Due to the coronavirus pandemic, please be aware that we are in a state of emergency. The United States surgeon general, along with the D.C. Department of Health and the mayor’s office, have asked that all non-urgent and elective surgical procedures, medical office visits and dental office visits be curtailed. This will ensure that we all practice social distancing and limit the use of vital medical resources.
As a result, my office will be physically closed beginning Thursday, March 19 until Tuesday, March 31 after which we will re-asses the situation. Rest assurance, that my staff and I will be monitoring the situation on a regular basis. Hopefully, we will be allowed to re-open our office sometime in early April. We will keep you updated as soon as we have more information.
My staff and I will remain working remotely to serve your needs. I will be conducting appointments over the telephone (also know as “telemedicine” or “telehealth”) from Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM (closed at lunch from 1:00 to 2:30 PM). You can contact my office by phone at 202-244-6661 ext 2 to make an appointment. If there is no answer, simply leave a message and we will call you back. You can also contact us by email at info@restorativehealth.org to make an appointment to speak with me.
Should any of your family or friends have concerns and are unable to reach their physicians, they are welcome to contact me as well. Please note, however, that we would need to temporarily make them a patient of my practice to comply with the current Federal Government’s Emergency Telehealth mandate.
The new coronavirus can produce mild symptoms (80% of cases), moderate symptoms (15% of cases) and severe symptoms such as respiratory distress requiring hospitalization (5% of cases). The great majority of people will survive this illness and be treated symptomatically at home.
At the beginning of this pandemic, it was reported that children and young adults were relatively immune; however, that does not appear to be the case now. We should all be vigilant. People over 65 with multiple medical problems should be especially careful.
The most common symptoms are: dry cough (70%), fever above 100F (50%), and chest tightness or pain (40%). There are many other symptoms associated with this illness. Unfortunately, they can resemble the common cold or seasonal allergies making it difficult to diagnose.
Please contact my office and I will be happy to speak to you about your symptoms and provide recommendations for self-care. Should I feel you are indeed at risk of having contracted this coronavirus, I will refer you to the appropriate testing center. Once they administer the test, you will go home and self-quarantine until you hear from the test center. It can take up to 48 hours to hear back from them.
If your initial test is positive, then they will provide you with further instructions for self-monitoring. You will also receive a second test to confirm the initial diagnosis which can take another 48 hours. If your test is negative, then you remain at risk and must continue to take the appropriate precautions.
I currently have several patients either with coronavirus or being tested for it, and they are all fine. I am managing them at home by phone.
Please make sure you have the following medical items at home: a pulse oximeter to measure your oxygenation, a blood pressure cuff and a thermometer. These can all be purchased at CVS, Walgreens, Costco, Sam’s Club, Kmart etc. These devices will help me monitor your progress as we treat you symptomatically at home.
Please use our Restorative Health Respiratory Guideline Sheet during your care. I will recommend various over-the-counter medications off this list based on your symptoms. I may also have to provide prescription medications should the need arise. At present, the majority of patients recover after 14 days and in some cases it can extend beyond 21 days. In the rare instance you develop chest pain or respiratory compromise, then you proceed directly to your nearest ER.
Once you have recovered from COVID 19 I strongly urge you to volunteer at NIH to help develop a vaccine for this CV.
To boost your immune system response, please consider taking these supplements:
Vitamin C: 3,000 milligrams (or more) daily, in divided doses to bowel tolerance.
Vitamin D3: 5,000 IU/day with food for two weeks, then reduce to 5,000IU every other day
Magnesium: 400 mg daily (citrate, malate, chelate, or chloride form) or to bowel tolerance
Zinc: 25 mg with food daily (picolinate, citrate)
Vitamin A: (if no liver problems), a fish source (not beta carotene) 25,000IU with food daily for 2 weeks, then reduce to 25,000 every other day
Echinacea: 300-400mg 2 times daily
Goldenseal: 400-500mg 2 times daily
Probiotic
These are generic suggestions and intended for adults only. Modification may be required per individual’s needs. Because of the generic nature of these recommendations they do not constitute medical advice. Please contact the office if you have any specific questions. If you are pregnant or nursing, consult with your OB/GYN before taking any nutritional supplementation. Also, if you have an autoimmune disease you should not take Echinacea or Goldenseal.
Working together we can all get through this global crisis. Hopefully, we will emerge with a greater understanding and appreciation for our environment and our planet and we’ll be willing to change our behavior.
Be well,
Dr S
