Dr. John Poothullil, Talking about the Coronavirus

To begin with, thank you, Dr. John Poothullil, for joining me for this informative show about Coronavirus (COVID-19) We covered a great deal of information on today’s show. Here is a recap from Dr. John. The Basics. The immune system is the set of tissues that work together to resist infections. The immune mechanisms help an organism identify a pathogen, and neutralize its threat.  Also, the immune system can detect a difference between the body’s own healthy cells or tissues, and ‘foreign’ cells. The primary job is to protect our bodies from infection. The innate immune system is also called natural or inherited and adaptive. It is trained to know what is normal in our bodies.   Asymptomatic. The patient has no symptoms but can be a carrier. It takes 2-3 weeks to produce an antibody.  Herd Immunity. Herd immunity is a form of indirect protection from infectious disease that occurs when a large percentage of a population has become immune to an infection, whether through previous infections or vaccination, thereby providing a measure of protection for individuals who are not immune. Take-Aways. Nutrition. Eat a healthy diet including, fruits, vegetables along with spices and herbs. Such as tumeric, ginger, garlic, rosemary, cumin, cardamom, just to name a few. Consider adding these tasty herbs, parsley, peppermint, oregano, basil, thyme, dill, chamomile, and sage. Consider adding them to your diet.  Enjoy your warm/hot beverages to coat your throat. You could take water-soluble supplements such as Vit C and all the B vitamins because any excess will be eliminated through the kidney. Be careful with vitamins A, D, E, K because they are Fat-soluble and could accumulate in the body unless recommended by your doctor. Physical health. The main objective of physical fitness is to have reserve functional capacity of lung, heart, and muscle. A person conditioned this way can tolerate adversity such as infection and escape a physical threat better than one who is not conditioned.  Inactivity should be minimized. Mental health. There are two categories of people: The generally anxious person. They don’t analyze, rather they operate on emotions that can lead to a panic mode.  Watching the new constantly does not serve that person well and can make matters worse. The Analytic person uses the brain to understand the meaning of cognitive input from their 5 senses, with vision and hearing being the dominant ones. They analyze what they read and hear. Their emotion follows, after understanding the analysis. The Coronavirus COVID-19. The coronavirus needs living cells, they cannot enter through the skin, but rather through mucus membranes including the mouth and nose. 99 percent of people infected with COVID-19 show symptoms within 14 days. However, if the immune system in your body keeps the virus multiplication under control you may not have symptoms, yet you could shed the virus. Masks. Dr. John recommends wearing cotton masks in public because cotton can absorb water and trap the virus. The vast majority of COVID-19 droplets coming from an infected person during breathing, sneezing and coughing drop to the ground within 5-6 feet in front. So this distancing keeps you safe from breathing in the virus.  They are washable. Coping. In summary, have a plan. Write it down.  Categorize it. Ask yourself if you have an emotional plan of action. Keep the brain involved and active. Have 1 hour of physical activity each day. Include something fun like watching old movies. Spend time learning something new. Develop new cooking ideas by supporting your nutrition. If you are prone to allergies, do your physical activity in the early morning while the pollens are still in the damp ground. Lastly, contact your doctor if you have any questions.  Don’t forget just how important you are! What’s Your Story? Conversations + Connections = Community