The coronavirus is making international headlines and at Halcyon Bodyworks we wanted to better understand what is happening so we can make the best decisions to protect you, our clients, and our massage therapists. As you know massage involves touching, and as you’ll read below it’s a great way to spread a virus. We want you to know if you are feeling sick in any way simply cancel your appointment.
We believe it’s important to not spread the coronavirus because we want to protect our most vulnerable populations, those with compromised immune systems and the elderly, in Bend, Oregon.
Dr. Steven Gundry recently shared information on the coronavirus. He’s an American doctor and author who has investigated the impact of diet on health and was a pioneer in infant heart transplant surgery. He shares the tools and knowledge we need to live our best life – mind, body and soul, and here is a synopsis of what he has to say about the coronavirus:
People who get the coronavirus can experience cough, fever and difficulty breathing but for many the infection is so mild they don’t even know they have it. That’s the good and bad news about the coronavirus. It can spread easily because people don’t know they have it but in severe cases organ failure and death occurs.
As of March 12th there have been 1,215 positive cases of COVID-19 in the United States and 36 deaths. Worldwide there have been 133,181 cases and 4,950 deaths.
What is the COVID-19 / coronavirus?
It’s a virus, this particular virus is a cousin to previous corona viruses (under a microscope it looks like a crown, or the corona when there is an eclipse around the sun). SARS and MERS are cousins to the coronavirus. These viruses are not to be taken lightly. They are fairly novel to humans even though they have existed in animals without problems for a while.
This virus appears to come from bats. They were sold for human consumption, the latest theory from the CDC was that a person killed a bat with the coronavirus and accidentally ingested some of the blood.
Are the symptoms different from MERS or SARS?
The symptoms are typically mild. People with the virus may feel cold, achey or have a cough or runny nose.
How is the coronavirus spread?
It appears to be airborne pathogen, spread by coughing or contact like shaking hands. The virus can remain intact for two to 10 days on a surface. A great number of people will never be ill enough to realize they have it. This is great news but also really quite bad. The worry from the CDC and World Health Organization is that people get this without symptoms so it spreads without people knowing it.
How do you know if you have it?
It acts like flu but very mild for the vast majority of people. What do you do if you think you have been exposed? The CDC is asking you to self quarantine at home. The incubation seems to be anywhere from two days, to a week, to 10 days. If you think you’ve been exposed quarantine yourself for that period of time.
How can you reduce your risk of coronavirus in Central Oregon?
First, a surgical mask is not effective at keeping the coronavirus out. The virus can go through and around the mask. Medical grade masks can filter viruses but they have to fit perfectly. The downside is that it’s hard to breathe with the mask on, so if you already have breathing issues the mask isn’t great. There is a suggestion that you can get the virus through any mucous membrane, that means your eyes. So you would need to seal your eyes with goggles as well.
If surgical masks don’t work why do surgeons wear them? Well this is interesting, a study done in England has shown that surgical masks have no benefit of preventing infection. They actually promote more wound infections. Wow, that’s crazy! You can read more about it here.
What can you do to avoid getting it?
- Your immune system is good at handling any virus as long as you have a functioning, intact microbiome. Studies show a healthy microbiome is the first line of defense for any viral or bacterial attack. If you have a leaky gut your immune system is so diverted you have a compromised immune system to fight out a normal pathogen the immune system could attack. If you think you have leaky gut, or need help dealing with leaky gut, consider talking to the digestion and nutrition experts at Brainworks of Oregon.
- The best thing you can do to make sure your immune system doesn’t work properly is to eat sugar or things that turn into sugar. Sugar suppresses the immune system better than any other thing you can do. Naturopath, Dr. Rob Neilson at Hawthorn Healing Arts has been telling us this for a while. So ditch the candy, sugary cereals, cookies, etc. the better your immune system will be.
- Hand washing is still the number #1 recommendation from the CDC.
- Hand-sanitizer? Soap and water is all you need.
How do you support your immune system whether you are coming down with the flu or you think you are getting the coronavirus? This is what Dr. Gundry recommends:
Have adequate levels of vitamin D3. 5,000 units a day at minimum. Research at the University of California San Diego concluded on average you should take 9,600 units of vitamin D a day to have adequate levels. Vitamin D is one of the best antiviral hormones (yes it’s a hormone not a vitamin).- If you feel like you are coming down with a virus, take 150,000 units of D3 a day for three days. Dr. Gundry has been doing this for 18 years.
- IV vitamin C is the most effective combatant against viral illnesses. To learn more about IV vitamin C talk to your doctor. You can take vitamin C capsules, 1,000 milligrams twice a day. If you don’t have that go to any drugstore and get chewable vitamin C tablets. Chew two 500 milligrams twice a day. It’s water soluble so you have to keep replenishing it within your body.
- Mushrooms are the best way to activate your immune systems or the white blood cells that will go after viruses. Look for capsules.
- Sunlight is the best way to generate vitamin D in your bloodstream. Get half an hour of exposure to sunlight.
Learn More
To learn more and hear a full Q&A session with Dr. Gundry listen to the Dr. Gundry Podcast, Episode 83, “Coronavirus, should YOU worry?”