In the past two weeks I have received many, many messages asking me:
How do I prevent the flu, viral illnesses, coronavirus, etc?
Are you worried about coronavirus Paula?
How do you take care of yourself when you are ill so you recover quickly?
Do you recover quickly?
*Keep in mind, I will add more things as I think of them, so keep the post link handy.
**Medical Disclaimer: see at bottom of this post and read my full disclaimer here
This is all information coming from my Registered Nurse training & experience, Functional Medicine trained & experience, Herbalist trained in the Wise Woman and Vitalist traditions, and all of my Natural Health / Holistic Health trainings and experiences. Use it for what it is worth to you.
I share with Love, Compassion, Peace, and deep TLC for all of you.
Post Updates in bold
My V Basket contains herbs and supplements geared towards upping the immune system, supporting the body in a viral crisis, and restoring health after the virus has burned itself out.
Prevention
The key to prevention of any disease, infectious or lifestyle related, is your basic daily lifestyle medicine always building vibrant cellular health.
What I mean by that is a person’s best health defense is a good offense. This means healthy lifestyle medicine choices that are your daily habits. On my FREE Health Education Pages, I have one page that is titled Whole Health Lifestyle Choices. In the Wise Woman Tradition, our daily lifestyle habits either support a healthy immune system or deplete the immune system. Refer to the Whole Health Lifestyle Choices link above.
UPDATE June 16, 2020: Some research is pointing to blood coagulation / clotting as a problem in COVID infections that leads to poor outcomes. My recommendation, if sick, would be to use hot peppers of any kind, hot pepper sauces, cayenne powder, white willow extract, and fresh ground peppercorns on everything you eat / add to drinks. Hot peppers naturally thin the blood and prevent clots without the stomach disrupting issues of aspirin. Fresh garlic as well.
UPDATE 4/7/20 With breath techniques, if you are not used to deep breathing in Yoga or another holistic health techniques, do these sitting down. You could get light headed and black out. So if you are new to breath work, start out slowly and build your breath technique and lung capacity.
Below video is for lung, immune, and mood health support: deep breathing and spinal movement.
UPDATE 4/7/2020 This video is instructions for performing chest percussion to break up and move congestion out of lungs.
UPDATE 4/8/20 This is a great breath technique video, from a British Doc, sent to me by my Big Sis. Thanks Ter.
Prevention of Illness: Whole Health Lifestyle
Organic, whole food eating habits every single day.
Update 4/22/2020 AVOID ALL Dairy when sick with respiratory illnesses. Dairy is mucous forming in the respiratory tract. Not what anyone needs with respiratory illness. This is a recommendation I feel is common sense. But a lot of common sense home care has gone right out the window in modern life.
Update 4/21/20 Be well. Be happy. Your attitude is your immune health and your attitude affects the whole human mindset : Collective Soul (remember that rock group?!). Energy Medicine in Action!!
3/29 Update: No sugar: sugar depletes the immune system in many different ways. You do not want to paralyze your white blood cells at this point in time. I did not specifically put sugar here to begin with as I felt it was implied in the “eat whole food” only above. I was asked more than once. Sugar is in drinks, sodas, sweet treats. Be wise when dealing with avoiding viral illness. You want your immune system intact and your white blood cells strong & numerous.
Outdoor time to breathe in fresh air, replace the stale indoor air from your lungs and body, and get some amazing natural light. Go for a walk in the woods under Evergreen trees in the WInter. This is like a Sage smudge without having to burn sage. Crack open, even a tiny crack, a bedroom window at night for fresh air.
Update 3/30/20 Speaking of breath… Deep Breathe frequently. Deep breathing expands the lungs capacity, even at rest. Deep breathing tones and lengthens the muscles between each rib, your diaphragm, and the upper chest muscles to expand the lungs at the collarbone area. The more elastic your whole breathing apparatus is in health, the better off you will be when your body is dealing with a viral infection. This is wisdom from Yogic teachings. Practice deep breathing several times daily.
Move your body. Yes, that means exercise. This keeps the blood flow at an optimal flow to remove shit from your body that contributes to ill health. 3/29 Update: speaking of poop, keep your intestines regularly eliminating. This is a major waste removal from the body and keeps detoxification pathways functioning optimally.
Yoga (not just the poses but all of Yoga’s tools - yup, look that one up) helps to boost the immune system, keeps you in rest and digest mode (that means calm and peaceful which is necessary for immune function), promotes good breathing and circulation, promotes regular bowel habits, and so much more.
Speaking of which: prevent constipation. Constipated, stagnant digestive waste adds to the body’s toxic load. This is not good for your immunity, liver, or the whole of the digestive tract and body.
4/22/20 Update Gut Health Interview with Lorie Brown, RN & Lawyer who works with & for Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, etc. at EmpoweredNurses.
3/29 Update. Gut health is important now & always. Gut health IS immune health. Eat fermented food. Take high quality probiotics. A friend just gave me keifer granules so I’m making and eating keifer every day. https://www.paulayoumellrn.com/gut-health/
Take a whole food, organic multivitamin-mineral supplement. See the Pure Synergy vitamin above. It is a 4 tablet a day supplement. I generally take 2 daily as an “insurance policy” on my healthy eating habits. Some days I remember only one tablet. Other days I take a big fat zero of them.
Herbal medicinal infusions add minerals and plant medicines. They keep the body hydrated. This all supports a healthy immune system. Learn to brew herbal infusions properly to make healing medicine for yourself: https://www.paulayoumellrn.com/making-herbal-infusions-teas/
Wash the hands. Yup, you have heard this over & over.
Gargle with warm salt water and use it in your neti pot as well. Gargling with warm water with a splash of apple cider vinegar is a good idea as well. Swallow the vinegar water. The acidity kills viruses.
Eat black, red, white pepper. Pepper, hot foods, up your circulation. This supports the body in many ways: getting nutrients to the cells, removing waste products from the cells, stimulates the immune system, and supports the assimilation of the nutrients in your foods-supplements-herbal teas into your body cells.
Update 4/2/20 Make and use Fire Cider: https://blog.mountainroseherbs.com/fire-cider There are many versions & recipes all over the internet. It is a circulatory pizzazz thing, see pepper info above, as well as an immune booster activating your immune system to seek and destroy viruses and bacteria.
Blood clots are an issue with covid related complications and death and some covid shot side effects. Hot peppers are a natural blood thinner.
I slug down a TBSP shot of Sambucus Elderberry Concentrate daily. It is unsweetened. It costs me about $1 a day. 3/28/20 Update: I have read different views on avoiding anti-inflammatory medications for body aches and fever (Think over the counter, OTC, non steroidal anti-inflammatory, NSAID, Ibuprofen) as they interact with corona virus in ways you don’t want to deal with. I have read this is true and I have read this is a false idea on the internet. Let’s reflect on what we learned about using aspirin with viral illness fevers and reye syndrome. (The proposed mechanism for aspirin contributing to the development of Reye's syndrome is related to mitochondrial damage that can be caused by salicylates, which may be intensified during viral illness by endotoxins and cytokines.) Let’s keep in mind that this is a virus we are not familiar with. We do not know what it is doing to our liver and kidney function, what it is doing to inter-cellular & intra-cellular mechanisms, etc. Elderberry is an anti-inflammatory as is turmeric. I would suspect that whole food / whole herb anti-inflammatories would interact in the body and with the virus differently than a single constituent drug chemical like Ibuprofen (Advil, NeoProfen, Caldolor, Ibuprofen IB, I-Prin, Infant's Ibuprofen, Ibu-Drops, Infant's Advil, Advil Liqui-Gel, Advil Migraine, and more). But I do not know this for fact. Again, this is where self responsibility comes in. Update 4/1/20: Here are two articles about elderberry, inflammation, & cytokine storms. They speak deeply of wellness care, from a holistic herbalist’s perspective, as I have outlined in this post. https://commonwealthherbs.com/elderberry-cytokine-storms/ https://herballegacy.com/Elderberries%20Trigger%20Cytokine%20Storm.pdf
I take a vitamin C capsule daily. Synergy brand above. This is a whole food vitamin C supplement, NOT ascorbic acid. I do not recommend buying vitamins or supplements in a grocery, drug, or discount store. Buy high quality, trusted brand name products. It is always better to get your nutrients from food as the whole spectrum of nutrients are involved not just the one isolated nutrient. I use Synergy brand Vitamin C because it is a whole food supplement.
I do not avoid the public but I also don’t go places where I know people are sick. I stay home if I’m sick but again, was this not common sense at some point?
I use an essential oil blend if I am going to be in a crowded space: airport, airplane, etc. I put one drop of the Medieval Blend (Thieves Essential Oil Blend) on my palm, cup my hands over my nose, and breathe in the essential oil for a few minutes. Then I rub the oil off my palm with my finger and rub it just under and just inside my nasal passage ways. I cup nose and inhale for a few more minutes. If I was going to be in a plane, I would repeat this every 1 1/2 - 2 hours or so. Essential oils are very strong plant medicines. More is NOT better. Use them very sparingly as you never know what your reaction will be. AND, In order to produce a single pound of essential oil, enormous quantities of plants are used, literally hundreds of pounds. In my mind, most cases we could make far better use of all the actual plant materials to make medicinal teas and tinctures, to serve far more people on this planet, than using the plants to produce tiny quantities of essential oils. It is all about sustainable use of Mother Earth’s soil and resources. I used this technique, on airplanes, long before covid was a word we were using. It’s again, common sense, to avoid catching something on a crowded plane when you’re going on vacation.
When I first had my sons, now 18 & 21, I created treatment cards for all sorts of possible ills my kids might have. It was a step by step protocol to take care of their whole body during the illness without OTC or RX meds. These cards were used by more than one Mom in our play group.
I am sitting down, soon, to compile a list of what to do to treat this current respiratory virus. The card will be kept right in the V Basket so any family member can follow the protocol instructions.
Some of my health care protocol cards from the kid’s younger days.
Bones getting ready for broth making, Then Bones after 12+ hours of brewing & stewing, Now 3 1/2 quarts of bone broth ready.
Care of Viral Illness:
Fever? Teas & tinctures of Yarrow &/or Boneset with Chamomile & Peppermint. Boneset is for deep pain / fevers of flu, when your bones ache. It’s not particularly tasty but it’s deep medicine, bone 🦴 deep. Chamomile supports relaxing rest, Peppermint as well and Peppermint gently supports circulatory movement of the rest of the herbs through your body. Fevers are not a problem if one keeps hydrated.
Bone broth if I have any in the freezer. If not…
Herbal infusions of Stinging Nettles, Comfrey, Raspberry leaf, Mullein, Ginger, Yarrow (if fever), Chamomile & Catnip at bedtime for sleep. And I make these Herbal Medicinal Infusions whether I have bone broth or not. The herbs are medicinal, nourishing, and the fluids keep me hydrated. Fevers are not a problem if one keeps hydrated. Use the link to learn to properly prepare Herbal Infusion Medicines. I would use both herbal infusions and bone broth if I have bone broth. Keeping the body hydrated is the key to fevers doing their work. Fevers are a good thing, partof your immune systems healing mechanism. Keep them hydrated.
Oscillococcinum homeopathic: follow directions. This reduces the flu symptoms and lessens its duration but still allows the immune system to create immunity from the viral microbe. That is a good thing!
Baths with herbs or epsom salts. Drink the herbal infusions while in the bath tub. When you dry off quickly, get into warm pajamas and wool socks. Hop into a warm bed and bring herbal infusions with you. Literally keep a quart jar next to your bed.
Congestion: rub the chest (front, back, & sides) with an herbal aromatic chest rub. Think Vicks Vaporub but instead us a product made with olive oil as opposed to petroleum jelly. Put on a cotton turtle neck that is tight fitting. This keeps the warmth of the chest rub contained and helps to loosen the congestion. Keeping the lungs clear helps to prevent a secondary bacterial pneumonia. Do chest percussion after warming rub application, have someone do chest percussion on you.
Apply hot water bottle heat or heating pad warmth to the chest. Be smart with temperatures, barrier between the skin and heat source, and not falling asleep with an electric heating pad. If falling sleep is a risk: have someone monitoring you OR set an alarm for 15-30 minutes. Make certain your heating pad is in good working order, electrically speaking: no broken wires etc. Chest percussion & deep breathing after warmth has been applied to the chest.
Warm showers to allow warmth of the water to run over congested face and chest. If lightheaded and weak… sit in a plastic chair that is not going to slip about in the shower AND have someone keeping an eye on you.
Rub the same ointment, mentioned above, around the back of the ears, under the ear lobes, across facial sinuses, by the nose, etc. (Be careful of your eyes). This will help to prevent nasal congestion leading to bacterial overgrowth and a secondary sinus infection. See examples of aromatic olive oil based ointments at end of post.
Do a sinus drainage massage at least twice daily to keep the nasal, ear, facial, and neck sinuses / lymph fluid draining. This prevents things getting stopped up, constipated, and a secondary bacterial infection taking hold in the sinuses. http://blog.massagebyheather.com/drain-fluid-from-the-ears/
Neti pot rinse with warm water and kosher salt. If you do not have a neti pot, you can use a regular coffee mug. Plug one nasal passage with your finger and suck the warm salt water up into the other nasal passage way like you had a straw in you nasal passage (but you don’t). The fluid will run down the back of your nose into your throat, just spit it out. This is actually nicer than neti pot as the warm fluid helps to rinse the inner eustachian tube opening and keeps it clear as well.
Steam the face. Steaming hot water in a pot, face over water, head & pot covered with towel to form a tent. Obviously keep your face at distance to prevent scalding. Add aromatic herbs to the steam water: example would be eucalyptus. Or add a drop of the medieval or thieves blend. The chest congestion rub, added to hot water, will also work very well.
Plenty of rest.
Deep Breathe.
Do chest percussion, have someone do it on you.
Avoid over the counter medications that only create more toxins in the body and are hard on liver and body cell health. (Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Naprosyn)
Use your common sense.
Lung herbs below
3/28/20 Update
The below lung herbs will be part of my vital flu protocol card’s information.
If anyone in my family gets sick, they will be taking Lung Tonic immediately 3-4 times daily.
Respiratonic will be used 3-4 times daily, or as needed, if acute breathing issues begin.
Lobelia will be used, by the dropper full, in the “Holy Shit, I can’t breathe right now” moments.
Phytocillin will be used, per package recommendations, to maintain healthy lung microbiome.
3/29 Update:
Many companies carry similar respiratory support herbal formulas. Look at the herbs in the formula. Tell your health food store personnel what you’re looking for, the herbs in the formula, etc. They may carry a different brand.
Off the top of my head, 2 more reputable companies. There are many more. I could not know or list them all.
Dr. Christopher
Nature’s Sunshine
Lobelia is lobelia. It’s a 1 herb formula.
These herbal formulas are great to have on hand to support breathing and respiratory/bronchial/lung health.
Respiratonic opens airways. Think asthma or COPD.
Lung Tonic is a, well tonic, for long term support of lung health.
Lung & Bronchial is great for congestion during acute illness.
Phytocillin for maintaining respiratory microbial balance.
Lobelia is a strong herb for opening airways to breathe with more ease.
Liquid Respiratonic: see above image for description.
From a FB post I wrote: Paula Youmell, RN, Wise Woman Nurse, March 4 at 8:29 AM
Lifestyle Medicine, i. e.: our daily habits, ARE what keeps us healthy.
What we have been taught, by mainstream medicine, to believe about fevers and viral illnesses actually impedes our immune system’s ability to heal from illness.
1) Allow fevers to do their job. Do not try and lower them with aspirin, tylenol, ibuprofen, etc. .
2) Keep the body well hydrated and fever is not a problem.
3) Use natural methods of supporting the body to do its cleansing & healing work. See above.
4) Read up on germ 🦠 theory vs. terrain theory of disease. I suggest the book, The Male Herbal, by #JamesGreenMasterHerbalist.
To read an article by Dr. Christopher, Naturopath, on coronavirus: https://herballegacy.com/Doomsday%20for%20Coronavirus.pdf
I have watched the endless posts on FB recommending people use *hand sanitizers every move they make, every hour of the waking day, every time they touch anything, etc. This is very hard on your skin and the sanitizers are toxic.
From another FB post I wrote: Paula Youmell, RN, Wise Woman Nurse, March 5 at 6:12 PM
*Every time one uses a chemical disinfectant (hand sanitizer):
adds to body’s toxic load and this makes it harder for your immune system to do its job if it is dealing with auto-intoxication. I know this flies in the face of what you want to do, I am just stating my natural health thoughts here. DO as you feel comfortable doing. Let common sense prevail, not fear. By the way, fear depresses your immune system.
stresses liver methylation pathways, your detoxification system
adds more toxins to the water table that fills your well or water supply, the water supply of the Earth
contributes to you being antibiotic resistant if you get a bacterial infection if your hand sanitizer also has antibiotics in it. This goes for household cleaners & dish soaps, hand soaps that also have antibiotics in them.
What are the impacts of our lifestyle choices on the next seven generations?
Google all natural hand sanitizer recipes and make your own if you feel some need to have one.
Simple hand washing is very effective and non-toxic.
Take an all natural lotion (see image below) and mix in Thieves or Medieval blend essential oils. Use 5-6 drops per ounce of lotion. Now you have an antimicrobial hand lotion that is non-toxic and will keep your skin from drying out.
Hand sanitizers, besides being toxic and contributing to antibiotic resistant issues, dry out the skin and crack it. Cracked skin is more likely to harbor micro-organisms that can cause problems.
Yes, what I am saying is hand sanitizers can cause more long-term problems.
Wash your hands even if you just use plain water and friction of rubbing your hands together and rinsing.
*Disclaimer #1:
I will come back and add things as I have the “ah ha” moments of , “gee, I should have added this lifestyle habit or that herb, etc. Save the link so you can come back and recheck the info as often as necessary.
**Disclaimer #2:
Please read my entire Medical Disclaimer Page that very directly states that anything you choose to do, with my educational information or anyone else’s information, is your choice. Any supplement you use, any technique you employ in your life, etc. are all your choices including any consequences of those choices or consequences of taking herbs, foods, vitamins, or supplements. Period.
