Herbal Treatment & Prevention of Coronavirus

 In Herbal & Traditional Wisdom, Holistic Tools & Strategies

Recently our clinic has been flooded with many concerns about the coronavirus – what precautions should I take?  What can I take to treat it if I suspect that I have it?

Since many of our patients are immune-compromised, these concerns are very real.

Gratefully, we can look to past similar epidemics, such as the SARS outbreak of 2002.  At this time Dr. Deng Tietao demonstrated that Chinese medicine treatment was more effective than standard hospital procedures by saving the lives of all patients in his care at the Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of TCM. 

We can learn from and apply our knowledge and understanding from the past to the current pandemic.  

From the Chinese medicine perspective, the following understanding of Coronavirus was circulated on Chinese media sites, translated and shared on Facebook by Will Ceurvels several weeks ago (a short, edited excerpt of his translation is below):

“Coronavirus should be thought of as a damp type of epidemic. The pathogens linger and are difficult to dissipate completely. This disease is different from wind-heat accompanied by dampness, a situation where the heat will clear automatically as soon as the dampness is resolved, leading to the swift and full recovery of the patient. Damp toxicity, on the other hand, lingers and clings to the sick person like “oil mixed into flour”…

When treating this disease, therefore, the focus should be on resolving turbidity with aromatic herbs, thus outthrusting the surface and regulating the up-down dynamics of the Spleen/Stomach network. As this particular type of dampness becomes resolved, stagnant heat will be able to disperse and toxins will not be able to form, thus leading to a gradual resolution of symptoms.”

The recommendations that follow address concerns of prevention, exposure and treatment.  Since coronavirus is a new virus in humans, these recommendations are based on what has been successful in previous viral pandemics and research on treating the coronavirus in animals.

Prevention:

  • Reduce sugar intake. Processed and synthetic sugars cause our bodies to become more acidic, which benefits the growth of bacteria, viruses, and other disease-causing microbes.  Use maple syrup, local honey, fruit-based or coconut sugar for sweetening.
  • Stay well hydrated with spring water.  Get plenty of sleep, exercise at least a little every day, and get outdoors to soak in fresh air and sunshine (even 15 minutes is beneficial!).
  • Take 1,000 mg of Vitamin C up to 3x / day, and 500 mg of Echinacea standardized extract up to 3x / day, and at least 3,000 mg liquid vitamin D3.  
  • Gan Cao Gan Jiang Tang (Licorice & Ginger Decoction) is recommended to strengthen the Qi to prevent invasion of the virus into the body.  It can be taken as a tea or granules twice per day.

Exposure:

If you live, work, go to school or need to go to a public place where you feel concerned about heightened exposure to the coronavirus, here are some things you can do to increase your body’s ability to prevent infection.  

    1. Apply essential oils at the base of the nose, and perhaps also on neck, chest and wrists.  They may be applied neat or diluted in a small amount of carrier oil.  Essential oils that have broad-spectrum anti-viral effects include:
      • Eucalyptus
      • Tea Tree
      • Lemon
      • Cinnamon leaf
      • Clove
      • Rosemary
      • Thyme
      • Oregano
      • Hyssop linalool

 

  1. Additionally, the internal application of Chinese herbs has proven effective in the prevention and treatment of both the COVID-19 and SARS strains during the coronavirus epidemics in mainland China. These formulas address the disease dynamic of the coronavirus as we presently understand it, and should be taken prior to, during, and for at least 1 week following exposure.  They may be taken for weeks or months at a time if exposure is persistent.   This strategy was used to protect hospital workers that were caring for infected patients with success.  These recommendations include everything listed under the “Prevention” category +:
    • Thunder Pearls (by Classical Pearls), 3 capsules / 2x / day; OR
    • Gui Zhi Tang (Cinnamon Decoction) + She Gan Ma Huang Tang (Belamcanda & Ephedra Decoction) – as tea, or granules, 2x / day

Treatment:

If you have or suspect you have coronavirus; if you are over the age of 60; or if you are immune-compromised we recommend following this level of protocol:

If you are sick or uncertain about what is best for you, we recommend scheduling a telephone consultation with one of our practitioners.  You may purchase these herbal and supplement recommendations or schedule an appointment (by calling 845-687-6211 or emailing info@uprootinglyme.com), or by contacting your favorite Chinese medicine herbalist.

Much has already been shared about the importance of staying home and washing hands and surfaces with soap and non-toxic cleansers. I hope these additional suggestions keep you feeling super safe and empowered to take care of yourself and your family throughout this and other infectious disease scares with natural, health generating tools and resources.

Yours In Health,

Hillary


Sources:

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  1. Wu, S., Patel KB, Booth LJ, et al.  Protective essential oil attenuates influenza virus infection: an in vitro study in MDCK cells.  BMC Complementary & Alternative Med.  2010 Nov 15;10:69. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-10-69.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21078173
  1. Ying, Tang.  Specific Applications of TCM in the Prevention and Treatment of COVID-19 & Integration of TCM into Educational Curriculum.  汤英 2/10/2020.  https://www.elotus.org/sites/default/files/covid-19_2.pdf
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