| Dear Patients, Families, and Friends:
The COVID-19 pandemic represents one of the greatest global health challenges to face mankind in modern times. While the information has been slow in coming, what we do know now is that we are in the midst of a major event, and our response can be one of fear or preparedness. We choose the latter.
This week, the concern of rapid spread among the population of the United States has resulted in unprecedented, large scale cancellations and institutional closings around the nation.
Public health officials everywhere are pleading with Americans to “stay home” and to avoid large group settings where infectious exposures and transmission are more likely.
In an effort to comply with these evolving guidelines, Holistica Integrative Care recommends that our patients, who are experiencing fever >100.4F, cough, shortness of breath, or even sore throat to stay at home, implementing the now well-recognized strategy of voluntary quarantine. If your fever is >100.4 F for more than 3 days and/or if you are experiencing trouble breathing, retractions around your rib cage, or any other respiratory distress, go immediately to the ER for evaluation.
Please call us if you have questions or are unsure about whether or not you should go get tested or go to the emergency room. Our team can help you navigate your symptoms and give you tools to help you recover from most any acute illness you are experiencing. We don’t want to unnecessarily burden our hospital systems with what may be a normal viral illness or influenza. Stay in touch with us, and we will help guide you in the right direction.
We at Holistica Integrative Care suggest the following supplemental immune-boosting strategy as well.
- Vitamin C: 1,000-2,000 mg, 3-4 times a day (to bowel tolerance)
- Vitamin D3/K2: 5,000 IU/100 mcg, at least once daily (up to 3x per day if no known kidney or hypercalcemia issues)
- Vitamin A: 25,000 to 50,000 IU per day
- Zinc Picolinate: 30 mg, 1-2x daily with food
- Selenium: 200 mcg, 1-2x daily with food
- Arabinex 1 scoop, 1-2 x per day (great options for kids)
- Anti-Viral Herbal Formula (premade ready for you to pick up) – 3 droppers, 2-3 x per day.
- Dietary measures: avoid sugar and alcohol, increase fruits and vegetables to 7-9 servings per day, drink 80-90 ounces of water per day.
- Get some fresh air and sunshine.
- Sleep 7-8 hours per night.
**Note: Many supplement manufacturers are running out of supplies; if you have questions please call for recommendations and our staff can answer your questions.
If you have been a patient of ours, please remember the important commitment you have made long ago to your health, lifestyle, and the dietary choices and nutrients that you already engage in that are supportive and protective. This all matters at this precise moment. If you have room to improve, now is the time!
We will continue to offer preventative high dose intravenous Vitamin C (IVC) for our patients with manageable symptoms. However, the current public health guidelines suggest that any person with a fever or any upper respiratory symptoms should treat their illness as potentially COVID-19, preferably obtaining appropriate diagnosis via your local health department or hospital ER.
Holistica is not equipped with protective masks or hazmat suits, and our staff are not trained to deal with infections of this potential virulence. We will remain open to our both our regular patients and chronically ill patients (with no fever), who can benefit from the preventive power of IV Vitamin C. Our priority is to protect the latter patients from an otherwise potentially devastating exposure to COVID-19.
Finally, we recommend that our regularly scheduled patients KEEP THEIR APPOINTMENTS and convert them to either phone or Zoom (video call). Once again, this reduces everyone’s risk of exposure. Please call our office to arrange this.
Hopefully, with the coming of spring and warmer weather AND with compliance to the public health guidelines listed in this letter, we will witness the end of the pandemic and a return to business as usual. Stay tuned for additional updates as we are all learning on a daily basis.
Thank you for your patience and understanding… and for your compliance.
The Holistica Integrative Care Team
Mary Shackelton, MPH, ND
Jenny Demeaux, NP
Robert Zieve, MD
Jessica Muniz, BSN, RN
Dylan Smith, EMT-IV
Olivia Geary
Kim Rosenbarger |
