Support Your Immune System Against Coronavirus, Cold and Flu Part 1
By Dr. Stephen Sinatra 03/30/2020
With novel coronavirus (COVID-19) taking the world by storm, life as we knew it has transformed dramatically over the last several weeks.
The most important thing to do in the face of a pandemic like this is to not panic. Stressing out about possibly contracting this illness can weaken your immune system and leave you more vulnerable to it. Instead, make rational, smart decisions, and bolster your immune system naturally, so if you happen to be exposed to the coronavirus, you’ll be better able to fight it.
Coronavirus Symptoms and Testing
COVID-19 is a zoogenic virus, which means it can be transmitted between humans and animals (such as birds and cats). It is part of a family of seven coronaviruses known to affect humans. Some (229E, NL63, OC43, and HKU1) cause mild-to-moderate common cold symptoms, while others like SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) can result in more serious symptoms. As it has been newly identified, COVID-19 is referred to as a “novel coronavirus” and, like SARS, its symptoms can be more severe.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), common COVID-19 symptoms include fever, shortness of breath, a dry cough, and tiredness. Less common symptoms include aches and pains, runny nose, congestion, sore throat, and diarrhea. Symptoms have “ranged from mild to severe” in afflicted individuals, even leading to death in those who developed complications like pneumonia.
The organizations also state that, while the risk factors for severe coronavirus symptoms aren’t yet clear, older adults and people with chronic medical conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease are at higher risk. Still, a few relatively healthy younger people have also experienced severe symptoms or died, highlighting the need for vigilant protective measures.
Considering that novel coronavirus symptoms could also be due to a common cold or flu, it’s tough to determine whether a person actually has this illness, or if the symptoms are due to something else. Over the last several weeks (after the CDC expanded the federal criteria to test for COVID-19 and the FDA recently enabled more labs to start producing their own test kits) tests have become more widely available, and independent labs should be producing them on a mass scale soon.
Unless everyone is tested, though, there’s no way of knowing who actually has the novel coronavirus. Iceland (with the help of deCODE Genetics, a biopharma company) recently tested 3.2% of its population (symptoms or no symptoms) and found that many of those who tested positive were asymptomatic. As more people get tested in the U.S., authorities will have a better grasp of how COVID-19 spreads.
Posted By: Dea. Ron Gray Sr.
Saturday, April 18th 2020 at 8:41PM
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