Series on COVID Therapy Studies – Considering Therapies
With the onslaught by COVID and its coinciding onslaught of self-proclaimed experts with every opinion under the sun, I choose to respond with a series of research study reports so you can choose for yourself. Each edition will bring a few studies describing possible therapies for COVID under investigation or reported in past research. As my recent Facebook Live video noted, we do not know enough about this virus to be definite at this time. I am not claiming any of these are the preventive or curative answer for you or your family’s safety. I just want you to be aware of these studies and have knowledge so that you can grow in wisdom rather than stumble about in panic.
With the storm having battered down our country’s gates and spreading through our communities, lets chat a moment about therapies in general before addressing individual therapies. With the intensity and rapidity of this pandemic, researchers are willing to try just about anything in a study to find a cure. That means we are seeing not only a multitude of pharmaceuticals, but also a plethora of natural therapies being tested. There is no time for being picky. The fact that China stands as the epicenter of the outbreak also encourages the attempts at using natural therapies as it is more open to traditional Chinese therapies than maybe elsewhere.
The following series will lean towards natural therapies as ones that the average person can access without a prescription but will by no means ignore the pharmaceuticals which hold some promise as well. Again, we can’t afford to ignore all the available options.
In any war, the defender (in this case, us humans) must consider all the fronts on which to fight the invader. With regards to a virus spread by contact, the two main fronts include the macro and the micro. Before focusing the series on the micro (i.e. microscopic mechanisms of chemicals versus virus), I will touch on the macroscopic world of disease outbreak containment. The principles of outbreak control are not that complex. Identify those with the disease. Separate those with disease from those who don’t have the disease. Disease runs its course in those with the disease. Without new cases of disease, the disease fizzles out.
In COVID’s case, the first step may be the difficult one to carry out as individuals with the virus may carry and share it for up to 2 weeks before they have symptoms indicating they have it. Public health efforts at this step will be critical to containing the virus. From there, we can all play a role in self-quarantining ourselves if we develop symptoms or are in contact with someone known to have COVID. In working together, we can hopefully put this to rest in the coming weeks.
In terms of the microscopy war with chemicals both natural and synthetic, we will walk through various research studies suggesting possible benefits of various therapies. Each tries to find weaknesses in the virus’ armor that can be exploited. Some try to prevent the virus from entering a cell. Some try to prevent the virus from replicating (growing in number) once in a cell. Some try to enhance our own immune system to combat the virus. Others try to kill the virus as it travels from one person to the next, somewhat mixing the macro and micro battlefronts.
With all that in mind, we pick up the series on various chemicals that scientists are considering as preventives and curatives. Our goal is to provide sufficient knowledge so that you may discern how to live healthier more abundant lives in spite of COVID’s shadow.
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.
Are you familiar with Stephen Buhners book Herbal Antivirals? It is an amazing text of herbal medicine that addresses which herbs are specific to which viruses. There are many amazing antiviral herbs available that I have used with much success in my own family.
Yes, some of my patients use his herbs