Thursday, February 27, 2020

Corona Virus, Best Remedies for Pneumonitis--and Stop Diffusing Essential Oils!


*******UPDATE 3/20/20 ********

New Upate on Coronavirus and homeopathics that might be useful (note, the remedies listed have changed a bit):
We always try to find one best remedy for a flu that is going around.  However with COVID some people have a flu prodrome while others start with a sudden fever and shortness of breath.  It could be that people's constitutional remedy plays into how they get sick OR there could be more than one virus going around with people getting 2 or 3 problems at once.

In India homeopaths have been working hard on finding a COVID 19 remedy that might work for a majority of people, even though many people have different symptoms. Here is a link to that discussion which can give you insight on how homeopathic remedies are chosen:


The main take home is they agree with me that BRYONIA may be the best remedy right now. See below for other remedies that are being discussed:

Symptoms of Coronavirus or other flus going around right now:

-Fatigue
-Fever
-Cough (mostly dry)
-Dyspnea (trouble breathing)

According to the latest chinese study, these are the symptoms which people with coronavirus have been presenting to the hospital: fever (98.6%), fatigue (69.6%), dry cough 59.4%, myalgia 34.8%, and dyspnea 31.2%. 

Laboratory and imaging findings in China have been the following: lymphopenia, prolonged prothrombin time (low platelets or inadequate clotting/platelet aggregation--do not take aspirin!), high lactate dehydrogenase (indicating tissue damage),  and a ground glass appearance on lung CT scan.   https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2761044
--Clinical Characteristics of 138 Hospitalized Patients With 2019 Novel Coronavirus–Infected Pneumonia in Wuhan, ChinDawei Wang, MDBo Hu, MDChang Hu, MD; et al, JAMA. Published online February 7, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.1585

Ground glass Opacities of the lung on CT scan are the lighter/light grey areas inside the lungs:

Basically the alveoli--the end units of the lung where oxygen transfer takes place, can collapse, become filled with fluid or become smaller from inflammation of the surrounding tissues. You can imagine the feeling of shortness of breath that can happen when inflammation or fluid accumulates here rather than higher up in the bronchioles, which we see with bronchitis. Causes of the ground glass appearance and accompanying symptoms are typically viral, hypersensitivity reactions, or other inflammatory reactions.

Homeopathy is a great adjunct to any other therapy being used. Here is a list of the best remedies for current COVID

Bryonia-- This is the remedy for kennel cough that I wrote about in Fall. (http://www.flucaster.com/2019/11/kennel-cough-season-bryonia.html
Bryonia flus are slowly progressing (they don't feel terrible on Day 1) but coughing/chest symptoms do start pretty early. It may start with just fatigue and sneezing. It can even start with incredible thirst for dry mouth. Then it can progress to the upper respiratory tract (sinuses) causing infection, then lower respiratory tract causing bronchitis. Typically the cough is painful and the patient feels like they have to hold their chest while they cough due to the pain. One patient who had been coughing for a couple of weeks did not cough all day after one dose of Bryonia 200c.  Take the 30c strength if that is all you can find and take it every 3 hours or as needed for cough.

Gelsemium--I just added this back to the repetorization after hearing of a COVID sufferer in Seattle describe her flu symptoms.  Hers started slowly with fatigue, brain fog, chilliness, then went to a head cold and then the cough came on later.  These symptoms are exactly how a gelsemium flu starts. Now it could be that she had more than one virus. She could have had a gelsemium flu caused by Influenza A then COVID on top of that causing the cough.  At least it is worth noting here for anyone experiencing these symptoms. UPDATE: turns out this is the main remedy used in Hong Kong by some homeopaths. 

Aconite-- for fevers  that start suddenly, especially after exposure to cold wind. That exposure is happening a lot right now as we have sunny days followed by really cold evenings or sunny days with a very cold wind that picks up. Use Aconite for fevers that start sudden (within a few hours) and goes very high. 

Arsenicum--Dr. Klinghardt is suggesting Arsenicum for the pnemonitis/pneumonia of Coronavirus. There may be burning pains either in the chest or sinus or throat but the person feels extremely chilly overall. The chest feels tight. Typically this remedy is very good for elderly patients or people who are extremely debiliated/end of life.

Phosphorus--suggested by many homeopaths. with phosphorus there is a dry cough, tickle in the throat and a fever that gets very high very quickly. there is a great thirst for cold drinks. Usually the stomach is upset by warm drinks but better with cold drinks. Mucous that is coughed up can be blood tinged. Any bloody cough should be treated with Phosphorus, but you don't have to have bleeding to benefit from it. The shortness of breath is worse at night laying down and the person feels like they have to sit up to get enough air. There can be a heaviness in the chest as well as headache from coughing. 

Lycopodium--suggested by India and by Paul Herscu, well known American homeopath. This cough is dry, tickling, teasing and there is hunger for air (shortness of breath) worse laying down. People will feel better sitting up even if the cough is dry. This has been a good tuberculosis remedy in the past. Patients may or may not have the typical digestive symptoms of bloating and gas. I have seen a couple of people lately where the digestive symptoms are the only symptoms they have had (not tested positive for corona, but sick right now).

Sulphur--suggested by Paul Herscu who has treated people with bronchitis and pneumonia lately (but no one who tested positive for corona virus). Sulphur is a very common remedy used for all kinds of ailments. With corona, the symptoms sulphur can help with are dry cough, pain in sternum extending to the back which is worse at night. I have had a patient with these exact symptoms and I muscle tested another person who was recently sick and he responded well to sulfur. 

Antimonium tartarticum---I personally think this might be a very good remedy right now as i have used it successfully with 2 people with cough. This is best for advanced weakness and wet cough. With this remedy the patient just does not have the energy to clear rattling mucous in the chest. This can be used whether the deep lung problems are diagnosed as asthma, pneumonia or pneumonitis.  I feel that this remedy would follow Gelsemium well. Both have hallmark of fatigue. Ant tart is simply a deeper, wetter version of Gelsemium. The patient experiences a profound feeling of suffocation and may even turn a little blue. They usually will want to be left alone as they feel too weak for company and too drowsy to talk.

Ipecacuanha--I have heard of some people starting this flu with vomiting. In these cases, Ipecachuana (as a homeopathic only) can be used.  It clears asthma and pneumonia associated with coughing, gagging and vomiting. Usually the feeling of suffocation is worse than the actual O2 saturations when Ipecac is needed.  Remember, take the homeopathic, not Ipecac syrup!

Euphrasia--not for the coronavirus but for allergies which are also happening now that the plum trees have blossomed. Though a less debilitated or severe remedy, Euphrasia seems to be indicated right now for people allergic to pollens. It can be used for hayfever, asthma or hacking cough with a soreness behind the sternum.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING TOTALLY DIFFERENT, BUT VERY IMPORTANT....


One thing I would like to note, explain and stress to everyone right now:  many of the lung symptoms we are seeing are hypersensitivity reactions to essential oils!  I have been testing many people over the last couple of months for colds, ear infections, eczema and asthma and one product keeps coming back as a problem: OnGuard or Thieves blend. Made by different companies, these two products are similar blends of citrus, cinnamon and clove. I think Cinnamon may be the main culprit but the citrus strips away the protective lipid lining of the tender mucous membranes of the throat, sinus and lungs. Citrus is used as a degreaser. We should not be degreasing our lungs. Is this causing people to become allergic to cinnamon? There has been at least one study investigating pneumonitis as a result of hypersensitivity to essential oils:


 'When Oil Meets Air: A New Cause of Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis' by Kara Calhoun

https://journal.chestnet.org/article/S0012-3692(19)33664-5/pdf
Hypersensitivity pneumonitis is a complex lung disease whose cause may be difficult to guess. Reactions may not happen right away where the patient is first exposed. One article describes it this way: 
'The acute form occurs after hours or days of antigen exposure, that generally is a short-term and intermittent exposure. The patient’s symptoms begin with fever, cough, dyspnea, asthenia (weakness) and malaise that may persist for about a week after the causative agent exposure ends. --Gian Galeazzo Riario Sforza and Androula Marinou Clin Mol Allergy 2017; 15:6 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5339989/  


Please, please STOP diffusing essential oils. Though they may be nice as an occasional air freshener, people are diffusing them non-stop in offices, schools, daycares, and homes.  Essential oils are very potent. It is not good to be breathing them in for hours at a time. In medical school we learned to use eucalyptus and thyme oil as a short inhalation for sinus problems, putting a few drops into a steaming bowl of water while the patient puts their face over the bowl, breathing in deeply.  But this is short use, never more than 5 minutes at the most. I know people are going to be mad at me because their MLM company has the "purest, most organic" form of oils that can heal the world. But essential oils are simply too strong to be used in the ubiquitous way they are being used now. Let me repeat, the quality of the orange oil doesn't matter. Orange oil is a strong degreaser. I have also seen Cedar oil and Lavender create strong allergic reactions. I don't think these oils are bad, they are simply overused.


I hope this article has been helpful.  Though I have not seen any coronavirus patients, the symptoms described in the research and symptoms that I have heard and seen in my community lately really match the above remedies.  If you use these remedies, let me know how they work.  I am leaning strongly towards Antimonium tart as a major flu remedy right now, potentially also for Coronavirus.