There is lots going around

Lots and Lots

This is turning into an interesting end of December in the healthcare realm as there is lots going around.

So let’s take a quick dive of what I am seeing/hearing.

In no particle order the following appears to be circulating:

• Strep

• COVID strain entitled justanothernametoscareandcontrolpeople

• Influenza

• Dormant infections you once had coming back to reinfect you again due to a weakened immune system

• No name respiratory virus

So those are the top 5 to mention today

Let’s see if we can help you figure out what you may have if you are sick. This is just info to think about it is not to be used to avoid getting medical attention. There- I wrote my disclaimer.

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Strep throat- most of us have had this at some point in the past, especially growing up. Most common symptoms are bad bad sore throat, fevers can go to 102ish, swollen glands and you just feel like sh-t. Rarely do you have cough, runny nose or congestion. Best way to know is to go to Urgent Care and get a strep throat test. If positive many antibiotics are effective fairly quickly. This can be contagious.

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Latest COVID strain- Yes the government, I mean Big Pharma and Big Media, well I should just say the Big Three are still together hyping and propagandizing COVID, even though it is rarely causing any hospitalizations, UNLESS you have other major medical issues.

Strange thing, or perhaps not, is that the newer strains of COVID appear to be infecting people who have had the most COVID vaccines, as well as anyone with immune dysfunctions.

You can use a COVID home test if you like. If you have cold symptoms or worse and the test is positive it is most likely true. Please don’t mad test yourself every hour though until you get a positive test. Testing that way is not valid to determine COVID.

For most people treatment for COVID includes rest, fluids, avoid high risk people, and some nutritional support. See many past Common Sense Health and Wellness posts for nutritional considerations. I have not seen much benefit from the Big Three sponsored antivirals so I don’t prescribe them. If you are high risk please contact me if you are a member of the IMW for other potential treatments or your healthcare professional if you are not.

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Influenza is gaining steam now. It appears to be a nasty strain. I don’t have enough data to know yet whether this years flu shot has helped, but it is not looking promising.

Flu symptoms include fevers to 104, sneezing, coughing, congestion, muscle aches and just wanting to go to sleep and wake up 5 days later feeling better. Flu is not fun and is much more dangerous now than COVID. Flu can cause a secondary pneumonia in elderly and immunocompromised people and may be responsible for many of the deaths associated with flu.

Flu can be diagnosed with a rapid flu swab at most Urgent Cares.

There are no great traditional treatments for flu. The antivirals have been shown to reduce your symptoms only by about a day out of the 5-7 day misery that the Flu is.

Generally the treatment is supportive, plenty of hydration, and fever reducers when the fever is getting the best of you.

Functionally some people use what is called the Vitamin D hammer approach. They use 10,000iu of Vitamin D 3 times a day for 3 days and this may help clear the Flu quicker. If you decide to use the hammer, make sure you are also using some Vitamin K2 with it, anywhere from 100-300ug daily. Look it up and decide for yourself.

Pneumonia can be a secondary infection after Flu so beware of worsening symptoms again after it appeared you were improving, usually no sooner than Day 7.

You should always be in contact with your treating healthcare professional if you have the Flu.

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Dormant infections- these are usually viruses you had sometime in the past, that instead of fully leaving your body, just decided to hang around dormant somewhere inside you, ready to reawaken and pounce if able.

Well between COVID infections weakening the immune system as well as multiple COVID jabs also potentially altering the immune system, dormant viral infections can be activated again.

Examples of a few include:

• Shingles

• Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV)

• Epstein Barr Virus (EBV)

Symptoms can be similar to when you first had those viruses other than Shingles which is different that it’s precursor, Chicken Pox.

Treatment is really preventive to keep your immune system as naturally healthy as possible. A healthy immune system rarely allows dormant viruses to resurface.

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No name respiratory virus - this appears to be what I brought back from Vegas conference. I sure miss the days of yesteryear when a virus was just called a virus, and not some name to scare people and rewrite the history books. But I digress.

Symptoms include stuffy runny nose, head congestion and low grade fevers, usually 100 or below. Also fatigue and some mild muscle aches. In an emergency you could work through this one, but if you are actively seeing people in a small room, well it is best to stay home and not contaminate anyone else as it does seem fairly contagious. Usually symptoms start reducing by Day 3, and Day 4 energy is returning and you may end up with a lingering cough. By Day 5-6 you are probably no longer contagious and by Day 4 you should be fever free.

Treatment is generally rest, fluids and supportive OTC meds you prefer, just to reduce symptoms. In a future post I hope to write out what I am doing for these type of illnesses on a more holistic/functional level as this post today is already long enough.

Hopefully this helps everyone think thru what is out and about there as we get nearer to Xmas travel and family/friend get togethers.

Happy Holidays everyone!