Home Remedies For Mild Coronavirus Symptoms
Potentially Lifesaving Home Treatments
Coronavirus' Global Spread - May 3, 2021
The U.S. leads the world with over 32 million confirmed coronavirus cases and over 575,000 deaths, followed by Brazil, India, and Mexico. Johnson & Johnson obtained the US Food and Drug Administration authorization for emergency use of its Covid-19 vaccine, creating the availability of a third coronavirus vaccine for the US market, in addition to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
Coronavirus Crisis In India
Ambulances with new patients line up in front of hospital waiting for admittance. While the dead are carried in a steady stream to the cremation pyres (below). The Modi Surge: COVID-19 Cases Overwhelm India’s Healthcare System as Gov’t Censors Critics | Democracy Now!
Pandemics require global cooperation and mutual support.
India and Brazil are experiencing a catastrophic second wave that could have global implications, with over one million new Covid-19 cases in India in the last three days. When there is uncontrolled spread of the virus in any part of the world, variants can arise, which may over time become resistant to the protection that we get from vaccines and previous Covid-19 cases.
This would undo the immunity which everyone has worked so hard to achieve in the last year, unleashing even more virulent forms of the virus across the United States and the world.
Cremation Pyres In India
I am Madhvi Chittoor, 10 yrs old, a musician and climate change activist. A non-profit in India is asking me to help. Please buy my music album at http://ebay.us/jg4w0w?cmpnId=5338273189
US Hospital Filled With Record-Breaking
Numbers of COVID Infections
How Respiratory Illnesses Harm the Body
Life cycle of a Coronavirus: How Respiratory Illnesses Harm the Body
Respiratory infections are among the most common diseases that affect humans. Viral respiratory illnesses typically spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes, spraying germs into the air that land on surfaces. If you breathe in the respiratory droplets, or touch surfaces and then touch your eyes, nose, or mouth, the virus can enter your body and infect you.
COVID-19 can spread from the upper to lower respiratory tract
COVID-19 can move from the upper to lower respiratory tract (1247) Pinterest
Covid-19 exposure and symptoms
The illness can range from mild colds to serious lower respiratory tract infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia. In some patients, moderate upper respiratory infections can progress into serious lower respiratory infections within a few weeks. Patients whose symptoms began with a mild cough may develop respiratory failure, needing ventilator support to breathe. The disease is more likely to cause symptoms in older adults and those with underlying health conditions. Most people who develop symptoms of COVID-19 may experience symptoms of :
- Sore throat
- Cough
- Shortness of breath
- Fever
- Headache
- Fatigue
What type of treatments are available for for COVID-19?
Vaccines: Three vaccines for COVID-19 are now widely available in the United States. Additional vaccines are in use around the world, but their supplies are not nearly enough, in view of the billions of people in dire need in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Island Nations, Central and South America.
Other Treatments: Options generally include symptom management because antibiotics don't work against viruses. The doctor might suggest drinking plenty of fluids, resting, and taking over-the-counter medication to lower fevers and manage body aches, as well as decongestants for sinus trouble.
If Covid symptoms are more severe, supportive treatments may be given by a doctor or at a hospital. This type of treatment may involve:
- Fluids to reduce the risk of dehydration
- Medication to reduce a fever
- Supplemental oxygen in more severe cases
- People who have a hard time breathing on their own due to COVID-19 may need a respirator.
Treating Coronavirus At Home
Treating Coronavirus At Home
Sore Throats
Gargle with Saltwater - Gargling with a mixture of salt and warm water can remove phlegm and mucus from the back of the throat and ease symptoms. Add half a teaspoon of salt to a cup of warm water. Stir until the salt dissolves. Gargle with the mixture and allow it to sit in the back of the throat momentarily. Repeat several times a day as needed.
A fingertip of salt placed at the back of the throat works similar to gargling - Wet fingertip and dip into salt in palm of hand. Place on back of tongue and allow to dissolve and coat throat as it slowly dissolves.
The American Heart Association recommends limiting daily sodium intake to less than 1,500 milligrams, the amount in a little over half a teaspoon of table salt.
If sore throat arises at night around bedtime - Try a small glass of liqueur such as B&B (Benedictine & Brandy) or other spirit with high ethanol content. This is best breathed in with slow sips. Inhale by mouth the alcohol vapors into the lungs - You will feel the cleansing sensation throughout your entire upper and lower respiratory system. Ethanol is the same active ingredient in hand sanitizers.
Home Remedies for Chest Congestion
Stay Hydrated
Staying Hydrated Thins Mucus, Making It Easier to Expel by Coughing.
Hot beverages can provide immediate and sustained relief from a mucus buildup in the chest. According to a 2008 studyTrustTed Source, hot beverages provide “immediate and sustained relief” from congestion and accompanying symptoms, such as sneezing, a nagging cough, a sore throat, and chills. A person can benefit from drinking:
- broth
- black or green tea
- herbal teas
- warm water
- other hot beverages and soups
Steam
A hot shower or humidifier or may ease chest discomfort and help you breathe.
Steam inhalation is one of the most widely used home remedies to soothe and open the nasal passages and get relief from the symptoms of a cold or sinus infection.
Also called steam therapy, it involves the inhalation of water vapor. The warm, moist air is thought to work by loosening the mucus in the nasal passages, throat, and lungs.
Hot or warm showers are another way to breathe in a lot of steamy water vapors.
Mayo Clinic's guide to using a humidifier - Humidifiers: Air moisture eases skin, breathing symptoms - Mayo Clinic
Steam Inhalers help relieve congestion
Many people use steam inhalers to break up congestion, whether it's from a virus — like a cold or the flu — or from a chronic respiratory condition like asthma.
Also See:
Fever - What You Need To Know
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168266#_noHeaderPrefixedContent
A person has a fever if their body temperature rises above the normal range of 98–100°F (36–37°C). It is a common sign of an infection. When an infection occurs, the immune system will launch an attack to try to remove the cause. A high body temperature is a normal part of this reaction. As a person’s body temperature increases, they may feel cold until it levels off and stops rising. People describe this as “chills.”
A low grade fever is actually a good sign that your body is fighting the virus as it should.
A fever will usually resolve on its own. However, if body temperature rises too high, it may be a symptom of a severe infection that needs medical treatment. In this case, a doctor may recommend medication to reduce it. If it gets too high, a cool tub or shower will help to lower your body temperature. Read on to learn more about the symptoms of a fever, as well as some causes and treatment options:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168266#_noHeaderPrefixedContent
Quercetin and Vitamin C Enhance Immune Response -
Quercetin and Vitamin C: An Experimental, Synergistic Therapy for the Prevention and Treatment of SARS-CoV-2 Related Disease (COVID-19)
- Frontiers in Immunology, 19 June 2020
Quercetin displays a broad range of antiviral properties which can interfere at multiple steps of pathogen virulence -virus entry, virus replication, protein assembly- and that these therapeutic effects can be augmented by the co-administration of vitamin C.
Furthermore, due to their lack of severe side effects and low-costs, we strongly suggest the combined administration of these two compounds for both the prophylaxis and the early treatment of respiratory tract infections, especially including COVID-19 patients.
Quercetin has already proven successful at treating Ebola and Zika viruses - CBC Radio · Posted: Feb 28, 2020
Researchers in Québec are hopeful that a drug derived from plants could be the key to curing infections caused by the novel coronavirus. The broad spectrum anti-viral medicine known as quercetin has already proven successful at treating Ebola and Zika viruses, says Dr. Michel Chrétien, a researcher at the Clinical Research Institute of Montreal. He and co-researcher Majambu Mbikay are awaiting approval to send the drug to China where a clinical trial will test its effectiveness on COVID-19.
Quercetin is found in many fresh fruits and vegetables
Low Cost
Some patients infected with COVID-19 are currently being treated with a variety of anti-viral drugs, some with a price tag upwards of $1,000 per injection, Mbikay says.
Quercetin, by comparison, would cost just $2 per day.
"It is not expensive. It's a natural product. It's found in nature and purified from plants. Compared to what is available now, and that is being tried in China right now, it doesn't compare in terms of price," Mbikay said.
Chrétien adds that quercetin is an oral drug, which provides benefits over intravenous anti-virals.
As the novel coronavirus begins to infect people in developing countries, Mbikay adds that creating an affordable treatment is key to slowing the outbreak.
"If we can show that these quercetin works, it would be made available to African countries, [other] countries that do not have the infrastructure, nor the means to combat it effectively," he said.
Pharmaceutical Treatments
Contrast with the long list of side effects from drugs such as: Dexamethasone and Remdesivir -
“We’re seeing more and more young people get into serious trouble ... serious disease requiring hospitalization, and occasionally even tragic deaths,” the U.S. government’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, recently told the National Press Club. The biggest need is for a convenient medicine such as a pill “that can prevent people with symptoms from getting worse and needing hospitalization," he said.
NIH – Trials for Vitamins A and D? https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/
DRUGS + Stay Well Hydrated - https://www.healthline.com/health/coronavirus-treatment
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jul/20/america-its-happening-government-jailing-covid-19-/
Cashing in on Covid
"One of the most critical factors in COVID-19 treatment development is the price," Seo said during an online press conference on YouTube. "To end the pandemic, each of more than 7 billion people across the world has to be supplied with coronavirus treatments and vaccines."
"That is, however, an unrealistic idea because the prices of drugs are too expensive. Only OECD member countries will be able to supply enough treatments and vaccines to their people."
He also pointed out that no pharmaceutical firms or biotechs could say how long it would take to "free the world from the pandemic" and "how they can supply enough treatments," adding that COVID-19 treatment developers have a role in serving the public.
How Covid-19 Kills
In most patients, the body’s immune system kicks in to fight the virus and contain it in the upper respiratory tract. It creates antibodies, which bind to the virus so it can't replicate, as well as T-cells, which attempt to destroy the virus. About 80% of people who are infected with COVID-19 have mild to moderate symptoms and recover without needing hospitalization or treatment by a specialist, according to the World Health Organization.
But if a patient has a weak immune system, or an especially aggressive infection, the virus can invade the lower respiratory tract and affect the lungs. These infections are typically more serious because they interfere with our ability to breathe.
When coronavirus kills, it’s like death by drowning
Doctors disagree on best treatment — Patients struggle to breathe
Ventilators may not always help
Lower respiratory infection
If the virus progresses beyond the upper respiratory tract, it can begin to cause inflammation on our bronchial trees – the passages that conduct air between the lungs and the outside world.
In these cases, the virus targets the lung cells that make mucus, as well as those that have tiny hairs called cilia. Mucus protects lung tissue and keeps the lungs from drying out, while the cilia move the mucus and clear out debris such as pollen or viruses. Inflammation irritates the nerves in the lining of the bronchial trees, increasing sensitivity to even a tiny speck of dust.
To fight the virus, the immune system may go into overdrive, setting off an inflammatory response that fills up the air sacs in the lungs. Unfortunately, this response can render the cells unable to clear out debris and fluid. When the patient's airways become inflamed, pneumonia can set in.
Symptoms: Severe cough that produces mucus, shortness of breath, tightness in the chest, and wheezing upon exhalation. In severe cases, the lips may appear blue due to low oxygen levels.
HOW VENTILATORS WORK
The breathing tube is connected directly to the windpipe through a hole. Surgery is needed to make a small hole in the neck. This is called a tracheostomy. The ventilator uses pressure to blow oxygenated air into your lungs. https://www.healthline.com/health/ventilator#what-to-expect
Ventilators Are No Panacea For Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients
Ventilators have been seen as critical to treating coronavirus patients because the devices are very successful when used to treat common forms of pneumonia. "It's very concerning to see how many patients who require ventilation do not make it out of the hospital," says Dr. Tiffany Osborn, a critical care specialist at Washington University in St. Louis who has been caring for coronavirus patients at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. A large study looking at mortality among coronavirus patients on ventilators was done by the Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre in London. It found that among 98 ventilated patients in the U.K., just 33 were discharged alive.
Patients need a ventilator when their lungs can no longer deliver enough oxygen to keep the body going. It is an extreme measure. "We give sedation so the person goes to sleep. Then we provide a paralytic that stops their breathing," Osborn said. Next, a long plastic tube is inserted through the trachea and vocal cords. That allows a machine to deliver small puffs of highly oxygenated air to the lungs.
Unfortunately, the ventilator itself can do damage to the lung tissue based on how much pressure is required to help oxygen get processed by the lungs. Coronavirus patients often need dangerously high levels of both pressure and oxygen because their lungs have so much inflammation.
Another risk from being on a ventilator is that the tube carrying air and extra oxygen to the lungs provides a pathway for dangerous germs. Many ventilated patients get a new lung infection, a problem known as ventilator-associated pneumonia.
The widespread death is real - It is on the horizon for many people, if we do not dig down and do more. In cities across the US, strict restrictions are being re-imposed to counter the alarming rise in new cases. It is urgently necessary for Americans to bear down and continue wearing masks and avoid taking part in large indoor gatherings, that are rapidly increasing the number of infections.
Stay Home - Social Distance - Avoid Large Crowds - Wear A Mask
Be Responsible For The Lives Of Your Family And Friends!
Planning Your Social Life During the Covid-19 Pandemic Holiday Planning – NIH Director's Blog
More than half of U.S. states have seen a significant decline in new coronavirus cases over the past two weeks, as federal health officials have begun to suggest that the virus’s trajectory is improving. About 43 percent of people have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, and 30 percent have been fully vaccinated.
20 attitude adjustments for a longer life (msn.com) - Shutterstock
Dandelion Decongestant Tea
This tea helps the body to clear phlegm and open the lungs and sinuses.
Boil in water:
· 1 part dandelion root
Add 1 part each:
Give this humble weed a second look!
MEDICINAL BENEFITS OF DANDELIONS
While dandelions may seem like just another weed, they were once respected as powerful medicine. Modern science is baking up this old knowledge, and peer-reviewed studies are confirming what herbalists have known for centuries.
According to Backyard Medicine, dandelions are used to treat:
Skin Problems
Constipation & Fluid Retention
Urinary Problems
Liver Issues
Arthritis & Muscle Tension
Nourishing Broth
by Sally Fallon Morell and Kayla T. Daniel
Nourishing Broths, by Sally Fallon and Kaayla Daniel, is a blend of scientific research, folk, and native wisdom, followed by a trove of wonderful recipes. As the authors explain,
meat and bone broths contain a myriad array of building blocks to repair and maintain the human body:
From the connective tissue and bones, organs, and skin, essential building blocks like collagen, glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, hyaluronic acid, vitamins and minerals, are all in the broth. Essential to the body’s ability to restore strong bones and healthy joints, digestive, and degenerative diseases, even cancer.
The best bone broths are homemade, from sustainably and lovingly raised, organically fed, hormone and antibiotic-free animals.
A cup of broth a day to maintain, or three cups a day to regain health, is recommended. Since it takes time to plan and prepare the homemade broth, fortunately, both natural whole foods markets, and even regular grocery stores now carry organic bone broths to help get you started. Great Lakes Gelatin Company, available online, is also suggested to jumpstart your daily intake of collagen.
One key point from Nourishing Broth on page 144, shortly after the section on Anti-Aging Effects of Broth on Skin, Nails, Hair, … Libido, and Cellulite, is:
“The goal is gelatinous stock, stock that sets up as a solid gel…Second best is stock or broth that has visibly thickened… if your broth hardly thickens at all, there will still be some gelatin in it, not to mention minerals and many other nutrients…”
Nourishing Broth by Sally Fallon Morell and Kayla T. Daniel documents the health benefits and deliciousness of meat broths as they have been prepared through the ages for a wide range of human diseases. The ideal meat sources are from pastured, free range, organic, grass-fed beef and non-GMO corn- and soy-fed pork and chickens, as well as all kinds of wild fish and game.
Both the nutritional health benefits and flavor of the dishes is far superior to that from mass produced, industrial factory farms, such as those we are destroying rainforests around the planet to build more of to lower prices and increase competition for the profits of the commodities markets, sacrificing both our health, and the chances of leaving future generations a livable world.
To your health!
Are Animal Fats Good for You?
The Science is Clear
By Trisha Gilkerson
Lard. Butter. Tallow. Bacon Grease. Duck Fat.
We know these are bad for us, right?
Think again. When asked, “Are animal fats bad for you?” many of us grew up with the rather cartoonish answer: Of course—haven’t you heard of cholesterol? The truth isn’t nearly so simple. Are animal fats good for you? Yes they are!
Why have animal fats been demonized?
Long story short: Animal fats got a bad rap because they are high in saturated fats. And the reason why this was a problem was because of the now-debunked cholesterol hypothesis.
The cholesterol hypothesis, in a nutshell, hypothesized that saturated fat and dietary cholesterol gunked up the arteries and caused plaque to build up in your blood vessels.
There are numerous pieces of research we could go over to show that saturated fat is not the villain, but I will only touch on some of the most convincing and largest studies.
5 Major Studies in Defense of Animal Fats
1. Nurses Health Study
One of the longest running and largest health studies ever done is called the Nurses Health Study. This study followed more than 80,000 nurses for twenty years.1
Results:
There is no correlation whatsoever between consumption of saturated fat and risk of heart disease.
When individuals eat lots of starchy or sugary foods it doubles the risk of heart disease.
2. The 347,747-Subject Meta-Analysis
Two researchers from Harvard School of Public Health performed a meta-analysis (which is when researchers analyze a number of studies that have been completed on the same subject). In this instance, 21 studies including over 347,000 subjects were reviewed to determine what association there was between saturated fat consumption and cardiovascular disease.2
Results:
There was no correlation between saturated fat consumption and heart disease.
When saturated fats are replaced with carbohydrates, there is an increase in blood triglycerides and a decrease in HDL (“good”) cholesterol.
3. 2013 Meta-Analysis of 458 Men
A 2013 paper analyzed data from a study including 458 men to determine if the common medical recommendation of replacing dietary saturated fat with polyunsaturated fats was actually effective in decreasing risk of heart disease.3
Results:
Replacement of saturated fat for polyunsaturated fats resulted in:
Higher death rates from coronary heart disease.
Higher death rates from cardiovascular disease.
Higher death rates from all causes.
Yikes.
4. Animal Fats & Life Expectancy
How does the type of fat you eat impact life expectancy? An older study, though very poignant and relevant, was published in the British Medical Journal in 1965 addressing just this question. This study followed patients who had already had a heart attack and were instructed to consume 1 of 3 different fats: polyunsaturated corn oil, monounsaturated olive oil, and saturated animal fats.4
Results:
Corn Oil Group: 30% had lower cholesterol, but only 52% survival after 2 years.
Olive Oil Group: 57% survival after 2 years.
Animal Fat Group: 75% survival after 2 years.
5. Animal Fats Impact on Lp(a)
You may have never heard of lipoprotein (a) levels—Lp(a) for short—but high Lp(a) levels are one of the primary causes of heart disease. Lowering Lp(a) levels is extremely important in prevention of heart disease.
There are no drugs that can do this. There is only a dietary approach.5
The best way to decrease Lp(a) levels (whereby decreasing risk of heart disease):
- Eating saturated fats and Omega-3 fatty acids.
- Eliminate wheat and cornstarch.
Animal fats are good for you
Saturated animal fats are not the enemy. It can be hard to understand after years and years of being told they are.
The enemy of your arterial walls is inflammation.
If you want to decrease inflammation, the dietary changes you can make are by cutting the following inflammatory foods:
sugar, grains, and most vegetable oils.
https://www.intoxicatedonlife.com/why-animal-fats-are-good-for-you/
Why You Need Cholesterol and the Risks of Low Cholesterol
What is Cholesterol and Where Does it Come From?
When Good Cholesterol Does Bad Things
Read More -
EDF Monarch Habitat Exchange Program
Help Restore The Health of America's Ecosystems
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) Monarch Habitat Exchange Program engages landowners in an incentive-based program that can quickly restore milkweed to a broad swath of American farmland, creating key corridors of breeding and feeding habitats along the butterfly’s great migration.
Monarch Butterfly Habitat Exchange
The iconic butterfly has an unlikely ally in the fight against extinction
Over the past two decades, the population of monarch butterflies has plummeted, bringing the butterfly dangerously close to extinction.
A key factor in the monarch's demise is the loss of milkweed habitat across the United States, particularly in the Midwest.
Why small actions have big impacts When farmers plant pollinator habitat, they set The Monarch Effect in motion.
Milkweed has long found a foothold in both native prairie habitats and in disturbed habitats like roadsides, ditches, cemeteries, and even in the middle of cornfields. But the monarch is losing this foothold due largely to increased use of herbicides in agriculture, and additional threats posed by climate change.
90% - Approximate monarch population decline in last 20 years
3,000 Miles - The monarch travels on its annual migration from Canada to Mexico
4 - Generations of monarch it takes to complete the year-long migration
An innovative solution
With hundreds of species already in the pipeline for listing decisions, we don't have time to wait for legal action. Fortunately, new tools are emerging that have the potential to put the monarch on the path to recovery, before an Endangered Species Act listing is necessary.
The Monarch Butterfly Habitat Exchange enables efficient and effective restoration and conservation of vital milkweed habitat, which monarchs need for breeding and feeding. EDF experts partnered with key groups including Monarch Joint Venture and the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium to develop the program, which launched in March 2018.
A new crop for farmers: milkweed
Since farmers and ranchers manage much of the habitat appropriate for milkweed, they are in a perfect position to restore and enhance this vital habitat, creating key corridors of breeding and nectaring habitats along the monarch butterfly's great migration.
By applying an advanced habitat quantification tool, the Monarch Butterfly Habitat Exchange can accurately determine the value of habitat on any given property and enable incentive payments to be directed to priority habitat restoration and conservation sites, ensuring maximum bang for the buck, and for the butterfly.
The Monarch Butterfly Habitat Exchange opened in March 2018. We have worked with critical partners and stakeholders to design, test and operationalize the exchange in key states including Iowa, Missouri, Texas and California.
