Dr. Toby Naturopathic Medical Doctor, Acupuncturist, Chinese Medicine - vis medicatrix naturae  Photo from Tubbshill.org With the rise of covid-19 cases both nationally and locally it is becoming more import to understand how the virus interacts with the immune system. Gaining this insight can go a long way in helping us learn ways we can protect ourselves and decrease our risk factors for developing severe symptoms and complications. To this end, I will be giving a lecture at Pilgrims market Wednesday, July 22nd at 6 pm entitled "Nature Cure and the Biophilia Effect". l will review the science behind the healing bond between humans and nature and how interacting with nature through nature cure and forest-bathing increases the immune system, helps fight viruses, and heals the body, mind and spirit. In addition, I will share my personal healing journey in the Alps of Tirol, Austria and relate this to current research in nature cure therapies. “Nature Deficit Disorder” is rampant and a major obstacle to health. One of the most important things we can do at this time is get outside and get our vitamin N – nature, this includes being outside in the sun and raising our vitamin D3 levels. Vitamin D3 is just one example of why it is important to get outside and reconnect with nature. Currently, there are over 20 international studies looking at the benefits of having sufficient vitamin D levels in relation to a number of aspects of this pandemic.  Dr. Joseph Mercola, DO, in his self published paper entitled “Vitamin D in the Prevention of Covid-19” documents in great depth the case for how important it is to raise your vitamin D3 blood levels to over 60 ng/ml. He states, “Vitamin D deficiency represents a global pandemic afflicting more than one billion individuals across all age groups worldwide and it has been estimated that in excess of one billion people have vitamin D deficiency. The current pandemic of vitamin D deficiency has collided with the COVID-19 pandemic and likely radically increased the number of deaths because of vitamin D insufficiency.” I have included a pdf copy for download in my Handouts section which can be accessed by clicking here. I believe having sufficient vitamin D levels is one of the most important things we can do during this pandemic. For more detailed information, please join me for my lecture at Pilgrim’s Market. This is a timely lecture I am very much looking forward to presenting and I hope to see you there.
0 Comments
Sharon Delaney, CNM, ARNP, MPH Integrating her knowledge of the relationship between public health and personal health to provide holistic women’s healthcare, Sharon brings her expertise to her current women’s health practice at Spokane Valley Holistic Healing, and is excited to offer antibody testing to the community. We are pleased to report a high level of interest in covid-19 antibody testing. It’s great to see so many of you being proactive in learning whether or not you have been infected with covid-19. And, though there isn’t yet proof that having antibodies protects a person from getting reinfected, it appears more and more promising that immunity has some protective effect.
There are many reasons patients want to know if they have antibodies against SARS CoV-2, the virus that causes covid-19. Chief among these is a desire to donate antibodies to covid-19 patients who are very ill. Research is showing a beneficial effect when treating critically ill patients with an infusion of antibodies. For those in whom antibodies are detected, you can find out more about donating antibodies at this website: https://thefightisinus.org/en-us#home Sharon Delaney, CNM, ARNP, MPH Integrating her knowledge of the relationship between public health and personal health to provide holistic women’s healthcare, Sharon brings her expertise to her current women’s health practice at Spokane Valley Holistic Healing, and is excited to offer antibody testing to the community. In light of several news reports concerning fraudulent and untested covid-19 antibody testing, we want to assure you, our patients, we have been diligent in choosing which labs we are using for antibody testing. The 2 labs we are using for covid-19 antibody testing are Boston Heart Diagnostics (a division of Eurofin Diagnostics) and LabCorp of America.
Due to the urgent need to proceed need for testing, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)needs more time to fully approve test kits because this process is detailed and time-consuming. Since this pandemic has circled the globe so rapidly, and continues to affect entire populations, FDA personnel understand the extreme urgency in using all tools possible to contain this novel coronavirus. Antibody testing is one such tool. Sharon Delaney, CNM, ARNP, MPH Integrating her knowledge of the relationship between public health and personal health to provide holistic women’s healthcare, Sharon brings her expertise to her current women’s health practice at Spokane Valley Holistic Healing, and is excited to offer antibody testing to the community. We are pleased to announce that we now offer antibody testing for covid-19 (SARS CoV-2) through both Boston Heart Diagnostics and LabCorp. This blood test will tell you whether or not you have previously had covid-19. Because it takes up to 2 weeks to fully develop antibodies once exposed to the virus, it makes sense to have this test done at least 2 weeks after being sick with covid-like symptoms. However, some people have mild or no symptoms, so the antibody test will tell you if your body has developed an immune response, regardless of whether or not you felt sick.
It’s very important not to confuse antibody testing with the PCR nasal swab test that looks for the presence of actual virus. This testing is done elsewhere, as we do not have the facilities and PPE for conducting the test for covid-19. If you have already tested positive for covid-19, an antibody test will give a better understanding of how much of an immune response you had. Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM): Review of specific botanical and nutraceutical agents4/19/2020 At this time, there are no specific vaccines or uniformly successful treatments for COVID-19. However, emerging research on several specific botanical and nutraceutical agents is promising, as such agents can improve the body’s ability to fight off and recover from the illness. Pasted below is a link for a good summary, much of which I have discussed in earlier blogs.  Sally Shaw L.Ac., Dipl.Ac. I am an acupuncturist and Chinese medicine herbalist in the process of transitioning my practice and joining with CDA Acupuncture and Holistic Healing. I am very excited to joint the team in the coming weeks and looking forward to sharing my knowledge and healing experience with this community to help patients rebalance their body, mind, and spirit. As luck would have it, I picked a very adventurous time to make this move. Who thought in our life time we would live through a world pandemic? Certainly not me, but here we are finding ourselves wondering…. What in the world is going on. Are you like many people who are uncertain of the accuracy of information being poured all over the news and social media. Are you scared and not sure what your best options are to stay heathy. Recently a live webinar hosted by Dr. John Chen, Ph.D., Pharm. D., O.M.D., L.Ac. was made available to people in the medical community focusing on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). My goal with this blog is to summarize and break down the information in the webinar, explaining what the Coronavirus (Covid-19) is, the pathology, symptoms and treatment options that are being discussed today in both Western conventional medicine and TCM and then focus on TCM’s role in treatment, prevention and recovery.
Dr. Toby Naturopathic Medical Doctor, Acupuncturist, Chinese Medicine - vis medicatrix naturae Stage 0 – No Infection – Prevention:
The biggest fear surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic is developing pneumonia and what is sometimes called severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). It is not the coronavirus which is actually killing people, it is the acute respiratory syndrome resulting from a cytokine storm, leading to sepsis, hypoxia, the inability to breathe and organ failure that can follow it. Most people that get coronavirus will have a mild case; some will have the virus and not have any symptoms at all and for many others it will feel like the flu. We don't have an accurate figure of how many people are infected because so many have mild or no symptoms and are not getting tested. The people most at risk of developing ARDS and dying tend to be the elderly and those that are immune-compromised. Deepak Chopra does the best job I’ve found outlining the disease process and what makes COVID-19 so debilitating. A link to his webpage is here. He says that it is not just the virus that harms the infected, but their own immune systems.
The official statement of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP), for which I am a member, states emphatically that “All healthcare providers should refrain from making health claims or proclamations about a "cure" or product that can "prevent" or successfully treat COVID-19. There are currently no nutrients, botanicals, vaccines, pills, lozenges or other prescription or over the counter products available to prevent, treat or cure COVID-19 specifically”. They also advise naturopathic doctors to follow public health guidelines, and standard preventive medicine protocols, including basic naturopathic and lifestyle protocols that can support the immune system and mitigate the risk of exposure to infectious diseases. I agree with the above assertions. As the COVID-19 is a novel virus, this means there has been very little proven research with this particular virus. However, we are learning a lot about how this virus works and how it can cause quite a lot of harm to a number of individuals. Most medical doctors and the profession of conventional medicine look to pharmaceuticals, a major arsenal in their tool bag to treat and help their patients. As a naturopathic physician, I don’t want to shy away from using the tools I have been trained in and have been using successfully to help patients over the last 16 years I have been in practice. As a primary care physician in Washington and soon to be licensed in Idaho as such, there are recommendations I can make based on experience and also looking at the science behind the disease process of this current pandemic and on extrapolating research on botanical extracts and neutraceuticals which have already been learned on similar viruses to the COVID-19. As “There are currently no nutrients, botanicals, vaccines, pills, lozenges or other prescription or over the counter products available to prevent, treat or cure COVID-19 specifically.” I believe in embracing the founding principles of naturopathic medical practice during this time of disruption and uncertainty and I see this as an essential service to the community in which I deeply care about. "I believe in embracing the founding principles of naturopathic medical practice during this time of disruption and uncertainty and I see this as an essential service to the community in which I deeply care about."
COVID-19: Current Situation in Spokane County |
