drjonritz.com - Dr. Jon's Blog #naturopathy

Cov2 Symptom In Children: Atypical Kawasaki Disease

Mon, 27 Apr 2020 15:33:06 +0000

ITV Report: Coronavirus-related syndrome among children may be emerging, alert suggests

Kawasaki disease is a very rare illness that occurs after an illness has progressed for too long. We suspect there is a viral and bacterial synergy happening, and a subsequent, yet ineffectual, inflammatory cascade.

“The symptoms of Kawasaki disease include fever for up to 10 days, rash, swelling of the hands and feet, bloodshot eyes, swollen lymph glands in the neck, and/or red mouth, lips and throat,” says Dr. Jaime Friedman of Children’s Physicians Medical Group. “Peeling of the fingers and toes is a late finding in many patients after the fever has subsided.”

Interview with Dr. Jon: marathon COV2 discussion

Sun, 12 Apr 2020 11:55:05 +0000

John Brisson interviewed me on YouTube

Author of "Fix Your Gut" John Brisson and I had a lengthy discussion the evening of April 10 about Coronavirus, Non-native EMF, Exosomes, Heme, and even hazard a few suggestions. You don't really need to see the video, and could just try listening to this like it's a podcast.

COV2 - loss of smell (anosmia), and a bitter taste in the mouth (dysgusia).

Sun, 22 Mar 2020 03:31:04 +0000

COV2 will invade the respiratory epithelium and the olfactory nerve through the sinuses/soft palette and MIGHT ultimately reach the brainstem if unchecked.

When sometime during the early course of my infection, which started with a scratchy throat and snotty nose around or before Feb 20, but after the fever crept up, I completely lost my sense of smell and nearly lost taste. The best news is that my senses have restored, and in most cases the loss of smell only lasts a week or less.

To me, this was in indication that: (1) I'd depleted my zinc stores, and (2) the virus had possibly invaded my olfactory nerve and olfactory epithelium.

I knew that it was only one step away from my brainstem.

Turns out that it's not a very uncommon symptom of COV2 infection, just that it's a bit "peculiar." That lack of smell is a sign that we need to support the fight more.

"In an excellent interview, Streek described how his team went from house to house and to every infected person in the district of Heinsberg. They took many samples from the environment and interviewed a number of families.”Two thirds, described a loss of smell and taste lasting several days.” As with my friend, it is difficult for sick people to remember the exact time course of their illness. Streek’s sense was that the smell abnormality occurred a bit later in infection." - Forbes

I doubled down on the C-Buff (buffered C with Zinc, Potassium, Magnesium), found some more zinc sources, and took homeopathic Zincum Metallicum. I also started making Colloidal Silver and washing my mouth and sinuses with it regularly. I fired up my Rife machine all day. I forced the fever with Wet Socks therapy. I was eating citrus peels!

I'm not sure if I was right about the Zinc, but I was right to be concerned, and glad I had some things I could do to at least put my mind at ease believing I was doing something to protect myself.

From what I've learned, most children who think foods are too bitter will also test low in Zinc. Adults, too. Adding Zinc to the diet resolves a lot of fussy eaters. The symptom of a "bitter taste" is another description that I've heard with this pandemic. One physician in India is suggesting CAMPHORA (Camphor), which has "bitter taste" as a symptom, along with respiratory distress (but the patient is relatively calm.)

I have continued to steadily improve since then, and would say that on this first day of spring, March 21st, I have no neurological or pneumonia symptoms or weakness in the heart that I am particularly aware of. (But you can see how Luda and I are convinced we've gone through a COV2 infection.)

Severe shortage of protective gear already

Thu, 19 Mar 2020 21:35:27 +0000

"“We’re on mile one of a marathon,” she said, adding, “what does mile 25 look like?”

This tiggered me, I gotta be honest.

I almost died at the finish line of a marathon, and the last thing I remember seeing was the Mile-25 marker.

We are in a healthcare crisis on top of a healthcare crisis. I honestly have no faith that services will keep up, and am bracing myself for what could be an onslaught of severe pneumonia cases. Please, if you have a homeopathic remedy kit, the other things I've suggested, if you're eating healthy, sleeping tons, I'll be able to help you best.

Become a Patient Now, before things get hectic

Click the link above, schedule a time, I'll email you to confirm, and I'll send you some forms to get started. It'll be much easier for me to help you if we get started now.

Novel Coronavirus is not "just the flu"

Thu, 19 Mar 2020 19:55:44 +0000

Multiple organ damage in all ages, relapses, and sudden deaths

Sorry to be a downer. I'm about to give a video on this subject, and before I do I'm going to start this blog post to catalog all the reports.

First, the good news

In Singapore, nCov has developed mutations that make it less harmful.

No coronavirus in cats and dogs.

Free concerts streaming online, many from the musicians' homes.

Despite what you're hearing, there are treatments for SARS-CoV2. (chloroquine + azithromycin) I would add that these are synthetic versions of natural therapies.

Monkeys cannot be reinfected with coronavirus. (those folks we thought were re-infected probably hadn't recovered.)

Licorice (among other things) works really well at stopping coronavirus from entry.

The bad news

Multiple Organ Damage in 55-day-old.

New evidence young people are falling seriously ill.

Ages 21-40 make up the bulk of Covid patients in Tennessee, followed closely by those 41-50. See for yourself.

More than 40% of those hospitalized are under 54 years old.

Half of people get digestive symptoms before respiratory symptoms: loss of appetite and diarrhea mostly, with some pain. Those that have digestive symptoms first tend to fare more poorly.

SARS-CoV2 invades the digestive tract including the esophagus and salivary glands, small intestine, large intestine, and liver. It is expressed in saliva and stool as well.

There's a protease inhibitor on the Japanese formulary that's working to stop viral replication and with no obvious negative side effects. In general, when it comes to protease inhibitors, would prefer natural enzymatic therapy like medicinal mushrooms, fermented foods, zinc + cinchona bark, glutathione + selenium, EDTA, etc. , but it's promising to know that the approach works and there are seemingly safe high-tech pharmaceuticals.

Renound French infectious disease specialist uses hydroxychloroquine: 75% are non-contagious after 6 days versus 10% of those not treated.

Blood Type A most risk, Blood type O least (not a huge difference)

SARS-CoV2 attacks the testicles

SARS-CoV2 can last over 5 weeks...more than 37 days

You can spread it without symptoms.

Young people without comorbidities lying in ICU on ventilators for 20 days (French/English translation)

Active or latent Tuberculosis is a serious risk factor

High blood pressure is a major risk.

Survivors left with multiple (kidney, lung, testicular) organ damage

Although severe respiratory distress was present in many (but not all) who died the cause of death was almost always cardiovascular. Approximately 50% of the most critically ill patient's did not have pneumonia.

15-20% of the 20-40 year-olds that get infected end up in the hospital. 4-5% of them need UCI

This severity ... is usually more typical of someone who has a near drowning experience ... or people who inhale caustic gas.

The Guidance

John's Hopkins: "Prepare for a 1918-scenario"

Practice distancing and hygiene always. 80% of SARS-CoV2 spread is by people without symptoms. (and here)

Wear Masks: Reduce Viral Load

Thu, 12 Mar 2020 19:22:28 +0000

Protecting yourself from viral attachment: reducing the load also reduces symptoms.

"Viral load" is the measure of how many viruses are in and on a given bodily tissue. The "infectious dose" is the minimum required to create an infection, which could be as few as 10-100 viral particles, if it's like many other viruses. Sometimes, when it comes to initial exposure to viral contaminants, we use the terms interchangeably.

A whisp of viral-contaminated air from one infected person who is shedding virus carries a lower viral load (provides a small infectious dose) than a big cough in your face from the same person. It stands to reason.

PROTECTION REDUCES SYMPTOMS:

Before the SARS outbreak (a similar virus to nCoV), Hong Kong nurses might have worn protective equipment or not before they realized that what they were treating was contagious and deadly. One study found that amongthe nurses that wore the most protection(and washed the most) had more asymptomatic cases and fewer severe symptomsin general. In other words, they got the infection, but it was less severe.

You might be getting mixed messages about the efficacy of masks. No, they don't completely protect you from infection, but they significantly reduce it, and they reduce the amount that's going around. Let's not throw the baby out with the bath water here. Masks made sense to people a century ago, they make sense now. I can't find any evidence that masks increase transmission of the virus. Perhaps I'm not looking far enough, but there is ample evidence that masks do reduce the distance that a cough will travel, and they keep your dirty paws from touching your mouth and nose. Without a mask, and without being self-aware, a typical person will touch their face 20 times an hour.

WASHING YOUR HANDS DOES WORK.

You have to do it often, and you have to scrub, but it's worth the effort. A 2-year study demonstrated that washing 5 times per day reduced infection rates by 45%.

SIMPLE PROTECTION MEASURES YOU HAVE ALREADY SEEN BUT STAND REPEATING

These steps include:

Work from home when you’re sick. Don't be a hero!
Wash your hands , rubbing every inch of them up to the wrists, for a good 20-30 seconds at least
Avoid close contact with people who are sick. Wear a mask. Stand 15 feet away. Crack a window.
Don't touch your face with dirty hands! The virus commonly infects us through the eyes, nose, and mouth, ick.
Clean and disinfect objects you frequently use. You can use anything that'll destroy the virus: ozone, peroxide, rubbing alcohol, UV light, soap and scrubbing, heat. It's likely that less than a hundred virus particles could be infectious, and coronavirus will remain infectious on many smooth surfaces for days. The good news is that simple cleaning agent and water is enough to remove them.
Use tissues when you cough or sneeze, and make sure to throw it away immediately. Always have one ready. "Catch your coughs and sneezes," or better yet wear a mask.

WE CAN TAKE PROTECTION A STEP FURTHER:

The amount of virus that impact our ACE2-presenting cells that line parts of our upper and lower airways, our heart, our colon, kidneys, brain, and reproductive system, can have an impact on the severity of your symptoms.

We can do things to destroy these viruses before they make it into the cells and start dividing. We can also deny them entry into the cell.

We can sterilize surfaces and the air we breathe. For example, Hong Kong is using a 0.015% hydrogen peroxide aerosol that they claim kills all viruses in their city buses within 10 minutes. There are many ways to de-nature the viral material before it gets to us. Having an air-purifier, and opening the windows to fresh air are effective ways to lower the amount of virus that's floating around.
Open the curtains and let the sunlight in. UV light destroys many viruses, including Cov.
We can also do things to our own airways to make them inhospitable. It sounds overly simple, but even a saline rinse, done frequently, will lower the viral load.
Preparations with Zinc have been clinically proven to work to reduce the load. Claims are that colloidal silver works. (I don't doubt it.)
We can introduce to our systems internally, and topically to our mouth, nose, throat, lungs via nebulizers, gargles, swish-and-swallow, sprays, drinks.
"There are many roads to Rome," as my friend and herbalist Ron Buffone would say.

IF YOU ARE SICK WITH A VIRUS YOU STILL WANT TO CONTINUE TO PROTECT YOURSELF

Until your cells are producing the antibodies to nCoV, every time new virus emerges from an infected cell and lands near your ACE2-presenting cells, they're vulnerable to viral entry. Furthermore, every additional exposure to viral particles from other sources will contribute to your viral load.

Continue to regularly rinse your sinuses and mouth/throat, and lungs. Use a nebulizer or spray mist. Use it frequently. More frequent is better than more at once when it comes to sterilizing our moths and nose and lungs. Use safe substances that benefit your tissues while destroying the virus. For example herbal and zinc sprays, essential oils, steam inhalations, colloidal silver (god forbid I write these words, hehe), diluted hydrogen pereoxide.

Japanese experiments show how respiratory droplets spread.

Below is a video that'll show you why you should have a window cracked, and would want to cover your face when in social situations. (ie wear a mask)

The Hong Kong Nurses during the 2004 SARS Epidemic that used protective equipment were less symptomatic. Wearing a mask lowered the severity of their illnesses.

Their results: "We conducted a study among healthcare workers (HCWs) exposed to patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) before infection control measures were instituted. Of all exposed HCWs, 7.5% had asymptomatic SARS-positive cases. Asymptomatic SARS was associated with lower SARS antibody titers and higher use of masks when compared to pneumonic SARS."

Wearing any kind of mask is more helpful than none.

I know that this might not be in concordance with CDC guidance, and so ultimately when you disregard them, you'll be doing it after your own informed decision. Please, read past this blog if you need to. I don't believe that folks in the Far East are wearing masks because of superstitious or religious belief; they are wearing masks because its been proven again and again to reduce spread of contagion. Around the world people have used variants, and I personally would not think twice to adding some essential oils to my cloth mask, although doing such a thing might also not be in accordance with CDC guidelines as of the present.

The message you should get bottom line is this: wearing a mask does not eliminate your risk of getting an infection by some other route besides your nose and mouth, nor does it perfectly filter the air that's reaching your mouth and nose. But it does do a pretty good job of it, and I'll argue that pretty good is better than none at all.

SmartFilters.com blogged about a study that was done on various methods, including a kitchen towel.

There's more eye candy on their site if you're interested.

The findings of the study was that a homemade mask should be a "last resort" but "better than nothing" at all. Duh.

Coronavirus is about 1 micron in size (100nm). This is about the same size as Influenza, which is 0.8-1.2 microns (80-120nm). An effective filter should be able to trap particles that small.

According to SmartFilters, who read the whole study, (I didn't) "The homemade cotton masks captured 71% of 0.65-1.1 micron particles, compared with 86% for the surgical mask. Although the surgical masks captured 15% more particles, the cotton masks did surprisingly well. The researchers concluded that homemade masks would be better than nothing"

In the words of a redditor:

"Based on size alone, small amounts of virus could in theory fit through gaps in the microfibre, at differing rates for different masks (N95, N100 etc)... But:

Virus often comes in an envelope of other liquid, "sneeze" etc, which bumps up droplet size to a level which is almost entirely blocked.

At even smaller sizes (<0.1 micrometer), other factors such as electrostatic charge on the fibres actually produce a counterintuitive increase in successful filtration.

In summary common masks don't provide an impenetrable wall but likely help reduce risk in certain environments."

As I outlined above, the less your viral load, the better. Take every measure that's reasonable and practical to reduce that load for yourself and others around you that you're going to be depending on.

Low-mask-wearing countries experiencing the worst outbreaks

Look around you, at the rest of the world, and watch what they're doing: the countries that wear the most masks experience the slowest and least deadly spread.

Even a Cotton T-Shirt is better than nothing.

This is PUBLISHED RESEARCH, and finds that a homemade bandanna wrapped around the face will catch a third of what a surgical mask can catch, but is better than nothing. "Both masks significantly reduced the number of microorganisms expelled by volunteers, although the surgical mask was 3 times more effective in blocking transmission than the homemade mask."

Get Sleep! It restores your immune system.

If you aren't getting good sleep, now's the time to try and fix that. Make a point of going to bed early. It's better to go to bed early and wake up early than stay up late and be groggy later.

I'm looking for the link to the study, but a week or so ago I read one on sleep and coronavirus. It found that after missing sleep for 3 hours on just one night made people three-times more likely to contract the virus, and suffered three-times-worse symptoms the next day.

I'd just be repeating what Doctor Sleep says, and so I'll just send you right over to his site. He will suggest blue-blocking glasses. It's good advice, and they work, but the only caveat to his approach is that I prefer to recommend melanin glasses. They're also amber, but the pigment is made from real melanin. Melanin lenses improve melatonin production by restricting UV and blue light, allowing the pineal gland to operate in "night time mode."

Cover your Coughs

Wash Your Hands, and practice the routine!

Get every nook and cranny of each hand, take your time.

West Point's Advice on Masks:

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Why it's human nature to feel like an expert when you know a little, but feel like an idiot when you know a little more.

Thu, 16 Jan 2020 18:22:08 +0000

"the miscalibration of the incompetent stems from an error about the self, whereas the miscalibration of the highly competent stems from an error about others."^{[1]
- David Dunning and Justin Kruger}

Wikipedia: Dunning-Kruger Effect

If it weren't for a recent Reddit post, I might have never noticed this. Dunning and Kruger (and others) have repeated experiments that kinda prove the age-old maxim that young people can't be bothered with and old people know all too well : that "the more you learn, the less you know."

When I saw this image it caught my eye. I suppose I'm drawn to little stick figure cartoons and my eye wanted to follow them along the curve. I saved this post, and came back to it this morning. Since I just skimmed the Wikipedia article, and scrolled through pages of images depicting variations on the theme, each with about the same curve, I'm now standing, again, on Mt. Stupid! So, here you go world, I got something to tell you! I've posted the reddit link below, and then below that are some of my favorite variations of the "meme."

From subreddit: r/coolgiudes (and reposted on r/PhD, and probably others

The "humility threshold," I love it!

When I looked at this, it occurred to me that this looks a lot like the "New Patient" curve.