General Wellness

Kawasaki’s Disease from Covid

We’ve heard about one of the side effects of Covid in kids is Kawasaki’s Disease (KD for short) and lack of clarity on this issue in the media has resulted in a lot of paranoia and unnecessary concern.

KD is a form of “cytokine storm”. Meaning, it is an exaggerated inflammatory response. Whereas with Covid, we think mostly about this storm attacking the lungs and kidneys, with KD, it attacks the blood vessels and eventually the heart valves, leading to, among other things, heart failure. It can also attack the kidneys and liver causing those organs to fail. It can attack all blood vessels, leading also to swelling of the hands and feet. It can evolve into toxic shock syndrome which is basically all of the organs in the body failing.

Although it has been seen with Covid, it is most commonly, albeit rarely, seen after various run-of-the-mill viral and bacterial infections. 

We need to keep it in perspective however. MANY more kids died of the flu than have died of corona-related Kawasaki’s. Under normal conditions, 3-5000 cases of KD occur in the US BEFORE Covid. We never talked about it because it was just another weird thing that happens out there among all the other weird diseases which occur. Only 80 cases of Kawasaki’s have been identified in confirmed Covid infected kids but some of these were even a few months after infection so it could have been from anything. In total, there have been no more cases of KD as a result of Covid than would have occurred in a normal year.

Ultimately, the question is “Should you be concerned about your child getting Kawasaki’s disease from coronavirus?”. The simple answer is not any more than you should be concerned about them getting it from E. Coli from bad mayo on a sandwich or catching next door neighbor Johnny’s snotty cold, both of which can cause illness and rarely progress to Kawasaki’s disease.

The damage to our kids from complete isolation is far greater than their potential risk of getting KD. Let them get out, get some sun, see some friends but practice all the important PPE and distancing protocols that adults should also follow. It is also important to pick and choose your contacts and social situations. Going to a big park where people are separated is fine. Going to a birthday party inside someone’s house, maybe not so much. If you know the kids in your neighborhood just came back from a hot zone, maybe you wait 2 weeks for your kids to play with them to make sure they are clear.

GI symptoms seem to precede at least 50% of cases of, not only kids who go on to develop KD, but also in adults who go on to develop the cytokine storm from Covid. Why? The fact is that 70% of our immune system is in the gut and when that gut barrier is disrupted, shit happens. This is why diet is super important. What keeps your gut healthy is fiber, which only comes from plants. Out healthy gut bacteria thrive on all plants but especially onions, garlic, cruciferous vegetables and beans. They also love fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi and sourdough bread which is full of lactobacillus, known to be great for the gut. Sourdough, by the way, is well tolerated by gluten-sensitive (not Celiac Disease) patients since the added fermentation breaks down a lot of the gluten. Avoid dairy which breaks down the gut barrier. Processed foods and added sugars also are terrible for your gut microbiome. You know my feelings about meat. Limit it. Meat contains no fiber, minimal minerals and nutrients and lots of hormones, chemicals and inflammatory compounds! 

Chronic fear and stress is toxic and definitely disrupts the immune system. We need to be concerned and careful about Coronavirus but we should not be paranoid. It’s not healthy.

Although getting out there is necessary, don’t do what the misguided people in Florida, New Jersey and other states where irresponsible “opening up” and absence of basic rules of distancing and PPE have been ignored, are doing. Not surprisingly, their numbers are skyrocketing again!

Stay safe and be well. 

AC 😎✌️🌱❤🐖🏃🏻🧘🏻‍♂️🌎😷

SINS OF OUR YOUTH and the IMPROBABILITY OF HERD IMMUNITY

Florida is seeing a major rise in Covid-19 numbers and about 60% of hospital admissions are in people under 50. 

Why are more young people getting significantly sick? Because they are dumb-asses who think they are invincible. This is the nature of youth, thinking short-term rather than long term. They are all getting together, in public and in private, with little physical distancing and little PPE. Again, short term social gain outweighs the risks of the disease. Although there is a notion that younger people are for the most part healthier than older people and can weather the infection better, this is simply not true anymore. When a significant number of even teenagers have diabetes, hypertension and 20% of people under 20 are obese, chronic disease affects everyone. 

Recent information about Covid-related lung damage should really make them think more carefully about their choices. A study of asymptomatic covid positive people, including young people, showed that even without any lung symptoms, almost 60% of them showed scarring on their lungs. “Ground glass opacities”, which are usually seen with inflammation and infections, were visible on imaging. Other organs which likely are suffering some micro-damage are the kidneys. Both organs have higher amounts of ACE-2 receptors, the ones to which Covid-19 binds, on their cell membranes.

Although our bodies have an amazing capacity to heal and regenerate, scar tissue and fibrosis is for the most part permanent. This small amount of damage probably will come back to haunt them later on in life.

So the next question is that if asymptomatic people are having tissue damage, how do you protect yourself? The key is limiting the inflammation. The “cytokine storm” you hear about in severely affected people, is one extreme of inflammation but you want to limit as much inflammation as possible. How do you do that? STAY HEALTHY OR GET HEALTHIER. 

You know my mantra:

1. Eat a whole food, plant based diet.
2. Eliminate dairy and limit animal products.
3. Eliminate added sugars and processed foods.
4. Exercise.
5. Sleep better.
6. Manage stress.
7. Socialize, but physically distance, wear your mask and wash your hands…..

As far as immunization, reaching herd immunity and getting past all this? When you look at the history of previous coronavirus infections like SARS-1 or MERS, and vaccine development in general, it doesn’t look good. The coronaviruses which caused those other two coronavirus infections were much less infectious and much more lethal, birth qualities which lend themselves to a quick hit and a quick burnout. Covid-19 on the other hand, is very infectious and is much less lethal. This is the worst combination because it allows the virus to spread far and wide in a population. Although short term lethality is important, long term health consequences are still important and this is where this virus may have us by the you-know-what.

The same 4 coronaviruses which cause the common cold keep coming back year after year. We do not develop immunity to these viruses. There is no vaccine. We do not develop the sought-after “herd immunity” which happens with other viruses. Although we do develop antibodies to these viruses, they wane very quickly so by the next season, you are just as vulnerable. There are many viruses to which we never develop immunity or vaccines for that matter. HIV, Hepatitis C and the annual Influenza virus are examples. With the Flu, getting an annual vaccine does not guarantee you won’t get sick but it probably will shorten the course or lessen the symptoms if you do get it. The same is probably true with Covid-19.

Although there are some unique characteristics about Covid-19 which make developing a vaccine more likely, we still just don’t know. Unlike other infections however, this one has really brought the most brilliant genetic and vaccine developing minds together. MANY people are working on it all around the world, even sharing and collaborating. Kind of like the Republicans and the Democrats 😜🤯

Despite some of the negative things I have brought up, I think it’s extremely important to be positive about the future. We need to accept that there will be a new normal. How exactly that will look like is not clear, but in the short term, get heathy, practice socially responsible PPE and physical distancing but DO socialize in a safe way. We are by nature social creatures. We evolved depending on each other and that has never been more important.

Stay safe and be well. 

AC 😎✌️🌱❤🐖🏃🏻🧘🏻‍♂️🌎😷