Winter wellness 2020 update

**During this very unusual and unprecedented time we are sending you our love and well wishes**.  Like you, we wake each day wondering what is happening in the world and how to interpret all the new information weaving allopathic medicine with our integrative approach.  

**Here at Pediatric Alternatives we are open for our regular hours and seeing patients via telemedicine**. Telemedicine is going well and we are amazed at how much we can get done over video.  It is so nice to see your faces and hear your voices!  

**Evaluation for possible COVID should always begin with a telemedicine appointment** with one of the doctors to determine what testing needs to be done and the best place to do it. For a few of you who are sick, we are swabbing you at the office to test for flu or strep before we send you to local resources for specific COVID testing.  We can also refer adults for the appropriate evaluation and testing if needed. We are being very careful to keep everyone safe, so before we swab you we don personal protective equipment ( PPE ) and come out to the car or meet with you in the garden to collect a swab. We will wear PPE for all visits. 

**We have only had a few positive results for COVID,** but we are talking to many people with specific symptoms very suggestive of coronavirus even though their tests are negative.   As with any new test, it’s not perfect, with reports of false negative rates as high as 30%, depending upon the sample and when in the illness it was done.  In the future, we will have antibody tests to determine if one has had the virus, but for now that is not yet widely available.  If your family has any symptoms of fever, cold symptoms, flu symptoms, gastrointestinal symptoms, we ask you to assume you might be infectious and strictly isolate until you are symptom free for a full 7 days. 

**We have restocked our supplement supply**, since many larger stores are out, and can help you get what you need for your families. Please call or email ahead and we will  leave a bag for you outside for pickup. If you come by the office, you can also knock on the door and we will hand you whatever you need so you don’t have to come in.    

Below are treatment suggestions developed by Dr. Sarabenet for those of you who think or know that you may have COVID.  Dr. Lindy is reminding everyone that Mother Nature is providing us with an excellent natural abundant source of Vitamin C right now - LEMONS!  And they’re everywhere.  Keep your refrigerator stocked with homemade lemonade sweetened with maple syrup (and maybe a little stevia if you don’t want to use too much maple syrup).  Sour grass, Oxalis stricta, an excellent natural source of Vitamin C, is in full bloom right now.  [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalis_stricta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalis_stricta).  Help the kids identify it and encourage them to eat it.  Even put the flowers in a salad.  

**We are all hoping and expecting that the children will be going to school in the fall and because we have many children on a catch-up vaccine schedule, we feel it’s time to start giving vaccines again.**  Starting this week, we will be giving vaccines in the garden, making sure that there is plenty of spacing between visits so that we honor our social distance.  If you would like to discuss your vaccine schedule with your doctor,  please schedule a telemedicine visit.  Vaccines will be drawn up when you arrive and will be given by a staff member wearing a mask and gloves. 

**Even though we cannot actually see your children for well checks presently, we’re happy to have conversations over the phone about any issues that you might have**.  Especially new parents with small infants, please call us to discuss feeding questions, weight gain issues or developmental concerns. For the older children, counseling sessions over the phone are also available. Many other practitioners are working over the phone and we can make suggestions for referrals if needed.

The good news is that you have all been learning and practicing a healthy life-style, eating clean nutrient dense foods, taking minimal antibiotics, getting outside and exercising, so even if you and your family get the virus the outcome will mostly be good.  We can also confirm the children in our practice  who are having symptoms of coronavirus are generally not very sick.  Thank goodness…..!!

**Coronavirus Treatment Recommendations**

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Now that we have cases of coronavirus in the community, we are starting to get first hand information about what this illness looks like and what the first symptoms might be.  **MOST** families are having mild disease. 

The early symptoms look like practically any virus including:  scratchy throat, chest tightness, fever, dry cough, nausea, vomiting (occasionally), abdominal pain or diarrhea, conjunctivitis (pink eye).  The later symptoms include: fever, worsening cough with fits of coughing and wheezing like asthma or whooping cough. Please contact us if your child is lethargic, not drinking, has labored breathing, significant difficulty sleeping from cough, or anything else that really concerns you. Outside of office hours information for nurse calls and after hours visits is available on our website. 

Regarding treatment, we are being conservative, recommending supplements and dosages that we think will be helpful and in no way harmful. These dosages are for SHORT TERM (2-3 week) use. Focus on rest and hydration. 

We do not recommend using anti-inflammatory or anti-fever medicines at this time.  Try not to suppress symptoms, especially fever, with ibuprofen (Motrin/Advil), aspirin,  naproxen(Aleve) or any other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). If really needed, acetaminophen (Tylenol) can be used, but ideally not around the clock.  Asthmatics should stay on their regular inhaled steroids as prescribed by their doctor for any upper respiratory infection. Stronger steroids can be given if needed and if prescribed by a physician so that we can weigh the risk versus the benefit of these medications. 

_Vitamin D/day_

0-6 mo 400 iu

6-18mo 1200 iu

18mo-5 years 2000 iu

5-12 yrs  5000 iu

12 and up 7000 iu

_Vitamin A/day_

Kids to 12: 2000 iu

Adults: 5000, max of 10,000 iu

_Zinc_

Kids 10-15mg/day (Equivalent to 1-2 zinc lozenges)

Adults 30mg capsule daily (take with food) or equivalent in lozenges

_Vitamin C high dose/day (Short term only)_

50 mg/lb of body weight/day spread out over the course of the day

20 lbs: 1000mg

30 lbs: 1500mg

50 lbs: 2500mg

100 lbs: 5000mg

Max dose 8000mg/day for adults

If your cough is severe 100mg/lb maximum can be tried, and we suggest consultation with your doctor if your cough is severe. 

Homeopathic remedies:

We do not yet know what will be helpful for early stages but you can consider trying

Arsenicum Album 30c 3 pellets every 2-3 hrs while awake.

For the fits of coughing later: Drosera 30c 3 pellets repeated as often as needed. 

At this time we are not recommending other remedies that we frequently use, such as elderberry, herbs, and chinese medicinal mushrooms. 

However, you can consider a trial of V-clear or another Umcka preparation. Quercitin may also be helpful. 

Food things to consider for prevention include: selenium sources such as Brazil nuts, sources of resveratrol (grapes), alliums like onions and garlic, and of course, bone broth.