The official name of the new Corona virus is SARS-CoV-2, and the illness is called COVID-19. The median age for documented infection is about 50 years old, with men at slightly higher risk (more smoking history?). Children seem less vulnerable and usually have milder symptoms, with no reports of deaths in children under 9. A small study of infected infants under 1 year old found that none had severe illness or complications. Pregnant women’s risk does not seem higher.
Most infected people appear to have mild upper respiratory infections, and some reports of non-symptomatic carriers. Most people with symptoms have:
- Uncomplicated upper respiratory symptoms (nose congestion, sore throat, cough), with
- Fever, muscle aches, & weakness (flu-like symptoms).
A small percent get more severe symptoms, such as:
- Shortness of breath (Get medical help!);
- Mild or severe pneumonia;
- Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS);
- Sepsis, shock, death (the body is overwhelmed by immune system response).
High-risk factors:
Lung disease (asthma, emphysema); SMOKERS! 2nd–HAND SMOKE!
Immune-system diseases:
- Auto-immune diseases (especially if on immune-suppressing drugs);
- Cancer, especially if chemo or radiation, or if immune-cell cancers (leukemia, Lymphoma);
- Organ transplant (on immune-suppressing drugs).
Environmental toxicity:
- Toxic indoor air (out-gassing of paints, carpets, plastics etc);
- Outdoor air pollution (Smog) (Wuhan is reportedly equivalent to smoking 2½ packs daily).
Poor nutrition (you’re only as strong as what you give your body to fight with). Alcoholism.
By mid-March 2020, about 2,800 cases of Corona virus were reported in the US, with 59 deaths. By comparison, 45 million people in the US have gotten flu this season, from October 2019 through February 2020, with up to 45,000 deaths. The 1918 world-wide flu epidemic (when it was a new infection) infected 500 million people around the world, including up to 50 million in the US with 500,000 deaths.
My favorite treatment for new-onset viral symptoms (any type) is taking an Oil of Oregano capsule at the onset (don’t wait). They can be repeated every 6 hours if the symptoms are not improving by then. (Available locally at Sprouts & Lindberg Nutrition. Keep refrigerated, but you can carry a few with you in a pill-box in your pocket or purse.)
Hand sanitizer: Try Isopropyl Alcohol (the active ingredient) in a spray bottle. Repeated hand-scrubbing increases skin bacterial colonies (old surgical studies), so I prefer sanitizer as the mainstay. Avoid touching nose or eyes (viruses spread primarily from nasal secretions.)
Do not hoard! This is an unprecedented public health concern (for recent times), so stay calm and follow the latest perspectives from public health experts (tune out self-serving political noise). Let us all support and care for each other for whatever the duration may be. We are stronger together.
-- My personal perspective. Dr Wes Bradford
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