Garuda Health Coronavirus/ COVID 19 and Clinic Update

Garuda Health Coronavirus/ COVID 19 and Clinic Update

Mar 20, 2020 by Jason Gauruder

Categories: Current Events , Educational , Events , Garuda Health General News , Information , News , Updates

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Garuda Health Coronavirus/ COVID 19 and Clinic Update

Hello Everyone!


We have a few new updates about the clinic for the coming week. Most importantly, if you are feeling flu-like symptoms please call us immediately, you need to stay home and we can help you with a phone consult and herb delivery. If you would like to cancel or reschedule please leave us a voicemail and we will get back to you as soon as we can.


1. Garuda Health will remain open until a stricter quarantine is put into place. At this time, however, we will be taking extra precautions and limiting appointments, so no patients come into contact and we have adequate time to sterilize after each interaction. I will detail below our cleaning process and our decision to stay open.


2. Our office is going as touch free as possible. This means from the time you enter the clinic all doorways will be open so you do not have to touch anything. Please do your best not to touch anything but your own personal belongings. We will continue to change sheets and sterilize call buttons after every patient. If you have to use the bathroom please let us know so we can sterilize immediately after use. Charles will be wearing gloves as a protective barrier and he will handle all transactions so you only have to touch your card. We will not be taking signatures on receipts.


3. We have updated information about how Chinese Medicine is being used on the front lines to combat COVID-19 and we will share that with you below.

Our amazing office cleaner has been cleaning surgical clinical suites for over 20 years and as a close personal friend we are blessed to have her. She has given us a generous amount of PSQ II, a hospital grade disinfectant that has proven to destroy the SARS-COVID-19 virus. She has scrubbed every inch of the clinic and power cleaned our carpeting. We will continue to clean with this solution and Lysol wipes throughout the clinic.

With a lot of misinformation and a world of panic out there it was a difficult conversation that Charles and I had to have to decide whether or not to remain open. My final reason to stay open is that we are using extreme caution to help prevent spread of the disease, but know that in spite of this pandemic we are one of the only resources people can use to help alleviate their anxiety, treat their chronic disease that puts them at risk, and offer solutions that are already being used by millions to combat this disease.

My training is unique compared not only to standard medical practitioners but also to almost any other Chinese Medicine provider in the US. Having worked in a hospital in China, I’m familiar with how their system is currently handling this outbreak and how the use of Chinese Medicine is being completely integrated with no barriers unlike here in the US. Having been a primary caregiver in rural Nepal, I’m familiar with working in a situation where there is no equipment like CT Scans or blood tests to treat patients, you simply have to use the medicine you have available to help a sick population. In almost every one of these situations these patients had no ability to pay for treatment or even get help if they were able to afford it from a large hospital in India.

My experience with pulse diagnosis and researching this topic also tells me that I have a huge edge on prescribing Chinese herbs unique to each patient’s presentation rather than just giving blanket formulas. This is why for me it’s frustrating I cannot be in a more front line position to help curb this disease from worsening in patients, so by at least keeping my clinic open I can help keep my patient’s peace of mind they’re being taken care of and keep them out of clinics and hospitals where they might catch a worse infection.

Some of the most notable Chinese Medicine Doctors throughout history lived in times during epidemics that were a lot more deadly than this, so I feel deep down its my duty to continue their noble work.


The best update of information I have on COVID-19 comes to us directly from Dr. John Chen. He is a Doctor of Pharmacology and Chinese Medicine and has been an incredible resource during this pandemic and continues to share his expertise. He is kind enough to put the information for free on YouTube that I will link below. He covers the understanding of COVID-19 and how Chinese Medicine is uniquely being used as the front line of treatment in East Asia to combat the disease.

The video is over an hour long and gets into some detailed Chinese Medicine explanations so I will simplify. I recommend everyone watch the first 10 minutes if you are curious about the virus and how it’s being treated.

Currently, China has been using Chinese Herbal Medicine in 85% of cases. Also, a majority of healthcare workers are taking an herbal formula that Dr. Chen has shown research from Hong Kong during the SARS outbreak that shows high promise in boosting the immune system so healthcare workers do not get sick.

The formula consists of an Astragalus formula YuPingFengSan and Mulberry Leaf Formula called SangJuYin. Due to the extremely high volume of patients in China the Chinese Medicine practitioners are not able to prescribe formulas per patient as is usually done in a differential diagnosis consult. The Chinese government has approved a formula called Qing Fei Pai Du Tang to be mass produced and given to all patients that are in makeshift hospitals. The formula’s constituents include Ephedra and Apricot Seed as bronchodilators, gypsum for fever, scutellariae, belamcandae, and pogostemonis as antiviral/antitoxin herbs, and a grouping of herbs to help with cough and break up phlegm accumulation in the lungs.

The formula is showing extremely high success rate in discharging patients, alleviating symptoms, and keeping them from escalating to ICU status.

Garuda Health has ordered a large shipment of these and other useful herbs in the event that they are needed.  I am currently taking a preventative formula several times daily that includes Astragalus and American Ginseng, so I can remain healthy and energetic to keep working.

 

Our biggest concern right now is that we are still in an initial stage in terms of public health. Unfortunately, not enough was done in curbing the spread of this disease early on, which led to too many people not taking it seriously enough and not quarantining.

What this means is that the period of incubation for those first infected will start presenting now through the next two weeks. This is when actual reported cases will start to surge as people start to show flu-like symptoms and hospitals will become swamped with patients, and again unfortunately people who will seek help when they’re still in the initial stages of the disease and will slow down the hospital’s ability to help those more severely affected.

If this progresses to the point of China or Italy where the national guard needs to set up makeshift hospitals Garuda Health will have to close and will focus on herbal delivery only. It will also be a period where I will try my best to offer herbal and acupuncture services at one of these support hospitals to help stop the disease from getting worse in patients already in pneumonia stage, or help keep the hospital staff healthy.

We can expect the number of cases over the next few weeks to spike; we are also seeing rebound infections after it seems populations in South Korea and Singapore had a handle on new cases.

This means we may be affected by this for several weeks to months until it’s under control. Again, I remind you that in the history of humanity we have lived through many epidemics, but never before has one spread to a human population that is highly literate and connected by the internet.

Many professionals around the world are working hard together like never before which is a huge testament to the human spirit that we are all one and will beat this together.


Obviously, there is a lot of uncertainty of what is going to come next in how our personal lives will be affected. Here is some piece of mind: most of us will be ok in terms of this virus not putting us in critical care.

The entire world is in on this together and I believe that humanity will see our newfound cleaner air/water and demand a better tomorrow for ourselves and the next generations to come.

A lot of us are worried about money and how we’re going to pay for things, but we cannot let fear control every hour of our day. Remember to take walks, take a huge amount of time away from news and social media, watch light-hearted films and upbeat music, take up house tasks and hobbies you always say you’ll get around to but never do.

If you have children I know it’s probably insane trying to keep them entertained and fed constantly, on top of trying to keep them on top of school work while you’re working remotely, but this is a gift to savor time with your children, really get to know them, and play like a kid again.

Many people on their deathbeds say they wish they had spent more time with their family and the important things in life, so with that in mind I remind you that you may never get a chance like this again to cherish those closest to you (even if they may drive you a little nuts).

We will continue to update you with reliable information as it becomes available to us.

Wishing you all safety and health,

Jason Gauruder

ByJason Gauruder

Jason Gauruder, LAc Jason holds a Masters of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine and is licensed to practice Acupuncture in the State of Michigan. He is board certified by the NCCAOM in all areas of acupuncture and herbal medicine.