the statehouse. For example, with the situation in Texas he wouldn't be able to turn on the lights, flipping the switch wouldn't do anything, but another state could do it for him (if they choose to help)

#they all need hugs #panini’s posts #welcome to the statehouse #welcome to the table #ben brainard #wttsh #wttt #sickness cw #storm cw #earthquake cw #fire cw #death cw #natural disaster cw #theories

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maryadeolascott · 3 years

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Four First Aid Essentials Needed in Every Home

At some point, everyone will need a first aid kit in their home. And the reason isn’t farfetched - -anything can happen at any freaking time.

From accidents in the kitchen to kids getting hurt while playing around, the list is endless. Know this and know peace- no matter how careful you and your family members are, there is still a possibility that there would one day be a need for first aid, at least, pending the time you can make your way to the hospital. Would you rather be helpless and stranded when such situations arise? Would you rather pay more at the doctors for something some methylated spirit and some gauze could have solved? I bet you wouldn’t.

Your home first aid kit can take care of minor injuries like burns, cuts, stings, strains and sprains. Also, because a drug store may not always be accessible, it is important that the first aid kit contains items that can help alleviate common symptoms of viral infections like fever, cough and sore throat. It should also contain items to treat cuts, mild pain, gastrointestinal problems, skin problems and allergies. Confused as to how to make your own first aid kit? Not to worry, this article was put together just for you. Enjoy!

1. A Thermometer

Is this even negotiable? Definitely not! Every home and first aid kit ought to have a thermometer. The first signs of illnesses are usually a rise or drop in basal body temperature. A fever spike is usually a cause for concern, but sometimes it’s not. Regardless of what the case is, being able to monitor temperature levels before the arrival of medical personnel is always very helpful. Normal body temperature is between 36.5°C and 37°C. Anything higher or lower than these suggest either low body temperature or high body temperature, and will require medical attention.

2. Aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen and naproxen sodium

We’ve all had days when our heads hurt so bad we think it’d split in two. Or times when we’d hit our legs against a stool and believe we’d never walk again. Whatever the source of such intense pain was, the fact remains that a simple pain relief pill got it fixed in little or no time. If there was need for anything extra, it was a simple massage, but that’s as far as such went. This is the very same reason why it is important that your first aid kit contains pain relief tablets. Your kid might pull a tooth, you might stumble on the stairs, your spouse may have a bad headache, but all these can be solved by a jolly tablet of acetaminophen. So, get your first aid box stocked with these pain relief tablets, will you?

3. Antacids

Have you ever had a heartburn? Reflux? GERD? Gastritis? An ulcer? Don’t get worked up as to how to combat all of these- just get an antacid. You see; all these diseases stem from one source and can be dealt with by using this super product. Antacids exist across a variety of brands, and can be purchased off-the-counter. Antacids neutralize the acid in the stomach to relieve heartburns and indigestion. They come as a liquid or chewable tablets and can be bought from pharmacies and shops without a prescription. You wouldn’t want to see a family member in so much discomfort without being able to help, will you? Get your first aid kit an antacid today. You might need it too.

4. Antidiarrheal medicine

Every now and then, someone in our circle suffers from diarrhea. On several occasions, the cause of the diarrhea is not known, although diarrhea is predominantly caused by viral infection, such as stomach flu. Food or water that is contaminated by bacteria or other germs can also cause diarrhea. When anyone is down with diarrhea, the individual becomes weak and dehydrated as a result of excessive loss of body fluid. Usually, people advise that persons suffering from diarrhea eat dry foods like bread, crackers, etc, to prevent their stomachs from running. While these suggestions may work in some cases, they are not always effective. The most effective means to combating diarrhea is to take an antidiarrheal medicine. The medicine works by slowing down gut movement which in turn decreases the number of bowel movements and makes the stool less watery.

#first aid #medicine #prevention #treatment #healthylifestyle #first aid box

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where-s-all-blue · 4 years

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Okay so I've entered the Alabasta Arc now (I am actually pretty close to the climax in my rererewatch) so here's some thoughts:

Reverse Mountain:

I personally adored the mishaps the crew has on their way to the GrandLine, and the entire reverse mountain is very intriguing to me to this day. One day, I'll figure out just how on earth that thing works.

Laboon's story, tear jerking, absolutely devastating. Luffy being able to talk sense into a WHALE tells all you need about his ability to befriend beings. He also was the first one to hear Laboon, foreshadow for his later on found ability to Hear All Things or Haki?

Whiskey Peaks:

Ahh the time Vivi tried to be a villain. And Mister 9 is an absolute sweetheart. Honestly they made a pretty good team even if neither of them actually knew how fighting works. Personally I would've loved to see more of them, Mister 9 and Miss Monday seemed like interesting characters.

I keep forgetting about Zoro having supersonic speed in these, I kind of miss him just disappearing only to reappear right in middle of the group to mock their reaction of looking at the place he just was sitting on. The speed of him and his ability to momentarily cut through things he later on can't pretty much just tells you that he does have it in him, but it just isn't conscious thing yet. Also unconscious usage of haki spotted?

Vivi being The Vivi Nefertari is one of the more interesting and intense sequences in the pre-timeskip era, even if it takes less time than for example the Arlong Park does and shows just how devastatingly strong both Luffy and Zoro are. I can't believe that these idiots would retort to a fist fight mid battle.

Mister 5's ability is very unhygienic and I'd like to drown him in sanitizer, Miss Valentine needs to be silenced forever, her laughter creeps me out and she honestly doesn't add any value into the conversation. This is a duo I'd like to murder slowly.

Igram blowing up still gets me, the reactions of the characters, the devastated facial expression of Vivi, the sound design, the shocked looks, it's just so well executed.

Vivi's reaction of mixed feelings regarding Miss All Sunday/Robin, albeit just, is very confusing for me. I remember when I met her the first time and all I could think of was "She's a nice person" just based on her facial expression and the words she used.

I forgot that Luffy broke the eternal log pose Robin gave them. Not because he didn't trust her but because the choice Vivi would've been forced to make after the shock of loosing Igram would've been too much. Also because he didn't want anyone to dictate HOW they get there, he's the captain and as such it's his job to make the final decision, he also appears to have been convinced that this way Vivi would be safe.

Little Garden:

Aah, Little Garden, the island I'd simultaneously love and hate. Love because dinosaurs, hate because loud and probably insects large enough to use me as a quick caffeine filled pick-me-up. I might have a problem.

The fact that I can understand the thought process of these giants concerns me greatly. Is this the power of the Monkey Brain?

Mister 3 would be an amazing character if only we could see his self proclaimed genius in action and hear him go through plans etc. I feel like he's just trying to compensate on his lack of battlefield knowledge and experience. Miss Golden Week is highkey a mood and I love her. I, too, want to paint whatever I want and get paid for it.

Zoro actually started to hack through his own leg because he wanted to fight so badly, what a mad lad. Usopp honestly is flexing with his quick thinking and reflexes here. We love that for him. Go you funky little sniper.

Luffy might've used observation haki instinctively in the Mister 3 crowd.

Sanji managing to outright fool Crocodile to believe that he is Mister 3 indicates that Crocodile has never heard the voices of his underlings before and just assuming that the man who answered is Mister 3. The two also apparently have similar sense of humour. That Crocodile is aware of based on what Robin has told him.

Sanji both taking down the Unluckies without any hesitation nor stopping to think about where they came from really tells volumes about him. He also apparently lied so convincingly that Crocodile was 100% sure that it was Mister 3 fighting Luffy and not a chef beating up his long distance murder pets.

Nami was bitten by a bug, which was the carrier of a rare, nearly dead disease. Based on the amount of time one would usually need to wait for the sickness to develop, I'd say that they were about a week on the ocean before Nami developed the fever.

None of the crew members, Vivi included, thought about doing a full body check on her to see if there were any other symptoms than fever, ie her body actively fighting against the infection/sickness. Also her sickness isn't apparently something that spreads, so it's very unlikely for it to be virus based or spread similar to flu.

Drum Island/Sakura Kingdom:

Nami is capable of sensing the weather, and act upon her feelings, under 40C fever. If I have any level of fever, I am rendered near vegetative state until my fever either goes down or raises past certain level. What I'm saying is that Nami is some sort of Goddess or superhero because of being able to do anything with that fever.

Vivi needing to think about whether or not she can afford waiting extra days for being taken to Alabasta or to change the course to find a doctor is one of the stupidest things ever especially since the person who is sick with such a high fever happens to be the navigator.

Warm welcome by residents is warm. And by warm I mean freezingly cold. I can't believe that Luffy thought about yelling to the person before Vivi bowed her head prompting Luffy to do the same (though heavily "encouraged" by Vivi). Vivi saying that Luffy isn't fit to be the captain reflects very strongly her own views and beliefs, but she keeps forgetting something very simple, yet important. Background. She has no idea about Luffy's past nor how he grew up, she hasn't been long enough with the crew to be able to tell just why people follow Luffy, nor is she aware of how he communicates with people. She doesn't realise that when it comes to Luffy, humility isn't a word to describe him with nor that he would be able to set his own pride aside just yet, Luffy is a 17 year old, a mere child, who has just set out on the sea few months ago, who only knows the harshness of the world, where to survive, you must take things with force or be aggressive. She also isn't familiar with Luffy's way of helping others and going all in no matter the situation.

It's interesting to see how from the time Vivi is with them, Luffy is clearly paying attention to how she does things and how she presents herself, the mannerisms and the likes. It's not as clear idolisation and wish for being equal/better than someone as it was with Katakuri's use of haki, but he is striving to learn. If not because he acknowledges how important manners and humility are, but because it makes things easier on certain places. He especially starts to pay more attention to it once Ace joins them.

By the way the sickness Nami is struck with? It's most likely the same as the one that cost the life of Captain Yorkie of the Rumbar Pirates. After all, the ship doctor couldn't heal it, he didn't know how to, he could only prolong his death for a little while, few days max.

Chopper is a joy to have around and I'd physically fight Doctor Kureha at first sight because WOMAN! YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ATTACKING YOUR PATIENTS JUST BECAUSE THEY GOT OUT OF THE BED! What if they need to use the restroom. I don't care if you're a youthful 139 year old lady, you can't just do that. Also how the hell are you still able to move that well? Most people I see start to slowly loose their mobility at 60 as their joints are starting to wear out causing pain and their muscle mass is lowering due to the inability to move as much as during their prime.

I am surprised that a reindeer even cares about something like a blue nose. The devilfruit thing? Yeah sure, but not the blue nose. These local reindeer are dicks with human level of obsession to look like the "norm". News flash, there is no default anything. Your appearances are purely dictated by a set of genes that decide to either activate or deactivate as they please without any warning and genes can skip multiple generations. That's why I apparently look identical to my great grandmother.

Nami is kind towards other women and animals. Men not so much, my assumption is that she is carrying a trauma from the Arlong time that she hasn't yet processed and as such she is even now a bit guarded against the rest of the crew.

Hiriluk's character is closer to that of a mad scientist or a very enthusiastic chemist who keeps forgetting that people aren't test subjects. His curiosity and and enthusiasm are something to strive for even if his methods are questionable, all he does want is to bring people sense of hope, wonder and awe. Though I can't help but to wonder about his story. The thief (him) having a serious incurable heart condition and seeing cherry blossoms that cured him. A metaphor for his past self being relentless and uncaring while thieving, but the indescribable beauty of the scenery he saw changed his heart to be more generous and kind?

Hiriluk's death is one of the most important ones in the series if you ask me, it defined Chopper and who he became; Doctor hoping to be capable of curing any disease there is.

#one piece #onepiece #One piece rewatch #One piece commentary #one piece meta #long post #meta commentary #r talks #laboon #Reverse mountain arc #Whiskey Peaks Arc #Little Garden Arc #drum island arc #Sakura Kingdom Arc #op spoilers?#op spoilers

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sparrow-ink · 4 years

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covid diaries aka memoirs of the plague

trying to keep my thoughts organized and coherent has been a bitch recently, so i’m going to try to put them down more or less in order here and see where we end up. this is going to be heavy on personal covid content and might get long, so please skip if either distresses you.

so last tues, the uh... 24th i guess, i started feeling ill. mostly like allergies plus a bad headache. i had a feeling i was getting sick but didn’t want to alarm my spouse or housemate/best friend, so stuck with ‘could very well be allergies and dehydration.’ also it very well could have been, and it was very reassuring for us all to tell each other that. my company had already moved the majority of employees to work-from-home, including me, so i already wasn’t going to come into contact with anyone outside my home.

symptoms got worse over the next few days, congestion, headache, feeling feverish, cough started up. we didn’t own a thermometer, and my spouse and housemate tried every wal-mart, wal-greens, target, etc to find one. housemate said at one place they laughed at her when she asked if they had any. i tried ordering one on amazon with no luck. either they were $90+, out of stock, or not shipping until may. i settled on ordering on for shipment in may. the seller messaged me the next day and said they couldn’t fulfill the order and asked to cancel it.

from our last costco trip we had already (unintentionally) gotten stocked up on toilet paper, snacks, and some dry goods. at some point before I got sick, spouse and I bought a bag of rice and bag of potatoes, because I intermittently try to do mealprepping and seemed being stuck at home would be a good time to try again, what with national and state-wide states of emergency being declared. also seemed good to have them in supply. and we were still stocked up on cold and flu medecine from when i got bronchitis mid-dec to mid-jan. so we were/are pretty well-stocked on essentials? that was reassuring, as i was obviously, noticeably sick by last friday.

i was hoping i would get better over the weekend but i did not. still couldn’t find a thermometer anywhere. governor had issued the state-wide stay-at-home order on uh...thurs? weds? but already being sick, and already working from home, and not going out, it didn’t really affect me much?

i feel like i should mention at this point that since the state of emergency was declared and we started to transition to working from home, i’d been trying to ration my social media (tumblr/twitter/insta) time for my sanity. but also not having information makes me feel helpless, so i had the CDC covid page up and checked every day. and then the colorado state covid page too. seeing the numbers of confirmed cases double, and triple, from week to week was... hm.

also one of my younger siblings moved from colorado to arizona at the start of march, and presumably lost their phone because i haven’t heard from them since despite poking. that hasn’t been concerning during a global pandemic. not at all. they’re probably not dead. i mean, you’d think a bitch could call their older sibling to let them know they’re not dead, but whatever. i’m sure they’re fine. probably. anyway.

where was i. so by the weekend i was Not Feeling Well At All Actually. my cough had become “scary.” my housemate did all the dishes in the kitchen despite not being responsible for most of them. i felt, and sounded, disgusting.

i checked the covid testing requirements again, and basically found that in colorado you had to be dying to be tested for covid. cool.

monday rolled around, still not better. i ended up having work computer issues (their end, not mine) where i basically ended up laying on the couch in my office while IT did IT things. a blessing. i slogged through the rest of the day. just felt like i wasn’t tracking well, couldn’t focus on shit. that evening while watching shows with husbeast & housemate, i had a truly uncontrollable coughing spasm/fit that seemed to just go on. could barely talk without coughing. i coughed all night. i basically didn’t sleep.

tuesday morning i woke up, and started coughing again. i could hear a crackle echo up my throat when i breathed if i was in the right position. i sat up to try and get my breath. i think it was like 6 am. spouse creature (already awake from my coughing) gently rubbed my back. i started crying. i just wanted to sleep, and i couldn’t sleep, and i couldn’t stop coughing, and i felt like i could barely breathe, and things just hurt, and i couldn’t think straight. i felt so... defeated. i think it freaked out the spouse creature. i usually only cry during children’s movies.

i took the day off of work. i hadn’t taken a day yet because i was already working from home, and it was the end of the month which is the busiest for my team, and my boss had said last week that if i felt i could work, they needed me. by tuesday morning i was out of energy and also fucks. i got in the queue for a teladoc appointment. per the CDC and colorado covid websites, telehealth visits are to be the first option in order to help prevent the spread, etc. also i would have done teladoc anyway bc i don’t have a PCP.

it took a few hours to get connected with a doctor. i think i started coughing while he did his intro thing. he basically said, well i think i know what you’re calling about, but why don’t you tell me. i told him. and coughed some more. he said my symptoms are consistent with covid, and in a perfect world they’d be able to get me in for rapid testing, but they couldn’t. that basically people are only getting tested at this point who are getting admitted to the hospital. some people were able to access testing through their PCPs but even that was drying up. he advised me to self-isolate (already on it lol) and for my household to self-quarantine for at least two weeks from when i started showing symptoms. and i could un-self-isolate once the majority of my symptoms calmed down AND when i didn’t have a fever for three days straight with no meds. he prescribed me an inhaler and a cough suppressant pill, though he said the cough suppressant might not do much since it didn’t seem to be working for anyone else with similar.

husbeast had run out to get some more supplies by the time i got on the vidcall with the doc, mostly liquids and electrolytes. he went back out once i gave him the rundown, to fill my prescription and get me the good costco chicken soup once they were open. he also, miracle of miracles, managed to find and buy a temporal thermometer at costco for like $45 i think. a true champion. my temp seemed to be fine in the afternoon, a touch above normal but fine. i’m not actually sure what my personal base temperature is. i should also say that i’d been consistently taking dayquil and sudafed since the previous weds.

that evening my temp started to go up. and up. or at least i think it was tuesday night. maybe it was weds? freaked out spouse, i got up to 102 F even with sudafed and additional acetaminophen. i basically had a fever from tues through this morning (friday), while taking pills like clockwork. always seemed to get worse in the afternoon/evening and be better in the morning. today at least it’s stayed below 100F, even mostly below 99F.

the cough and difficulty breathing has been the worst part. i have delicate baby lungs to begin with, and i have allergies and a history of childhood asthma. so i’m already paranoid about my breathing even with a normal cold. but to hear that i would have to immediately proceed to emergency services should my symptoms progress to: can only get a few words out, can’t stand up or walk across the room, can’t maintain conciousness, to hear that was... something. because then it’s basically like, okay, if I get pneumonia and my lungs are filling up, then i can go see a doctor in person. cool. and i know it says on the websites that there’s no approved treatment for coronavirus, that treatment for less severe cases will be the same at home as it would be in person, but shit. i woke up so many times last night feeling like i was fighting for air, waking up because i was coughing so hard i had to sit up all the way to breathe, and i kept thinking, what if i just stop breathing in my sleep? not like i would notice, right?

it’s been scary. i’ve been trying not to freak out my people with more crying and whatnot, but i’ve already got anxiety and this shit aint helping. i’m trying to stay relatively calm and not make them deal with me losing my shit on top of already taking care of me and bringing me soup and water and pills and asking what they can do for me. i’m tired of being sick. i want a new pair of lungs. i want to not feel like i’ve been hit by a truck. my ribs hurt from coughing so much. my chest hurts. my whole body aches. the headache keeps coming and going. i can’t stop fucking coughing. i don’t want to die, i just want to maybe go into a coma and wake up when this is all over. once the line of dump trucks has stopped running me over.

and i’m just so mad at the lack of preparedness in the US. i’m so pissed that i can’t even get tested, i can’t know for sure what the fuck is happening to me. i’m so mad that the cheeto is president during this. i hate this fucking timeline. i hate that we don’t even have clear numbers on cases because of mismanagement. i hate that i keep feeling like i’m about to throw up because i’m coughing so fucking hard. real fucking reassuring to know that the symptoms i’ve been told to watch for, to know that i need to go to the hospital, are the same ones that constitute an emergency and would mean that i would basically have to be rushed there. wearing a facemask if we can find one.

ugh. the other worst part is that i haven’t even been really coherent enough to write. and i’ve only been able to settle on a few things to read and watch. being sick makes me picky and like, impossible to please. so i’m spoiled for choice with 4+ streaming services, but nothing sounds good. and my people are working from home, but they’re still working. they can’t spend all their time with me. i’m bored, and everything is garbage, and there are only so many times i can rewatch the princess bride. i have been napping quite a lot, but even that doesn’t take all day.

maybe i’ll write some crackfic. then it doesn’t have to be coherent. and it would be in the spirit of covid to write some real absurd shit i think.

anyway. i might delete this later. i feel better for getting events put down and venting. also i apologize, i have no idea how to do a readmore cut on tumblr anymore.

#long post #covid diaries #plague memoir #meatspace recollection #meatspace adventures

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cleareyedandbrave · 5 years

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COVID-19

I’m not convinced there are enough words in the English language to explain how angry I am. Angry about how the government is handling this outbreak. Angry about US health insurance and care. Angry at middle-aged women who buy out entire grocery stores in their neighborhoods. Angry that NO ONE IS ABLE TO GET TESTED FOR COVID-19. Yep. You heard it here first, folks - no one will test you for corona virus, even if you present with all the symptoms. Isn’t that fun?

I should probably start at the beginning of my story. From February 16-18, I travelled by plane to Missouri (which was awesome, btw). About 2 weeks after I returned home, I started having a scratchy throat and a pretty hefty cough. This was around the time COVID-19 was starting to pick up in the US and I was feeling pretty anxious about my newly found symptoms. Instead of googling and self diagnosing, I called a local urgent care to ask what the odds are that I’d contracted COVID-19 and what I should do to keep my loved ones safe. The Urgent Care said that I had reason to be nervous, and recommended that I call the Ontario County Department of Health right away, as they were not equipped to test for COVID-19. I spoke with the nurse from DOH, who said that because I had not travelled to Italy, China, etc. and because I didn’t have a fever, I would not qualify to be tested and I probably just had the flu. I said okay, and went about my business.

About 3 days later, my symptoms worsened and I had developed a pretty high fever and a cough that rattled my entire body (and because I’m in a sharing mood, often left me wetting my pants after each cough). I became more concerned and decided to go to urgent care to get everything settled. The provider at urgent care diagnosed me with bronchitis after the flu test and the strep test each came back negative. The provider prescribed some antibiotics and cough medicine, and sent me on my way. My wonderful husband picked them up from Wegman’s and we went home, where I stayed for several days. Symptoms continued to escalate...my fever would not settle, cough was worse and I was very achey. I scheduled a tele-med appointment for a second opinion, and the provider on my phone camera believed I had pneumonia. I should remind you that COVID-19 is often confused for pneumonia. My parents began to worry and made a few calls for me, insisting that it was important I be tested for the corona virus. I mean, I had just attended a conference with people from all over the country and flew on a plane 4 separate times. After speaking with 3 different providers, it was determined that despite my very serious symptoms, I was not able to be tested for COVID-19. Each provider stated that if my symptoms worsened, I should go to the ER. Finally, I spoke with the nurse from DOH again, who suggested I go back to urgent care to determine whether or not I actually had pneumonia. She said that if they believed I didn’t have pneumonia, she would consider testing me for COVID-19. I headed back to urgent care asking for a chest x-ray and another flu test. After the flu test came back negative (again) and after reviewing the X-ray, they determined I did indeed have pneumonia and that I should just continue to take antibiotics and stay home to rest. Fine. I was on the mend and things seemed to be settling. If I did indeed have COVID-19, I knew I had done everything I could to be safe and proactive by staying home and calling ahead of time. This one was not on my shoulders.

This week, I feel much better, but my sweet husband, Jamil, has begun showing symptoms. His symptoms started with severe body aches and a small cough. I thought it may be best to stay on top of it and suggested he go to urgent care to see if they’d prescribe him antibiotics so he can move through the symptoms quickly. Jamil’s insurance has a $3000 deductible, so when he went to urgent care that day, he paid $120 for a nurse to tell him that his symptoms were not severe enough and they would not prescribe any medication. They told him to come back if his symptoms progressed. After a few days, Jamil’s cough became worse and his aching became almost intolerable and he began having a fever. We decided to make another appointment at our local doctors office to see if they would refer him to be tested for COVID-19. He showed up, was tested for the flu (which came back negative) and was told to go home. The provider mentioned again that if things got worse, he should go to the ER. I called the ER to see if they were providing testing for COVID-19...which, surprise, they were not. They recommended that we call the COVID-19 hotline for more information...super helpful.

Today, after Jamil’s fever spiked to 102.2, I called back the doctors office asking if there was anyway they would prescribe him an antibiotic for pneumonia, as that’s what I had last week and was treated for. The nurse said there was nothing more they could do and that they couldn’t prescribe something without him coming back in. I was not satisfied with this answer and decided to call back urgent care, where we had both previously been treated. The woman there said that Jamil needed to call the COVID-19 hotline before coming in, as it sounded like he had the virus. I explained that NOT ONE SINGLE provider in this area would test Jamil for COVID-19 and that I wanted him to come in, have an X-ray done to see if he had pneumonia and have something (read: anything) prescribed to try to help him manage his symptoms. After some push back, she agreed. We showed up at urgent care, where we were told to call the hotline again. I humored them...maybe something had changed in the last 4 days?

NOPE

After waiting on the line for 20 minutes, the provider from the hotline said it sounded like Jamil had a “mild case” of COVID-19, but he did not qualify to be tested, as he was not immunocompromised and did not travel outside the country in the past month. The hotline said we should go home and if things got worse, call the ER. I relayed this information to the woman at urgent care and demanded he be seen. Jamil was given an X-ray and it was determined that he has pneumonia, but the provider was very concerned and wrote a referral for Jam to be tested for COVID-19 at a local testing area. The nearest testing center is in Rochester (about an hour away). They said we should leave immediately. I asked if the referral meant he would be guaranteed a test, and they said it should, so we drove.

Upon arrival, we drove up to a white tent and spoke with a doctor. He gave us the green light to head to the second tent where they’d determine whether or not Jamil would be tested. Upon driving up to the second tent, we were quickly met by a woman who said that Jam’s symptoms were not extreme enough, so she would not test him, and that we should self quarantine for 14 days. Without a test taken, we drove away. I sobbed. I called my parents who were in disbelief.

THIS is what is happening in NYS right now. I know that there is a shortage of tests in the Rochester area, but they are literally turning people away who are showing symptoms without a second thought. Before Jamil and I showed symptoms, we were out and about and working. I understand that Joe Shmoe who recently had a lung transplant has priority to testing, as he is immunocompromised, but Jesus Christ, how many people in my life are immunocompromised who now don’t get to know whether or not they’ve definitely been exposed to someone with COVID-19?? How many people have Jamil and I been in contact with over the last 3 weeks that will surely be impacted - and how sad that we can’t confirm we’ve actually had the virus and that they need to be quarantined?! This is why I am ANGRY.

I am overwhelmed with anger that I can’t tell my dad, who has Multiple Sclerosis, whether or not he has been exposed to COVID-19. I am irate that Jamil had to tell his work that he probably has a mild case (whatever the fuck that means) of COVID-19, and that he’ll need to take 14 days off from work/will need to work from home without any paperwork or documentation. I am ENRAGED that a bill was passed to ensure that all workers affected by COVID-19 are provided 2 weeks paid sick leave, but I am 98% sure that if they haven’t been tested, they likely won’t be entitled to that paid time off. I am FURIOUS that Trump has told all of America that if they feel sick, they can get tested anytime/anywhere, when that is CLEARLY NOT THE CASE. I am FUMING that the US is short on tests because the government wants to make it look like our confirmed cases number is low, while people are struggling and sick and feeling foolish for thinking they may have COVID-19, but can’t get a solid answer. I am heartbroken that low income families/people from impoverished areas will not be taken seriously when they go to their doctor with illness and symptoms and will not be given an answer that’s helpful or affirming. I am SEETHING that healthcare providers/workers are being put in a situation where they have to choose who is more important for testing, when there are countries administering hundreds of tests daily to keep citizens safe. I am PISSED OFF that there are still people going out and about when there is a LITERAL PANDEMIC happening.

For fuck’s sake, just stay in your house. And call your representatives to let them know that WE ARE NOT BEING TESTED and that people’s lives are at risk. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. Just had to get that off my chest.

#COVID-19 #Corona Virus #Sick #WE NEED TESTING #Trump's an ass hat #Personal Pieces

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spideymybucky · 6 years

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I’m not sure if your still taking requests or not, but I’m going to go ahead. Tom Holland x engaged!reader. Tom has just left to film FFH so it was just Tessa and you. Tessa started to get a little more protective but the reader just thought it was because Tom left. She never leaves your side. You find out your pregnant and it’s like all cute. You tell Tom, then after like so many months you tell all the guys. Harrison, Chris3, Robert. Even the parents. Maybe they have like twins or triplets????

1. Finding out

I’m gonna divide this into 3 parts, ok? Cause it’s long. Here’s the first one and I hope Y’all Like it. (1/3)

Having an actor as a boyfriend was hard. Most of the time, Tom would be gone to some part of the world. It didn’t bother you being separated at times, you had gotten used to it. When Tom was gone you would, spend time with Tess and his family, go out with friends, and continue with your every day routine.

But when Far From Home came along, it felt a bit harder to leave him. Production had started here in London and now they were moving else where, meaning you had spent more time together than the last couple of years. To top it all off, it had been a rough couple of weeks; you had gone down with he flu, work had been exceptionally hard and it was your last semester in Uni.

“It would be long, love.” He said looking at your paled-sick face. You nodded and laid back on your bed. Tom was worried about you, not entirely convinced that you had the flu. He would steal glances, scaring your body for any clue of your sickness. The only thing he got was the puffiness on your cheeks and the sensitivity of your boobs.

“Tom, could you stop staring? It’s getting annoying.” You mumbled out, not looking up from the phone.

“I’m just worried about you, (Y/n). It’s been two weeks and your still the same.” He said, closing his suitcase.

“Babe, it’s the flu. You get worse before you get better, promise.” Tom looked at you. He loved your (y/e/c) eyes, they were warm and welcoming. He strolled onto the bed and pulled you closer.

“Promise you’ll go to the doctor if you don’t get better?” He whispered on your ear. You turned around, facing him and smiled.

“Promise, Tommy.” You whispered back. He smiled down at you and kissed your lips. Moments like these were both your favorites. The cuddles, silence and warmth that engulfed you were amazing, until his phone rang and he had to leave.

You followed him towards the door, Tessa right behind both of you. You hugged, teared up and kissed your goodbyes, promising to call each other every night. You closed the door, retrieving to the sofa and sat there with Tessa, watching whatever was on T.V.

Throughout the week, you flu like symptoms kept on going. You would wake up heaving and going straight to the bathroom, and that would continue until the evenings. You would start to feel better around dinner time which, for some weird reason, made you hungrier than ever. You would eat take out, pizza, etc. You were pretty sure that didn’t help with he vomiting in the morning.

Tessa, around the end of the week, started acting strange. She started on Wednesday, following you around everywhere. If you went to the bathroom and left her out, she would freak out. You assumed it was because of Tom and the fact that he was gone, but by Friday it had gotten on your nerves. If you were out with her and someone would come closer, she would go into overdrive. It was to much to handle, so you called Nikki.

“Hey love, hadn’t heard from you in a while.” Her cheerful voice resonated.

“Hey, Nikki.”You managed to talk with a husky voice.

“You ok, love?” Her concern was immediately, you were practically part of the family already. Tom and you had been together for 3 years, and most of the time you’d spend it with his family.

“Yeah, I’ve just come down with something and tomorrow I have an appointment. Don’t worry about it Nikki.”

“I can come with you, (Y/n). I’ll meet you there tomorrow morning.” You stood up from the couch, and went to lay on the bed. Tessa, to much of your annoyance, followed you.

“Don’t worry about it. I just need you to babysit Tessa for me, she’s been acting up since Tom left and I know seeing you guys will calm her.” Tessa’s ears perked up, listening to what you were saying.

“I’ll tell the boys to go pick her up and we’re going to the doctor. AND, I’m NOT taking NO for an answer.” You laughed and agreed.

The next day came faster then expected. As if on time, you woke up running to the bathroom and emptying everything on your stomach. Tessa sat next to you, watching you suffer from a recurring wave os nausea. You stood up and brushed your teeth, took a bath and changed into Tom’s favorite sweater and a pair of leggings. At 9 am, Nikki had arrived with the boys. Sam and Harry grabbed Tessa, and took her out to the near by park. You smiled at them gratefully and looked at her, as she called herself, your mother-in-law.

“God, love, you look horrible. You sure you don’t have a fever? Have you eaten something?” Nikki rapidly asked you.

“No, no I haven’t eaten. I just can’t keep anything down, but when night rolls in I just feel ten times better and hell breaks loose cause I’m starving.” You responded while entering the lift.

“Maybe it’s the stomachful or you’re just dehydrated.” She answered quizzically.

“Maybe.” You mumbled out.

The ride to the hospital was smooth. You would get nauseas here and there, but nothing extreme. Nikki helped you out and into your appointment.

“Hello, Mrs. (y/l/n) What brings you here today?” Doctor Bennett, asked.

“I’ve just been sick all week, for the last three weeks. It’ll start in the morning with nausea and as they day goes it’ll move to exhaustion and by the end of they day it’s all gone, but it keeps repeating itself.” She looked at you and nodded.

“When was your last period?” You looked at her confused and realized you hadn’t gotten it. It blew over your mind with the way you were feeling and Tom leaving. You took out your phone and pressed the period app, stating you were 15 days late.

“Last month…” you mumbled out.

“We’re gonna get to the bottom of this, sometimes when your dehydrated or your body has drastic change, your period changes, but just in case were are gonna need a pee sample.” She gave you a small pee cup, a picture of water and left. Nikki stood there and smiled.

“Thinking about it, these were the same symptoms I had with the twins.” She slowly said, grabbing your hand.

“I don’t know if I can do this.” You looked up at her in fear.

“Lets tackle this one step at a time, ok? First drink up and go to the bathroom” Her soothing voice calmed you. You nodded and drank the water, minutes later you went and peed. The nurse came and collected it, after talking a blood sample.

You had never thought of having kids. Ok, maybe a bit with Tom, you would dream about the big house, trying for a baby after the wedding, after he proposed and his career had stabilized. But right now, was it a good time? Were your ready for this? It was your last semester, you were starting a new job, you had a one bedroom flat and Tom was going to be gone for the rest of the year. He had press and the premiere of End Game, soon. How did this happen?

“Your urine and blood results are in Mrs. (Y/l/n), congratulations you’re pregnant.” Dr. Bennett smiled. Nikki grabbed your hand and started stroking your back.

“Wow…” was the only thing you were capable of mumbling out.

“Well, transfer these results to your OB/GYN, which I believe is Mr. Fletcher, right?” You nodded and just sat there. The vomiting, craving, and exhaustion made sense now and how Tessa was acting, too. She knew before any of you did. But, how the hell were you going to tell Tom.

“… Ok, I don’t now exactly how far along you are. I suspect maybe 3 to 4 weeks, but you’ll have to get an appointment with your OB/GYN and also an ultrasound.” You nodded and nodded. Nothing coming out of your mouth. Nikki smiled, and thanked the doctor before lightly dragging you out and into the car.

“Hey, honey, it’s ok. Everything’s ok, this is amazing news.” She repeated over and over. You looked at her teary eyed.

“Oh god, I’m gonna have to tell Tom. I-We might be having a baby.” You smiled out.

“I’m going to be a grandma.” Nikki laughed,

“I’m going to be a mom” You mumbled out, touching your flat stomach.

#caswinchester2000 #Mica Answers #tom holland x reader #tom holland #tom holland x y/n #tom holland x you #spiderman: ffh #tom holland imagine

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sillyshiro · 7 years

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aaaa so my last contribution to voltronwhumpweek (free day) was supposed to be a Lallura sickfic, it didn’t quite come together but this happened instead :’3 I also just wanted to say thank you so so much to the mods for making such an incredible and positive event, I am still going through all the amazing content even now! I had so much fun and will be flailing all over the place if it happens again, it has all been so fantastic and made my whole week ♡

Lance & Allura sick!edition

sick!Lance:

Lance is one of those people who’s still really cheerful when sick- he prefers being in the company of others to waiting it out alone, he’s not super embarrassed about symptoms and can laugh about being slightly gross etc. So he’ll happily visit Allura’s room and be all sniffly, still wanting to do her hair and so on (the styles get fantastically complicated when he’s stressed but very romantic/flowy when he’s not feeling well). Allura sometimes makes him wear a pair of her socks to keep warm, or she’ll make them both a whole bunch of tea when Lance has been talking non-stop for hours and then can’t stop coughing/spluttering (he’ll do that watery-eyed no-no-I’m-totally-fine handflail and keep trying to chit-chat even then).

Allura’s also figured out that Lance really appreciates small gestures of affection when under the weather (hugs, pats on the back), so though he doesn’t always ask for them, she’ll pull his legs over hers if they’re watching a film, or gently massage his temples or the bridge of his nose if his sinus is aching from being stuffed-up. If the cold isn’t too bad Lance won’t want Allura to worry about it (or genuinely doesn’t think there’s anything to worry about), and he’ll sometimes make his sneeze fit of 4-5 sound more high-pitched/vocalised at the end to make her laugh, or bless himself in a comical way if it accidentally takes him by surprise. Though Lance notoriously gets in trouble for not-covering, he does make an effort if he’s cuddled-up under Allura’s blankets, generally by pulling-up his shirt in whatever way he can.

Allura doesn’t mind Lance crashing out in her bed when he’s ill, he kicks/fidgets a lot but sleeps better when she’s there, and Allura needs far less sleep than him anyway. If he has a fever he’ll wake up a few times (Lance loves hearing these stories in the morning, he’ll make the most cryptic statements which Allura will spend vargas trying to decipher, only for Lance to later be like- ohhhyeah! I read that in a christmas cracker once!), but when he does wake up, Allura will get him to drink some water or blow his nose and then quietly tell him things about Altea until his shivering gets a bit better and he falls back to sleep in her lap.

sick!Allura:

Aside from occasional exhaustion from piloting the castle through untold dimensions of time and space, Allura hardly ever gets sick. When she does she’s both practical and stoic about it, and is often caught between knowing she needs rest to get better (to help the team), and knowing that isn’t always possible, because the team needs all hands on deck. Allura doesn’t exhibit symptoms as obviously as the human paladins, which often means they don’t notice a mild/moderate cold. But Lance always notices. Allura will seem slightly quieter, take longer to decide on something, or second-guess her decision when she does. She’ll also smile more, in that firm, reassuring way that honestly is really reassuring, but that Lance has come to realise means she’s trying hard to be strong about something. Allura sometimes feels that she worries Coran enough, and though Lance strongly disagrees and knows Coran would too, he doesn’t make her self-conscious by drawing attention to every sniffle. Instead, he’ll try and catch her alone and ask if she’s okay. Lance knows the answer is always going to be yes, but he still wants Allura to know he’s there for her too.

On those rare occasions when Allura catches the team space!flu, she’ll keep to herself as much as she can get away with, and isn’t fooled by Lance’s 1001 reasons he needs to visit her for urgent advice on combat moves/Altean history/face masks, but quietly appreciates him checking-in to make sure she’s still alive. The night Lance found her drenched in sweat on the bathroom floor was one of the worst Allura remembers, but Lance sits with her for what feels like forever, tells her funny stories from his childhood and keeps making sure she drinks water, just a small sip at a time. At one point the fever almost makes her cry, which feels as ridiculous as it does embarrassing, but every time Allura throws up or tries to apologise, Lance is just like ‘uhhh have I even told you about the time I cried at___? threw up at ___? cried and then threw up because I was crying so much?’ until Allura realises that she somehow feels better and in spite of everything he’s actually made her smile. Later Allura goes to thank him (she’s worried her thank you sounds too reserved, it means more than she can say), but then Lance hugs her back, and Allura knows that he knows she means it. And it matters to him too.

#voltronwhumpweek #sick!lance #sick!allura #lallura #allurance #illness #whump #hurt/comfort #and then they fall in love :')#vld #mention of throwing up #voltron #but really thank you so much #I feel like my thank you posts always come out really awkward and terrible #and I don't want to tag in case that's too personal #but I truly mean it the week was so wonderful ;w; <3 #taeyn

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keiithmingo · 5 years

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Holistic Herbal Therapeutics and Influenza

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The other day I did one of our quarterly live Q&A sessions for all of the Evolutionary Herbalism students and someone asked a question about how we go about holistically treating influenza. It’s January of 2020, and as I’m sure you know, this tends to be the season where people are coming down with the flu or colds. I thought it would be really fun to share what I taught during that Q&A webinar as it’s a fitting discussion to be shared during the winter season, especially talking about the vitalist approach to treating influenza and the fever that often accompanies it.

The Danger of Fever Suppression

One of the reasons why I think this is particularly important is because it’s really conventional for people when they get the flu, and especially with the accompanying fever, to reach for something like aspirin to get that fever down. Unfortunately, when we suppress a fever, we actually end up prolonging the sickness. We can turn what would normally be maybe a two or three-day fever into a week-long fever by suppressing it. One of the wonderful things about herbal medicine, is that we have plants available to us that support the body in its natural responses in the way the body reacts to a fever.

I think it’s important for us as herbalists to remember that there’s a vital intelligence in the body. In the west, we oftentimes refer to this as the vital force. As holistic herbalists, we want to make sure that we’re always honoring and following the flow of the vital force, trusting in the intelligence of the body… trusting in the fact that our bodies know how to self regulate and to self heal.

Central to the concept of vitalist herbalism, is that our work with plants is supporting the body’s innate vital intelligence, rather than biochemically overriding what our body is trying to do. We are simply helping the body to self heal.

Lobelia inflata

Colds and Flu’s: What’s the difference?

Well, there’s a handful of things that I generally consider here in the treatment of the flu, but before getting into that, it’s worth acknowledging an interesting dynamic in our terminology where we tend to lump colds in with flu’s. We always say “colds and flu’s,” maybe because people tend to get them around the fall and winter time; but from a perspective of pathology, they’re actually quite different.

While both are generally viral infections affecting the respiratory system, but one of the big differences is that the common cold generally affects upper respiratory and sinuses. You get the stuffy nose, where your head feels like it’s floating on a balloon 10 feet above your head, kinda tired, sluggish, sometimes a sore throat.

Whereas with the flu, symptoms typically get much deeper into the respiratory system, so we oftentimes see a cough, usually associated with bronchitis; but the main differentiating factor is fever. An influenza infection, generally speaking, always is accompanied by a fever; whereas a common cold is not. This tends to change our approach to therapeutics.

The other thing that I think is worth mentioning is that no one has ever died from the common cold, but people die every year from influenza. It’s usually young children or elderly people that don’t have very strong immune systems or vitality; but nonetheless, people do die from the flu. Not to mention, every now and then there are those big flu pandemics that come out and can be very difficult to treat.

Pleurisy Root

When it does come to herbal treatment for the flu, there are a number of factors important to consider. The first is actually food. An old rule of thumb is that you fast a fever and feed a cold; so this is why during a cold, it’s nice to have a lot of hot soups and broth. You want to keep yourself nourished during a cold; but during a fever, eating food is actually not good. When someone has a working fever, they usually they don’t really have that much of an appetite anyway, but it’s good to keep that person in a fasting state.

The reason for that is because during a fever, all of the blood is being pushed out to the periphery and is circulating immunological components to keep things moving, to try to push heat out, and ultimately raise the internal body temperature to cook out that pathogen. When you eat a meal, all of your blood has to flow back into the digestive system, which can inhibit the process of a fever in pretty detrimental ways. So, rule #1: fast a fever, feed a cold.

The other important thing before I get into practical aspects of how I go about treating with herbs, is that a fever is a vital response. This is an intelligent response of the body’s vital force to a pathogen. From an allopathic perspective, we see the fever as the enemy. From a vitalist perspective, we see that the fever is the friend and it’s actually the intelligence of the body at work, fighting off this invading pathogen. It’s important that as vitalist herbalists, we work with the vital force, that we move with that intelligence of the body and don’t suppress it or try to, biochemically so to speak, shut it off. This is essentially what a lot of our over-the-counter, fever reducing, what we would call a febrifuge, type drugs do; aspirin, ibuprofen, etc. Those non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs work amazingly, but they biochemically turn off that fever response. And the fever is the body’s innate way of raising the internal temperature so it will denature whatever the pathogen is. Sure you feel better after taking an Aspirin, because you’re fever is effectively shut off, but during that downtime that pathogen is busy reproducing. Hence once that NSAID wears off you typically feel worse. The suppression of a fever is going to significantly extend the period of time one is sick versus a fever that’s just allowed to do its job.

Peppermint (Mentha piperita)

Stimulant and Relaxant Diaphoretics

From an herbal standpoint, as I said, we want to support the vital force, which means helping the fever do its job. We want to support the body, we want to encourage what the body’s already trying to do with our plants; and this is why we have this amazing category of remedies referred to as diaphoretics. This category of plants is incredible because successfully treat a fever by helping it along. They do this through a couple of different physiological mechanisms, which leads to our two main categories of diaphoretics: stimulants and relaxants.

Stimulant diaphoretics are typically pungent, hot, warming, circulatory stimulant plants that are going to help increase internal body temperature and help to bring blood from the core to the surface. Anything that tastes particularly spicy and makes you sweat is a stimulant diaphoretic, such as hot spicy peppers. Cayenne (Capsicum annuum) is a big one here and is a very powerful stimulant diaphoretic, along with Ginger (Zingiber officinale) and Black Pepper (Piper nigrum).

Stimulant diaphoretics are best used during an earlier phase of a fever, when someone feels cold, has pale skin, and is usually in an lower energy state. This is because the hypothalamus has set your basal body temperature from its baseline, 98.6 or whatever it might be; it’s saying, “okay, instead of 98.6 being the standard, 104 is standard, or 102 or 103.” That higher temperature is the new baseline, but you’re at still at 98-something degrees, so you feel cold. Relaxant diaphoretics are remedies typically used later on in a fever, when it’s “peaking.” This is when you feel hot, your skin’s red and dry, and there’s usually a lot of tension (both psychological and also physiological) in the sense that your muscles start to get achy, your back hurts, your head hurts, and everything feels tight. Sleep is often difficult. This is where we use relaxant diaphoretics.

These remedies function quite differently than the stimulants. Rather than warming you up and stimulating peripheral circulation, relaxant diaphoretics helps to ease tension in the capillary beds and skin pores. This helps the blood to flow more easily to the surface. I always say if a stimulating diaphoretic is like turning the heat up, a relaxing diaphoretic is like opening up the windows. Another way of looking at them, is that they “unkink the hose” so the blood can flow more smoothly. In Chinese Medicine they’re referred to as “surface relieving agents.” They’re opening up the pores and capillary beds, so all that internal heat can release and ultimately break the fever.

Whereas the stimulant diaphoretics are typically hot, spicy, pungent remedies, the relaxant diaphoretics are more often than not bitters or acrid plants. Good examples of that are Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum), Lobelia (Lobelia inflata), Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata), and Yarrow (Achillea millefolium).

Classic remedies here would be Lobelia (Lobelia inflata), Pleurisy root (Asclepius tuberosa), Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) is a major remedy here, Peppermint (Mentha piperita), Elderflower (Sambucus nigra), and Yarrow (Achillea millefolium). Some of those have mixed stimulant and relaxant diaphoretic properties, especially Yarrow; I find it works in both ways. These are all excellent remedies to consider working with in treating the fever side of influenza.

Elderflower (Sambucus nigra)

Administering Diaphoretics… Teas? Tinctures?

A big question I get all the time is what form of an herb should one take? Teas? Tinctures? Powders? Oils??

When it comes to treating a fever, and specifically using diaphoretics, is that these are best administered as hot infusions. The reason for this is that hot water on its own is naturally diaphoretic. Hot water rises, like steam, and when you take your herbs in hot water it naturally delivers them with an upward and outward directional flow, which is precisely what we’re going for here. Cold/room temperature water tends to be more diuretic in nature, delivering to the kidneys and urinary tract. Think of hot water. What does it do? It volatilizes, it steams, it moves up and out; that’s the whole energy of a fever, it’s the whole energy of a diaphoretic because we’re pushing things up and radiating things out. It’s like the Fire Element, which is precisely what a fever is, an excess of the body’s innate Fire.

Taking tinctures will work, but not nearly as well. But as herbalists there’s always times we find ourselves in situations where we have to improvise and work with what we have on hand. So if you only have a tincture, simply put the tincture in some hot water and have someone drink that.

Diaphoretic Herbs for Influenza

Lobelia (Lobelia inflata)

Pleurisy root (Asclepius tuberosa)

Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)

Peppermint (Mentha piperita)

Elderflower (Sambucus nigra)

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Cayenne (Capsicum annuum)

Ginger (Zingiber officinale)

Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)

I want to spotlight on Boneset a little bit here. Boneset is in my opinion one of the most improtant influenza remedies. It has antiviral properties, which of course is beneficial, but it’s an incredibly reliable, relaxant diaphoretic; specifically for the deep aches and pains in the muscles and bones during a fever. Boneset is very specific for that and it works very well. So, I just wanted to mention Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) is a must have remedy for the treatment of influenza. The only tricky thing about it is that it’s very bitter, which can be hard for people to get down as a tea. I’ve used tincture in water quite successfully with this remedy. The other aspect of this is working with antiviral plants. This is not always the way I think about it, but if someone has, for example, an accompanying cough with influenza, which is really common, we want to give indicated expectorants and respiratory route antiviral remedies to just support the body in clearing out that pathogen. Some of my tops here would be Lomatium (Lomatium dissectum), Osha (Ligusticum porteri), Poplar buds aka Balm of Gilead (Populus trichocarpa), Usnea lichen (Usnea spp.), and Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra)

Antiviral Herbs for Influenza

Lomatium (Lomatium dissectum)

Osha (Ligusticum porteri)

Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra)

Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)

Oregano (Origanum vulgare)

Poplar buds (Populus trichocarpa)

Usnea (Usnea spp.)

Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis)

Also, we want to make sure that we’re giving remedies that are indicated for the tissue state of the respiratory system. If it’s really hot and dry, maybe giving them Osha isn’t the best way to go, right? If you do give Osha, you have to give it with moistening and cooling herbs to balance out the energetics to prevent imbalancing the tissue state. This is why Licorice is always an excellent herb to formulate with, as it not only tastes excellent, but brings much needed demulcent moistening effects to what are often very drying formulas.

While it’s important to consider our core herbal actions in therapeutics (stimulant and relaxant diaphoretics, antivirals, immune stimulants, expectorants etc.), it’s always critically important to always make sure to attend to the energetics.

The other thing that I really like giving people during fever is nervines. If they’re losing sleep, if they’re having a lot of muscle tension and muscle pain, sometimes I’ll give someone a really heavy dose of some herbs to just knock them out. If someone’s up all night with fever, if they’re having a real hard time sleeping at night, that is an obstacle to cure because the body is rejuvenating and replenishing itself during sleep, so I want to make sure people are sleeping really well. If needed, I will sometimes administer a heavy hitting nervine like Valerian (Valeriana officinalis), Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) or Hops (Humulus lupulus), or something just to relax someone, maybe relax their muscles a little bit and just get them to sleep.

Of course, the last thing is water, water, water!! We have to make sure people are staying hydrated during a fever as they are losing a lot of fluids, so we need make sure they stay hydrated. Administrating electrolytes can be really helpful if they are sweating a lot, and especially if they are getting a lot of that muscle pain, electrolytes are really helpful there too. I really like giving people some magnesium too, that can be helpful to provide some relief.

So, unless a fever is getting dangerously high, my approach is to support the body with diaphoretics and some of those other categories of plants I mentioned, and then just let the body run its course. Usually the fever will be taken care of within a day or two with the suggestions I mentioned.

The thing about this approach, is that you’re going to emerge on the other side stronger. Your immunity is stronger, your body is stronger. Ultimately you’re healthier than you are if you just take an antibiotic. Antibiotics are for bacteria, and these are viral infections anyway, so they usually don’t work so well, if at all, but for some reason doctors still give them. Also, if you’re taking something like aspirin or something that is really suppressive, you’re not giving your immune system an opportunity to learn.

So, every time you get sick like that and support the body with herbs, follow the vital force, allow the body to just do its job, you will emerge on the other side healthier and stronger and ultimately more vital. That’s really what we’re going for in a vitalist orientation of herbal medicine. Not just curing disease or fixing what’s broken, but practicing in a way that allows people to ultimately strengthen their overall vitality, which translates into a longer, happier, healthier life.

Holistic Herbal Therapeutics and Influenza published first on https://nutriherbsstore.tumblr.com/

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ticks281 · 7 years

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Chickenpox

Yes, guess what, I catch chickenpox. Again. And at the age 28. How sweet is that? Not! Frankly, I want to scratch everything; it's so itchy! 😢😢

I never thought that I would catch this virus again. I was feeling like shit last week; sore body, a little bit of difficulty breathing, fever during the afternoons to nights, chills, fatigued, difficulty falling asleep, sore throat, loss of apetite, headaches, mouth ulcers (because of fevers). Of course I attributed that to fevers because, hey, what else could it be. I went to work like normal gais for two days. I was first feeling discomfort on Sunday.

Now I learn that I'm contagious two days before the first rash / blister or whatever appears. So that means, when I was working for that two days, I am already contagious. I really hope nobody catches this disease from me.

On 1st day the rash appears which was on tuesday morning, it was mild only, like on my forehead, so I disregard that as pimple. I pricked at it against my better judgement and it spreaded quickly to nearby areas. Huh, odd, this pimple was fast.

Of course I ignored that and went to work like normal. I did experience chills on Monday and Tuesday, but I continued working. I hate seeing my work pile up before my eyes. As much as I'm lazy, in terms of work, I'm efficient. Night time was hellish for those two days. My back was aching like crazy. My body was chilly and I had to wear two blankets to fend off the cold. Oh, and stockings.

On Wednesday, things take a weirder turn. Rashes appear on my chin, neck to breast areas, and some on my legs. I had fever in the morning and was tired, sluggish, moody, etc. I also discovered that my lymph node is swollen. Concerned, I went to a private clinic to get this diagnosed. At this point, the blisters that I had was not itchy at all, but a little bit tingly and painful. Doctor said that I only have fever and gave me antibiotics. She said that the lymph node is swollen to protect myself from getting an infection, which totally makes sense. She also noted that I have rashes on my front areas. I was given medical leave for fever for that day. I was also given antibiotic to combat the symptoms. Dang, paid precious $30 for that treatment, which apparently didn't make me feel any better. In the night, I was googling symptoms (don't we all do that, lol) and the closest result that I get is chickenpox. Mind you, I caught chickenpox when I was very little, so I had no recollection of ever contracting that disease.

But yesterday, which was Thursday, I woke up horrified. My face was fully covered with bumpy blisters and they are sore. I was concerned by this again, as it didn't look like I catch normal flu like I usually did. Otherwise, my whole body would not be covered with those ugly bumps. All of them are filled with liquid, and at this point, they are sore. I went to the public clinic this time. Guess what, the doctor didn't even know what was wrong with me. I even asked her if it were possible to contract chickenpox again if you had contracted it once. No, she said. There's just no way. It was impossible. From my reading the previous night, it was possible. I told her I took antibiotic given by the private clinic, and she said continue eating that. She didn't even know what causes my rashes, and completely disregarded my suspicion, which turned me off at that point. Then I asked for a medical leave, and she said, no, you're good to go. You can go to work like that. Like, hello, you can't even diagnose me and you can't even give me one day of medical leave? How do you become a doctor anyway? Can't you see these little bumps everywhere on my body and face? And you claimed you have never seen anything like this before. I was mad. Okay, I wasn't give medical leave, but I wasn't feeling well either. I still wanna know what this was.

Then I took a nap in the afternoon for an hour because my body was feverish. Then my husband took me to the public hospital and arrived at around 2+pm. I was hungry, but couldn't eat much, which was frustrating, since I'm a food lover. We waited for a good three hours before my turn. The minute the male doctor saw me, he said, you got chickenpox. Bam! I was right. He also scolded me for not going to the hospital at the first sign of the blister. I didn't know; I genuinely thought it was just a nasty pimple. He gave me six days off from work, but they may extend if my blisters are still liquidy.

Guys, I kid you not, it's seriously uncomfortable and gross. I look in the mirror at my bumpy face with depression. Really, I'm feeling low overall at the moment. I feel like crap already, and weak. Also depressed at my face. It's Friday now and I have the urge to scratch them all off my face and body. I have the urge to pop all of them. But I know I will only aggravate them further. Calamine lotion is my friend now. 😢😢 I don't wanna get close to other people, especially my niece and nephew, because their mother is pregnant now, and I don't want her stressed out because her children caught chickenpox from me. I'm contagious for now, and I know that. God, I wish I can take a cold shower, but my mom said never do that. I wanna try baking soda with water, since we don't have bath here. This itch is seriously killing me. My throat is dry even though I have emptied 3 litres of water by afternoon, and I'm still thirsty. 😢 This is pure torture. My blisters are still filled with pus and I hope they will dry out fast. I hope I can recover faster and go to work faster so I can do my work. It's not fun going in an itch fest guys.

#chickenpox #ill #crap #random #rant

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jesseneufeld · 5 years

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Dear Mark: Coronavirus Questions

Okay, so this situation is upon us. There’s no denying that all anyone can focus on is the coronavirus. There are several different names used for it, but I’ll use coronavirus and COVID-19 for today’s post. I asked across different venues for your questions and concerns about the topic. I tried to get to as many as I could.

Let’s just get into it:

Why do you think kids have not been so affected?

Good question. Many of the more serious issues with this happen in the lungs as a result of prior “co-morbidities” such as smoking, diabetes, COPD, or just having lived in an area of high air pollution for many years. Then there’s the notion that much of the damage that happens to infected people happens as a result of “cytokine storms,” an example of an immune system over-reacting to the insult. Because adults have been exposed to other strains of flu over their lives and have other antibodies for those flus, there might be a dangerous “mismatch” between what’s needed for COVID-19 and what their arsenal currently holds. Kids haven’t had the time to develop all the mismatched antibodies. All speculation.

And also, kids definitely have the potential to carry and transmit the virus even if they themselves don’t exhibit strong symptoms. One recent Chinese study found that 90% of kids with the virus were asymptomatic or showed just mild or moderate symptoms.

How safe do you think U.S. kids are?

I think kids are quite safe as long as this is reasonably curtailed.

When they say risk increases with age, they mean cellular age, not chronological right?

I hope so! That’s certainly part of it. If you are healthier and more robust in general, regardless of chronological age, you are likely to be more “robust” when under immune assault.

Tips for pregnant women and COVID-19?

Do whatever you can to avoid exposure. Full stop.

The CDC maintains a page for information regarding pregnancy and breastfeeding with COVID-19, but frankly it’s a lot of “we don’t know.” So far according to the CDC there is no known transmission from mother to baby via amniotic fluid or breastmilk. Of course, please consult your doctor immediately if you are pregnant and develop any symptoms.

Do you think that it’s overhyped or a real danger?

Both. It’s a real danger for some (mostly older infirm individuals with co-morbidities) and they should do whatever they can to avoid contracting. OTOH, the damage to the world economy is even now almost incalculable. How much of this was due to over-hype versus just poor prior planning will be the subject of debate for decades to come.

I do think once more testing rolls out, we’ll see that far more people are infected than we think, but that the fatality/severity rate drops.

Why the fear and hysteria from the media… what am I missing?

Humans are story-tellers by our nature. We have always used storytelling as the primary means of communication. Fireside tales, books, radio, TV, movies, Internet, gaming, school history classes, jokes—they are all stories. Every good story needs a villain. In this case, the media has found the consummate villain: an actual threat that hits all the right notes. In order to compete with other media outlets (and hence to sell ads) the tendency is to take a set of facts and weave them into a narrative that is both compelling and horrifying. COVID-19 allows for an infinite number of tales of woe and heroics—not to mention the ability for all sides to play politics with the other side.

Is it really as bad as the media is putting on?

IMO, no, but it’s early days and the situation is changing every hour. We will see.

According to UK researchers who created a mathematical model of transmissibility, each coronavirus case infected on average 2.6 other people in Wuhan. They also estimated that blocking over 60% of transmission would be necessary for infection-control measures to effectively control the outbreak. The outbreak is worsening in Europe, particularly in Italy as of today, but South Korea appears to have slowed its epidemic for now. This article in Science Mag credits the slowing number of new cases in South Korea to diagnostic capacity at scale, tracing contact with infected persons, and case isolation.

There’s another angle that I haven’t seen discussed much: air pollution. Wuhan is notoriously polluted, with terrible air quality and high levels of particulates in the air. The population also smokes quite heavily, particularly the men (who happen to be at greater risk). Smoking (and, I imagine, constant exposure to air particulate pollution) has been shown to increase ACE2 expression. That could very well be why it hit that area so hard.

If you catch & recover, is there a chance of future health issues as a result of having had it?

Apparently, reports are that a smallish percentage of people who contract this and recover are left with some damage to lung and or cardiac tissue. Maybe that recovers over time. Too early to opine. The same thing happened with SARS, if I recall correctly.

Can you get it more than once?

Remains to be seen. Some researchers are saying yes, that people are getting re-infected. Others are saying a person can “recover” but the virus lies dormant and reemerges. We just don’t know and won’t until long-term data is available.

Do you think fasting would have any positive effect on resisting it?

I would not undergo any dramatic fasting protocols at this time. I personally would adhere to my compressed eating window and limit intake to healthy fats, quality proteins, and organic vegetables. Fresh is great, but frozen and some (BPA-free) canned, jarred, vacuum-packed, and pantry items can provide quality Primal nutrition as well.

How does keto affect the body’s immune system?

In most cases a keto diet seems to support a healthy immune system, provided the foods you are eating are real, natural, etc. Whether that offers any specific protection against COVID-19 is impossible to say.

Do you think we should transition to workouts that aren’t at a public gym?

I would certainly limit my exposure to other peoples’ sweat and exhaled gases. I don’t plan to do any public gym workouts, and now most gyms have closed temporarily or will likely close across the country as the virus continues to spread. There are tons of things you can do in your home or your yard or even in a vacant field.

This is the perfect opportunity to get outside, get some sun (or cold), and move your body through fresh air. The fresh air will reduce the risk of transmission, as will the lack of people around you. The sun will increase nitric oxide, which showed some effectiveness at reducing the ability of a related virus—SARS—to replicate. And exercise is a great way to improve your overall health and resilience, as well as get out of the house and out of your own mind.

Best practices for fevers?

Stay hydrated (water and electrolytes; salty lime/lemon water). Stay in bed. Rest.

Avoid sugar and refined carbs. Sugar is one of the worst immune suppressors.

Do all the things your body is telling you to do.

In adults, I see no reason to reduce it until you’re getting to very serious temperatures—over 105, 106ºF. There’s actually very little evidence that fever in and of itself is dangerous. Rather, this study suggests that it’s whatever’s causing the fever that’s dangerous. The fever is the response. Animal studies indicate that treating fever with anti-pyretics might actually increase the risk of mortality, at least in influenza.

In fact, news stories are circulating, questioning whether it’s advised for patients to take ACE inhibitors and anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen if they’re experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. An article published on Science Alert suggests that the World Health Organization is digging into research presented in The Lancet that hypothesizes that COVID-19 patients with diabetes, cardiac diseases, or hypertension who are treated with ACE2-increasing drugs are at a higher risk for severe (and possibly fatal) infection. There’s concern among cardiology societies about these suggestions; the WHO has yet to release an official recommendation.

But, of course, if you’re running an extended fever and you suspect you might have coronavirus, get medical attention immediately and let them take it from there.

Are endurance athletes more at risk?

Probably. I say that because most endurance athletes overtrain to the point of occasional immune compromise. Now is not the time for that. Cut training back to 40% during this time.

Meat and corona?

Possibly my favorite meal.

My son is 22 and has asthma. Should I be worried?

Given the recent data, he is probably less likely to suffer severe consequences if he is infected based on his age, even though most of the severest cases involve lung and/or cardiac damage. Still, if I had asthma, I would do everything possible not to contract this. Not worth the risk.

Do you think when the sun comes out to play again this will die down?

I think it will absolutely help. Check out this thread on the UV index of the most affected areas. It really does seem like UV and weather and humidity can affect the viability of the virus and its ability to take hold, but this is all speculation.

A real problem will be the damage done to global economies. That might take a while to recover.

Good items to stock up on?

See Primal Provisioning for Staying at Home.

Would you travel during this outbreak?

Absolutely not.

Will taking vitamin D help people avoid getting sick?

This is a tricky one. Normally, I’d say yes, it can’t hurt and very well might help. But with coronavirus, that gets more complicated. One thing vitamin D may have the potential to do is increase ACE2 expression, and ACE2 is the same receptor to which coronavirus binds. It’s the “entry point,” how it gets in and starts destroying cells. Organs with high rates of ACE2 receptors, like the lungs, appear to be the most affected organs.

If vitamin D increases ACE2 in the lungs, for example, that could leave you more open to infection. I certainly would avoid “megadoses” of vitamin D. If you take it, do something like 1000 IUs max, or get it through food (salmon, sardines, pastured eggs, mushrooms) or cod liver oil.

Similar to the Spanish flu in 1918?

Maybe. It seems to show some similar patterns, but diverges in others. Basic concept of virulence seems similar and the same danger of overloading the medical system applies.

Tips on remaining calm and perspective amongst the panic?

The majority of the damage will be done and over in a few months. Accept what is, and know that you are doing the best you can with the tools you have.

Avoid stress. Stress increases ACE2 expression, dampens general immunity, and makes your time hanging out and relaxing impossible and miserable.

I read somewhere that a low-carb diet and high doses of vitamin C could reduce one’s chance of getting (seriously) sick from the virus. Is there any proof on that or reason to believe those claims are true?

Probably very little proof, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility. The single best thing you can do to shore up immunity is avoid sugars and industrial seed oils, get sleep, limit stress. One of the co-morbidities I’m seeing bandied about in serious patients are blood sugar disregulation, type 2 diabetes, and other conditions linked to poor glucose tolerance. In that case, using a low-carb diet to normalize glucose levels certainly won’t hurt. Of course, you don’t have to go low-carb to normalize glucose levels; it’s just that many people find that works for them.

Vitamin C has promise. There were reports of Chinese doctors using IV vitamin C in patients and having success. IV vitamin C is a little difficult to arrange at home, but oral vitamin C is perfectly safe even at high doses and liposomal vitamin C seems to be even more effective than plain oral vitamin C.

Is it possible that frequent hand washing and sanitizer could actually hurt us by removing beneficial protective bacteria? I’m washing but also bathing my hands in dirt.

You have to look at this from two angles: acute and chronic.

Chronic sanitization of our environments and bodies promotes a worse immune system that’s more susceptible to illness and more likely to overreact to otherwise innocuous inputs.

Acute sanitization of our environments and bodies can protect us against dangerous microbes.

If you’re picking lettuce out of your garden, you can probably eat it without washing your hands.

If you’re in LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) opening the bathroom stall, touching the faucet, and flushing toilets, you should wash your hands.

And if there’s “something going around,” it’s a good idea to wash your hands and be a little more vigilant. Native Americans had robust immune systems and got plenty of microbial exposure and likely had incredibly impressive gut biomes and very little incidence of autoimmune diseases. But when they encountered smallpox, they died. They were vulnerable to an entirely novel infectious agent because they’d never encountered it before and it was sufficiently virulent.

Preparation we DO need to make… What are you doing???

I’m staying in my condo with Carrie. I have enough food stored for several weeks. I’m only going outside to go to the beach right outside the building, go for rides on the beach, runs, sprints, etc.

Staying calm, staying serene, and being prepared.

Also, read this thread and take it to heart.

That’s it for today, folks. If you have any follow-ups, I can try to get to them for next time. Ask away down below. Thanks for reading, and make sure to take care of yourself and your family.

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lauramalchowblog · 5 years