by Dr. Sudhirdas Prayaga
The new Omicron variant of Covid19 virus, scientifically called XBB.1.16 or commonly called ‘Arcturus’, is creating a new wave of infections in India (see graph below from World Health Organization) and may soon spread to other countries. So, I thought it is time to write an update for the current situation and how to survive this infection.
Covid19 pandemic started in late 2019 somewhere
in China and exploded into a worldwide pandemic with significant morbidity and
mortality that held us hostage for a couple of years. Now we are in April 2023 after
3 years with this pandemic and still seeing new virulent variants of the virus.
Covid19 is an infectious disease caused by the novel coronal virus called nCoV2. It infects the respiratory system and is
transmitted by air and aerosol particles in the air. Our body protects us from such infectious diseases
though its immune mechanism, the defense system of our body. What makes some people get sick while others resistant
to the disease is the status of their immune system.
How
to be healthy and keep healthy
To be healthy or keep healthy means to keep all arms of your immune system in good working order which will protect you from any infections. Covid-19 is an immune disfunction associated disease, where mortality and morbidity is linked to people with impaired immune effector responses. It is commonly heard, ‘boost the immune system’, especially by companies selling food or nutritional supplements. In reality, we don’t need to boost the immune response, which could lead to overactive immune responses like allergy and asthma. What we need is a balanced immune response for optimum health.
As we age some of the defense mechanisms of the body deteriorate as normal process of aging. If we understand what has become defective in our body, we can try to improve that. There are many biochemical tests available to measure the functions of various systems in our body. Unfortunately, our health care system is still not up to speed on alerting individuals about this. So, the onus is on us to be vigilant about our own health conditions and take necessary actions.
If you are not sure about your
health status, request your doctor to do a panel of biochemical clinical tests
which includes hormones, vitamins and many biological markers related to health
of many important organs in your body.
These should include cholesterol, vitamins including vitamin-D, steroid hormones
including testosterone, melatonin, etc. among others. These results should give good ideas about your
health conditions. There is a panel of
physical indicators which we can monitor ourselves to keep track of our health conditions,
which will be discussed in a future article. There are also various actions you
can take to take control of your own health such as balanced exercise, optimum
sleep, healthy diet, etc.
7 ways to survive this pandemic
1. Maintain optimum immune health. Follow the ways discussed above. Nothing is more important than keeping good mental, physical and immune health for a long and healthy life. As the saying goes, ‘a well oiled machine works well’, it is imperative we keep our body agile for long term performance.
2. Keeping distance and avoiding public places, if one can avoid it. Typically, infectious diseases are acquired from others. Many people may have been infected but do not have or show symptoms and may be carrier of the infectious agent. So, if one is immune compromised or over age 50% it is better to avoid crowded areas. Infectious agents also probably follow the rule ‘square of the distance’ in their ability to spread, so farther you are from another infected carrier better for you. Minimum distance suggested is 6 feet apart.
3. Use personal protective equipment (PPE). Rigorous use of masks and sanitizers will cut down infecting ourselves and others by over 90%.
4. Use anti infection cocktails. The commonly available Ayurveda based mix of ginger, turmeric, lemon have been shown to be effective to various extents. Some companies have come up with lipoprotein based anti-infective solutions, others with anti-infective nasal sprays, all of which help to various levels. For example, Shogaol, a chemical present in ginger is found to have anti-infective properties. Similarly, Withaferin, a chemical present in Ashwagandha is shown to have immune modulatory effect.
5. Get vaccinated to generate memory immunity. One of the important aspects of our immune system is its memory response. A major way by which vaccines work is by creating a memory of the antigen or virus it encountered first time. During subsequent infections the response will be fast and swift.
6. Passive immunotherapy. If you are already infected, request passive immunotherapy of either a convalescent serum or human monoclonal antibodies. Although, this may not be advisable or effective with changing virus variants but should be considered in individual cases.
7.
Antiviral
drugs. Now there are few FDA approved drugs available, which should be used in consultation
with your doctor on individual case by case.
