Tips for Managing the Coronavirus
April 8, 2020
Caring for our colleagues and communities is our top priority and we wish all of you long and healthy lives.
In that spirit, we wish to share some practical and cost effective tips on how to manage the coronavirus in the office and home.
Note: This Commentary is for informational purposes only. We are not medical professionals. Please consult your medical advisor for independent advice before considering any of the ideas expressed in this commentary and see the Important Disclaimer below.
1. Our Thesis about this Coronavirus.
In general, we believe this coronavirus massively inflames the lungs and causes narrowing of air passages, which constricts breathing and causes death.
Specifically, think of this coronavirus as a combination of (a) a horrific asthma attack (i.e. the lungs become inflamed, produce mucus and constrict air passages) and at the same time, a pneumonia attack (i.e. an infection in the lungs causing air passages to fill with fluid or pus) which provokes (b) an overreaction of the body’s immune system in approximately 5% of patients, which actually causes the death.
We believe, underlying causes of death from the coronavirus are from one or more of the following conditions:
(a) respiratory failure(bloodstream does not have enough oxygen from the lungs, which constricts oxygen to organs such as the heart and brain),
(b) sepsis (the body overreacts to a virus infection and releases too many chemicals into the bloodstream which causes organ failures), or
(c) cardiac arrest (sudden loss of blood in the body because the heart has been overworking and has reached its pumping limit to compensate for lack of oxygen from inflamed lungs).
We understand that Regeneron, Roche, Sanofi and others are developing drugs that focus on modulating a patient’s overreacting immune system to treat this coronavirus.
Coronavirus is a general term that also describes SARs, MERS and other severe respiratory disease typically caused by viruses that jump from animals to humans.
We believe transmission of this coronavirus occurs through air ducts in offices and apartment buildings, as well as surfaces, proximity to affected persons etc.
To clean and ionize air we breathe from office and apartment ducts, consider installing air ventilators throughout offices and homes.
For the office, consider Oreck Dual Max Air Purifiers. Model AIR16. $399 each on Amazon.
For homes, consider Alen Tower Air Purifiers & HEPA Pure for bedrooms. Model T500. $199 each at www.alencorp.com.
A simple way to flush out office and apartment air is to open windows each morning or as often as you can.
In the morning, open windows for 2 hours and turn on floor fans to circulate in fresh outdoor air.
We understand the Spanish flu of 1918-1920 was eventually eradicated when hospitals placed beds outdoors so patients could get sun(vitamin D) and clean air.
The Spanish flu started in the spring 1918 and was thought to be eradicated that summer. Approximately 150 deaths occurred in year 1.
However, the Spanish flu mutated (which is common for viruses) and in its 2nd and 3rd year over 50 million deaths occurred (some estimates are as high as 100 million deaths).
The Spanish flu was also known as “purple death”, because purple colors showed around the mouth and finger tips as it severally constrained oxygen within the patient.
We expect coronavirus cases to stabilize and decline in the summer 2020. However, we recommend preparing for mutated versions of this coronavirus in a 2nd and 3rd year.
We recommend preparing for employees and family members to contract this coronavirus.
If you are admitted to a hospital’s ICU bed, it is likely you will be placed on an oxygen ventilator which forces your lungs to breathe with up to 99% pure oxygen.
However, as we state below, hospital ICU bed ratios to populations served aged 15 years or more are generally only 2 to 5 ICU beds per 10,000 such residents. Therefore, you need to prepare to homecare a coronavirus affected family member.
There are portable oxygen generators or concentrators that are relatively simple to operate with advice from your doctor on the daily amount and purity of oxygen appropriate for you.
Consider Portable Oxygen Concentrators made by DEDAKJ, which provides 30% to 93% oxygen purity and weigh 14 pounds.$309 each from www.gearbest.com.
In general, viruses survive longer in dry air and do not survive well in a humid environment. Source: Oregon Department of Health.
A humidifier’s water vapor acts as a natural filter, and helps rid the air of virus particles (as well as pollen, household dust etc.).
Consider the Boneco W200 Air Washer humidifiers. $299 each at www.allergybuyersclub.com
In general, hospitals will provide virus infected patients with anti-inflammatory medications to reduce swelling in the lungs.
At home, you can reduce inflammation caused by this coronavirus by taking Aspirin (Bayer, Bufferin, Ecotrin), Naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn) and Celecoxib (Celebrex). There are side effects to each, so consult your doctor.
Note: Not recommended is Advil or ibuprofen for this coronavirus.
If mucus develops in your chest from this coronavirus (or cold or flu) that will not come up no matter how hard you cough, you can take an expectorant that contains the ingredient guaifenesin.
Common expectorant brands that contain guaifenesin include Mucinexand Robitussin.
To help prevent getting this coronavirus, consider boosting daily doses of the following supplements:
To help prevent getting this coronavirus, consider increasing daily exercise. For exercise, you want to increase your heartbeat and break a sweat.
In addition, consider increasing nightly rest i.e. from 8 to 9 hours.
To homecare family members in quarantine from the coronavirus, and protect yourself from airborne particles and liquid contaminating your face, consider the following protective gear:
It is important to follow Internet video lessons on how to use protective gear, which we believe is just as important as the protective gear itself
In addition to the basic preventative points you hear on the news, we recommend:
Many states were already in financial distress before this coronavirus. For states to pay for extra hospitals, beds and healthcare workers, residents should prepare for cutbacks in utilities and other services such as police and firefighters.
To keep your Oxygen Generator operating during blackouts, consider purchasing Portable Lithium Batteries such as the Picowe Portable Power Station 250 Wh Rechargeable Solar Power. $169 each at www.eBay.com.
This Picowe model is only 6 pounds, has built-in AC/DC/USB output ports and recharges with either an AC wall outlet, car 12V socket or solar panel (not included).
To keep your home safe during budget cuts to police and firefighters, consider adding to or purchasing home security systems such as Frontpoint, VivintandSimpliSafe.
We expect closures of well-known bank’s branches and their ATMs.
Consider taking out enough cash for 4-8 weeks to offset the lack of ATMs or inconvenience of having to travel longer distances to banks’ other branches to withdraw cash.
We believe it is critical to prepare to homecare family members once you do the simple math comparing the number of ICU beds (intensive care unit beds) at your local hospital vs. the population served aged 15 years or more.
In the United States, below are average numbers of ICU beds per 10,000 residents aged 15 years or more at hospitals in selected cities in CT, NY, MA and FL. Source: Columbia University 2018.
New Haven, CT………….. 2.1 ICU beds per 10,000 residents aged 15 years or more
Hartford, CT………………3.2 “
Boston, MA………………..2.9 “
Miami, FL………………….3.7 “
Orlando, FL………………..4.4 “
Ft. Myers, FL………………2.6 “
New York City, NY…………3.0 “
White Plains, NY……………2.8 “
East Long Island, NY….……2.3 “
As we receive good ideas, we will send revised versions of this commentary. To provide feedback or ideas, please contact us at admin@allenrsch.org.
About the Allen Research Endowment
Established in 2016 by the Allen family in Greenwich, CT in memory of their 19 year old son, J. Bradley Allen, the Allen Research Endowment is a non-partisan Delaware 501(c) (3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization.
Its primary mission is to save lives of persons with chronic pain, opioid-related addiction and other complex diseases through a comprehensive approach focused on the development of new medical technologies, faith-based education and public policy.
The founders believe that many current treatments are inadequate for pain management and addiction, and the time has come for a new approach.
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Important Disclaimer
Prices and availability of medical products and services mentioned in this Commentary are subject to change without notice and availability. We do not earn any fee for the products mentioned in this commentary.
Neither we nor our affiliates, and their respective employees, contractors or agents make any warranty, express or implied, as to medical outcomes, the accuracy or completeness of the information or recommendations in this Commentary.
We reserve the right to change our views and make changes to this Commentary without notice. The Commentary is incomplete and cannot be relied upon for any purpose other than discussion. The information contained in this Commentary is based opinions from sources we believeare reliable, but we cannot guaranty accuracy.
You assume full responsibility for all conclusions derived from any opinions or information contained in this Commentary.
