I believe that medicine’s potential is much more than the version we see in the world today. A doctor should be an educator with the goal of bringing patients to a place of deeper understanding of who they are in the world. To me, medicine is ultimately about self-empowerment through self-knowledge and growth.
Masks are coming off. However, your first sniffle is a rude reminder that people get colds in the maskless world!
Maskless Wonders
Colds are going around these last couple of weeks as the masks come off. We’ve seen strep, flu, sinus infections, and COVID as well as just plain old colds. COVID most commonly is presenting as a 3-5 days of mild cold symptoms. We all know the Omicron variant is generally milder, that goes for the 2.0 version as well. Many people don’t suspect it when they have it. Especially if you have elevated risk of complications, I recommend testing early.
Mask on?
All the respiratory infection stuff makes one wonder if we should just be wearing masks all the time. I hear people say, “a little masking for the time we are together is no big deal, right?”
It’s a valid point. And might make sense for some people for some time in certain circumstances.
We made influenza disappear, didn’t we? Most of us had way less colds over the COVID period, if any!
Your Pearly Whites
However, the other side of the argument is to remember the brilliance in seeing each other. There’s something about your smile that makes the world go round.
Our human expression is so necessary. Our face tells a timeless story. “Smile and the universe smiles with you” might not apply as strongly if you’re covered up.
I think even with the risks of infection we should open ourselves to the world. I think we should show ourselves. Take the risk. The reward is real.
Dealing with it
We just have to remember the smart ways to deal with a cold, whether it’s your favorite over-the-counter helper, or a functional medicine approach (example from a friend in CO), or homeopathic options (like Uriel Pharmacy‘s line or True Botanica‘s).
Here is a reminder that an essential part of getting through an infection is detoxifying. This means making sure your elimination pathways are supported at the start of an infection.
Plenty of fluids are, of course, essential. Horsetail tea is a nice way to stimulate the urinary tract to flush the system.
Making sure you’re moving your bowels. Not putting in heavy foods, fatty foods or high protein foods while inflamed.
Not jumping to suppress a fever right away. Fever aids the immune response and hinders viral and bacterial replication.
And always so important: rest!
I think there’s something to the idea that coming in contact with the bug is not the main factor that causes the illness. It’s actually the state of the person that really matters. If there is a toxin or mal-alignment in us the bug finds fruitful ground. Some say the toxin turns the bug into a form that causes the infection. Many times an infection can be seen as an attempt to detoxify and re-align.
Let your light shine
As Marianne Williamson said, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
We have to do what we have to do. We mustn’t isolate or hide. It might mean that you can unmask when these community numbers are so low, as they are remain this week.
Future Watch
“Imagine a cure that’s as contagious as the disease it fights — a vaccine that could replicate in a host’s body and spread to others nearby, quickly and easily protecting a whole population from microbial attacks. That’s the goal of several teams around the world who are reviving controversial research to develop self-spreading vaccines.” Always keep your eyes peeled for the way the world is developing.
COVID headlines and round up
News from the week:
In Mass the 7 day average for the entire state hovered in the 500-600 cases per day range.
Berkshires cases dropped again to 10 cases per 100,000 population per day average over the last week down from 15 cases per day last week. Columbia county is in the same range. (Historic high is 300 cases per day in the Berkshires).
US as a whole is experiencing just over 30,000 cases per day on average, again, for this past week.
Slight uptick is expected as Omicron 2 is now 23% of cases sequenced through DNA sequencing. Federal leaders say uptick not expected to be strong enough to require any restrictions to be replaced.
Cases in Germany have dropped over the last week. The UK and Italy have seen continued increases
Concluding thought: What’s the point?
What if you had a mission here on earth? What if your time here was something like a treasure hunt? What if you had a handful of things you were supposed to experience or decipher while you were here? What if the earth itself had a mission? If you’ve ever wondered “what’s the point?” then I think you’ve heard the call of your mission. We all can participate from whatever position we find ourselves. The journey consists of modest steps every day. And we don’t have to figure it out all by ourselves. We have help. We just have to learn how to listen be open to receiving direction.