COVID-19: Best practices to keep you and your loved ones safe - The Thrive Clinic

COVID-19: Best practices to keep you and your loved ones safe

COVID-19: Best practices to keep you and your loved ones safe

I want to start with the thoughts and recommendations of a colleague. The author of these coronavirus precautionary measures is James Robb, MD UC San Diego. It’s a really great read:

Subject: What I am doing for the upcoming COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic

Dear Colleagues, as some of you may recall, when I was a professor of pathology at the University of California San Diego, I was one of the first molecular virologists in the world to work on coronaviruses (the 1970s). I was the first to demonstrate the number of genes the virus contained. Since then, I have kept up with the coronavirus field and its multiple clinical transfers into the human population (e.g., SARS, MERS), from different animal sources.
The current projections for its expansion in the US are only probable, due to continued insufficient worldwide data, but it is most likely to be widespread in the US by mid to late March and April.

Here is what I have done and the precautions that I take and will take. These are the same precautions I currently use during our influenza seasons, except for the mask and gloves:

  • NO HANDSHAKING! Use a fist bump, slight bow, elbow bump, etc.
  • Use ONLY your knuckle to touch light switches, elevator buttons, etc.. Lift the gasoline dispenser with a paper towel or use a disposable glove.
  • Open doors with your closed fist or hip – do not grasp the handle with your hand, unless there is no other way to open the door. Especially important on bathroom and post office/commercial doors.
  • Use disinfectant wipes at the stores when they are available, including wiping the handle and child seat in grocery carts.
  • Wash your hands with soap for 10-20 seconds and/or use a greater than 60% alcohol-based hand sanitizer whenever you return home from ANY activity that involves locations where other people have been.
  • Keep a bottle of sanitizer available at each of your home’s entrances. AND in your car for use after getting gas or touching other contaminated objects when you can’t immediately wash your hands.
  • If possible, cough or sneeze into a disposable tissue and discard. Use your elbow only if you have to. The clothing on your elbow will contain infectious virus that can be passed on for up to a week or more!

What I have stocked in preparation for the pandemic spread to the US:

  • Latex or nitrile latex disposable gloves for use when going shopping, using the gasoline pump, and all other outside activity when you come in contact with contaminated areas.

    Note: This virus is spread in large droplets by coughing and sneezing. This means that the air will not infect you! BUT all the surfaces where these droplets land are infectious for about a week on average – everything that is associated with infected people will be contaminated and potentially infectious. The virus is on surfaces and you will not be infected unless your unprotected face is directly coughed or sneezed upon. This virus only has cell receptors for lung cells (it only infects your lungs) The only way for the virus to infect you is through your nose or mouth via your hands or an infected cough or sneeze onto or into your nose or mouth.

  • Stock up now with disposable surgical masks and use them to prevent you from touching your nose and/or mouth (We touch our nose/mouth 90X/day without knowing it!). This is the only way this virus can infect you – it is lung-specific. The mask will not prevent the virus in a direct sneeze from getting into your nose or mouth – it is only to keep you from touching your nose or mouth.
  • Stock up now with hand sanitizers and latex/nitrile gloves (get the appropriate sizes for your family). The hand sanitizers must be alcohol-based and greater than 60% alcohol to be effective.
  • Stock up now with zinc lozenges. These lozenges have been proven to be effective in blocking coronavirus (and most other viruses) from multiplying in your throat and nasopharynx. Use as directed several times each day when you begin to feel ANY “cold-like” symptoms beginning. It is best to lie down and let the lozenge dissolve in the back of your throat and nasopharynx. Cold-Eeze lozenges is one brand available, but there are other brands available.

I, as many others do, hope that this pandemic will be reasonably contained, BUT I personally do not think it will be. Humans have never seen this snake-associated virus before and have no internal defense against it. Tremendous worldwide efforts are being made to understand the molecular and clinical virology of this virus. Unbelievable molecular knowledge about the genomics, structure, and virulence of this virus has already been achieved. BUT, there will be NO drugs or vaccines available this year to protect us or limit the infection within us. Only symptomatic support is available.

I hope these personal thoughts will be helpful during this potentially catastrophic pandemic. You are welcome to share this email. Good luck to all of us! Jim
James Robb, MD FCAP

Here are my own (Dr. Sievert) recommendations

#1 Reduce stress and get sufficient sleep

This is now more important than ever. Your immune system regenerates itself during sleep, in particular the hours from 1-5 a.m.

#2 Exercise moderately

Also important for normal immune function and to boost organ perfusion and oxygenation.

#3 Eat whole foods

Exclusively organic as always, with focus on these foods:

  • liver, for its high vitamin A content
  • citrus fruits and red peppers for vitamin C
  • fermented foods to support a healthy and diverse microbiome
  • green smoothies daily to get those phytonutrients in a concentrated form. I like to add colostrum powder
    (bovine colostrum has been found to be effective at preventing the flu and it significantly reduces the number of episodes and hospitalizations for respiratory infections in children. You can purchase bovine colostrum as a powder or capsule; just choose a supplement from grass-fed, hormone-free, and antibiotic-free cows)

#4 If you were a smoker or vaper, now is the time to quit

Your risk to die from the pneumonia caused by either the flu or the corona-virus goes up considerably if you keep the habit going.

#5 Keep your body alkaline

By starting your day with 16 ounces of clean filtered water with a freshly squeezed lemon in it.

#6 Use a sauna often

The virus doesn’t replicate well above normal body temperature and your immune system works better. Just don’t forget to hydrate.

#7 Supplement

In addition you may choose to support your immune systems ability to fight of the virus with the following supplements. For colds in general:

  • Vitamin C: 2000 mg twice daily
  • Zinc: 50 mg daily
  • Quercetin: 1000 mg twice daily
  • NAC: 600 mg twice daily
  • Vitamin D: 10000 IU daily
  • Bovine colostrum with or without PRP Spray(prolin rich polypeptides): 1 measuring scoop daily and 4 pumps 2-3 times daily respectively
  • Colloidal Silver: 1 tsp 3 x daily, swish, gargle and swallow

For COVID-19 specifically, as it would gain entry into the cells in your lung via so-called ACE-2 receptors (unfortunately rendering them dysfunctional in the process):

  • Hawthorn: 500 mg twice daily (it is a natural ACE inhibitor and would lead to up-regulation of these receptors).
  • Olive leave extract, Berberine, Cordyceps (to protect the lungs cilia, which you’ll need to clean out phlegm and debris) as in Olivirex, TH1-Support etc.
  • Chinese skullcap, DGL, Elder(leave/bark extract), Cinnamon (to protect ACE-2 receptors) as in TH1-Support, DGL-Plus and Cinnergy
  • Rhodiola, Andrographis, Astragalus, Cordyceps , Curcumin(to reduce autoimmunity) as in Innate Immune Support, TH2 Modulator and CurcuCalm

These supplement choices are not exclusive, you can find all of these ingredients from various brands at your local health food store, but also through Fullscript, the online dispensary linked to my website.

Do make sure these are high quality, certified gluten and dairy free, with no added dyes or unnecessary fillers.

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