COVID-19 Common Sense
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By Dr. Michelle Jorgensen
I want to share a few things I have been learning about how to fight the COVID-19 virus, and just some health tips in general to fight different sicknesses or things you might face.
I just read some great tips from a retired Respiratory Therapist to help fight the Coronavirus.
If his advice is followed as given, you will improve your chances of not ending up in the hospital on a ventilator.
Just remember that these are suggestions and they apply to the otherwise generally healthy population, so use discretion and make sure these suggestions work for you.
This is not medical advice and is not intended to be used as a diagnosis or a prescription for treatment.
These are some simple and practical tips that I hope could help you!
1. Only high temperatures kill a virus, so let your fever run high
Tylenol, Advil, Motrin, Ibuprofen, etc. will bring your fever down, which will actually allow the virus to live longer.
Health officials are saying that ibuprofen, Advil, etc. will actually exacerbate the virus. Use common sense and don’t let fever go over 103 or 104. If it gets higher than that take Tylenol, not ibuprofen or Advil, to keep it regulated.
It also helps to keep your house warm and cover up with blankets so your body does not have to work so hard to generate the heat.
It usually takes about 3 days of this to break the fever.
2. Rehydrate yourself regularly
The body is going to dehydrate with the elevated temperature, so you must rehydrate yourself regularly, whether you like it or not.
Gatorade with real sugar, or Pedialyte with real sugar for kids, works well.
Why the sugar?
Sugar will give your body back the energy it is using up to create the fever. The electrolytes and fluid you are losing will also be replenished by the Gatorade.
If you don’t do this and end up in the hospital they will start an IV and give you D5W (sugar water) and Normal Saline to replenish electrolytes.
Gatorade is much cheaper, pain-free, and comes in an assortment of flavors
3. Keep your lungs moist
This is best done by taking long steamy showers on a regular basis.
If you are wheezing or feeling congested, use a strong minty toothpaste and brush your teeth while taking the steamy shower. While you are doing this take deep breaths through your mouth.
This will provide some bronchial dilation and help loosen the phlegm.
You can also force yourself to cough into a wet washcloth pressed firmly over your mouth and nose. This will cause greater pressure in your lungs which will force them to expand and break loose more of the congestion.
4. Eat healthy foods regularly
Obviously this is important to help you keep your body strong and able to fight the virus.
If you are eating things that are causing more harm to your body, it won’t be able to fight the virus efficiently.
It is also important to eat regularly. You may not feel much desire to eat, but eating will help you keep your strength up.
5. Deep breath on a regular basis, even when it hurts
This is an important point!
Because of the nature of COVID-19, it becomes easy to develop pneumonia if you aren’t doing this.
Pursed lip breathing really helps. That’s breathing in deep and slow then exhaling through tight lips as if you’re blowing out a candle. Blow until you have completely emptied your lungs, and on the next breath, you will be able to breathe in even deeper.
This helps keep lungs expanded as well as increase your oxygen level.
6. Remember that every medication you take is merely relieving the symptoms, not making you well
Now I’m not saying that you shouldn’t take any medication. Sometimes it may be needed, but you aren’t actually curing yourself when you take them. And remember the advice about pain killers and anti-inflammatories from the first tip.
The best thing to do is relieve your symptoms with small amounts of medication, if necessary, to make you feel comfortable, but mostly focus on doing things that will make you better!
Eat a healthy diet, get good sleep, and even work on positive thinking.
All of those things will prove to be far more effective than simply taking medication.
If you want more suggestions like supplements or vitamins to take, check out my post about how to prevent the flu naturally!
Also, you can always contact me through email or by phone, and I’ll be happy to help!
7. Once the fever breaks, start moving around
Now I’m not telling you to immediately go climb a mountain or do strenuous exercise!
Just get up and walk around to get the body back in shape and the blood circulating.
You will feel better sooner if you do this, and your recovery should be quicker.
8. If you’re still very sick and deteriorating, go to the ER
Obviously, if you aren’t recovering, and you feel your health declining to a dangerous point, go to the ER!
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I hope you enjoyed this article!
These are some practical tips you can use to keep you safe and prevent any sickness you have to get out of hand.
If you want more suggestions about how to prevent the flu naturally click here!
With love,
Dr. Michelle Jorgensen
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