The Open Air Method: What We Might Be Missing To Treating COVID-19

During the Influenza pandemic of 1918, it was common practice for sick patients to be treated outside in tenets or open wards. This is known as the open-air method. The English physician John Coakley used the open-air method in 1791 to treat children suffering from tuberculous.

A combination of fresh air, sunlight, scrupulous standards of hygiene and reusable face masks appear to have substantially reduced deaths among some patients and infections among medical staff.

-20% of COVID Patients Caught Disease at Hospital

Sunlight increases vitamin D levels, which boosts the immune system. Additionally ultraviolet light renders viruses like COVID-19, and the flu, inactive. During the Influenza pandemic, in a typical hospital that had 76 cases, 20 patients would die in a three day period while 17 nurses would become sick. Adopting the “open air” method brought fatalities down from 40% to 13%.

Related: Data Shows How to Protect Against Coronavirus and We Address Conspiracy Theories
Related: Data Shows How to Protect Against Coronavirus and We Address Conspiracy Theories

Today, our modern hospitals are severely lacking in the “open-air” method. It’s been estimated by several different studies that a large portion of COVID-19 cases are being contracted within hospitals. Numbers from NHS England indicate that up to 20% of hospital patients with COVID-19 became infected at the hospital.

Nurses and other staff have inadvertently passed on the virus to patients because they did not have adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) or could not get tested for the virus.

-20% of COVID Patients Caught Disease at Hospital

In Wuhan, China it’s estimated that hospital-related transmission is associated with 41% of cases. In the U.S., it’s estimated that 1.7 million healthcare-associated infections occur in hospitals each year. In past outbreaks, SARS, which is similar to COVID-19 has been said to be a “super spreader” in Ontario in 2003, 77% of SARS cases were contracted in a hospital.

Related: How to Breathe

Dr. John Loannidis recommends not going to the hospital with COVID-19 if your symptoms are mild. Many people are able to spread COVID-19 to those who are immune-compromised. A study analyzed the mortality rates of 5,700 patients in New York City who were placed on ventilators. The mortality rate of these cases was anywhere from 76.4% to 97.2% depending on age.

If you’re worried about COVID-19, having a healthy gut is the best thing you can do to avoid getting sick, and of course sunlight and fresh air are great too.

Recommended: How To Heal Your Gut 



High Blood Pressure and Diabetes Shown to Raise Your Risk of Dying from COVID-19

A new study has shown that high blood pressure increases your risk of dying from COVID-19. Doctors in China noticed a pattern when treating patients – nearly half of those in critical condition were also suffering from high blood pressure. A total of 2,877 patients were analyzed, where 29.5% of people had a history of high blood pressure. Data showed that those patients who had higher blood pressure had double the risk of dying from COVID-19.

Related: Data Shows How to Protect Against Coronavirus and We Address Conspiracy Theories

Out of the 10.5% of the overall population with diabetes or prediabetes, 14.3 million people over 65 have one of the two chronic conditions.

High Blood Pressure May Double Your Risk of Dying From COVID

Additionally, patients with diabetes also had worse symptoms than those without. In the U.K., data showed that 19% of those hospitalized with COVID-19 also had diabetes. Only an estimated 6% of the U.K. population has diabetes. Those with Type 1 diabetes were worse off than those with type 2.

Diabetes and high blood pressure contribute to 5 out of the 10 top leading causes of death according to the CDC.

Related: Hypertension – How To Lower Your Blood Pressure Quickly and Naturally
Related: Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones



Study Says 80% of COVID Patients Suffer Heart Damage

A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Cardiology has found that nearly 80 percent of COVID patients sustained heart damage.

The research was conducted by Germany’s University Hospital Frankfurt. Researchers examined the MRI scans of 100 patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19. Most of the patients were said to be otherwise healthy and in their 40s and 50s.

More than three out of four of the patients showed heart muscle damage with an MRI test.

In some patients, the heart may be “in serious trouble as a part of COVID-19 disease,” Dr. Valentina Puntmann of University Hospital Frankfurt told Reuters. Among 100 patients ages 45 to 53, “a considerable majority” – 78 – had inflammation in the heart muscle and lining. Sixty-seven had recovered at home while 33 had required hospitalization. Half of the former patients were more than two months out since their diagnosis at the time of the MRI. Thirty-six patients reported ongoing shortness of breath and general exhaustion, and 71 had blood markers of heart muscle damage. Compared with similar people who had not had COVID-19, the recently recovered patients’ hearts pumped more weakly and displayed other risk factors for heart failure. Puntmann suspects the abnormalities are signs of permanent problems. “While we do not have direct evidence for late consequences yet, such as the development of heart failure … it is quite possible that in a few years, this burden will be enormous based on what we have learned from other viral conditions that similarly affect the heart,” she said. (JAMA & JAMA)

Yahoo News

Related: Data Shows How to Protect Against Coronavirus and We Address Conspiracy Theories



Almost Half of Small Business Owners Expect to Close Down

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the economy was propped up by the Federal Reserve System. The central banks had reinflated the stock market, and while President Trump was boasting about a booming economy we were actually well on our way to an economic crash. It’s highly likely that an economic crash would have happened even without coronavirus, but whether or not it would have been as severe as it is now is debatable. With more people unemployed than during the time of the Great Depression, it is unlikely the economy will be quick to recover even if we do return to “normal”.

Noam Galai, Getty Images

In truth, the economy was a Fed-induced bubble before the pandemic. The central bank has managed to reinflate the stock market bubble despite the economic destruction, but it is nothing but a Fed-induced sugar high. And the economy won’t likely rebound quickly, even after things open up.

Nearly Half of Small Business Owners Expect to Close Down Permanently

Related: Data Shows How to Protect Against Coronavirus and We Address Conspiracy Theories

A recent survey conducted by a financial services company shows that nearly half (47%) of small businesses expect to close down permanently, and 41% say that they are looking for full-time work somewhere else. Less than half of small business owners that participated in the survey applied for PPP loans (38%) and 37% of those who did apply said the program was “slow to distribute funds”. Small businesses employ nearly 60 million Americans, accounting for 47% of America’s workforce. There are already several small businesses that have permanently closed leaving many unemployed. It is unlikely that the economy will be quick to recover without small businesses.




Nearly 94 Percent of Native Plant and Pollinator Networks are Gone or Damaged

It’s no secret that bee populations are in trouble, and new research from York University examined the history of native bee and plant systems and found that 94% of those networks have been lost. Thirty percent of the networks have been lost permanently, while 64% of networks have been disrupted because native bees no longer visit native plants.

There are several reasons for the losses in the networks. Climate change is likely the biggest driver. We know that over the last 100 years or so annual temperatures have changed by two and a half degrees. This is enough to alter the time when certain native plants bloom…

For a bee that’s out for months on end or is a generalist pollinator, this isn’t such a critical mismatch, but for a bee that’s only out for two weeks of the year and only has a few floral hosts, this could be devastating.”

Sandra Rehan, Study author, University of New Hampshire

Recommended: How to Eliminate IBS, IBD, Leaky Gut 

Native bee populations are also under pressure from invasive species. Global ornamental plant trade has been able to easily migrate insects that live in plant stems from one continent to another and displace native populations. In addition to invasive species, neonicotinoids disrupt bee behaviors like flight ability, learning and memory ability, and temperature regulation.

Related: Foods Most Likely to Contain Glyphosate



Glyphosate found in Almost 90 Percent of Chickpea and Hummus Samples, According to EWG

A new study from the Environmental Working Group found glyphosate, Bayer’s controversial weed-killer, in nearly 90% of non-organic chickpea and hummus samples tested and was also detected in several organic brands as well. The organization tested 37 different conventional samples and 18 organic samples. All but two of the organic samples contained detectable levels of glyphosate.

Beans, peas and lentils are a nutritious, affordable source of protein and an important part of the American diet…These excellent foods would be much better without glyphosate. Toxic weedkiller should never be allowed to contaminate these products, or any other foods, that millions of American families eat every day.”

Olga V. Naidenko, Ph.D., EWG’s vice president for science investigations.

Related: How to Eliminate IBS, IBD, Leaky Gut 

Of the samples tested, a conventional dry chickpea sample had the highest levels of glyphosate. Whole Foods Market Original Hummus has the highest tested levels among the hummus sample, with over 2,000 parts per billion. Other hummus samples with notable amounts of glyphosate detected were three samples of Sabra Classic Hummus, Sabra Roasted Pine Nut Hummus, two samples of Whole Foods Market Original Hummus, Whole Foods Market organic-label Original Hummus, Cava Traditional Hummus, and two samples of Harris Teeter Fresh Foods Market Traditional Artisan Hummus. The hummus and chickpeas for the study were purchased at a range of grocery stores in Washington D.C., San Francisco, and New York City.




Elderly People Are No More Likely to Follow Mask or Self-Isolation Guidelines, Says New Survey

A new study that surveyed more than 72,000 people in 27 different countries has found that elderly people are not more likely to comply with COVID-19 safety measures. In the study, people surveyed in the 60-80 age range were no more likely to self-isolate if advised to do so, and they were also less likely to wear a mask outside the home.

The findings show that the elderly people, i.e. the most vulnerable population, are not systematically more responsive in terms of prospective self-isolation (if they were told to do so) and willingness to isolate. Moreover, they are not more disciplined in terms of compliance with preventive measures, especially with wearing a face mask when outside their home. This behaviour will become especially important when social distancing rules will be loosened.”

Jean-François Daoust

Related: Data Shows How to Protect Against Coronavirus and We Address Conspiracy Theories

Older individuals are more likely to be hospitalized or die if they contract coronavirus, and wearing masks, self-isolating, and social distancing have been promoted as ways society can offer them protection.