We've been having friends come and visit on our back patio over these last few COVID risky years. Sitting in the sunshine, with the table between us, giving us all a good six to eight feet distance and only a few guests at a time feels pretty safe and is a nice way to connect in person. This may seem overly cautious to some, but since many of us now know a few COVID "long haulers," or even some who have died, or who have come close to death, I certainly don't want to take any chances.
The New York Times printed an article last month (February, 2023) titled, "The Pandemic is Not Over for Older Americans." (Because dis-information is so prevalent these days, it's good to consider reputable news sources with a history of journalistic integrity and accurate reporting when sharing information of this nature.) The New York Times reported that there were 11,500 COVID related deaths for the month of January, 2023 alone. Roughly 50% of the people who died were vaccinated, and 50% were not vaccinated. The number of deaths rose proportionately with each decade of age, being over 65, over 75 or over 85 years old. And, only 10% of the 11,500 people who died in January were under the age of 65.
To put this in perspective, during all of the years of the Vietnam War, we lost almost 60,000 United States combatants. Though I was barely in my teens at the time of the active protests against the war, I remember how intensely our population rose up to try and prevent our young men from going off to Southeast Asia. And now, with this country's January COVID deaths, we've had over one sixth of all of those Vietnam years of total "casualties," in just one month's time. Yikes! So, yes, I agree, for older Americans the pandemic is not over. And some of the all too common lingering symptoms like brain fog and fatigue are quite terrible so, I like to be cautious.
Though I am cautious, we all make mistakes, often without even realizing it until we look back with the hindsight view. Last week, one of our dearest friends was fresh in town, just off of two airplanes. It was his birthday and I wanted to make him a pie. So, we invited him to the patio the day after his arrival, (my first oversight being immediately after his multiple public airport and plane exposures,) and served him an all fruit, no sugar home baked pie, (my second oversight because we do sometimes get a little close, with masks off, while serving and eating,) and then we wound up standing and talking, also a bit too close without our masks on, as the clouds floated in front of the sun, (my third and forth oversight.)
The next day, he came down with flu symptoms, achy joints, headache, coughing and he called that night to tell us. The following day, he tested positive for COVID. The next day he couldn't lift his head from his pillow and was experiencing rapid cognitive decline. His family lives here and fortunately they were able to safely take care of him. The next day, the forth day after we were with him, he started on the new Rx Paxlovid, within the five days suggested to stop the viral damage before it becomes too severe. We are dropping off some lovely homemade chicken soup for him today.
In the meanwhile, having been exposed and in the susceptible age groups, Frank and I have put ourselves in 'home isolation' and have jumped on precautionary and hopefully preventative actions. (Please see my YouTube channel for "My COVID-19 Prevention Routine.") First and always, as we already know, after being in public: soap and water. Washing hands, clothing, dishes, kitchen counters, a nice shower and shampoo does wonders. Second, supplements: Vitamin C, Zinc, Vitamin D, Andrographis, Monolaurin, Usnea, and Propolis are all good friends of mine. Third: I like to use either a simple salt water solution snorted up my nose or Xlear nasal spray: both the salt or the xylitol, when delivered to the sinuses helps to break through the biofilm, which is a protective barrier that infectious materials form around themselves to keep our immune response at bay. Breaking through this barrier gives our immune system access to, and a better chance at overcoming the invaders. Forth: holding a positive outlook and sleeping well. Getting afraid, catching a chill or lack of sleep can dip our immunity. So, it's good to avoid those stressors and hold positive thoughts, dress warm and tuck in a little earlier.
These are all great strategies to use on a regular basis, especially during the cold and flu season. But, when I really want to stop something in its tracks, I turn to the overheating bath.
I first tried an overheating bath in the 1990's when my dad had a quadruple bi-pass surgery and I flew home to take care of him. On the plane I caught something nasty and woke the next morning with that 'uh-oh feeling.' I had recently read about this technique in Linda Page's excellent book Healthy Healing, the 9th edition. We know that overheating therapies have been used since the time of the ancient Greek physicians and are still used by natural healers in clinics world round. Many cultures of the world value the healing properties of heat and utilize: dry saunas, wet saunas, natural hot springs, sweat lodges, etc. Since none of these are immediately available to me and I have a bathtub, I like using the overheating bath and I have found that I can gain some of the same healing effects right here in the comfort of my own home.
In her book, Linda Page, N.D., Ph.D., explains that virus replication is considerably reduced with even slight increases in body temperature and has long been successfully used against acute infectious diseases. At the time when she wrote her ninth edition, the AIDS epidemic was raging. Linda cited reports where overheating procedures were found to be effective in reducing symptoms of AIDS and even in eliminating the virus from the blood. Without any effective medications available at that time and with overheating therapies being so effective, she felt that hyperthermia might again become recognized for the wonderful healing tool that it is.
As for myself, back then, not wanting to risk infecting my still hospitalized and vulnerable father, I enlisted the help of my sister-in-love and gave the bath a try. It worked. The hot water treatment raised my body temperature to 103 degrees, for fifteen minutes. That night I sweated it all out and woke the next day feeling great and ready to see and start taking care of my dad.
An overheating bath is a pretty tricky procedure and I always enlist the aid of an able bodied assistant before hand, just in case I have need, because I have found that it can leave me feeling weak as a kitten. And it is important to realize that overheating baths may be counter indicated or dangerous for people with various pre-existing conditions. So, do some research in advance, (Linda gives a full how-to description in her 9th edition on pages 38, 50 and 51) and talk it over with your healing team before giving this a try.
I'm glad to say that it really works for me. And I do a variation that simplifies it. I start with two thermometers, a candy thermometer to register the bath water temperature and a standard glass and mercury mouth thermometer to keep track of my body temperature. I have a nice deep tub and I block the overflow outlet, so I can fill it all the way to the top. Again, do your own due diligence here before attempting this procedure.
For my body, I can tolerate a high bath water temperature, and I put in Epsom salts and other minerals like dead sea salts and magnesium chloride flakes to aid in the detoxification and remineralization of my body. As I spend time in the tub, my body temperature rises. My assistant and I keep track of both. Again, caution should be used with anyone either young or old and as Linda advises, the pulse should never rise above 130. Additionally, if someone is ill, constant supervision is absolutely necessary. I use this as more of an early stage or morning after kind of a prevention treatment rather than a cure, because someone who is already sick with a virus might be too weak to tolerate the heat very well.
During the bath, I usually keep a quart of herbal tea to hand, so as to prevent dehydration from sweating while the bath salts pull out toxins. I usually take a shot or two of Dr. Schulze's Cold 'n Flu formula (https://www.herbdoc.com/cf-herbal-shot#KCFS) as well, to boost my immunity as the heat races my blood and the herbs all around inside of me.
Once I've held my internal body temperature up nice and high, preferably at 102 or better yet, 103 degrees for fifteen minutes or so, I start cooling things down by letting out a little hot water and adding in some cold water. And, as I mentioned, high fevers can leave one feeling weak, so this is where an assistant is essential to help keep track of and monitor the situation. (Healing clinics with spas and saunas have attendants for good reasons.) As the bath water gradually cools over time, my body temperature returns back to normal, and I rinse the bath salt residue off my skin. Then I slowly and carefully make my way to my bed to sweat out the reminder of any toxins, perhaps with a few beach towels between the sheets, and I sleep it off. I keep a quart or two of water bedside to rehydrate with if I wake during the night and in the morning.
It has been five days now, since my nice hot bath, and I'm not expressing any symptoms. So far, so good, with my recent exposure. I'm still going to keep myself in isolation for the full two weeks, just in case. As we know, this virus is not just an ordinary flu. It can be really dangerous and I wouldn't want to take the chance of being a vector.
Bless you all. Be careful and stay well.
As
a Clairvoyant Healer, Spiritual Counselor and Intuition Instructor, I
share many tips for leading a healthy and fulfilling life. Please be
advised that I am not a doctor. Nor am I licensed in any healing
modality. However, I have had years of experience in alternative and
complementary health and healing. All healing programs, including
standard western medical protocols in addition to natural therapies, can
cause harm rather than the benefit that you may be searching for. After
all some people can have a strong reaction to something as seemingly
innocent as peanuts or strawberries. Therefore, anything that I may
recommend in these blogs and videos could be dangerous for you to try.
So, it is important that you Ask Your Doctor First before trying any
natural healing protocol. However, most medical doctors have little
experience regarding natural healing programs and herbal medicine. So
please understand if your doctor is unfamiliar with these ideas.
