Coronavirus Survival Guide
9 min read
One day I went to a local hospital to go have blood drawn to check my thyroid levels. As I open the first door, I was stopped by a woman who was holding a box of face masks. She asked me if I had recently traveled outside of the country. I said no, and she let me pass. I am assuming I would have been given a mask if I answered yes…maybe I would have been quarantined? Not entirely sure…..
As I entered the second set of doors into the hospital, the smell of hand sanitizer hit me in the face like a brick wall. I had to blink vigorously as it was so strong my eyes burned. I cautiously walked over to the lab as people were staring at each other with squinted, fearful eyes. If someone coughed, everyone else got a panicked look on their face. I left the hospital after my test, went to my car, and gave in to the strong desire to take out my hand sanitizer and drown my hands in it….Coronavirus is currently shutting down the world, and doomsday seems to be all around us! Coronavirus, better labeled as SARS-CoV-2 which causes COVID-19, which stands for Coronavirus Disease 2019, is changing our very lives. There is definitely a widespread panic about this new virus, so let’s discuss it, and talk about ways to keep yourself safe and healthy. For the record, as stated on my legal page, I am not a medical doctor. I have a BS in Biology, and am a former medical researcher, but this post is for information and entertainment purposes only and should not be used as medical advice. If you feel you have been exposed to COVID-19, please seek the advice of your doctor or emergency medical professionals.
As schools close, businesses close, and grocery stores run short on TP and food, I hope to offer some information that can help. I am going to give some basic information about the virus, then I will give some tips on staying healthy and preventing infection. Consult the CDC website for the most up to date information.
What is Coronavirus?
Coronavirus is a class of viruses that have been around for a long time, and range from the common cold to SARS. COVID-19 is a new viral disease that experts believe crossed species to become a new illness in humans. Scientists believe the virus originated in bats. Coronavirus is a diverse family of viruses and has been known to cross species.
You also see this virus titled as Novel Coronavirus. Novel simply means that it has never been detected in humans before.
The official name for the viral disease is COVID-19, which stands for Corona (CO) Virus(VI) Disease (D) 2019 (19). The official virus name is SARS-CoV-2.
How is Coronavirus spread?
According to experts, COVID-19 can be spread through respiratory, facal-oral (TMI) or body fluid routes, as the virus has been detected in oral swabs, anal swabs, and blood of infected individuals. So, this means the virus can spread from person to person. Even people not showing symptoms may be able to spread the virus.
Coronavirus may be able to survive on surfaces from a few hours to several days, although this information has not been verified. Surface material, environmental temperature and weather will influence this. It is also somewhat airborne and can travel in droplets from a cough or sneeze.
Incubation period appears to be anywhere from 2-14 days. This means it may take 2-14 days from the time a person was exposed to the time that person shows symptoms. And a person may be able to spread the virus before displaying symptoms.
What are the symptoms of Coronavirus?
The most common symptoms are fever, dry cough and trouble breathing. Tiredness and muscle pain may also be present. There are some reports of gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea, vomiting and diarrhea) before respiratory symptoms occur, but this is largely a respiratory virus. One of the latest findings in symptoms is a sudden loss of smell, and possible red, itchy eyes.
Some people may have no symptoms or very mild symptoms while a small percentage may develop pneumonia. Most people will recover from the virus in anywhere from a few days for those with mild symptoms to a few weeks for those with pneumonia. In severe illness, people may take months to recover or could die, but the percentage is small.
Am I going to die from Coronavirus???
The most current COVID-19 numbers can be seen on the CDC website. The flu infects over 1 billion people every year, 9.3 to 45 million of those cases are in the United States. The flu has caused 291,000 to 646,000 deaths worldwide every year, 2,000 to 61,000 deaths in the United States.
Elderly and people with underlying disease are more susceptible to severe illness and account for a large percentage of the deaths. Keep in mind the first place to get hit in the United States was a nursing home, so there were a higher percentage of deaths. Children up to age 19 seem to either not be susceptible to infection, or are not showing symptoms if they are infected (Do I see Lord of the Flies coming?). Pregnant women and babies also seem to be protected. Smokers are also at a much higher risk of being infected and dying. Men are slightly more likely to be infected than women, and men are twice as likely to die than women. I attribute this to MAN COLD SYNDROME…LOL. So basically, the elderly, those with chronic disease, smokers and men are at highest risk.
Since there is a large number of people who have very mild or no symptoms, they are very likely not being tested. This means the death rate is likely much lower than is being reported. Only those with more severe symptoms are seeking medical care. According to worldwide death and reported infection rates, you have a 98.85% chance of surviving if you are infected.
How can I Prevent Infection?
Well, I will first go over the obvious….this is something that should be practiced every day and not only when there is a panic of an apocalyptic viral outbreak.
1. WASH YOUR HANDS! Soap and water or alcohol based hand sanitizer kill any virus that may be on your hands.
2. Keep a 3-6 foot distance from anyone who is coughing or sneezing. Droplets from them can infect you.
3. Avoid touching your face! If you pick up a virus that was on something you touched, you will transfer it to your eyes, mouth or nose and possibly get infected.
4. Sneeze or cough into a tissue or your elbow to avoid spreading infection. But PLEASE, no need to buy out all of the toilet paper at Costco. There are elderly and disabled people out there who need toilet paper, and it’s hard for them to drive from store to store looking for it. Plus they are the highest risk group here, help them stay home! You do not need a pellet of toilet paper for a Coronavirus infection.
5. If you develop a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical care for advice.
6. If you are sick, STAY HOME!
7. Keep frequently touched surfaces wiped down with a disinfectant.
8. And for the gym goers, wipe down equipment.
9. And for now, practice social distancing. Don’t hug, do a fist bump instead or avoid touching others if possible. And avoid large group gatherings or meetings. I really don’t like to advise this, but it’s a good idea if you are in a high risk group.
10. If you are in the high risk group, make the decision now to improve your health to give you the best fighting chance! Eat healthier, lots of fruits and veggies. Start cutting out processed and fast food. Exercise, even it it’s just for 10 minutes and get fresh air!
11. If you are in the high risk group, find stores that are opening early for people just like you! Many stores are having special morning hours just for older people and those at high risk. Take advantage of this. If you can’t, find a neighbor who would be willing to do shopping runs for you so you can stay at home.
And now for the not so obvious….
Many of these recommended supplements can be found through my affiliate link using the banner below.
1. Take vitamin C. This vitamin has been proven to help reduce infection rate of viruses, and to shorten the duration and lessen the symptoms of viral infections. There has been some research on the effectiveness of vitamin C against Coronavirus, and clinical trials are now being done. I posted links below so you can read more. Take at least 1000mg a day, more, up to 1000 mg every hour, if you feel ill. Keep in mind you can get an upset stomach, diarrhea and possible kidney stones if you take such high doses of vitamin C. Here is more info.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5409678/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3659258/
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04264533
2. Take vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to increased risk of the flu and respiratory infections. COVID-19 is a respiratory infection, so Vitamin D should help prevent infection. Here is a study.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3308600/
3. Have Zinc on hand, in an oral form. A lozenge or something that can sit in your mouth and drip down your throat is best. Zinc can inhibit viral replication of respiratory viruses. It can shorten the duration of a viral infections and ease the severity of the symptoms. It can have side effects, so please follow directions of the formulation you choose, and only use as necessary. Here is a study.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3394849/
4. Get some Elderberry. Elderberry has been proven to be anti-viral, and not only can it protect you from getting a virus, but can shorten the duration. Elderberry can stop viruses from entering and replicating in human cells. If you actually get sick, you should stop taking elderberry as it could mute your immune response to the virus. The jury is still out on that one. Here is a study and some more information.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11399518
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325055#The-answer-is-in-the-natural-chemicals
5. Use Coconut Oil! I found this amazing study and I think we all should listen! Coconut oil, including the lauric acid it contains among other derivatives it contains have been show to have some amazing anti-viral properties. Read the study below. It definitely can’t hurt.
6. Melatonin has shown to inhibit cytokine storms which cause lung injury. Below is a very technical paper explaining this, as well as explaining the benefits of Vitamin C, which I already talked about, for potential prevention and treatment of COVID-19 illness. I have also included a link to another study.
https://www.evolutamente.it/covid-19-pneumonia-inflammasomes-the-melatonin-connection/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3850896/
7. Avoid Ibuprofen and Cortisone if you get sick! Some information coming out of France is suggesting that Ibuprofen can enhance the viruses ability to bind to the human cells, and cortisone and weaken the necessary immune response. There is not a lot of data on this, but the general consensus is to use acetaminophen instead to treat fever until more is know. Here is a link to read.
8. Use probiotics! And by this I don’t mean take them in the traditional way. Studies have shown that probiotics placed in the nose can protect against lethal viral pneumonia. That does not mean go snort yogurt, but smearing a little at the opening of your nose (greek yogurt), or breaking open a capsule, adding a little water and smearing that at the opening of your nose may not be a bad idea, and seems to create a protective shield according to the study below. These studies had amazing results, and investigation continues!
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3404433/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5770906/
9. DON’T PANIC!!! The media has a bad habit of propagating mass hysteria. This virus is not going to end the world, and you are very likely to survive, or only get very mild symptoms if you get infected. Living in fear will increase your stress levels, and higher stress levels are not healthy for your immune system.
