Prevention and Treatment for COVID-19

COVID 19 stands for CORONA VIRUS DISEASE 2019

What is a corona virus? It is a type of virus that tends to cause respiratory diseases. One of the less common causes of the common cold is a corona virus. SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) virus from 2002, also starting in China, was a corona virus. Viruses need a host e.g. human being to replicate themselves. They enter a body and hijack cellular machinery for their own benefit to reproduce themselves. Some viruses like influenza, and COVID19 also can effect the functioning of white blood cells and weaken the immune system. This can make a person vulnerable to a secondary infection (another virus or bacteria jumps in). Viruses like corona virus cannot be treated with antibiotics and there are no anti-viral medications for them either.

How Does It Spread / How To Avoid Getting COVID 19

Limit social exposure: Avoid going to places where the virus is known to be around. Do not travel to places in your area or the world where several cases have been reported. Avoid airports, large gatherings of people, and public spaces such as the mall. I would not travel unless there is a compelling need to do so.

If you are in an area with a higher infection rate, stay there. Do not travel or you can spread it to others. Also best to avoid hugging or shaking hands.

COVID 19 is spread though air droplets via coughs or sneezes and also possibly through stool. It is thought to be much more contagious from droplets that have landed on surfaces than through the air. That is why hand washing when exposed is essential. Avoid touching door handles, railings, elevator buttons, public bathroom sink handles etc.

The use of medical masks are not shown to be beneficial. Masks should be reserved for medical professionals and patients in medical facilities. The airborne risk is only present if you are in a confined space for many minutes within 6 feet of a person who is infected with the virus. For example, in a room with with an infected person for a longer time, not just passing through (risk is extremely minimal in that situation).

Also, avoid using someone else’s pen (especially in a doctor’s office). When in public, carry one with you if you think you need one. When out, use a tissue or paper towel to turn on and off public restroom sinks and to protect yourself from the door handle especially on the way out of a restroom after you have washed your hands. Similarly, if you must touch a railing or elevator buttons in high traffic buildings, carry a tissue or something similar to cover the button and fold it up and throw it away ASAP.

What are the Symptoms of COVID 19:

According to the CDC

From time of exposure to symptom onset is called the incubation period. For COVID 19 this is estimated at 4 days (typically 2 to 7 days). Some studies have estimated a wider range for the incubation period as with other coronaviruses to be from 2-14 days. This means you may have the virus but show no symptoms. Hence the 14 day quarantine period you hear about when persons are exposed to COVID 19.

Frequently, reported signs and symptoms of patients (the more ill persons) admitted to the hospital include fever (77–98%), cough (46%–82%), myalgia (muscle aches) or fatigue (11–52%), and shortness of breath (3-31%) at onset of illness. Less commonly reported respiratory symptoms include sore throat, headache, cough with sputum production. Some patients have experienced gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea and nausea prior to developing fever and lower respiratory tract (lung) signs and symptoms.

How To Prepare:

The next section is modified from from my cold and flu blog.

Prevention

Follow these practices to the best of your ability to keep your immunity strong.

  • Strive to eat a varied diet full of organic, local, fresh food. Avoid GMO’s and processed food such as white flour, sugar, and artificial sweeteners/high fructose corn syrup.
    Incorporate meditation and/or prayer into your daily routine, along with some general relaxation time.
  • Get regular exercise and proper rest – most people need about 8 hours of sleep per day.
    Make sure your blood level of Vitamin D is at least 35 (as you might know higher levels have other benefits). If you have not had a blood test take 2000 to 5000 International Units once a day with food with fat (so it absorbs well into your body). I have recommended this to my patients for years now based on the fact that Vitamin D (really a hormone) turns on genes in our white blood cells that make proteins that kill viruses, fungus, and bacteria. A meta analysis of 25 studies published in the British Medical Journal confirms this benefit of preventing respiratory infections specifically.
  • Clean surfaces with soap (soap breaks down the fatty outer layer of the virus and destroys it) bleach, or 70% alcohol.
  • Avoid close contact with anyone who has a cold, cough, or the flu. If this is not possible, wash your hands frequently and be sure not to share cups, forks, spoons, tooth brushes, etc.

Treatment

According to scientific studies and a long history of successful use by many holistic doctors, natural remedies tend to improve this type of viral infection much more quickly and shorten the duration and severity of symptoms of infection by several days more than medications. Not only are natural remedies more effective for viral treatment, they are also much safer and much less expensive.

NOTE: If you have mild symptoms, fever, sore throat, congestion, some body aches, loose bowels use the protocol below. DO NOT go to urgent care or the emergency room. First, be aware that they will NOT be able to help you. Secondly, if you go to a medical facility you risk putting other people, including frail patients who could die from corona virus, and health professionals who need to be well to take care of critically ill people at risk. If the doctors and nurses are out of action due to exposure or sickness they can’t help sick people including people having heart attacks, strokes and in serious car accidents.

If you are very sick with strong cough, debilitation, shortness of breath then consult your doctor and it may be very important to be seen at the doctor or hospital in those cases.

I recommend a multi-prong approach to treatment:

At the first sign of stuffy nose, sore throat, sinus drainage, cough, body aches do the following (do NOT wait until you are sick for days or getting very sick)

Follow these 4 numbered steps. You will find details on how to do them below, followed by how to get the recommended products.

  • Limit exposure as above
  • Decrease the viral load in your system: use nasal irrigation and throat rinses that wash away or kill the virus where it enters your system. That will minimize the chance of spread of virus down to the lungs where it causes the biggest problems.
  • Kill the virus: Vitamin C.
  • Ramp up your immune system: Use herbs to fight it from the inside.

Nasal irrigation

You can do this 2 to 3 times a day with a bulb syringe, a neti pot or even a small cup. Nasal irrigation is important because it washes the virus out of your nose. It also washes away the things that cause your nose to swell up. To start, you’ll need to sterilize your neti pot or syringe with hot water. Then you can prepare your nasal irrigation solution:

  • 6 ounces of filtered or bottled water warmed up to body temperature (not hot!)
    1/4 teaspoon of sea salt or table salt
  • Pinch of baking soda (not baking powder which contains aluminum)
  • Using the neti pot or syringe, you will tilt your head sideways over the sink and pour half of the solution into your right nostril while breathing through your mouth. Let it run out the other side of your nose or down into the back of your mouth and spit it out. Repeat with the other half of the solution into your left nostril.

Throat rinses

Gargle with 3% hydrogen peroxide for 5 to 10 seconds every 2hours. You can get this at a pharmacy or grocery store. This will kill the virus in your throat where it multiplies. Gargling with salt water may help you feel better but will not kill the virus.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C kills viruses in experiments and in human bodies.

Look for powdered, (Buffered better tolerated) vitamin C as you will need high doses for a serious viral infection. Take 2000 mgs. as often as every 2 hours and if getting sicker even every 30 minutes. For children ages 6-12 years use 1000mg at same intervals and if less than 6 years old 500mg at the same intervals. If it causes loose bowels decrease the dose.

Vit. C capsules are fine too but you will have to take several so look for 500mg or larger capsule if you go that route.

I do not recommend Emergen-C as it has only 500 mg of C, and contains sugar, which suppresses the immune system.

When your body needs vitamin C you can take very high doses with no ill effects (over dosing when healthy can cause loose bowels) I have taken 24,000 mg per day and others have taken doses as high as 2000mg every 6 minutes to treat active pneumonia. That was over 50,000mg per day with no ill effects.

Immune Support

Rapid Immune Response combination herbal supplement, made by Gaia Herbs. For adults: take 2 capsules, 5 times a day for 2 days. For children ages 6-12: take 1 capsule, 5 times a day for 2 days. Again start as soon as you have symptoms. OTC version of this is Quick Defense.

If you cannot get Quick Defense then High dose of Gaia’s Echinacea Supreme tincture (take highest dose on bottle) immune support, and Gaia’s Black Elderberry Syrup (highest dose on bottle) anti-viral or another high quality brand like HerbPharm.

Studies show that Echinacea must be of high quality and high dose to work. Liquid Echinacea should make your tongue and throat really tingle. It that doesn’t happen you have a low quality brand or way too low of a dose.

Other good places to find immune support products are through reputable Chinese Medicine practitioners and Naturopathic doctors (ND’s) who trained at 4 year accredited colleges of naturopathic medicine.

Course of Treatment:

Continue the above remedies until you feel better, which is often in just 1-3 days if you start at the first sign of infection, versus 7 to 14 days if you wait until you have a full-blown infection.

Additional treatment for Especially Vulnerable People:

This includes people who have chronic lung conditions (chronic all the time asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis) or tend to get very sick every time they get an infection, or tend to get intestinal symptoms with viral infections.

If you are in this category, colostrum products can be helpful to help prevent infections and add another layer of protection if infected with COVID 19. These are NOT necessary for everyone. They contain immune globulin proteins which soak up and help fight off all kinds of infections and other immune stimulating compounds (colostrum based and from dairy). A dose is 2 grams of immune globulins. I recommend the concentrated powders below. Capsule forms are also available but may only contain 500mg per capsule ( so you would 4 capsules of that strength to get 2 grams)

Colostrum Products:

  • Douglas Laboratories Colostrum Powder 2 g: Emerson Item Code COLP
  • IgG Protect Powder by Orthomolecular: Emerson Item Code R03715

1 scoop twice a day

These types of products can be very helpful for specific needs as above. One example is a family brought their young daughter to me because all the neighbors were treating her like a “little typhoid Mary” saying she was always sick with some virus or cough and was making all of the children in the neighborhood sick. They would not let her come over to their homes to play with their children. I put her on this product in the fall. In the spring her parents brought her back in and told me the neighbors were now amazed how “little Mary” was the only child who did not get sick that winter and they wanted to know why! Again, these products are only recommended for immune compromised individuals or with preexisting lung conditions. They are not needed for the typical healthy person.

PRODUCTS AND HOW TO ORDER:

Use the URL: https://wellevate.me/mark-hoch

Once on the site you will create a log in and can order. Those who already have a Wellevate account can just sign in and order.

If these specific products are not available you can find others on this site and hopefully in your local health food store. Products recommended and the companies that make have been vetted by Dr. Hoch and are known to be of excellent professional grade quality and purity. They have also been stored properly to maintain their effectiveness. Be aware the same cannot be said for many products on the internet including via Amazon that may be counterfeit or improperly stored.

Immune Support:

Rapid Immune Response 2 caps 5x a day for 2 days. #40 enough for 2 people

Item Code RX-AD

Quick Defense same as for Rapid Immune Response. #20 enough for 1 person

Item Code QUICK

Echinaacea Supreme. 4 oz. age 13 and up 2 full droppers 4 times a day

Item Code ECH21

Kids Echinacea Supreme 2 oz.

age 9 mos. to 2 yrs. 15 drops in water 4 times a day

3-6 yrs. 30 drops (1 full dropper) in water 4 times a day

7-12 years 60 drops (2 full droppers) 4 times a day

Item Code: ECH49

Black Elderberry Syrup 3 oz. 1 teaspoon twice a day for adults, children 4-12. 3/4 teaspoon twice a day. Age 1-3. 1/4 teaspoon twice day

Item Code C07003

Vitamin C:

Potent C Guard™ Powder 8 oz by PERQUE is what I recommend to my patients. Heaping 1/2 teaspoon is close to 2,000mg per dose in 2 or more ounces of water.

Item Code PERQ3

Metabolic Maintenance Vitamin C Powder 1 lb (not buffered) is a good option good for big families

Item Code VITCP

Collostrum Products:

IgG Protect Powder by Orthomolecular 1 scoop twice a day

Item Code R03715

Douglas Laboratories Colostrum Powder 2 g

Item Code COLP

Vitamin D:

Thorne D-5000 caps #60

Item Code T38013

Vital Nutrients Vitamin D3 #120

Item Code VID3


Take advantage of your local resources.

I am grateful to have many here in Asheville including being able to pick up herbs at the Herbiary today.

I hope these tips were helpful for you!

Please feel free to share, and be sure to come say hi to me on social media: @markhochmd!


Mark L. Hoch, MD

Diplomate American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine Co-Chair Past Presidents Council, Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine Bush Medical Fellow

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Office of Dr. Mark Hoch
390 Merrimon Ave.
Asheville, NC 28801

Mark Hoch, MD