World Crisis is Upon Us
During this time of great stress, we are here for your health and well-being. There is much discussion and interest in natural medicines used for prevention or treatment of COVID-19, unfortunately none have been validated by human trials with COVID-19. The best we can do is support the immune system, eat well and manage stress.
As we live mostly in isolation minimizing the spread of this pandemic, we can certainly do our best to stay healthy with a few simple things.
- Rest – resting is when the body heals and recovers from the stressors of the day. Make rest a priority.
- Get outside – for mental / emotional well being as well as for a little more vitamin D, this is a good daily habit to install
- Eat lots of fruits and vegetables and minimize processed foods, sugars, and alcohol. To be in the best health, minimizing chemicals/foods that reduce the immune system should be avoided.
- Minimize stress – stress negatively impacts the immune system
- Wear a mask if you go out in public places. (RESEARCH)
What is a fever?
When the hypothalamus comes in contact with infectious agents it re-calibrated to a higher temperature. This activates enzymes in the body to speed up. The fever will continue until what caused the fever is no longer prevalent. The body during this time is fighting the infection and the result is that valuable chemicals called cytokines are released to the sites of infection. It’s best, if possible to work with the fever, not against it. Taking over the counter medications to reduce the fever can make the infection last even longer in the body than is necessary.
During a fever, it’s important to not eat if you are not hungry. If you have to eat, stick to veggie or meat broths and hot herbal teas. Giving the body a fasting time takes a tremendous work load off the entire system so you will have more vital energy to fight the infection.
What is Hydrotherapy?
Hydrotherapy is something you can do at home with towels and water to support the body when it is going through fever. This is not a replacement for a doctors care, but can help.
If you have SHORTNESS OF BREATH, fever and cough, you need to head to the ER as soon as possible.
In pandemic viral infection models the use of anti-fever medications increases loss of life by 1%-5% for viral respiratory pandemics and increase the virus spread and transmission. That means that they lead to increased infection spread and increase the loss of life by 1-5%. Another recent study provides further evidence that use of acetaminophen in respiratory infection associated with decreased lung function and an increased risk of asthma and COPD. This is incredibly important information to understand. Acetaminophen uses the glutathione detox pathway to exit the body. We need glutathione for the lungs as it is THE MOST important antioxidant in the lung tissue.
Is Dr. Wells seeing patients with suspected COVID19?
If you have a fever and respiratory symptoms
call and schedule a telemedicine appointment with Dr. Wells as soon as possible. There are many reasons for respiratory issues this time of year including flu, allergies, sinus infections, etc. Dr. Wells can help and refer you to testing facility if need be.
Dr. Wells and Wellsource is not currently treating active COVID19 suspected or cases due to the highly infectious nature of this pandemic.
Where to get tested?
There are several labs and hospitals that have drive up testing facilities locally.
- ARCPoint Labs – private, $80, quick results 480-939-4656
- Banner Health 1-844-549-1851 must be phone screened ahead of time
- Mayo Clinic click to find location, call and be phone screened for testing
What is the conventional treatment offered at this time?
There are now studies on pharmaceutical drugs for treatment at this time. These drugs include Favipiravir, Remdesivir, Chloriquine, and Kaletra/Aluvia. These are potent drugs, some of which are not yet approved to treat anything and others carry a high risk of severe side effects including death. They are being used in severe patients in hospital settings and none have jumped to the forefront as a valuable option as of yet. They are not to be used casually.
Take Good Care and Let’s Hold the Well-Being for All – Together,
Dr. Wells
Food for thought
The best way to help yourself and others is to act as if you have the virus