Sick Kit
Cold and Flu Season - Prevention Strategies
It is October and school is in full swing. Those of you who have seen me in the office have been exposed to my mantra of Vit D supplementation through the winter and shoulder seasons. Many of you have come seeking the flu shot and some have been somewhat surprised to my lukewarm opinion. I try not to do things from hearsay and look for data to support my recommendations or lack there off. So rather than listing down the pros and cons of the various modalities in a narcolepsy-inducing fashion, I will direct you to Dr. Mercola’s well documented lay-out of the data from six months ago. In brief, you will see why I believe that a mid-normal blood level (around 50 ng/ml) of 25 hydroxy vitamin D is more protective than flu vaccine in preventing not only flu but viral respiratory illness in general. So, get your flu shot if you like, but for heaven sake, do NOT neglect taking your Vit D3! If you do “catch” a virus of any kind, try and have a “Sick Kit” already on standby to start right away. I personally can not afford to get sick because it usually ends up in a sinusitis with an overall illness length of two months. When I “hit” the illness within hours of onset with high doses of the Sick Kit components, I am generally over it within 12-36 hrs. Certainly not a guarantee, but there is NO down side to this approach. As an adult, I boost my Vit D3 to 50,000u daily for 4 or 5 days, get on Liposomal Vit C 3-4 grams three times daily for a few days, take around 30mg zinc (the 7 mg zinc/elderberry lozenges), and some sort of immune booster like echinacea or turkeytail mushroom extract. As you read Mercola’s article, you will see that I am not original in my recommendations by any stretch. Dosing for kids are found in the “files” section titled “Sick Kit”. I will try and get links set up this weekend on my new web page also to make it easier for you to find the components of this “kit”. Based on ongoing research, I am also adding Vit A to the Sick Kit recommendations. It is as powerful as Vit D3 in upregulating DNA transcription for making powerful infection-fighting proteins.
Vitamin A Drops 5-10 year olds
This is not beta carotene. This is retinol, or the real, active, Vit A. Beta carotene can be toxic in higher doses; Retinol…Not so much…Some of us have mutations in our BCMO1 gene (beta carotene monoxigenase) that breaks beta carotene into two equal parts called retinol. That makes us deficient and our immune system hobble. These higher doses are for the duration of the illness.
Dose:
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Age 0-5, for now I am not recommending until I do more research
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Age 5-10: 10,000u daily x14 days during illness
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Age >10: 10,000u twice daily x14 days during illness.
Vitamin C (Liposomal-1000mg per package)
This vitamin can be used during illness and for prevention. For better tissue levels and enhanced efficacy, I have started recommending the Liposomal form of Vit C for the more severe illnesses like Pertussis—we use the Pertussis Protocol developed by Dr. Suzanne Humphries. This is a VERY important intervention to support your army of fighting white cells.
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Dose: when sick, use 50 mg/Kg twice daily for 10 days (around 20 mg/lb body weight). For example, if weight is around 20-22#, use 1/2 pk twice daily.If weight is 40-45#, use 1 pk twice daily; you can guesstimate for weight in between.You can actually use down to two months of age! Using same weight guidelines. It is difficult to overdose on this! The worst that will likely happen is diarrhea. If this happens, just stop giving it for a day and resume at half the dose.Vit C and Vit D3 are the only two nutrients from this sick kit that can be used as a daily maintenance vitamin during winter months.Use 1/3 of the dose for Vit D and 1/4-1/3 of the dose for Vit C.
Vitamin D3 Gummies (1000u per gummy)
Dose: For those kids under 5 yrs that needs the chewables. Use the same dose guidelines as for the Vit D3/K2 drops during illness then as maintenance, use 1 gummy per day for every year of age up to 5 yrs through the winter. Half the cost per gummy if you get the 120 per bottle.
Vitamin D3/K2 drops (1200u per drop)
Dose:
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Age 12-24 months 5,000u daily for 3-5 days then 2000u daily.
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Age 2-3 yrs 7000u daily for 3-5 days then 3000u daily
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Age 4-6 yrs 10,000u daily for 3-5 days then 5000u daily through winter months
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Age 6-10 yrs 20,000u daily for 3-5 days then 5000u daily through winter
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Age 11-teen yrs 50,000u daily for 3-5 days then 5000u daily through winter months
Immune Boosters–Teens & Adults: Host Defense
For older kids, teens, and adults, the Turkeytail and Reishi mushrooms have phenomenal immune boosting properties. Again, I was introduced to this during my wife’s cancer treatments. Lots of research available on these.
Dose: 2 caps daily for 14 days during illness.
Zinc 7mg chewable lozenges
We use zinc as part of our sick kit for immune support, for kids who are failing to thrive, picky eaters, and chronic diarrhea. I wish they did not have 2 gm sugar in each lozenge but I have not found a better way to get zinc into kids who need it. Most other forms have a bad metallic taste. Because I recommend it for the Sick Kit, it is cheapest to get as a box of 12 rolls.
Dose: 1-4x daily depending on age and what it is used for. Please follow instructions given to you by Dr. Brus on this mineral. Only use for couple weeks during illness.
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Age 1-6 months: 7 mg daily crushed
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Age 6-24 months: 14 mg (2 lozenges) daily crushed or chewed depending on number of teeth
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Age 2-10 yrs: 28 mg (4 lozenges) daily
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Age 11-teens: 49 mg (7 lozenges) daily