COVID-19 will probably be with us for months or maybe even years to come.

Most people will have little to no symptoms – especially if you are young and in good health. However, those with comorbidities are vulnerable for major complications including a higher risk of dying. Comorbidities means more than one illness or disease occurring in a person at the same time. So, comorbidities are conditions that were present before you got COVID, such as diabetes, COPD, or kidney disease. Getting serious about prevention and minimizing your comorbidities is the key to survivability, or more importantly, thriving in these uncertain times.

Action Steps to Enhance Your Health and Immune Resistance

For quite some time, the public view towards drug or alcohol addictions was more focused on the problems of personal will power and lacking self control. But fortunately, the smoking cessation treatment programs in recent years have started to shed more light into our understanding about the unique biological needs in certain individuals driven by particular genetic predisposition and environmental factors.

Addiction to drugs and alcohol can predispose or coexist with other medical conditions, such as depression, anxiety, and chronic fatigue. Adolescence is the often the time when some may start to seek relief and experiment with drugs and/or alcohol by themselves or with peers. Adolescents may lack knowledge and understanding of consequences and not have a good social support system in place. 

It is important to raise awareness in patients, families and society to understand how some of the possible underlying biological causes and potential treatment options can have a direct impact on the outcome for individuals who become addicted, and to society at-large. 

While personal discipline and social standards still play a vital role in combating against drug and alcohol abuse, a holistic clinical and laboratory evaluation to identify the root causes based on analysis of certain biochemical profiles and particular nutritional needs may open a new realm of therapy and provide hope for those with substance use disorders. With the advancement in genetic analysis, a spectrum of mild presentations of inherited genetic deficiency has been increasingly recognized. A majority of them have therapeutic options. Furthermore, coexisting chronic medical conditions, such as Epstein- Barr virus (EBV) and Lyme Disease/co-infections must be ruled out before any psychiatric drug therapy should be implemented.   Many of the laboratory evaluations are available now and also covered by medical insurance. The goal is to enhance the treatment efficacy and improve the treatment outcome.

Treating the Whole Person

During this time of social distancing, most of us are spending much longer periods of time indoors, inside our homes.  As a pediatric physician, I always recommend spending as much time as possible in nature, but not every family has the benefit of a backyard that’s easily accessible. 

So, what can we do to improve our living space in the weeks ahead? 

One of my favorite studies exploring the relationship of indoor plants and air quality was conducted by NASA back in 1989.  I came across this study years ago, and often use it to validate to my husband any spontaneous purchases of Peace Lilies or English Ivy that I just had to have.

Anyway, this 2-year study entitled “Interior Landscape Plants for Indoor Air Pollution Abatement” was a joint effort with the Associated Landscape Contractors of America to see if houseplants could serve as a tool to combat indoor air pollution.  You see, at that time, something called “Sick Building Syndrome” was becoming apparent in American workers confined in newly constructed/renovated office buildings.  It was acknowledged during this study that various health problems (ranging from itchy eyes to headaches and fatigue) were due to the entrapment of toxic chemicals emitted from synthetic building materials, office equipment and office furnishings. 

This is heavy stuff, right? These findings were attributed to 2 things: super-insulation and reduced fresh air exchange.

The Power of Plants

I have spent the last week and a half feeling overwhelmed at the unfolding of events concerning COVID-19.  There are no words to describe my full range of emotion- shock, denial, anger, sadness, helplessness.  This framework of emotion, I realize, is quite similar to the 5 stages of grief we experience when learning to cope with the loss of a loved one.  Do any of you feel the same? 

Amid the scramble I’m experiencing in my own home (as a pediatrician and a mom of 3) to figure out a new normal, I’ve been thinking of what more we can do to strengthen our personal and community response to COVID-19.

I firmly believe we all have the capability of being our most healthy selves.  And I think there is no better time than now to make that our collective goal.

How do we stay healthy?

As a holistic pediatrician, one of the most common questions I’m asked during an office visit is “How do I help my child sleep better?” 

I’m not sure now is the time to delve into the complexities of sleep patterns, but I assure you, sleep is complex and key to good health.  Sleep patterns and requirements are also made more challenging to understand in children because they change based on age.  Newborn sleep habits are certainly different compared to a baby who is 6 months and older.

The interesting thing is that I don’t think many of us appreciate sleep until it’s gone.  While pregnant, many women (I was one of them) start to wake up more frequently at night.  I once heard this was because our bodies were slowly conditioning to becoming sleep deprived.  I’m smiling as I write this, because I see the truth in that.  And of course, after baby arrives, there’s nothing better than the first 3-4 hours stretch of uninterrupted sleep.    

Sleep Issues Can Persist 

In any case, we all know about the lack of sleep in early babyhood. However, what I’ve found is that these issues with sleep can extend past the baby and even toddler stage. Hence the reason this is a topic of concern for most parents.

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, or POTS, dizziness upon standing, is often called “the invisible illness” – and nearly every symptom is subjective.  It’s important to remember that although dizziness is the trademark symptom, POTS does a lot more than just make someone dizzy.

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) is largely misunderstood by nearly everyone, including many doctors. So far,  only a small number of Functional Medicine physicians are probably aware and educated about POTS.  

What Is POTS Syndrome?

POTS is a form of Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)  dysregulation or malfunction that affects the flow of blood throughout the body, thereby causing orthostatic hypotension mostly manifesting as dizziness when standing up. Technically, someone has POTS if their heart rate increases by 30 beats per minute or their heart rate is greater than 120 beats per minute within 10 minutes of standing up.  Needless to say, this can be an alarming reaction for someone for something as simple as getting out of a chair.

Dental trauma is defined as injury to the teeth, periodontium (gums and the other structures that keep your teeth in place), and the accompanying oral soft tissue structures like the tongue and lips.

Dental trauma is very common, especially among the school-aged population.  Beyond the initial injury, significant problems such as chewing food can create long-term issues.  While not all dental traumas require emergency dental care, following up with your dentist is recommended to ensure proper healing will occur.  Further, prevention and understanding how to handle a dental trauma situation can greatly improve outcomes of these common and preventable incidents.

Unfortunately, one third of preschoolers, one fourth of school children and one third of adults have suffered from dental trauma in their lives (1).  The reasons for dental trauma in children are numerous and include falls from bike riding, running, general falls, sports participation at younger ages including soccer, football, baseball and swimming, ADHD, epilepsy and hearing/vision impairment.

Sports are a large contributor to dental injuries (2) and are to blame for the majority of dental trauma. Children can fall or run into each other as they tend to run enthusiastically, without fully developed coordination, or not paying attention to their surroundings.  Winning the race to the soccer ball takes priority over noticing that six other children are attempting the same thing.

Protect the Teeth from Dental Trauma

Hypertension, or HTN, is a diagnosis for persistent high blood pressure. You may have received a diagnosis of hypertension (HTN) from your physician based on the numbers of your systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings.  If there is no identifiable  cause to explain the persistently higher than normal blood pressure, you will be given the diagnosis of essential HTN.

The adverse effects of high blood pressure are well known.  HTN can cause many complications and puts one at increased risk for stroke, heart disease, heart attack and kidney damage.   Therefore, a variety of medications are designed to control the blood pressure.  This approach has reduced the motility and mobility of certain serious complications of HTN.  More public awareness is needed concerning the effectiveness of HTN treatment.  Protection of the vital organ function is just as important, if not more so, than the blood pressure reading alone.

Underlying Issues of Hypertension

The human brain, our beautifully designed master control center, is under attack from many modern environmental issues. 

Unlike our ancestors, we now must contend with the daily assault of Wi-Fi, chemicals and what I like to call the "Dirty Dozen for the Brain."  Modern technology has improved our lives in a myriad of ways, and we can't live in a bubble. But, to start, let's look at what may be affecting us daily and what we can do to avoid or at least minimize the Dirty Dozen- and keep our brains healthy.

The Dirty Dozen for the Brain

What is Peptide Therapy?

Peptide therapy is a newly developed medical treatment that has gained new heights in Functional Medicine for its efficacy, safety and ease of use. These small proteins, or “peptides” are made of a certain sequence of amino acids. Peptides signal the different body organs and tissues to manufacture and release hormones and different substances that are used to induce certain biochemical reactions and changes leading to new cell formation, changes in action or reaction optimizing and augmenting cellular function.

Whether peptide therapy is used  for weight loss, to increase physical agility and fitness, help with digestion processes, neuromuscular function or tissue healing, the advantages are too numerous to talk about in one article.