The most important fact: start treatment early. It doesn’t matter if you have COVID, flu, RSV, or some other respiratory infection, because these treatments are good for ALL of those, not just COVID. Make sure you are drinking enough, and include electrolytes. There are many recipes online on how to make your own with water, salt and a bit of honey. Avoid sugar! Sugar drags down your resiliency.
Most people do fine with COVID or other respiratory ailments, but seek help if your oxygen saturation is less than 95%, or you are dehydrated and can’t resolve that at home, or you are getting worse while doing all the over the counter remedies. Use your intuition. I recommend against isolating yourself in your home; it’s important to have someone monitoring you and helping you take care of yourself. Urgent care and hospital care haven’t changed much over the last few years; my goal is for you to be able to manage this on your own and not need those services.
Initial treatment for respiratory illness
Should I stay or should I go?
Caring for yourself at home when you’re sick is often the most comfortable option, and when you’re comfortable you’re going to heal faster. Keeping track of your symptoms and vital signs will help you know if you need to seek help from the professionals. Delaying care when your body is in danger can put you at serious risk.
Perform a self assessment:
- Check your oxygen saturation with a pulse oximeter and write down the reading. An oxygen saturation reading of 95% or above is considered normal. If your oxygen saturation level drops below 95, it can be a clue that your lungs aren’t working efficiently enough to deliver the amount of oxygen your body needs. If your oxygen saturation is below 95, contact a medical professional to ask for help.
- Check your temperature and write down the reading. If you feel miserable, or if temperature is over 103 or so, then get into a tepid bath (add 1 cup of Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) will help detoxify you and give you a dose of magnesium through your skin), or put damp tepid cloths on your arms and neck, or put a damp, tepid T shirt on your bare skin. Let the evaporation cool you.
- Take your blood pressure and write down the reading. Too high or too low can be a signal that you need some help. Please measure your BP and know what your baseline is, when you are well, so you will know if there is a significant change.
- Ask yourself if you feel like you should contact a doctor or urgent care. If you feel like you can care for yourself at home for the time being, follow the steps below.
Cleanse your respiratory tract:
- Nebulize for ten minutes at least 3-4 times per day with hypochlorous acid (HOCI) or saline. Nebulizing helps to disinfect and soothe your esophagus and lungs. You can add a drop of colloidal silver if you’d like. You can nebulize up to every hour or two if you find it to be helpful. You may also consider using HOCI three times per day and then using saline in between those times – it just depends on what helps alleviate your symptoms.
- Use a neti pot (or other nasal irrigation system) 2-3 times per day for prevention; 8-12 times per day if you’re sick. This helps to clean toxins out of your nasal passages.
- Rinse your mouth and gargle with salt water 3 times per day. This helps to soothe your mouth and throat.
- Use essential oils: People are having great results with 10 drops Thieves essential oil in a bowl of hot, steaming water. Lean over and breathe the steam x 10 min, cover your head with a towel to make a tent. If you have a lot of lung involvement, use 8 drops Thieves and 2 drops thyme or red thyme essential oil.
Hydration! Hydration! Hydration! Do not allow yourself to get dehydrated. Your goal should be to pass urine every 2-3 hours, and it should be clear or light yellow. It is especially important if you are not eating much to include some electrolytes. You can add a pinch of Celtic salt to your water or juice, drink chicken soup, bone broth (especially good with garlic) or herbal teas.
Additional suggestions as needed:
- PropolAir Propolis (Bee Pollen) Diffuser and organic propolis capsules – use with mask 15-20 minutes 2-3 times per day for treating problems, or 2-3 times per week for prevention and lung health.
Reassess:
Continue to check and record your oxygen saturation, temperature and blood pressure. Also keep a record of your symptoms so that you can see how you are progressing over time. This data will help you decide if you need to seek help from a professional. If you do seek help, bring the record with you! The readings and record of your symptoms can be helpful for them to see how your illness has changed over time.
Regarding fevers:
- Fever helps you detoxify. When you’re sick, your body wants to get rid of whatever it is that’s making you sick. Raising your body’s temperature helps it to release toxins from your cells and organs, and then get them out of your system. This is accomplished through mucous, sweat, urinne, stool and sometimes vomit. While it isn’t any fun to detoxify in this way, it’s important to support your body in this process.
- The balance between letting your body detoxify and feeling terrible. You have a finite amount of energy. Being in pain or feeling terrible do take a toll on you, and can use up your energy. While your body does have a purpose when it runs a fever, “muscling through” when you really feel terrible can be harder on you in the long run then taking a fever reducer periodically. Everyone is different, and you know your body best.
If you are not a patient of mine:
This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The statements have not been evaluated but the US Food and Drug Administration. You should always consult with a health care professional before starting any diet, exercise, nutritional or supplementation program, or before taking any medication. Where specific products or activities or procedures are recommended, they are my personal opinions and not to be construed as medical advice. This information is for informational purposes only.