Coronavirus Covid 2019 Has the S, Hit The Fan?

The Wuhan Coronavirus, Covid2019 is fast becoming a problem around the world. We have been inundated with questions on the basic Where What Why and How. Where is it going. What are its dangers. Why are we not doing more. And How can we protect ourselves from it?

The Covid19 virus got its start in China. I won’t speculate on if it is a manufactured bug, one that escaped from its containment, or a natural coronavirus that jumped from animals to humans. At this point, I don’t care how or who started it. I just want to get out as current and as accurate information as possible.

This virus appears to spread like the flu. It also targets people with chronic health problems The biggest are Cardiovascular disease, Diabetes, CHF or COPD, (Chronic respiratory diseases) Renal disease and Hypertension. The virus seems attack the respiratory tract and can also affect the kidneys. The main complication is pneumonia. It can be either a primary attack or a secondary outcome. Kidney failure has been observed in a portion of the patients infected. The main incidents of this are people with weakened immune systems.

Types of Coronavirueses.

229E (alpha coronavirus)

NL63 (alpha coronavirus)

OC43 (beta coronavirus)

HKU1 (beta coronavirus)

These bugs are common and have been around for years and years. They are rarely fatal, and then only to those that are severely immune-compromised or already very very sick.

These guys are fatal the last one is our new friend.
MERS-CoV (the beta coronavirus that causes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS) SARS-CoV (the beta coronavirus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS) SARS-CoV-2 (the novel coronavirus that causes coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-12)

Symptoms of it are very similar to the Flu. Fever, coughing, shortness of breath, malaise. More localized pain similar to flu can be felt in the joints. The virus is thought to be airborne transferred. It attaches itself to a particle of saliva, dust, almost anything and then enters the body via the nose, mouth or tear ducts.

Standard precautions and good hygiene can slow or even stop the virus. IE Hand washing. Not the alcohol rubs. Wash first with warm water and soap. Dry thoroughly. THEN use the alcohol based hand cleaners. Avoid sick people. (Yes, I did put this in. And, yes it sounds stupid. But, it works.)

If you’re sick, STAY HOME. Did I mention wash your hands? And don’t touch your eyes or face. This is the best way to avoid getting sick. Don’t pick your nose.

With the symptoms being the same for ALL the coronaviruses and with the flu the only sure way is to get tested.

What can we do to help protect ourselves?

There is not to much more we can do. We have HEPA masks. They do work. IF USED ACCORDING TO THE INSTRUCTIONS. But, they suck to wear. I am a big proponent of Colloidal Silver. Made correctly and exactly, it is safe to use. In practical use, I have known some people who do use it correctly to either not have had the flu or got a hit less hard.

During the Swine Flu outbreak of 2009, I personally know people who used silver and for to most part did not get as bad a case or not infected. 3 people I know who were infected had symptoms equal to a moderate cold even though they did test positive for the virus.

The coronavirus is a slippery character. It is different than the flu. But causes as much is not more devastation. But, some of the basics we use should transfer from flu to coronavirus.

So what is available?
Anti Viral Herbs. (I and a lot of others HATE his term.)

Elderberry. Elderberry has been show to be effective in combating flu. It has been show to lessen the effects of the virus. There are THOUSANDS of elderberry concoctions on the net. Make your own. Please.

Star Anise used to be the prime source for the chemical shikimic acid. That is the active ingredient of Tamiflu. Current web searches do not find the older studies on it vs flu. But, in Chinese medicine it is one of the main go to for flu treatment

Echinacea. This is an older plant, one that for generations has been a go to for viral infections. It is also a complex plant. Hundreds of studies on it and its effectiveness on cold and flu are about evenly split on it works or it doesn’t work. Used correctly I have found it to be useful when combined with other herbal antivirals

Reishi Mushroom This little guy has show a lot of promise in immune system response on many fronts, including anticancer and antiviral applications. Polysaccharides isolated from reishi have been proven effective in vitro against herpes simplex virus types 1, and Reishi isolates also have been tested against other viral strains, including influenza A, and demonstrated effectiveness against their replication

Bjarni’s Tea

We have a tea that I make that really helped with a bout of the flu the entire family caught. It is 2 parts Elderberry, 1 part each of Star Anise, Reishi, Echinacea, Feverfew, and a half part of Slippery Elm. I placed these all in my herb grinder. Then, steep about .5 teaspoon per 8 ounces of water. The Elderberry and Star Anise were VERY noticeable. But, it and 1 once of Colloidal Silver 2x a day kept me at work making money and the rest of the family functioning.

Yarrow

Most of when we think of Yarrow as wound herb. Some of its names, staunchwort, wound wort, nosebleed, knight’s milfoil, bring that to the front. What a lot have forgotten is it is a great item to help battle the flu. Yarrow is both an anti-inflammatory as well as being antimicrobial. And it should be in every kit. Yarrow is a good preventative medicine. NOTE Yarrow should not be taken more than 2 weeks at a time due to it can be damaging to the liver in high or long term doses. A half part of yarrow added to the above tea and taking only for a week can help break the viruses hold on you.

Yarrow is contraindicated for children with signs of viral infection, like a fever. Thankfully, COVID19 doesn’t seem to be nearly as severe for their age group. Yarrow is not contraindicated for children for it’s other more well known uses, such as staunching a bleed.

Colloidal Silver

Colloidal Silver has been used for decades as a go to for cold, flu and bacterial infections. There are HUNDREDS of studies both pro and con. Up to and including the famous :Blue Man”, Paul Karason, who turned himself blue with colloidal silver that was made by adding salt to the solution which made silver chlorides. This gave him the disease called argyria.

CS made correctly has been proven safe to use. But the key words here are MADE CORRECTLY. It has shown a wide effectiveness against common bacteria and even against viruses. The link is to a dear friend of mine website. He has used silver every day for over 20 years and still has the same skin color he had when he started. Sunburned. In all that time, I’ve only seen him sick maybe a couple of times.

Plants work. The reason why some have little success is they either do not know how to use the herb, do not know what herbs to use. They wait to long to use the herbs. 

So we have some protection. Now what?

Coronavirus Covid 2019 Has the S, HTF?

The Wuhan Coronavirus, Covid2019 is fast becoming a problem around the world.

In the last few weeks, the US Government has gone from Apathy, to a what if situation Today, The CDC warns Americans of “Significant disruption from the corona virus”.

From the ABC News linked above,

U.S. health officials issued a strong warning about novel coronavirus on Tuesday — that it’s no longer a matter of if, but when it will spread in the U.S., and that Americans should prepare for a “significant disruption.”

Also in today’s news. The CDC outlines what closing schools, businesses would look like in a pandemic

CNBC Linked above

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stepped up its call Tuesday for the public to start preparing for a possible pandemic outbreak in the U.S. of the coronavirus that’s infected more than 80,000 people and killed at least 2,700 overseas in less than two months.

“We are asking the American public to work with us to prepare for the expectation that this could be bad,” a top CDC officials told reporters in a conference call outlining what schools and businesses will likely need to do if the COVID-19 virus starts to spread throughout the U.S.”

The Blaze tossed up this article.  On Saturday, the Daily Mail reported that an unnamed woman believed to be a nurse in Wuhan, China, claimed that there are actually as many as 90,000 people already infected in China. She posted a video on social media warning people to stay inside.

“I would like to say that everyone who is currently watching this video, do not go outside. Don’t party. Do not eat out,” she said. “If you are safe now, you will be able to meet your family again healthy next year.”

So what does that mean?

What does this mean for us, the average person on the street? To me, it means if you haven’t got your preps in order, you need to get then going now. Not tomorrow. NOW. We have done a huge series on Prepping 101. I realize there is no way anyone, except the extremely wealthy, can get that together in a heartbeat. You CAN however start somewhere. Here in the US, in this type of event, losing all utilities is extremely unlikely. Not impossible, but unlikely.

So, instead of spending money on a solar system, buy food. Canned food first of all. Stuff that will not spoil. Get water stocked up. DO NOT buy the pre filled 5 gallon water bottles for 18 bucks a bottle, Buy the empty ones for 6.99 and fill them yourself. Those are much more durable than the ones you buy from the dispenser at WalMart.  Single serve water bottles are a nice thing. But expensive and wasteful. But a few durable plastic canteens are cheaper and last forever. Fill your freezer with meat. Poultry, beef, pork, and fish. Stay away from prepared frozen foods. Why? Its hard to make them into long term storage items. Real meats can be dried or canned.

If you have a generator, buy fuel for it. Don’t forget extra engine oil.  Propane bottles for you grill and propane cook stoves. This is not new stuff to preppers. Just stuff that needs to be done. 

Wait WHAT?

You said that the utilities would stay on? No, I didn’t. I said “Here in the US. in this type of event, losing all utilities is extremely unlikely. Not impossible, but unlikely.” You’re preppers. PLAN FOR THE WORST. Get your basics in order. Food water expendable paper products. face masks,  TP. Soap, bleach, Lysol duct tape, plastic sheeting. Cat Ellis’s new book The Wuhan Coronavirus Survival Manual: How to Prepare for Pandemics and Quarantines (nCoV-2019, Covid-19 Edition)  Notice how I snuck that in the conversation? 🙂

Here is my professional opinion as a healthcare worker who has seen the worst that mother nature and people can do. This bug is bad. This coronavirus itself is not that dangerous, unless you are part of the highest risk groups,  especially when compared to a bad flu year. But, I think the secondary effects to the nation’s economy will be bad. It’s the “if it bleeds it leads” news mentality. And, that is with out taking account of what people like Alex Jones and Hal Turner are saying.

Warnings Via the CDC

The CDC has even said its not “if” its “when”.

“We expect we will see community spread in this country,” said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “It’s not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness.”

I believe that we, as a country, may not succumb to the virus itself. The panic that the media both mainstream and alternative will stir up about how bad it MAY be. We will be hurt because of needed industry personnel not making it to work. But, as preppers, we can work around that. There are a lot of Prepping 101 pages out there> USE THEM!!! I’ve told friends here in Summerville. Prep like a Hurricane is pounding the Bahamas and heading this way