Welcome to the K6 Wellness Revolution podcast . I'm Sharon , the owner of K6 Wellness Center in Dallas , texas . Here we blend trusted expertise , compassionate care and a passion for helping you achieve optimal health , because wellness isn't just a goal , it is a revolution . Today we're going to dive into respiratory viruses influenza , rsv and COVID in particular .
We're going to uncover the telltale signs , symptoms and the differences that you'll want to know between each , and we're going to explore a variety of treatment options to help you stay ahead , feel your best and hopefully avoid , you know , being laid out for part of your life .
So , whether you're searching for alternatives or simply seeking more clarity , this episode is all about equipping you with the tools to take charge of your health . So let's kick off this new year with confidence , hope and a commitment to wellness . So , elena , hey , hey , any flu for you ? Have you had the flu this year ?
No , I don't get the flu , because we've got some awesome practices that we're going to talk about that help keep that at bay , even being around sick people in healthcare .
Yeah , absolutely . Well , we are in winter and whether you live in the cold or the hot part of the US , like Dallas , well , really in Dallas the weather just can't seem to make up its mind . But everybody is dealing with respiratory viruses and we do this every year , right ?
So today we just decided maybe we need a more robust discussion about the three big baddies that appear this time of year all over the country , and mainly it's RSV , influenza and , of course , covid . Now I know , for me personally , I really try to up my game this time of year .
If for no other reason , then I just don't want to get sick , because when you're a healthcare provider , you hate to call in sick to work . So , knock on wood , I have not been sick with a seasonal respiratory virus since 2021 . And thank God that one was over a weekend , so that was really good . I'm very grateful for that .
But we want to outline what we both do consistently to stay healthy despite working in healthcare . So , both for me , both in my functional medicine clinic and then where I work occasionally in an urgent care setting , I encounter people all the time who have contagious diseases , and respiratory viruses are really the thing you know this time of year .
So , elena , what about you ? What do you find challenging this time of year ?
It's always a challenge to not get sick during the holidays , you know , when you think about how many parties and large gatherings and of course there's sugar and excess alcohol and just excess food that's eaten throughout this season , which thankfully we're into January now and it's a great time to reset .
But even if you're not getting knocked down with a massive upper respiratory infection , there's a lot of other ways you get run down and then that can lead to making you susceptible . So I think , just maintaining exercise and a routine , because that's what happens . We start having a good time over the holidays and there's that lack of exercise Increased .
Not only is it food and alcohol , but increased late night eating and rich food . So , with no set routine . Our body is just kind of like hey , we're just going to let you coast here , see what happens , and we want to make sure that we can keep a routine with that fun , otherwise you are going to succumb to it .
It doesn't matter who you are , you are going to get sick , you're going to get run down , and I can attest to personal habits that have kept me healthy , even through things like COVID . You know that wasn't a very big deal for me and we worked with the public the whole time . It was a pretty non-event .
I didn't even get a cough with it , and it's not because I'm special , it's . I mean , I'm not anyone who knows my background , my health background , it's . It's been a long autoimmune journey .
I think you're special .
Well , I mean , I like to think I'm special , but not in that way , but just taking care of what I'm eating and what I'm doing and what I'm taking . You know , that's what we all need to take into consideration . But with that , let's talk about these big old baddies . What should we worry about ? What can we do about respiratory viruses ?
If we do catch one , and how do we treat it medically or naturopathically ? Are there other considerations ? You know there's a lot of options there and you know , when you look at hospitalization rates , they've been on the upward trend for all three viruses RSV , influenza and COVID , with the highest levels for flu A , and this happens every year .
But if you know what to watch out for and , better yet , how to be healthy and prevent infection , you can help yourself stay out of the hospital this winter , and always , hopefully . So let's talk about RSV first , shall we ? Sharon , can you explain to us what does this virus do ?
Let's start there . Yeah Well , it's a respiratory virus . It stands for respiratory syncytial I can't say the word virus and it's characterized by cough and some people wheeze . But it can be respiratory distress and then you can have oxygen problems .
But it's the main cause of bronchiolitis , which is inflammation in your bronchioles , and normally you know it's going to . It affects almost everybody , but the people who really tend to be more symptomatic are going to be babies and old people and people with underlying immune issues .
So RSV will often just present as a cold right Head cold where you might have congestion cough . But it can move to the lungs pretty quickly and cause a cough with wheezing , and so that's where you know it can get problematic for somebody who , say , has asthma , a baby or an old person with COPD or emphysema or something like that .
But really they say nearly every child has been infected with RSV by two , two years old . So the thing about RSV that people , I want you to remember this . Um , rsv is generally self-limiting . Now , it will last a while , and viruses often do .
It could last 10 to 14 days before it fully resolves , and many times you just need to , you know , stay at home and take care of yourself , doing supportive things , but there is . I guess the reason I say that is because there's so much fear mongering around RSC .
It is something to be aware of and if you have already , um , known breathing problems , this is something that you need to really be vigilant about avoiding . So , um , that's , that's a big deal .
But even as far as babies who get hospitalized for it , they're usually doing that to keep their oxygen levels up , but they don't generally have to stay hospitalized for 10 to 14 days . They may just be in there two or three days . They're getting supportive care like breathing treatments , whatever .
But you can have RSV like mild illness , you can have moderate or even severe , and severe , of course , is where you are going to the hospital . Um , but the problem , yeah , that we really need to worry about the cough is not the problem . Right , the cough is a sign that , hey , there is a problem .
But we want to make sure at home that you're breathing okay , and this is something that I find , um , it can go for any of our respiratory viruses .
I I think that one of the most handy tools to have at home I should have brought mine in here is a pulse oximeter , and it's just the little , the little squeezy thing when you go to the doctor and they put it on your index finger and it tells what your oxygen rate like at your capillary beds , how saturated are you with oxygen , and it also gives your
heart rate . Now it's important to know that if you're struggling to breathe , your heart rate is going to go up right . And for adults , if you're breathing , you know , faster than like 20 , 22 breaths per minute , then you're in respiratory distress to some degree .
And same thing like if your heart rate is over 100 beats per minute , that's , you know , tachycardic or a fast heart rate , and that could be indicative of breathing problems .
So if you're not counting your breaths per minute which is hard to do to yourself because then you're just thinking about breathing , but you can put a pulse oximeter on and you can see oh , my oxygen saturation is 100% or maybe it's not . You want it above 95% .
So for those of you at home , if you have a respiratory issue and maybe you don't know is it bacteria , is it virus , is it allergy ? You know , having a little $20 pulse oximeter from Amazon or the drugstore is a great way to just quickly find out . Do you need to be worried If your oxygen saturation is lower than 95% . You need to be careful .
It's time to take some deep breaths . If you have respiratory issues , then you need to probably do a breathing treatment .
But what's important to know is , if you go below 92% sitting up , you're going to be suffering from the effects of not enough oxygen , because when you lay down , your oxygen saturation is going to drop by at least four more points , and that puts you in the 80s , and that's not good . So nobody wants their brain starving for oxygen , right .
So nobody wants their brain starving for oxygen , right . So , yeah , just being able to monitor at home is really important . A pulse oximeter is a great way to do that .
But especially for people with babies , old people and those who have high you know , high risk issues whether it's immune , compromised cancer , lung issues- we need to be careful , you know , and protect yourself .
Yeah , so I mean basically anyone can be affected by it , but the babies and elderly are going to have more extreme symptoms . How contagious is it ?
actually that's a good question and I think that question you know we're going to revisit it with each one . It's spread through droplets , right , it's when you get coughed on and sneezed on . So this is why it's so important to cover your mouth and when you sneeze , don't cover your mouth with your hand .
You want to do it into the elbow and you can teach little kids how to do this . I think that's the most important thing for little kids is teach them how to sneeze into their elbow and coughing it's the same thing .
So , yeah , if you're going to be around groups of people and you have a baby or an old person in your group , I think it's important just to make sure people around them are using good hygiene , right , and if you do cough or sneeze into your hand , please don't shake hands with anybody .
Right , Please wash your hands . I mean , we went through this with COVID . It was amazing how many people didn't wash their hands . You know you would observe people and see they didn't wash their hands , so we should all do better on that .
Yeah , absolutely , and you know this . I think the natural progression of this is well , why don't people just wear a mask ? Just wear a mask and the mask . A mask will protect you from droplets , meaning spit right , that's flying through the air . A mask is good for that , but a mask is not going to stop a virus .
I mean , they can't even see a virus , you know , under you have to have an electron microscope and you think that a mask is going to stop that ? It's not , but that it's not like air transmission , as far as that goes , it's droplets , it's it's in our spit , it's in our body fluids . So that's how , that's how we avoid it . Use good hygiene .
Well , and even beyond that right , that's the first place to start good hygiene . But then there's plenty of other things we can do . Sharon , where would you start ?
Well hygiene . If you have children , make them wash their hands every time they come inside . If you've been to the store and you get home , everybody just go wash your hands . You don't need to wash your hands 15 times a day , unless you're in healthcare , and then you do at least .
But that helps to prevent so many things , because we all put our hands on our faces and so good hygiene is going to be important . If you have babies and you're able to keep them out of crowded places like daycare centers or the church nursery , it really is ideal during the cold weather months .
And depending on where you live , like for us in Texas , I would say October to February and March is really our cold and flu season , and I just recommend that families with little babies stay home , because unfortunately , parents don't feel .
I think we have this sense of invincibility and we feel very confident oh , my daughter just has a cough , or she just has the same stuff he knows everybody else has , and then you just put them in the room where they're all slobbering on the same toys and you just spread more illness and you don't know what else is circulating either .
So I'm I'm not a fan of taking babies in crowded places or , if you have to , my daughter had one of those car seat covers and she covers the car seat up in the winter months so you can't see the baby . Well , that's good , that works too , and then you don't have people putting their face in the baby's car seat and that can be helpful .
But as far as like the daycare centers , you know not everybody has that options . So many families require both parents to work and daycare is just a necessity . So you have to do all the things you can , and that's where good hydration , and hydration means drinking water . It doesn't mean fruit juice . It doesn't mean other drinks , sodas , whatever it's water .
Practicing good nutrition , giving your children really clean protein and lots of whole vegetables and fruit foods Not the powder , you know , the less processed you give your kids in general , the healthier they're going to be . But giving your kids good nutrition day in , day out , that does make a big difference . And then sleep , of course all ages .
Sleep is so important and sleeping at the right time is also important . So not staying up late , not burning the candle at both ends , and this is for all ages .
All of this becomes more important because we don't live in a perfect world and sometimes we have to go to crowded places or we have to be in groups where we can't choose who's going to be there , and so you have to have a really good foundation . And I think back to the things that we do and and I think you know , back to the things that we do .
The things that we do , we wash our hands and we do practice good nutrition , good sleep and , you know , lots of hydration , just so there's always something um else that we can say okay , I didn't do this , but at least I've got this , so you're , you're giving your body something , yeah , and then let's say you do get RSV .
We got to talk about treatments and , and I'm going to assume treatment , let's say it's at home , right , elena ? Maybe it's just the mild or moderate . So we're paying attention whether it's an old person or a baby , pay attention . Are they in respiratory distress , you know ? Is there wheezing ? Um , those are .
Those are times when you do need to call the doctor or go to urgent care and and get things checked out . But treatment is mostly supportive . It's going to be supplemental oxygen , possibly right , with a nasal cannula or nasal irrigation . If you're at home and stuffy and you just can't breathe , do the nasal irrigation , like the Neomed sinus , rinse the sinus ?
Um , sinupulse is a good one . And then they have these aerosol cans now and I haven't used one of the aerosol cans , have you ? Oh , I have .
I keep those on hand , you like it . Yeah , I've got airway problems so I might not get the bad cough , but I've got breathing problems and that makes a big difference .
Yeah , my husband swears by those aerosol cans . Probably not the cleanest thing in the world , but they make a difference .
When you're congested and can't get oxygen , an oxygen can you . Got to breathe . You got to breathe , the better alternative to suffocation .
Yeah , and then nutritional support , and I think you know nutritional support being vitamin D , which that's what we make when we're in the sunshine , and so if you live your life indoors , you need to be supplementing vitamin D . It's going to help you . And , just again , like we talked about , just good nutrition .
So if you're advanced and you go to a medical doctor , you may get recommended some antiviral therapy , depending on how long your symptoms have been present and some other factors , like you know , immune capability and all of that . But it is always important , no matter where you're at , to provide the supportive care at home .
And I think I want to stress this because I see so many people suffer because they get sent home from the doctor . You know , or they couldn't get into the doctor or they were told well , it's just a virus , go home and rest . And they go home and do nothing and eat pizza , but that's the worst thing you can do .
You can do so many things at home that can make such a big difference in healing from respiratory virus , whether it's RSV COVID influenza , it's RSV COVID influenza Plus . It's so easy to keep an eye on your oxygen when you have a pulse oximeter . It's so simple . I do want to mention .
There is a vaccine and for pregnant women and older people over 65 , you know , generally they're going to recommend that . We have other feelings about vaccines , but I just read an article getting ready for this .
Fda just updated the warning label of both Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline's RSV vaccines because there are increased incidents of Guillain-Barre syndrome in the 42 days following vaccination . So Guillain-Barre it's , it's a rare neurological disorder but it's basically , you know , starts at the starts at your feet , moves up , it's an ascending paralytic condition and it is bad .
Um , you can't , just just because you get a vaccine , you can't assume you're not going to get the disease , and that goes for anything , because you're not guaranteed that the immunity is going to last . And I think that we would all be wise to still focus on supportive care and prevention through good , healthy living .
We don't want to put all our eggs in one basket . So if you have underlying health conditions , you know you're probably going to get more care regardless , just according to your provider's instruction . But that's more the medical side of things .
Like , if you come into urgent care or primary care , it's a virus , go home , nasal rinse , you know , steam , sauna , pain relief , analgesics , all that . But now let's talk about the other side of the coin .
So if I don't go to the doctor all the time , or I couldn't get in , and you know , with wheezing and cough , elena , what would you tell somebody to do ?
Oh , there are so many things you know . The first thing and you already touched on this would be nutrition . You know , when , when there's colds and flu going around , you have no business eating a ton of dairy and sugar things that create mucus or an extra tax on the immune system . This is a time to really work on increasing veggies and quality proteins .
And broths bone broth , I mean . It's the best time it's it's cold outside sip some bone broth . But you know you can't make a baby do all of that . But you can . You can do a lot of natural approaches to help support a baby when they might be coming down with something or are dealing with a cough .
And you know we have to be gentle and careful with babies and elderly people , but especially for babies , you can't just give them a bunch of herbs . So don't feel helpless . There are things you can do , but you've got to have the right tools , like humidifiers and those are so easy to get .
You can get them I think , about any pharmacy or drugstore and you just put that in the room and just create a little more moisture . But then essential oils a lot of people think , oh , I can't use them at all on babies , and you are right to be careful and cautious . But you can diffuse them .
That's putting a little more moisture in the air with the essential oils and things that can kill viruses and help clear mucus .
And then you can put them on topically , but very , very , very little and the best ones would be frankincense , lavender , lemon , eucalyptus and you're only using one drop , one drop and then you're diluting it in a carrier oil it could be olive oil or coconut oil and you rub that on the baby's feet .
You never want to put essential oils right on the chest or near their mouth and their nose , where they're breathing , because that's when it is really overwhelming . But on the bottoms of the feet you can hit all the reflexology points and it's just so cool how well that works . You're thinking , okay , the feet , but it's for the lungs .
Yeah , because on your feet we have different points on our feet that reach the different organs via the meridians and on your foot if you get on like the bottom of the middle toe , that is a great point for sinuses .
So if you grab those oils at that point and then the middle of the foot on the bottom , like kind of right in the middle , that's the point for the lungs . Foot on the bottom , like kind of right in the middle , that's the point for the lungs .
So if you were to take the essential oils mixed in a carrier oil and rub that all over the little baby's feet , it's going to open up sinuses and lungs . And you know , it's great for elderly people too , because sometimes their skin's getting more sensitive and they can't handle the oils directly put on . And always test a little area before you try to apply .
You know thieves , which has cinnamon and cloves . You put that all over your chest and you can start burning . So always be moderate . Less is more with essential oils , in my opinion . Would you agree , sharon ?
Oh yeah , for sure , we overdo it all the time .
Yeah , but then you know , for for elderly you could or adults , right , you could use a nebulizer . Those became really popular in COVID but they work for any kind of upper respiratory ailment because that's going to help drive some nutrients directly into your lungs and it can bring a lot of relief .
But then you know , there's modalities that we have here If you're local , we've got Rife technology , which we have an entire podcast on that previously , and it's just a great frequency modality where you can use that on babies and elderly and pregnant women . I mean , it's safe for everybody .
I think technically they say don't use it on pregnant people . But lots of pregnant people do it , it's just not studied .
Right , I mean nobody studies herbs on pregnant people , but lots of pregnant people do it , it's just not studied .
Right , I mean nobody studies herbs on pregnant people or drugs . Who wants that risk ?
Yeah , it's not me , but this is also a good time to consider a clearing , and we we do clearings for allergies and for viruses and bacteria , colds , flus and we do those virtually and in person , and it's just a simple little tool to help desensitize your body's reaction to whatever toxin or illness you're dealing with .
And to clarify that's an acupressure technique that we do to distract and kind of reboot the system , if you will , to make the body focus on something different . Right , other than an allergen sensitivity viral process ?
Yeah , and they're really effective . It's easy , it's simple . But another thing is lymph work . Don't ever forget lymph work . I don't know if we've ever had a podcast where we haven't mentioned lymph , because it has to do with everything .
Your lymph is your body's garbage can and it needs help , especially when you're fighting something , because your lymph nodes are the little washing machines in your body . They're cleaning all of the viruses in your blood , all the toxins , and it's trying to clean it out . So give it a little boost dry skin brushing , vibration platform , or come into our office .
We've got lymphatic therapies . We have lymph star and flow presso , and then there's also frequencies on rife for lymph , and for some people that's a better option because you know it's . It is a little more affordable and more passive , but it can be very helpful .
And you know , beyond those things , if you're an adult who can handle some stronger remedies , you can do the essential oils that are applied directly to the chest or don't forget those feet , even for adults . And then there's herbs . Some of the top ones that we like to use would be mullein or NAC , quercetin , thyme , ginger .
There's a lot of blends that will have that in it , and if you can get those at the very beginning of you know , feeling like you're coming down with something you're going to have a lot shorter time , that you're feeling under the weather . But then colloidal silver love colloidal silver that's . that's such a mainstay in my medicine cabinet .
Yeah .
Because that that can be very helpful .
And I like to use it up the nose and in the ears , because that's how a lot of viruses enter the body .
I love and hate it , if any of our listeners haven't tried it . The colloidal silver up the nose is so effective and it'll burn for a couple seconds , but then it clears everything out and you get this relief . So it is worth doing it , but you might need a little guide the first time you do it . Yeah , for sure .
But then steam saunas , you know , or just a hot bath or shower for anyone of any age . If a baby can't take a shower , at least put them on the edge of a bath or a shower where they can breathe in some steam . And you can put some essential oils in the bath or in the shower .
That'll bring out , you know , eucalyptus or thyme or different oils that will help open up the lungs there . But you can also use these same things in herbal tinctures and teas . I mean , there's just so many things you can do , but here's the biggest one I should have mentioned First homeopathics . I think homeopathics get forgotten .
We always think we have to do more . But there are homeopathics that will help relieve all the different symptoms as well as protect you from coming down with viruses . And you know , there's a lot of information out there and there's a lot of availability . Go to any health food store . I think even Kroger has homeopathics .
So it can be hard to know which one to use when , but that's when we can help , and those are easy appointments to do , virtually to see , okay , what homeopathic should I have on hand in my medicine cabinet for the symptoms of XYZ , and then we can customize it for each individual , because some people will react and respond better to others .
So it's just good to know what your body's going to need . And then one of my favorites nature's cough syrup honey . You know you don't want to use that for babies , right ? You don't want to use it for any baby that's 12 months or younger , but anyone older than that , don't forget about that .
I think almost everyone will have honey in the pantry or the cupboard , and it's a great tool when that cough is becoming unbearable . So just remember all the tools that you might have in your cupboard as it is . There's so many other things you can do , but I think that hits on the biggest ones .
And then I think you mentioned already , sharon , the sinus rinsing .
Yeah , sinus rinsing . Yeah , it's amazing .
It is . It's just a great way to clean out what is festering in your sinuses .
Yeah , listening to you talk about the essential oils it reminds me of this . It's an old fashioned folk remedy but they used to have you rub , like Vicks , vaporub or mentholatum on your feet at night , at bedtime , and then put socks on and just go to bed . And it's interesting because it was all of the .
Was it camphor and menthol and eucalyptus in those products ? I mean , it is in petroleum jelly but it acted on again those same meridians , those reflexology points , and it has a global effect on the body and it does help with suppressing cough .
It's so funny that , you know , across the ages , everybody recognizes that there are certain elements that do have an effect on the body and for cough especially , like that associated with RSV . That's a you know it applies .
Yeah , yeah Well , there's so many folk medicine remedies that people can dismiss because it's like oh , it hasn't been scientifically proven . Well , anecdotal evidence is pretty convincing . When things have worked Like , another old remedy is putting a slice of onion on the bottom of the foot and putting socks on a bedtime .
Yeah , I know , I've had great success with that in the past , and if you Google it , they say well , there's nothing to support that .
Okay , yeah , because who's going to throw money ?
at a research study for onions who's making money ? Exactly , but you know , that's just one of the many things as well , but let's talk about another big one flu A and B , or rather the seasonal influenza . We typically see this in the wintertime , and although there can be surprises that pop up throughout the year . What exactly does this virus do ?
Well , I think we all know what this does , right it's going to be the fever , the headache , the sore throat or the cough . More often than not you're going to see . Well , this year flu A is way more prevalent and flu B we're not seeing quite so much You're going to have .
You know , most people come in complaining of malaise , meaning they just feel lethargic and tired . They have a cough , they have a fever , they have a headache , they have body aches . They generally will have some swollen lymph nodes and they may have breathing problem too .
And you know , if you go to a doctor's office where you're probably going to get a swab in the nose to check you real quick for flu A or flu B , they're tested together . Check you real quick for flu A or flu B , they're tested together . And it's again that whole October to springtime really times of the year that you're going to see it .
So flu A , yes , very prevalent right now . It's also more contagious , and that's according to CDC . So I don't know , is it more prevalent ? So we think it's more contagious because there's just more people running around coughing and sneezing on people ? I don't know , but it is more contagious . Anyone can be affected by flu , right ?
Of course , if you have lowered immune function or you work around big groups of people you're at a higher risk for catching it People over 65 , kids under age five they're higher risk . And anybody who has a chronic respiratory condition or a heart problem or heart condition they are going to be a greater risk for flu .
But overall , like the fatality rate of flu and RSV , it's like under 0.02% overall in the US . So it is a very low rate and that's not to make light of anyone who does succumb to these illnesses Unfortunately do .
But this is why we're doing this podcast we want everybody to feel empowered and knowledgeable and able to prevent or treat , you know , these illnesses , um , and hopefully prevent an exacerbation or a worsening .
So yeah , yeah , well , and it's and it's you know how is it different than rsv , is it , you know ? For our listeners , I think , is you're saying you know more , the fever perhaps , and the swollen lymph nodes . Is there a big ?
difference . It has more of um . The body aches and rsv isn't always going to have a fever . I mean , sometimes it does and it's hard to tell sometimes , you know what does this person ? have . Is this flu or RSV ? And ultimately , does it matter because you're still providing supportive care ?
Because there is that argument , right , right , I think , just yeah , the fever , the body aches , the headache and the swollen lymph , those are a little more visible when you have the flu , but it's , it's the same , you know , as far as how it's spread , it's the same as RSV because it's droplets spread through the air .
So , again , with the coughing and the sneezing , and also I think we should mention , like sharing food and drinks , because kids do that a lot and that's probably not the time of year you want to be doing it . Don't share a fork , or your sandwich or whatever .
There's a time and a place to build up your immune system , and we do that by sharing food or hugging , kissing . You know being close like that , but when you know that viruses are going around , just use a little common sense and maybe don't share so much .
But you did say something , though I would love for you to touch on fevers , you know , because we live in this medical world where fevers are so bad but it's actually a defense system , so could you expound on that a little bit ?
Right , our body resides at a certain temperature . And you know , without going down a rabbit hole , there's a lot of , you know , discussion about what is normal body temperature . But for all intents and purposes of this discussion , we're going to say , hey , 98.6 . Okay , so 98.6 is our normal body temperature . Why would our body heat up ?
Well , our body heats up to try to kill a pathogen , and a pathogen is any germ that may be causing disease or stress on the body . So a fever is actually a good sign that your immune system recognizes something is wrong . And now it's going to mount a response to the presence of the flu virus . And fevers aren't fun . In general they don't feel good .
But you can safely run a fever for the most part if you don't have , you know again , underlying extenuating circumstances . That would suggest that running a fever is not okay . But ideally you want to maybe let the body run a fever , just so your natural defenses can kick in .
And when your fever breaks , that's when , you know , people will get real sweaty and then their body temperature cools back off . But this is a part of our body's natural immunity . This is helpful . When is it not helpful ? Well , when you go over 104.7 , you're risking , you know , brain damage or seizures .
And now in this discussion , I think we should recognize that there is something called a febrile seizure and children can have this and some children will hallucinate at 101 temperature or some kids will even have a seizure . And febrile seizures are , you know , innocuous in as much as there's no permanent damage .
But it's scary to see somebody have a seizure , especially if it's your baby having the seizure . But if you have a healthy kid , I know for myself , raising my kids , I tried to let them run a fever and when they were just so miserable then we would do something about it . And mainstream it's going to .
Medicine is going to say okay , acetaminophen , ibuprofen , and that's how , and you dose it according to weight and you know however many hours apart . But really and truly you can do other things . Um , when you have a high fever and you're just , you've said enough , I can't do this anymore . And for me that's like 103.7 . I'll run .
If I'm going to run a fever , it's going to be high fever . It's not fun , but I realized my body is done Like I cry uncle , 103.7 . And for me I'll go get in just a lukewarm bath because it's cooler than my current body temperature , but it's not so cold that it's going to cause shock . Now some people will put an ice pack on their feet .
You know , you've probably seen TV shows or movies where they put people on ice . I think you risk putting somebody into shock when you do that . I wouldn't do that without medical supervision . Into shock when you do that ? I wouldn't do that without medical supervision .
But there there is definitely a place for fevers , you know , in a normally otherwise , normally healthy person , and this isn't again . You know , like our disclaimer says , this is not medical advice . You should everybody should talk to your provider . You should have a provider who's knowledgeable and able to help you make these decisions .
But if you're comfortable you know facilitating a fever , then do it . There are a lot of clinics around the world that have hyperthermia chambers to help the body achieve a fever , to cook off some sort of germ or whatever else is going on .
I mean look at sauna use . Sauna use is essentially cooking out the bad stuff , sweating it out . You heat your body up so high it has to let it go .
Exactly , exactly so , really and truly . You know we do want to let the body do its thing , but we can help our body along in many , many ways , but ultimately you don't want to spread it . If you have it , and so we can't stress enough , take care of yourself at home and don't spread it around by not covering your mouth or practicing good hand hygiene .
Wash your hands after you've been to the store . Wash your hands If you go out to eat . Wash your hands before you eat , no matter where you are .
But I do also want to point out , you know , we talked about the RSV vaccine and and there are concerns with it because it is a new vaccine and and I'm not sure I really don't know about any long-term studies on it . I haven't really gotten into that . But flu shots have been around for a long time and they're not a guarantee either .
They are there and there are people who swear by them and there are people who get the flu shot and then get the flu and say I'm never getting the flu shot again and the . It's the same thing . You can't rely on one vaccine to prevent , you know , other bad decisions from ending in disease .
But with the flu shot , you know some estimates this year that it's maybe 25% to 35% effective , which isn't really good . I promise you , if your vitamin D levels are up and your nutrition is up and your sleep is caught up and you're drinking water and not eating a bunch of sugar and junk food , your chances of not getting the flu are a lot higher .
I will say this is my second cold and flu season in urgent care and I have not been sick and in my primary care in a traditional clinic I was the only one who didn't get a respiratory virus and I didn't mask , but I did eat healthy and sleep well and drink lots of water and you cannot put a price on that . It makes up for a lot .
It does . And the D3 thing you know you think about in the summertime , when we have access to more sunshine , it's boosting our D3 . Then the days start getting shorter , just as we're coming into flu season , and so it's . It's really important to remember . D3 is a simple supplement to take .
It is not that expensive , it is so easy to take and I know for me I think you would agree , sharon some of the healthiest people I see have higher D3 levels , like 80 to 100 .
Those are the healthier people , yeah . And they say I think with COVID , even like Dr Brownstein I don't remember if Dr McCullough said it , but they were saying if your vitamin D levels were over 60 , you were like 89% less likely to end up hospitalized from COVID .
That's a pretty big number , yeah . So take your D3 , and it's easy to give babies too . You know low , low dose . But you can give little people D3 . You can give older people D3 . Just keep that in your medicine cabinet and start taking it the beginning of the fall .
And I always say take it until you can get outside and get sunshine again , when the weather starts warming up , because sunshine is so powerful , so so powerful . It's light and heat that's going to kill off viruses and bacteria .
But don't forget just getting outside , getting fresh air and grounding , touching the earth , getting your nervous system to calm down so it can focus on healing .
But then , one of my favorite ones , that I text all my siblings who have children at the beginning of flu season , like , hey , beginning of flu season , before the holidays , start doing a little parasite cleanse on your children and yourself , but especially children , because they are such little snotty kids that share everything and that's a really easy thing to do .
We've talked about that before as well and there's there's a lot of different ways you can do it . It doesn't all have to be a big , overwhelming thing , but doing those parasite cleanses ahead of time are a great way to stay healthy . But yeah , I just can't put a price on what to prevent , right ?
Absolutely , it's so true I've noticed that our clients who have done a parasite cleanse this fall or have done two or more , like with the full moon , we're not seeing the level of respiratory illness in that subsection of our clientele , like we are with new people coming in or who have no experience with parasites . Um , necessarily , but yeah , yeah .
Yeah , but you know , lymph though too . It really doesn't matter what virus , what ailment , lymph is always the answer .
You go like should I ?
dry skin brush yes . Should I come in for lymphatic therapy ? Yes , yes . Unless you , you know , are having a raging fever or coughing your lungs out to where maybe you shouldn't be around people . You should stay home . Otherwise , come get some lymph .
Yeah , yeah , absolutely . And let's you know . Back to the homeopathy Belladonna is I call it homeopathic acetaminophen because it will help reduce a fever and it helps with pain . Pulsatilla is good for any kind of fever that has snot associated with it . There's a lot of mucus .
That's a good one , but for the flu , oselococcinum , and I can't say that very well , but I think I said it right .
But you can see it .
You'll recognize it at the health food store because you're going to go . What in the world is that ? And it's spelled well I don't know how it's spelled O-S-C-I-L-L-O-C-O-C-C-I-N-U-M . Maybe I'm close .
A lot of people will take this once a week as a preventive , but you can also treat in the very early stages of respiratory illness or flu-like cold or flu-like symptoms . You can take this and hopefully shorten the duration and kind of mute the effect .
Really good for babies . Yeah , once again , because you're getting ahead of it .
And you're not going to hurt a baby with it .
Yeah , yeah , okay . Well , that was flu . Let's talk about the big one , right , covid ? How do we even have a conversation about it differently than we do the flu ? Let's start there .
Well , it's mainly differentiated by test results . That's not a fair statement all the way around , but symptoms are very similar to flu and sometimes RSV . But there are a few distinguishing factors .
For me , you know , a lot of times in urgent care I have no idea until I just test people or don't even know what it is , because you can have any of these symptoms with any of these illnesses .
But COVID is a little better known for people who say , oh , I woke up and I had no sense of smell , like smell and taste were gone , and that seems to be fairly unique to COVID . But I think it is a good question and we kind of struggled with this . But COVID is a manipulated version of a coronavirus .
Coronavirus is a virus that is responsible for colds . Right , there are so many upper respiratory viruses like rhinovirus , adenovirus , coronavirus , metanumavirus , influenza , rsv . They're all upper respiratory viruses .
Covid is different because it was manhandled and manipulated , right , and so for people who were compromised with regard to other health issues , it did prove to be more detrimental . But it , you know it does affect people differently .
But still , most people who get it , you know it's mild to moderate illness and you're going to treat it the same way , it's still going to be supportive care , short of you going in the first 72 hours and getting tests . You know , first 72 hours of signs and symptoms , um and they , they , you can take an antiviral .
I , as a naturopath , am not a fan of these because they're not proven to greatly shorten the duration and they're biologic drugs and I think those are very unproven as far as long-term outcomes . But COVID can involve extreme fatigue , cough fever , headache , body aches , breathing difficulties and we still want to treat it .
Support , you know , with support , supportive therapies .
And that's where you know I hope my listeners , our listeners , know I'm not making light of it , but we often can think , oh , this is a special case virus , upper respiratory type virus . It's not . You really do a lot of the same things . And I mentioned parasites . I didn't mention the big I word , ivermectin . It's a great time to bring up ivermectin .
It got popular with COVID , but it's been useful and effective long before then for cancers and viruses and you know it's not just livestock People have used it and this isn't , you know , always a popular opinion . But when you are trying to boost your immune system , you do really want to take away anything that could be stressing your body from healing itself .
And you know the supportive effect of a parasite cleanse , once again , is one of the most valuable things that you could possibly do , especially before the holidays . But just even when the weather's changing , it's a good time to think , hey , let's build my immune system , and we do this all the time .
We can walk any listener through the best way to build your immune system ahead of time and then , when you're in it , we can also guide you on what's going to be the best tools for you . Being sick doesn't have to be this big scary thing , and I can attest to when my grandparents got COVID .
My grandmother had COPD and type 2 diabetes , my granddad had Parkinson's and he had recently broken his hip . I mean they had a lot of risk there when they contracted COVID . But by doing a lot of the supportive care we did it for two weeks and pulled them through . They both lived to tell about it and it didn't take much to pull all those tools together .
It just took a lot to do them and a lot to know . But once again , that's why we're doing podcasts like this . We want our listeners to have these tools and be ready . But if you want help on how to do that , just give us a call . We want our listeners to have these tools and be ready .
But if you , if you want help on how to do that , you know , just give us a call . We're we're always happy to do that , because keeping people healthy that's why we do this . We'll take , we'll take you when you're sick , but if we can keep you from getting there , it's even better . But ivermectin I I'm a huge fan , huge huge fan .
Well , I can tell you I mean having married someone who grew up in the cattle industry . He's my husband . You know he wrote a poem I call my husband a cowboy poet and he is a poet and he wrote a poem in high school called Ivermectin , and my husband graduated in the 80s , so it was a while ago .
But ivermectin has been used by lots of humans for lots of viruses and lots of issues for a very long time .
And you know I will say I'm just going to make this statement I do not believe that healthcare and medicine should be political , should not be politicized , and I think that with ivermectin , politics and pharmaceutical profit concerns and government tie-in got in the way of ivermectin really being able to shine like it should have during the pandemic .
Instead , it got beat up on the daily and it was withheld and people suffered for it . It's been used for years in autism and for malaria , for viruses , for parasitic infections , and used by humans . Okay , and yes , it is also used in livestock , but I think it just got a bad rap . So that's all I'm going to say about it .
Yeah , yeah , don't knock it till you , try it .
Let's go even deeper .
Okay , let's talk about bird flu , because this one also just raises a lot of questions on my part , like , okay , what are they doing now ? So do we really need to worry about this one ?
I think that's the question . What are they doing now ? So do we really need to worry about this one ? I think that's the question . What are they doing now ? It's one bit to me it's like , seriously again . I mean , remember I , what year was it the swine flu ? They tried to make the swine flu this big pan , I call it the pandemic .
That wasn't because the lethality was so low . And my thing is again I'm going to hearken back to my husband . You know , we've been together 32 years and um , he's from the panhandle of Texas and the very first case um was a D , a dairy worker in Demet Texas . Why were they testing a dairy worker in Demet Texas for H5N1 ?
Why , you know , and and there that's my first question how that happened and why . And there , because there wasn't like this big death toll in the cows . But we have record of animal to human transmission , but there's no human to human transmission and the only people who have gotten it seem to have gotten it from being around sick cats or eating sick chickens .
That I've read . And so to me it's like , well , well , how did this one get manipulated ? Because I don't think this is , you know , it's not from a wet market . We haven't said it's started on a dairy .
I think that , you know , most people have enough wherewithal to question these things now , knowing that gain of function is a thing , knowing that there are entities out there who are curious enough to go to the dark side to see how bad they can make a virus , and I think that with H5N1 or the avian flu or bird flu or whatever you want to call it , there's
just way too many inconsistencies and unknowns . There's a distinct , distinct lack of human cases . I think California declared a crisis because there was one case , and I think that that's just . I think it's sensationalism and I'm not going to take part . I felt like . You know , that happened in 2020 . We worked all the way through it .
We helped a lot of people with supportive care , um , and no matter what happens with this whole age five and one , we're still going to be here providing supportive care , education and resources , because and as we learn more , we'll do better , um , but with this we just have not seen something that demands a different answer .
Yeah Well , and that just brings it back to whatever new virus is out there . Whatever immune system support isn't a new thing .
Yeah .
Taking care of your health and being proactive . That's not a new thing . That starts today . You know if you're not already doing it . It is easy to do , and that's that will make you feel like you're in charge of your health more than anything . If you know , know you're taking the steps and doing the things that are going to boost your immune system .
Yeah , yeah , and so I think this is good . Let's , we'll wrap it up here . I hope that everybody took away some tools , some tips . It's time to go stock your cabinet . There are certain things you always want to have on hand , like a pulse oximeter , a nebulizer , and go get you some essential oils .
But if you watched this episode on YouTube , please like and subscribe to our channel . Also , check us out on Rumble , facebook and Instagram , and if you'd like more information on how to take better care of your health and avoid getting sidelined with respiratory viruses , you can visit us at k6wellnesscom and you can schedule an appointment or a free discovery call .
But until next time , take care of yourself , because your health is worth fighting for .