The COVID Experience

After 3 years of avoiding the plague, it finally hit my household.  Before I get into things I need you to understand that this is in no way meant to tell you how to treat the crud. This is simply me sharing the story of what our experience with the crud was like and the NON-medical things we did to find comfort, in hopes that someone else may find a shred of comfort in an illness that is NOT FUN. Please seek medical attention when necessary, and do your own research to decide if something is right for you and your family.

I found that finding comfort really boiled down to two things; 1) supporting the inflammatory response and 2) supporting the elimination of mucus.

In my family of 5, four of us developed symptoms. My 6 year old daughter was the only one who, as of this writing, has been spared the misery.

The 4 of us who had symptoms, had some similarities and some differences.

My husband and I had the worst of it. Ours started out with a fever, severe body aches and chills. My husband’s fever stage lasted 3 days. He chose to suppress his body’s inflammatory response (fever) with ibuprofen. He kept himself hydrated with a mixture of Ningxia Red™, 1 drop of lemon Vitality™, and a squirt of grapefruit Vitality Drops™ (electrolytes) in water. He had a severe headache which he tried peppermint on his forehead for, but it wasn’t enough (neither was the ibuprofen). I switched him to M-Grain™ and he said that was helpful.

I chose to support my body’s inflammatory response with a shot of copaiba in water, 2 tsp Wolfberry-Elderberry Super Syrup, and 2 oz Ningxia Red™. I did this combo every 2 hours except when I fell asleep. My headache stayed mild. My fever and aches lasted over night, so about 12 hours.

When my 8-year-old son came down with the fever and aches, I did the same combo for him. He was fever-free within 24 hours. He also found comfort in M-Grain™ on his forehead and Raindrops.

After the fever stage passed, the respiratory crud settled in. Diffusers were running nonstop in every room. The name of the game switched to mucus drainage management.

We were doing Zytos everyday, so there was a lot of random things we did, but some of the things that gave us consistent relief were:

We hit the Vitamin C harder since Vitamin C dissolves mucus. I was doing 4-6 Super C™ tablets throughout the day, plus a chewable anytime I felt phlegmy. Ningxia Red™ is high in Vitamin C, we were all doing 4-8 ounces throughout the day. I was also doing a lot of Super D™ and Inner Defense™. Lemon in our water. Ningxia Red™.

We did several Raindrops, adding in oils from our Zyto scans. A turning point for me was during a Raindrop where I added eucalyptus globulus in just before peppermint, it triggered a coughing spell for me that lasted about 2 hours. It was an extreme clean out of crud that sent me to bed to get it to calm down. Don’t let this scare you away from a Raindrop, it’s simply just how oils work sometimes. They get the crud out….NOW.  I made dramatic improvements after this little episode.

Another thing I found helpful in digesting crud was Di-Gize™ on my back. Conveniently, I lost my sense of smell, so the topical application of Di-Gize™ didn’t bother me like it normally would. I took full advantage.

With all the drainage that I was experiencing, I swallowed a lot of crud. To the point it was making me feel “blah” and triggering my gut issues. 3 drops Di-Gize™ in a capsule with coconut oil was helpful, so was Detoxzyme™, both supported the digestion of crud while soothing and healing the gut.

Thieves™ cough drops, lozenges, and Chest Rub were super comforting and soothing to the heavy chest. So was my favorite chest roller.

ImmoPower™ came up on our Zytos a lot, so we used that on our spine, feet, and chest often.

Baths with Epsom Salt and lavender and Egyptian Gold™ for the little one. She was always happier afterwards.

Even though I could not smell it, I found adding 10 drops eucalyptus globulus to a wash cloth in my shower to be soothing to my tight chest. I’m not sure if 10 drops is necessary, as I said, I couldn’t smell.

My 3 year old daughter only ever got a stuffy nose and was extra crabby for a few days. She was supported best with a diffuser of RC™, free choice of Ningxia Red™ juice, and my Wolfberry-Elderberry Super Syrup.

SLEEP! The best healing was done while we slept. We took naps whenever we felt the need. Don’t neglect this step. I found sleeping on my stomach to be the best position to keep my lungs from filling up while I slept.

Lean on God’s word. Quarantine was HARD. I’m not used to my husband being around so much, giving his unwarranted opinions about how I should be spending my time, and constantly pointing out my poor housekeeping skills, yet not lifting a finger to remedy his complaints.  By the end of 2 weeks dealing with all the neediness of my family and it seeming like no one gave a thought to my needs, my cup felt empty. I was sick of doing all the things for everyone. I was overwhelmed and exhausted and I felt like no one cared. I know that’s not true, but it’s how I felt. Two things got my attitude turned around; 1. Telling my husband where I felt he was falling short for me so he could adjust his own actions to help me. 2. Matthew 20:28.

"just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

I quit with the pitty party and happily served my family again.

The lesson here is when life gets hard, lean on God’s word instead of the worldly things, you’ll be better off.

I hope you never need to use this advice, but if you do, I hope it is helpful to you.

Be well friends,

Jackie

UPDATED: After I wrote this, I was still experiencing a lot of post-COVID crud. Just a lot of phlegm and tight chest still. My FitBit showed low O2sat readings that were kind of concerning to me. I felt fine. Just had respiratory crud. 

A friend of mine shared a post on FB about a South African Dr who theorized this remaining crud I was experiencing was histamine response to left over viral particles. While these viral particles were inactive, the body was viewing them as allergens and attacking them, causing the excess phlegm and tight chest. He suggested anti-histamine drugs for treatment.

Now, I have no clue on the source of this post....I don't really care if it's real or not. What I do care about is that it made a suggestion that inspired me to try something different than what I was already trying that was harmless to my health. 

So I switched my attack strategy from immune support and anti-viral tactics, to anti-histamine support. (Seasonal allergy sufferers pay attention, this will come in handy for you in the springtime.) Updated: I created a blog for you allergy sufferers. :)

Lavender has anti-histamine properties. So I added 6 drops of Lavender Vitality to an empty veggie cap topped off with coconut oil. I found some relief, but it wasn't life changing.

So then I tried a combination that is popular with seasonal allergy sufferers we call the LLP Bomb. It is 3 drops each lavender, lemon, peppermint (Vitality) in a capsule. I top all my capsules off with coconut oil because it is a healthy oil and it helps the essential oils absorb better and stay suspended in the body longer. This combo did nothing for me. So I then tried 6 drops lavender, 3 drops lemon, 1 drop peppermint (I'm sensitive to peppermint so lowered the dose to my preference.) 

THIS was the magic combo for me! Relief lasted about 2-3 hours, so I made a new capsule any time I felt the tightness come back in my chest. I did this for 2 days because by the third day I no longer felt the need for it. It was the missing link to my complete recovery. 

While I'm sure this South African doc is tarred and feathered by now, he might be on to something. Updated: His "theory" has actually been followed by other doctors and this antihistamine approach is a real thing now. :)

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