South OC Acupuncture Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine

COVID-19

In these unprecedented circumstances, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) community has united together to help you stay healthy as you battle COVID-19 on the front lines. I am also here to provide you, your families and friends with additional treatment options for symptoms, in hopes of avoiding further spread of the virus.

I can help via telemedicine. TCM herbal medicine is showing great promise in mitigating the symptoms of COVID-19, particularly in the early stages of infection.

Thanks in part to the combination of Chinese and Western medicines, medical teams in China were able to get the virus under control much quicker than in other parts of the world. TCM must be considered at all stages of the virus; pre-viral, with onset of symptoms, and as symptoms progress. After performing a differential diagnosis to determine what phase of the disease is presenting, a customized herbal prescription is made. All licensed TCM herbalists are highly trained to identify herb-drug interactions when prescribing herbal medicine to ensure the formula is safe and effective.  

Based upon the latest research, I present the following suggestions for you to utilize and pass along to others.

Take Chinese Herbs for Immunity: Start these immediately. Chinese medicinal herbs offer powerful, yet gentle formulas designed to boost immunity and specifically ward off the COVID-19 virus, based upon the research provided. I am constantly receiving the latest information and making adjustments to my blends based upon symptom presentation and phase of the disease. You may call me for a phone consultation where health history and current medications will be considered prior to prescribing your custom formula.

Take Chinese Herbs for Symptom Treatment: Ideally at the onset of any symptoms please contact me ASAP. The goal here is to immediately address and treat any symptoms and allow the body to eliminate the virus before it settles in. I am able to address symptoms at any stage of the virus so do not delay.  

Take Probiotics Daily: Best source is fermented foods such as sauerkrauts and other fermented vegetables. In China they found that some patients with COVID-19 showed intestinal microbial dysbiosis with decreased probiotics such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. TCM considers this a Damp Plague, which means it is dampness (or fluid, edema, and phlegm) that is the predominant danger. The goal here is to reduce the risk of secondary infection due to bacterial translocation from the gut to the lung.

Exercise Daily: to the point of  slight sweating, but not much more. The diaphoretic action of the skin can help boost immunity and push out the virus.

Avoid Unnecessary Antivirals & Antibiotics: both of these are considered COLD and very hard on the gut and should not be the first approach in terms of boosting immunity without active symptoms. The Chinese herbs that are recommended currently are damp clearing herbs along with those that strengthen the body’s immunity.

Avoid Dairy, Sugar, Soy, Fried greasy foods: these are all phlegm producing and hard on the gut. Similarly to how these foods aggravate diarrheal disorders by adding dampness to an already damp picture. In order to avoid excessive phlegm production, it is essential to keep the gut as healthy as possible.

Take Vitamin C: 3000mg daily is recommended to boost your immune system, help kill the virus and reduce symptoms. If symptoms appear, increase dosage to 4000-5000mg daily. The studies show that intravenous Vitamin C is most effective in severe cases of COVID-19.

Please remember that you are not alone. You are surrounded by highly trained Traditional Chinese medical professionals ready to help keep you and those around you healthy. Please reach out to any of us and we will gladly help you with a telemedicine consultation, custom herbal prescription, and high quality supplements.

 

Yours in Health,

Dr. Susan Naziri