dailyhealthpost--2020-03-25--This Powerful Tea Is The Best Remedy For Swollen Legs

If you have ever experienced swelling in your legs ( or your hands or feet for that matter ) you know how painful it can become .
There are many reasons this swelling , known as edema , or the retention of fluids in the body , can occur : • A sedentary lifestyle—sitting or staying in one position for too long • Eating too much processed foods and foods high in salt Often , a bit of swelling in your legs can be normal after standing or sitting for the day or during pregnancy for example , but chronic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a more serious underlying issue such as kidney disease , heart failure or liver disease , so it is always best to consult a physician if this swelling persists .
For cases of occasional swelling however , there are herbal remedies that can be helpful for reducing the swelling and helping your body eliminate any excess fluids .
One such herb is parsley .
It Used To Be Recommended by Hippocrates The word parsley is actually derived from two Greek words : “ petrose , ” meaning rock , as it often pops @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and “ selenium , ” the ancient name for celery .
When put together , it literally means “ rock celery.
” There are essentially two types of parsley—curly parsley and Italian parsley ( flat leaves ) which tends to be the hardier of the two .
While parsley is used as a garnish in almost every restaurant and home in North America , more often than not , we tend to pick it off the dish and leave it to the side .
But studies show that eating that parsley garnish can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ diseases and ailments including , digestive disorders , urinary tract problems , menstrual pain , asthma , allergies , as well as help to lower blood pressure , improve your bone health , your breath and even help in cases of bronchitis .
In ancient times , Hippocrates recommended parsley as a general tonic for kidney stones and rheumatism as well as an antidote for poison .
And according to “ The Green Pharmacy Herbal Handbook , ” parsley is a wonderful diuretic that helps the kidneys remove excess fluids from the body @ @ @ @

If you have ever experienced swelling in your legs (or your hands or feet for that matter) you know how painful it can become. There are many reasons this swelling, known as edema, or the retention of fluids in the body, can occur:
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A sedentary lifestyle—sitting or staying in one position for too long
Eating too much processed foods and foods high in salt
Poor circulation
PMS
Side effects of some medications
Pregnancy
Often, a bit of swelling in your legs can be normal after standing or sitting for the day or during pregnancy for example, but chronic leg and ankle swelling—peripheral edema—can also signal a more serious underlying issue such as kidney disease, heart failure or liver disease, so it is always best to consult a physician if this swelling persists.
For cases of occasional swelling however, there are herbal remedies that can be helpful for reducing the swelling and helping your body eliminate any excess fluids. One such herb is parsley.
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It Used To Be Recommended by Hippocrates
The word parsley is actually derived from two Greek words: “petrose,” meaning rock, as it often pops through rocky terrain and stone walls; and “selenium,” the ancient name for celery. When put together, it literally means “rock celery.”
There are essentially two types of parsley—curly parsley and Italian parsley (flat leaves) which tends to be the hardier of the two.
While parsley is used as a garnish in almost every restaurant and home in North America, more often than not, we tend to pick it off the dish and leave it to the side.
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But studies show that eating that parsley garnish can help protect you from a variety of diseases and ailments including, digestive disorders, urinary tract problems, menstrual pain, asthma, allergies, as well as help to lower blood pressure, improve your bone health, your breath and even help in cases of bronchitis.
In ancient times, Hippocrates recommended parsley as a general tonic for kidney stones and rheumatism as well as an antidote for poison. And according to “The Green Pharmacy Herbal Handbook,” parsley is a wonderful diuretic that helps the kidneys remove excess fluids from the body (edema).
Parsley Is a Natural Diuretic
A study published in 2002 in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, showed that “parsley acts as a diuretic by inhibiting the sodium and potassium ion pumps, influencing the process of osmosis and increasing the flow of urine.”
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Parsley is also rich in potassium and because most chemically produced diuretics actually lower potassium levels in the body, parsley also assures you do not experience this common side effect of these pharmaceutical drugs.
Another 2009 Brazilian study titled, “Diuretic and hypotensive activity of aqueous extract of parsley seeds” showed similar results for parsley and suggests that parsley can not only increase urinary flow, but also decrease blood pressure as well.
Parsley Tea Recipe for Edema
According to Dr. John R. Christopher, renowned author and America’s foremost herbalist, you should drink at least two quarts (64 oz.) of strong parsley tea per day to achieve maximum results.
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You can increase the amount of parsley tea to a cup every hour if you feel the need. When making your tea, however, he also suggests that you use the “fresh light-green leaves,” along with the roots and seeds, if available.
Instructions:
Chop the leaves and roots into small pieces (you can also pre-chop the parsley and store them in an airtight glass container in the fridge for up to a week.) Place approximately ¼ cup of parsley into an infusion basket. Pour over a cup of boiled water or submerge into a tea pot. Let the mixture steep for 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the basket or strain the tea. Add honey, lemon or ginger for flavor if desired. Always drink parsley tea warm for the best effects.
As well as drinking tea, don’t forget to use other techniques to reduce swelling such as raising your legs by putting your legs on pillows to raise them above your heart when lying down.
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Also exercise your legs as this helps pump fluid from your legs back to your heart.
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dailyhealthpost--2020-03-25--Unbelievable: Heal Joints And Bones With This ONE Ingredient That We All Have In The Kitchen

Nobody wants to have joint pain .
It can rob us of our mobility .
Can you imagine a life where simply walking causes you pain ?
While experts agree that poor body posture can lead to faster wear and tear of your joints , there are many other reasons why you could suffer from this condition .
However , there is a simple natural treatment that you can use to effectively strengthen your joints , neck or back .
If you currently suffer from joint pain , you ’ ll definitely want to try this recipe .
The first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do is buy edible organic gelatin .
Mix 2 tablespoons of it with a quarter cup of cold water and refrigerate .
Let it sit overnight .
The next day , your mixture should look like jelly .
You can mix this jelly with your morning cup of tea , smoothie , yogurt and even in your eggs .
For best results , it ’ s highly recommended that you mix it with lemon water or bell peppers and eggs .
The mix of vitamin C and gelatin does wonders for your body @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the next 6 days .
By the end of the week , you will notice a big difference .
The gelatin will help alleviate any pain that you may have because it acts as a natural lubricant for your joints .
Keep this up for a whole month and you ’ ll be see a significant improvement in joint stiffness and pain .
Afterwards , take a 6-month break and repeat again .
Gelatin contains high amounts of proline and hydroxyproline , which are essential amino acids that support the growth and enhance @ @ @ @ @ @

Nobody wants to have joint pain. It can rob us of our mobility.
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Can you imagine a life where simply walking causes you pain?
While experts agree that poor body posture can lead to faster wear and tear of your joints, there are many other reasons why you could suffer from this condition.
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However, there is a simple natural treatment that you can use to effectively strengthen your joints, neck or back. If you currently suffer from joint pain, you’ll definitely want to try this recipe.
Joint Pain Remedy
The first thing you’ll need for to do is buy edible organic gelatin. Mix 2 tablespoons of it with a quarter cup of cold water and refrigerate. Let it sit overnight.
The next day, your mixture should look like jelly. You can mix this jelly with your morning cup of tea, smoothie, yogurt and even in your eggs. For best results, it’s highly recommended that you mix it with lemon water or bell peppers and eggs. The mix of vitamin C and gelatin does wonders for your body.
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Repeat the whole process again for the next 6 days. By the end of the week, you will notice a big difference. The gelatin will help alleviate any pain that you may have because it acts as a natural lubricant for your joints.
Keep this up for a whole month and you’ll be see a significant improvement in joint stiffness and pain. Afterwards, take a 6-month break and repeat again.
Gelatin contains high amounts of proline and hydroxyproline, which are essential amino acids that support the growth and enhance the structure of the joints.
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Other Health Benefits of Gelatin
Improving Hair, Skin and Joint/tendon health
Soothes the Digestive tract
A natural Anti-Inflamatory
Stimulates the immune system
Regulates Hormones
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dailyhealthpost--2020-04-17--Drugmaker Caps Insulin Costs at 35$ to Help Diabetes Patients During Coronavirus Pandemic

Having diabetes isn ’ t just costly , it also makes it harder for doctors to treat you if you get infected by the coronavirus .
And while all of this sounds quite depressing , here ’ s something to lift our spirits – one pharmaceutical manufacturer has capped their insulin costs at $ 35 to help diabetes patients remain healthy during the pandemic .
The drugmaker in question is Eli Lilly and Company and they ’ re based in Indiana .
With their Lilly Insulin Value Program , Eli Lilly has capped the out-of-pocket cost of insulin to $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may have lost their jobs due to different industries shutting down .
This co-pay cap will cover most of the company ’ s insulin , including the Humalog injections and the program applies to both uninsured and commercially insured patients but not to Medicare Part D or Medicaid .
Aaron Kowalski and Tom Scher , the CEOs of the nonprofit JDRF-Beyond Type 1 Alliance said in a statement that “ Enabling a $ 35-per-month insulin co-pay regardless of employment status will help many Americans in this difficult time , ” Lilly Diabetes President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Too many people in the U.S. have lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 crisis , and we want to make sure no one goes without their Lilly insulin , ” Mason also added that “ We ’ ve been providing affordability solutions for a long time , but more is needed to help people during this unprecedented period .
People with commercial insurance , as well as those without insurance at all , are eligible , and the process is quick and simple .
We want people who need help to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. have been rising for years and spiked with 100 % between 2012 and 2016 to the point of costing thousands of dollars even for people insured with high-deductible plans .
This has lead to stark criticism from both politicians and social leaders such as Senator Bernie Sanders .
The Trump administration has also been active on this front and has developed a proposal to limit the out-of-pocket costs of insulin for Medicare patients during the Covid-19 crisis .
Other politicians have also been active on this front with Virginia ’ s Democratic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aims to force insulin manufacturers to cap their insulin prices to at least $ 50 a month .
How many of these proposals and bills will actually pass and for how long they ’ d be in effect remains to be seen , but for the time being Eli Lilly ’ s Insulin Value Program is indeed a breath of fresh air for many people .

Having diabetes isn’t just costly, it also makes it harder for doctors to treat you if you get infected by the coronavirus.
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And while all of this sounds quite depressing, here’s something to lift our spirits – one pharmaceutical manufacturer has capped their insulin costs at $35 to help diabetes patients remain healthy during the pandemic.
The drugmaker in question is Eli Lilly and Company and they’re based in Indiana. With their Lilly Insulin Value Program, Eli Lilly has capped the out-of-pocket cost of insulin to $35 per month to help patients who may have lost their jobs due to different industries shutting down.
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This co-pay cap will cover most of the company’s insulin, including the Humalog injections and the program applies to both uninsured and commercially insured patients but not to Medicare Part D or Medicaid.
Aaron Kowalski and Tom Scher, the CEOs of the nonprofit JDRF-Beyond Type 1 Alliance said in a statement that “Enabling a $35-per-month insulin co-pay regardless of employment status will help many Americans in this difficult time,”
Lilly Diabetes President Mike Mason also commented, saying that “Too many people in the U.S. have lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 crisis, and we want to make sure no one goes without their Lilly insulin,”
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Mason also added that “We’ve been providing affordability solutions for a long time, but more is needed to help people during this unprecedented period. People with commercial insurance, as well as those without insurance at all, are eligible, and the process is quick and simple. We want people who need help to call us.”
Insulin prices in the U.S. have been rising for years and spiked with 100% between 2012 and 2016 to the point of costing thousands of dollars even for people insured with high-deductible plans. This has lead to stark criticism from both politicians and social leaders such as Senator Bernie Sanders.
The Trump administration has also been active on this front and has developed a proposal to limit the out-of-pocket costs of insulin for Medicare patients during the Covid-19 crisis.
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Other politicians have also been active on this front with Virginia’s Democratic legislature passing a bill last month that aims to force insulin manufacturers to cap their insulin prices to at least $50 a month.
How many of these proposals and bills will actually pass and for how long they’d be in effect remains to be seen, but for the time being Eli Lilly’s Insulin Value Program is indeed a breath of fresh air for many people.
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dailyhealthpost--2020-04-17--Video Simulation Shows How a Single Cough can Spread Coronavirus in Supermarkets

Long queues outside supermarkets can be annoying to wait in , especially when you have to keep a 6-feet distance from other people , however , it ’ s not just a pointless precaution .
A new video simulation developed by the Aalto University , the Finnish Meteorological Institute , VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland , and the University of Helsinki shows how a single cough can spread the coronavirus through several aisles in a supermarket and can stay in the air for several minutes before the moisture droplets fall to the ground .
Most people today understand that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but that it spreads through the miniature water droplets people breathe , cough , and sneeze out .
However , most people are under the impression that these water droplets just fall to the ground at the end of a quick 6-foot-long curve in front of them .
This new video simulation shows us that this is not the case and our respiratory water droplets can stay in the air and spread around for quite a while thanks to different air currents that exist both indoors and outdoors .
This research highlights how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spaces and to practice social distancing .
And while this is just a single study and just one video simulation , it was actually developed by the four research organizations independently from one another , using the same starting parameters .
Assistant Professor Ville Vuorinen from the Aalto University puts it like this : “ Someone infected by the coronavirus , can cough and walk away , but then leave behind extremely small aerosol particles carrying the coronavirus .
These particles could then end up in the respiratory tract of others in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare also stressed how important these results are .
“ The ( institute ) recommends that you stay at home if you are unwell and that you maintain physical distance with everyone .
The instructions also include coughing into your sleeve or a tissue and taking care of good hand hygiene.
” She also added that “ Based on the modeling of the consortium , it is not yet possible to directly issue new recommendations .
However , these results are an important part of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the data from real-life epidemic studies.
” The 30 researchers from these 4 organizations specialize in aerosol physics , fluid dynamics , ventilation , virology , biomedical engineering , and social networks .
They used a supercomputer to model the airborne movement of aerosolized particles of 20 micrometers or less ( 0.0007874 of an inch ) .
According to the supercomputer “ For a dry cough , which is a typical symptom of the current coronavirus , the particle size is typically less than 15 micrometers .
Extremely small particles of this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but instead , move along in the air currents or remain floating in the same place .
Studies of influenza A have confirmed that the influenza A virus can be found in the smallest particles , which measure less than 5 micrometers.
” Another similar simulation by Belgian and Dutch researchers earlier this month showed how even when you ’ re outdoors and you ’ re walking or running behind someone , you can very easily come in contact with the aerosol particles they breathe out .
And while that simulation wasn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even though a lot of the confirmed Covid-19 transmissions seem to have occurred via physical touch and not by breathing in aerosol particles , it ’ s still vital to be extra careful when you find yourself in enclosed indoor spaces such as supermarkets or when you have to walk behind other people .

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A 3D model of a person coughing in an indoor environment – how an aerosol cloud travels in the air
Watch this video on YouTube
target="_blank">video simulation developed by the Aalto University, the Finnish Meteorological Institute, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, and the University of Helsinki shows how a single cough can spread the coronavirus through several aisles in a supermarket and can stay in the air for several minutes before the moisture droplets fall to the ground.
Most people today understand that the coronavirus isn’t airborne itself but that it spreads through the miniature water droplets people breathe, cough, and sneeze out. However, most people are under the impression that these water droplets just fall to the ground at the end of a quick 6-foot-long curve in front of them.
This new video simulation shows us that this is not the case and our respiratory water droplets can stay in the air and spread around for quite a while thanks to different air currents that exist both indoors and outdoors.
Advertisement
This research highlights how important it is to avoid overcrowded indoor spaces and to practice social distancing. And while this is just a single study and just one video simulation, it was actually developed by the four research organizations independently from one another, using the same starting parameters.
Assistant Professor Ville Vuorinen from the Aalto University puts it like this: “Someone infected by the coronavirus, can cough and walk away, but then leave behind extremely small aerosol particles carrying the coronavirus. These particles could then end up in the respiratory tract of others in the vicinity.”
Jussi Sane, chief specialist at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare also stressed how important these results are.
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“The (institute) recommends that you stay at home if you are unwell and that you maintain physical distance with everyone. The instructions also include coughing into your sleeve or a tissue and taking care of good hand hygiene.”
She also added that “Based on the modeling of the consortium, it is not yet possible to directly issue new recommendations. However, these results are an important part of the whole, and they should be compared with the data from real-life epidemic studies.”
The 30 researchers from these 4 organizations specialize in aerosol physics, fluid dynamics, ventilation, virology, biomedical engineering, and social networks. They used a supercomputer to model the airborne movement of aerosolized particles of 20 micrometers or less (0.0007874 of an inch).
Advertisement
According to the supercomputer “For a dry cough, which is a typical symptom of the current coronavirus, the particle size is typically less than 15 micrometers. Extremely small particles of this size do not sink on the floor, but instead, move along in the air currents or remain floating in the same place. Studies of influenza A have confirmed that the influenza A virus can be found in the smallest particles, which measure less than 5 micrometers.”
Another similar simulation by Belgian and Dutch researchers earlier this month showed how even when you’re outdoors and you’re walking or running behind someone, you can very easily come in contact with the aerosol particles they breathe out.
And while that simulation wasn’t an official study, and even though a lot of the confirmed Covid-19 transmissions seem to have occurred via physical touch and not by breathing in aerosol particles, it’s still vital to be extra careful when you find yourself in enclosed indoor spaces such as supermarkets or when you have to walk behind other people.
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dailyhealthpost--2020-04-19--90-year-old Woman Dies After Refusing Ventilator Amid Shortage: “Save it for the younger patients”

Heroism and self-sacrifice can come in many different forms as a 90-year-old woman in Belgium has shown us .
Suzanne Hoylaerts from Binkom , near Lubbeek , Belgium was hospitalized on March 20 .
The old Belgian tested positive for the coronavirus and was placed in isolation .
When it was time to hook her to a medical ventilator for assisted breathing , however , the brave woman refused and said “ I had a good life , keep it for the younger ones.
” As the Covid-19 pandemic continues killing people in terrifying numbers across the world , medical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for all medical facilities .
The reasons for the ventilator crisis are many and quite different as mistakes were made in both current and past political cabinets .
Belgium wasn ’ t spared from the crisis either .
As of April 17 , the European country has reported 36,138 cases of Covid-19 , 5,163 deaths , and 7,961 recoveries , meaning a 14.3 % death rate ( 39 % of all closed cases ) and a 22 % recovery rate ( 61 % of all 13,124 closed cases ) .
In that nightmarish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ short supply for the small country too which explains Suzanne ’ s heroic sacrifice .
Mrs. Hoylaerts passed away on March 22 , two days after her hospitalization .
Because she was placed in isolation for the safety of those around her , Suzanne passed away without the comfort of her daughter and loved ones ’ presence .
Rightfully lauded as a hero , Suzanne has become a symbol for many people across the world of why it ’ s so important to stick together and help each other in these trying times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the Dutch newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws , Suzanne Hoylaerts ’ daughter said : “ I can ’ t say goodbye to her , and I don ’ t even have a chance to attend her funeral.
” Not being able to say goodbye to your loved ones is a terrible but common practice nowadays as there are lots of restrictions around Covid-19 victims .
Judith Hoylaerts also said that she and her family were baffled that her mother had tested positive for Covid-19 as she had stayed at home and had taken @ @ @ @ @ @ @ At the time of Suzanne ’ s death , the Brussels Times newspaper reported that the fatal cases in the country had reached 828 people .
Little did they know how this number was going to skyrocket from there .
“ [ At the time ] 93 % of these people were over 65 years old , ” said professor Steven Van Gucht , a spokesperson for the National Crisis Centre .
“ The number of deaths keeps increasing .
The death toll is high , and every deadly victim is one too @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our support , and we realize that the families and friends affected will have to say their goodbyes and mourn in very difficult circumstances .
”

Heroism and self-sacrifice can come in many different forms as a 90-year-old woman in Belgium has shown us. Suzanne Hoylaerts from Binkom, near Lubbeek, Belgium was hospitalized on March 20. The old Belgian tested positive for the coronavirus and was placed in isolation. When it was time to hook her to a medical ventilator for assisted breathing, however, the brave woman refused and said “I had a good life, keep it for the younger ones.”
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Suzanne Hoylaerts, 90, sick from #COVID2019 refused a ventilator saying to doctors, “I had a good life, keep it for the younger ones.”
She died a few days ago. Wow, I’m speechless. God be with her family🙏🏽https://t.co/yjrU8W4V0v pic.twitter.com/tBu4j2irJB — Tedashii (@Tedashii) April 1, 2020
As the Covid-19 pandemic continues killing people in terrifying numbers across the world, medical ventilators have become a very sought-after commodity for all medical facilities. The reasons for the ventilator crisis are many and quite different as mistakes were made in both current and past political cabinets.
Belgium wasn’t spared from the crisis either. As of April 17, the European country has reported 36,138 cases of Covid-19, 5,163 deaths, and 7,961 recoveries, meaning a 14.3% death rate (39% of all closed cases) and a 22% recovery rate (61% of all 13,124 closed cases).
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In that nightmarish situation, medical ventilators have become in short supply for the small country too which explains Suzanne’s heroic sacrifice.
Mrs. Hoylaerts passed away on March 22, two days after her hospitalization. Because she was placed in isolation for the safety of those around her, Suzanne passed away without the comfort of her daughter and loved ones’ presence.
Rightfully lauded as a hero, Suzanne has become a symbol for many people across the world of why it’s so important to stick together and help each other in these trying times (7).
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In an interview with the Dutch newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws, Suzanne Hoylaerts’ daughter said: “I can’t say goodbye to her, and I don’t even have a chance to attend her funeral.”
Not being able to say goodbye to your loved ones is a terrible but common practice nowadays as there are lots of restrictions around Covid-19 victims.
Standing at the graveside of a loved one is hard enough. The restrictions imposed because of the coronavirus mean that saying goodbye is even harder. Clerics and funeral parlours are having to come up with new solutions to help the bereaved find peace. https://t.co/SppEImtrR4 — dpa news agency (@dpa_intl) March 31, 2020
Judith Hoylaerts also said that she and her family were baffled that her mother had tested positive for Covid-19 as she had stayed at home and had taken all recommended precautions against the virus. At the time of Suzanne’s death, the Brussels Times newspaper reported that the fatal cases in the country had reached 828 people. Little did they know how this number was going to skyrocket from there.
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“[At the time] 93% of these people were over 65 years old,” said professor Steven Van Gucht, a spokesperson for the National Crisis Centre. “The number of deaths keeps increasing. The death toll is high, and every deadly victim is one too many. We would like to express our support, and we realize that the families and friends affected will have to say their goodbyes and mourn in very difficult circumstances.”
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dailyhealthpost--2020-04-20--60,000-year-old Underwater Forest May Help Pioneer New Medicines, Says Researchers

Uncovering ancient yet well-preserved flora or fauna specimens is certainly a thrill but it also often holds the key to lots of scientific discoveries .
This may turn out to be the case with the recent discovery of a 60,000-year-old forest found at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico .
The forest is comprised of mostly cypress trees and seems to predate man ’ s venturing out of Africa dozens of thousands of years ago .
What ’ s unique about this underwater forest is not its age but how big it is .
It ’ s not uncommon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the bottom of the ocean – not just from shipwrecks but also individual tree trunks from former forests that have been engulfed by the sea over the years .
In the case of this cypress forest , however , we ’ re talking about a fully-preserved forest with countless trees , many still having bark on them .
We ’ ve actually known about the forest since 2004 after hurricane Ivan swept through the Gulf of Mexico and tore through some of the sediment at the bottom of the gulf .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years because it was covered by sediment before the rising sea entombed it .
The site ’ s been visited by both scientists and filmmakers in the last 15 years as it ’ s just off the coast of Alabama in Mobile Bay and is only 60 feet underwater .
However , it wasn ’ t until recently that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration made some pretty huge discoveries in the underwater forest and published them in an article on the NOAA site .
According to their report , last December a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Utah and Northeastern University visited the site and took several pieces of wood from the forest for study .
The scientists wanted to perform some broad and general research over the pieces of wood but they were also looking for one type of animal that could be on them in particular – shipworms .
Also called “ The termites of the sea ” , shipworms are quite common in the ocean and can be found almost everywhere that there ’ s wood laying around .
They are a type of clam that eats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tissue i.e .
the shipworms ’ excrements .
This is important because that leftover animal tissue tends to contain lots of different kinds of bacteria .
It ’ s not uncommon for scientists to find different and previously unknown types of bacteria in different shipwrecks .
In the past , such bacteria have been used to produce new types of medicine and antibiotics so the NOAA researchers were understandably excited about what they could find in the 60,000-year-old underwater trees .
Brian Helmuth , a marine and environmental sciences professor at Northeaster University @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ It was a really nice day .
Pretty calm on the surface and we were expecting it to be equally nice on the bottom , ” said Helmuth .
“ But we got to the bottom and it was like diving in chocolate milk .
We literally could not see our hands in front of our faces.
” What made the situation even more troublesome was that previous diving teams had reported lots of sharks in the area so the scientists felt very uneasy while in the water .
That changed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ It was really amazing .
We dove around the edge of this ancient river bed .
On our left were these remains of giant stumps and pristine wood coming out of the bank embankment , ” Helmuth recalled .
“ Even though the visibility wasn ’ t great , you could pretty easily imagine it being the edge of a cypress forest and it was almost an eerie feeling of stepping back in time.
” The sediment that had covered the forest for the past 60,000 years helped preserve it almost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decomposing the wood .
That ’ s why some of the logs the divers brought to the surface looked like they ’ ve only been submerged for several years .
“ It really looked like something that you could have picked up from today .
It still had bark on it .
It still had all the coloration on the inside .
It was just locked away for 60,000 years , ” Helmuth said .
Like most good things , however , the wood didn ’ t just look good on the outside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the inside as well .
The several pieces of wood the team gathered contained over 300 different animal species living on them , including shipworms .
Francis Choi , a senior lab manager at Northeastern University ’ s Marine Science Center , remarked that “ We were able to take a look at what kind of organisms had taken advantage of this exposed , ancient wood .
The different kinds of animals buried in there and what kind of animals are living on top of it as well.
” And , as they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shipworm-related bacteria they were looking for .
Margo Haygood , a research professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Utah shared that “ We were able to isolate bacteria from them and get some bacteria that we haven ’ t worked with before , so we ’ re really excited about that.
” The bacteria produced by the shipworms on these pieces of wood were over 100 different kinds with 12 of them undergoing DNA sequencing at the moment to evaluate if they can be useful for medical use .
“ We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which is in the direction of pain drugs as well as anti-cancer drugs , ” Haygood said .
“ We have not been ( working on antivirals ) in the past , but right now my department at the University of Utah is spinning up to start including viral assays in the program.
” New medicine discoveries aren ’ t the only possible use for the samples either .
The scientists are also looking into possible applications for new textiles , paper , animal feeds , food , renewable fuels , fine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the underwater forest is currently suspended because of the Covid-19 pandemic .
However , the scientists continue studying the already acquired samples and are hopeful that they ’ ll be able to publish the results within a year .
In addition , Francis Choi also shared that they are working to get AUVs , or unmanned underwater robots , to take more pictures and 3D visualizations of the forest and share its beauty with the rest of the world .

Uncovering ancient yet well-preserved flora or fauna specimens is certainly a thrill but it also often holds the key to lots of scientific discoveries. This may turn out to be the case with the recent discovery of a 60,000-year-old forest found at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.
Advertisement
The forest is comprised of mostly cypress trees and seems to predate man’s venturing out of Africa dozens of thousands of years ago. What’s unique about this underwater forest is not its age but how big it is.
It’s not uncommon for scientists to discover pieces of wood at the bottom of the ocean – not just from shipwrecks but also individual tree trunks from former forests that have been engulfed by the sea over the years. In the case of this cypress forest, however, we’re talking about a fully-preserved forest with countless trees, many still having bark on them.
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We’ve actually known about the forest since 2004 after hurricane Ivan swept through the Gulf of Mexico and tore through some of the sediment at the bottom of the gulf. The forest remained well preserved there for ~60,000 years because it was covered by sediment before the rising sea entombed it.
The site’s been visited by both scientists and filmmakers in the last 15 years as it’s just off the coast of Alabama in Mobile Bay and is only 60 feet underwater. However, it wasn’t until recently that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration made some pretty huge discoveries in the underwater forest and published them in an article on the NOAA site.
The Underwater Forest
Watch this video on YouTube
According to their report, last December a team of scientists from the University of Utah and Northeastern University visited the site and took several pieces of wood from the forest for study.
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The scientists wanted to perform some broad and general research over the pieces of wood but they were also looking for one type of animal that could be on them in particular – shipworms.
Also called “The termites of the sea”, shipworms are quite common in the ocean and can be found almost everywhere that there’s wood laying around. They are a type of clam that eats wood and then converts it into animal tissue i.e. the shipworms’ excrements.
This is important because that leftover animal tissue tends to contain lots of different kinds of bacteria. It’s not uncommon for scientists to find different and previously unknown types of bacteria in different shipwrecks. In the past, such bacteria have been used to produce new types of medicine and antibiotics so the NOAA researchers were understandably excited about what they could find in the 60,000-year-old underwater trees.
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Brian Helmuth, a marine and environmental sciences professor at Northeaster University commented on the day of the expedition.
“It was a really nice day. Pretty calm on the surface and we were expecting it to be equally nice on the bottom,” said Helmuth. “But we got to the bottom and it was like diving in chocolate milk. We literally could not see our hands in front of our faces.”
What made the situation even more troublesome was that previous diving teams had reported lots of sharks in the area so the scientists felt very uneasy while in the water. That changed when they reached the forest, however.
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“It was really amazing. We dove around the edge of this ancient river bed. On our left were these remains of giant stumps and pristine wood coming out of the bank embankment,” Helmuth recalled. “Even though the visibility wasn’t great, you could pretty easily imagine it being the edge of a cypress forest and it was almost an eerie feeling of stepping back in time.”
The sediment that had covered the forest for the past 60,000 years helped preserve it almost perfectly as it had prevented oxygen from decomposing the wood. That’s why some of the logs the divers brought to the surface looked like they’ve only been submerged for several years.
“It really looked like something that you could have picked up from today. It still had bark on it. It still had all the coloration on the inside. It was just locked away for 60,000 years,” Helmuth said.
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Like most good things, however, the wood didn’t just look good on the outside but had a lot to offer on the inside as well. The several pieces of wood the team gathered contained over 300 different animal species living on them, including shipworms.
Francis Choi, a senior lab manager at Northeastern University’s Marine Science Center, remarked that “We were able to take a look at what kind of organisms had taken advantage of this exposed, ancient wood. The different kinds of animals buried in there and what kind of animals are living on top of it as well.”
And, as they hoped, the team also found the shipworm-related bacteria they were looking for. Margo Haygood, a research professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Utah shared that “We were able to isolate bacteria from them and get some bacteria that we haven’t worked with before, so we’re really excited about that.”
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The bacteria produced by the shipworms on these pieces of wood were over 100 different kinds with 12 of them undergoing DNA sequencing at the moment to evaluate if they can be useful for medical use.
“We screened for antimicrobials and for neurological activity, which is in the direction of pain drugs as well as anti-cancer drugs,” Haygood said. “We have not been (working on antivirals) in the past, but right now my department at the University of Utah is spinning up to start including viral assays in the program.”
New medicine discoveries aren’t the only possible use for the samples either. The scientists are also looking into possible applications for new textiles, paper, animal feeds, food, renewable fuels, fine chemicals, and more.
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Further exploration of the underwater forest is currently suspended because of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the scientists continue studying the already acquired samples and are hopeful that they’ll be able to publish the results within a year.
In addition, Francis Choi also shared that they are working to get AUVs, or unmanned underwater robots, to take more pictures and 3D visualizations of the forest and share its beauty with the rest of the world.
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dailyhealthpost--2020-04-21--Could The Coronavirus be Spreading Through Farts? Doctors Says It Can and Here’s Why…

This may seem silly but doctors have discovered that the coronavirus can spread through farts .
That is unless the infected person is wearing pants .
No , we ’ re not joking .
It ’ s a well-established fact that farts contain tiny particles of poop .
In fact , it can be said that any time you smell a fart you ’ re inhaling that person ’ s poop .
And since people ’ s excrements contain plenty of bacteria , farts aren ’ t completely harmless .
Doctor Andy Tagg from Australia has cited tests carried out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Covid-19 or SARS-CoV-2 patients have the virus present in their poop .
As Dr. Tagg puts it “ Well , SARS-CoV-2 can be detected in faeces and has been detected in an asymptomatic individual up to 17 days post-exposure.
” Farts have also been shown to travel long distances through talcum powder , Dr. Tagg added .
The topic was brought to people ’ s attention when TV doctor Xand Van Tulleken from CBBC ’ s Operation Ouch series started sharing it on social media .
He called Dr. Tagg ’ s work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can cause coronavirus ” and it is one of the more lighthearted news about Covid-19 , all things considered .
What makes this topic not-so-horrible isn ’ t just the potential for fart jokes but also the fact that simply wearing pants appears to be a good enough protection against the spread of the disease .
Australian doctors Karl Kruszelnicki and microbiologist Luke Tennent performed an experiment in 2001 on whether farts can spread diseases .
“ It all started with an enquiry from a nurse , ” Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki shares at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ She wanted to know whether she was contaminating the operating theatre she worked in by quietly farting in the sterile environment during operations , and I realised that I didn ’ t know .
But I was determined to find out.
” During the experiment , participants were asked to “ pass wind ” directly into petri dishes from a distance of ~2 inches ( ~5 cm ) both with and without pants .
The result showed clearly that the first petri dish that was “ blown into ” with pants contained no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ An announcement from China ’ s Center for Disease Control and Prevention earlier this year also addressed the situation and confirmed that while the coronavirus is present in most patients ’ excrements and farts , simply wearing underwear and pants blocks the spread of the virus the way a face mask blocks the spread of respiratory droplets .
Still , passing gas with no pants or underwear in the presence of someone who ’ s not infected could be dangerous as fart particles can travel quite freely through the air .
Dr. Tagg @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be spread through the power of parping – we need more evidence .
So remember to wear appropriate PPE at all times and stay safe !
”

This may seem silly but doctors have discovered that the coronavirus can spread through farts. That is unless the infected person is wearing pants.
Advertisement
No, we’re not joking. It’s a well-established fact that farts contain tiny particles of poop. In fact, it can be said that any time you smell a fart you’re inhaling that person’s poop. And since people’s excrements contain plenty of bacteria, farts aren’t completely harmless.
Doctor Andy Tagg from Australia has cited tests carried out this year that showed ~55% of Covid-19 or SARS-CoV-2 patients have the virus present in their poop.
Advertisement
As Dr. Tagg puts it “Well, SARS-CoV-2 can be detected in faeces and has been detected in an asymptomatic individual up to 17 days post-exposure.”
Farts have also been shown to travel long distances through talcum powder, Dr. Tagg added.
The topic was brought to people’s attention when TV doctor Xand Van Tulleken from CBBC’s Operation Ouch series started sharing it on social media. He called Dr. Tagg’s work “an enjoyable thread about whether farting can cause coronavirus” and it is one of the more lighthearted news about Covid-19, all things considered.
Advertisement
What makes this topic not-so-horrible isn’t just the potential for fart jokes but also the fact that simply wearing pants appears to be a good enough protection against the spread of the disease.
Australian doctors Karl Kruszelnicki and microbiologist Luke Tennent performed an experiment in 2001 on whether farts can spread diseases.
“It all started with an enquiry from a nurse,” Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki shares at the beginning of the report. “She wanted to know whether she was contaminating the operating theatre she worked in by quietly farting in the sterile environment during operations, and I realised that I didn’t know. But I was determined to find out.”
Advertisement
During the experiment, participants were asked to “pass wind” directly into petri dishes from a distance of ~2 inches (~5 cm) both with and without pants. The result showed clearly that the first petri dish that was “blown into” with pants contained no bacteria while the other one did.
An announcement from China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention earlier this year also addressed the situation and confirmed that while the coronavirus is present in most patients’ excrements and farts, simply wearing underwear and pants blocks the spread of the virus the way a face mask blocks the spread of respiratory droplets.
Still, passing gas with no pants or underwear in the presence of someone who’s not infected could be dangerous as fart particles can travel quite freely through the air.
Advertisement
Dr. Tagg also added that “Perhaps SARS-CoV-2 can be spread through the power of parping – we need more evidence. So remember to wear appropriate PPE at all times and stay safe!”
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dailyhealthpost--2020-04-24--Some Coronavirus Patients Show Signs of Brain Complications Such as Seizures, Confusion, and Strokes

As the Covid-19 pandemic rages on , we continue to discover more about how the respiratory virus works and all the complications it can cause .
And while complications such as heart failure are an already-documented common problem , there are also very serious brain problems discovered in some coronavirus patients .
Peculiar neurological ailments such as loss of smell ( anosmia ) and loss of taste have been well-known for a while but newer rare symptoms such as seizures , confusion , and strokes are also being discovered .
One such example was a 74-year-old man in early March @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cough and a fever .
The man went through an X-ray that ruled out pneumonia so he was sent home .
However , the next day his fever got worse and the man ’ s family brought him back to the hospital .
This time he had also lost the ability to speak and appeared to be having a seizure .
Another , more recent case , came from Detroit at the end of March .
Doctors there reported that a female airline worker in her 50s tested positive for coronavirus .
She @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confusion .
She was aware enough to tell the doctors her name but she could tell them almost nothing else about herself .
As time went by she became even less responsive and the physicians performed a brain scan .
The results from the scan showed abnormal swelling and inflammation in multiple regions of her brain as well as entire smaller regions with dying brain cells – a condition known as “ acute necrotizing encephalopathy ” that ’ s a rare complication of influenza and other similar viral infections .
Dr. Elissa Fory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ System , commented about the patient ’ s rare condition that “ The pattern of involvement , and the way that it rapidly progressed over days , is consistent with viral inflammation of the brain , This may indicate the virus can invade the brain directly in rare circumstances.
” So far , the patient remains in critical condition .
There ’ s also been similar reports about bizarre and rare neurological conditions related to Covid-19 from around the globe .
Blood clots , numbness in the limbs ( acroparesthesia ) , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ encephalitis-like symptoms have been reported .
Some patients have been seen as becoming delirious before their fevers or respiratory problems worsened .
Dr. Alessandro Padovani , whose hospital at the University of Brescia in Italy opened a whole new “ NeuroCovid ” unit to take care of coronavirus patients with neurological conditions .
Encephalopathy is an especially troubling problem .
Patients with this problem are confused , lethargic , and seemingly dazed .
They tend to exhibit strange behavior such as staring emptily into space .
Seizures are also a problem for such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a medical facility as quickly as possible .
Why do such neurological problems happen to some Covid-19 patients ?
There is much we still don ’ t know about the connection between the novel coronavirus and neurological complications such as these ones .
Dr. Sherry H-Y .
Chou , a neurologist at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is investigating the phenomena with a team from the Neurological Care Society .
According to her , “ We absolutely need to have an information finding mission , otherwise we ’ re flying blind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the brain .
If the lungs are broken we can put the patient on a ventilator and hope for recovery .
We don ’ t have that luxury with the brain.
” Thankfully , most Covid-19 patients tend to have no neurological complications .
Dr. Robert Stevens , a neurologist at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore is also tracking these problems and he has commented that “ Most people are showing up awake and alert , and neurologically appear to be normal , ” According to him and other neurological @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to make any definitive statements about the relationship between Covid-19 and the developing or worsening of certain rare neurological conditions but the situation will continue to be monitored .
Another factor to be considered is a recent study where the researchers mentioned that other coronaviruses aren ’ t always confined to the respiratory tract and are known to invade the central nervous system as well .
The authors of the paper commented that this may play a role in acute respiratory failure in Covid-19 .
Still , Dr. Stevens emphasized that it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As he puts it , “ It could be as simple as low levels of oxygen in the bloodstream , ” resulting from respiratory failure , along with an increase in carbon dioxide , which “ can have a significant impact on the function of the brain , and lead to states of confusion and lethargy , ” Dr. Stevens also added that “ We are still in the early days of this , and we don ’ t really know for sure.
” When do we first notice such neurological complications ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ either as the first cases of neurological problems in Covid-19 patients date as far as back as the beginning of the pandemic in February when neurologists from Wuhan , China talked about them in another research paper .
Since then , similar reports have been coming from Germany , Italy , Austria , Holland , and France , as well as the U.S. Dr. Stevens also points out that such problems are not limited to patients over 60-years of age either , and have been observed in younger patients too .
There have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who weren ’ t exhibiting any of the standard coronavirus symptoms but experienced altered mental state and problems nevertheless .
Neurologists point out that it ’ s important for such patients to always be tested for Covid-19 regardless of whether they are symptomatic or not .
This was perfectly exemplified by a recent case from Danbury Hospital in Connecticut where four elderly patients came into the hospital with encephalopathy .
All 4 of them were asymptomatic for coronavirus but tested positive with the encephalopathy being their only symptom .
Dr. Paul Nee is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and he shared two of the patients also eventually developed fevers and required assisted breathing while the other two didn ’ t .
And while it ’ s not uncommon for elderly people to exhibit confusion , Dr. Nee commented that “ the striking thing is we have not seen any real respiratory illness in these patients.
” And because the patients continue to test positive , they can ’ t be discharged even though they are otherwise asymptomatic .
There are also earlier reports that suggest that symptomatic patients are nevertheless more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ neurological conditioners such as headaches , dizziness , strokes , musculoskeletal injuries , or impaired consciousness .
The study from February reported that ~15 % of severely ill patients also experienced changes in their mental conditions compared to only 2.4 % of asymptomatic patients or patients with more mild symptoms .
Another late March study published in the British Medical Journal discovered that out of 113 patients who died of Covid-19 , 25 of them ( 22 % ) experienced neurological disorders such as somnolence or even falling into a coma .
Such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Center for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) who have now added “ new confusion or inability to rouse ” as Covid-19 symptoms and warning signs .
Dr. Jennifer Frontera , a neurologist at N.Y.U .
Langone Health who works with Dr. Chou also says that encephalopathy patients exhibiting confusion and a lack of alertness are very prone to seizures and should be treated as quickly as possible and with extra care .
“ Seizures are not always big things where people fall down and are shaking on the ground , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could be just veering off , not paying attention , making repetitive non-purposeful movements , or just mental status changes where people are just not themselves.
” Even with no seizures , patients who are in the risk groups should remain aware of the other possible mental symptoms and complications of Covid-19 and take extra care of protecting themselves from the disease .
“ You don ’ t feel your best when you have a fever , but you should be able to interact normally , ” Dr. Frontera said .
“ You @ @ @ @ @ @ @ converse in a normal fashion.
” She also added that “ I don ’ t want everyone calling 911 because they ’ re overly concerned .
We just don ’ t have the capacity .
But if someone is really out of it , they probably need medical attention .
”

As the Covid-19 pandemic rages on, we continue to discover more about how the respiratory virus works and all the complications it can cause. And while complications such as heart failure are an already-documented common problem, there are also very serious brain problems discovered in some coronavirus patients.
Advertisement
Peculiar neurological ailments such as loss of smell (anosmia) and loss of taste have been well-known for a while but newer rare symptoms such as seizures, confusion, and strokes are also being discovered.
One such example was a 74-year-old man in early March who visited an emergency room with a cough and a fever. The man went through an X-ray that ruled out pneumonia so he was sent home. However, the next day his fever got worse and the man’s family brought him back to the hospital. This time he had also lost the ability to speak and appeared to be having a seizure.
Advertisement
Another, more recent case, came from Detroit at the end of March. Doctors there reported that a female airline worker in her 50s tested positive for coronavirus. She also had a headache and experienced mild confusion. She was aware enough to tell the doctors her name but she could tell them almost nothing else about herself.
As time went by she became even less responsive and the physicians performed a brain scan. The results from the scan showed abnormal swelling and inflammation in multiple regions of her brain as well as entire smaller regions with dying brain cells – a condition known as “acute necrotizing encephalopathy” that’s a rare complication of influenza and other similar viral infections.
Dr. Elissa Fory, a neurologist with Henry Ford Health System, commented about the patient’s rare condition that “The pattern of involvement, and the way that it rapidly progressed over days, is consistent with viral inflammation of the brain, This may indicate the virus can invade the brain directly in rare circumstances.”
Advertisement
So far, the patient remains in critical condition.
There’s also been similar reports about bizarre and rare neurological conditions related to Covid-19 from around the globe. Blood clots, numbness in the limbs (acroparesthesia), as well as strokes, seizures, and encephalitis-like symptoms have been reported.
Some patients have been seen as becoming delirious before their fevers or respiratory problems worsened. Dr. Alessandro Padovani, whose hospital at the University of Brescia in Italy opened a whole new “NeuroCovid” unit to take care of coronavirus patients with neurological conditions.
Advertisement
Encephalopathy is an especially troubling problem. Patients with this problem are confused, lethargic, and seemingly dazed. They tend to exhibit strange behavior such as staring emptily into space. Seizures are also a problem for such patients and they should be brought to a medical facility as quickly as possible.
Why do such neurological problems happen to some Covid-19 patients?
There is much we still don’t know about the connection between the novel coronavirus and neurological complications such as these ones.
Dr. Sherry H-Y. Chou, a neurologist at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is investigating the phenomena with a team from the Neurological Care Society. According to her, “We absolutely need to have an information finding mission, otherwise we’re flying blind. There’s no ventilator for the brain. If the lungs are broken we can put the patient on a ventilator and hope for recovery. We don’t have that luxury with the brain.”
Advertisement
Thankfully, most Covid-19 patients tend to have no neurological complications. Dr. Robert Stevens, a neurologist at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore is also tracking these problems and he has commented that “Most people are showing up awake and alert, and neurologically appear to be normal,”
According to him and other neurological specialists, it’s too early to make any definitive statements about the relationship between Covid-19 and the developing or worsening of certain rare neurological conditions but the situation will continue to be monitored.
Another factor to be considered is a recent study where the researchers mentioned that other coronaviruses aren’t always confined to the respiratory tract and are known to invade the central nervous system as well. The authors of the paper commented that this may play a role in acute respiratory failure in Covid-19.
Advertisement
Still, Dr. Stevens emphasized that it’s just too early to tell. As he puts it, “It could be as simple as low levels of oxygen in the bloodstream,” resulting from respiratory failure, along with an increase in carbon dioxide, which “can have a significant impact on the function of the brain, and lead to states of confusion and lethargy,”
Dr. Stevens also added that “We are still in the early days of this, and we don’t really know for sure.”
When do we first notice such neurological complications?
This isn’t a new development either as the first cases of neurological problems in Covid-19 patients date as far as back as the beginning of the pandemic in February when neurologists from Wuhan, China talked about them in another research paper.
Advertisement
Since then, similar reports have been coming from Germany, Italy, Austria, Holland, and France, as well as the U.S.
Dr. Stevens also points out that such problems are not limited to patients over 60-years of age either, and have been observed in younger patients too. There have even been cases of asymptomatic Covid-19 patients who weren’t exhibiting any of the standard coronavirus symptoms but experienced altered mental state and problems nevertheless. Neurologists point out that it’s important for such patients to always be tested for Covid-19 regardless of whether they are symptomatic or not.
This was perfectly exemplified by a recent case from Danbury Hospital in Connecticut where four elderly patients came into the hospital with encephalopathy. All 4 of them were asymptomatic for coronavirus but tested positive with the encephalopathy being their only symptom.
Advertisement
Dr. Paul Nee is an infectious disease specialist at the hospital and he shared two of the patients also eventually developed fevers and required assisted breathing while the other two didn’t. And while it’s not uncommon for elderly people to exhibit confusion, Dr. Nee commented that “the striking thing is we have not seen any real respiratory illness in these patients.” And because the patients continue to test positive, they can’t be discharged even though they are otherwise asymptomatic.
There are also earlier reports that suggest that symptomatic patients are nevertheless more likely to exhibit any of the rare neurological conditioners such as headaches, dizziness, strokes, musculoskeletal injuries, or impaired consciousness. The study from February reported that ~15% of severely ill patients also experienced changes in their mental conditions compared to only 2.4% of asymptomatic patients or patients with more mild symptoms.
Another late March study published in the British Medical Journal discovered that out of 113 patients who died of Covid-19, 25 of them (22%) experienced neurological disorders such as somnolence or even falling into a coma.
Advertisement
Such neurological symptoms have also been achknowledged by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who have now added “new confusion or inability to rouse” as Covid-19 symptoms and warning signs.
Dr. Jennifer Frontera, a neurologist at N.Y.U. Langone Health who works with Dr. Chou also says that encephalopathy patients exhibiting confusion and a lack of alertness are very prone to seizures and should be treated as quickly as possible and with extra care.
“Seizures are not always big things where people fall down and are shaking on the ground,” Dr. Frontera said. “Some could be just veering off, not paying attention, making repetitive non-purposeful movements, or just mental status changes where people are just not themselves.”
Advertisement
Even with no seizures, patients who are in the risk groups should remain aware of the other possible mental symptoms and complications of Covid-19 and take extra care of protecting themselves from the disease.
“You don’t feel your best when you have a fever, but you should be able to interact normally,” Dr. Frontera said. “You should be able to answer questions and converse in a normal fashion.”
She also added that “I don’t want everyone calling 911 because they’re overly concerned. We just don’t have the capacity. But if someone is really out of it, they probably need medical attention.”
Advertisement
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dailyhealthpost--2020-04-24--Exercising 30 Minutes a Day Can Help Prevent Coronavirus Complications, Study Finds

The current Covid-19 pandemic is not only deadly but that it can also cause a myriad of complications in many patients .
A new preventive medicine study from the University of Virginia , however , has shown that regular exercise is crucial for preventing and reducing Covid-19 complications .
The fact that exercise is good for us is no secret to anyone .
This study was done to highlight how regular exercise is even more important now .
Zhen Yan , the director of the Center for Skeletal Muscle Research at the University of Virginia School of Medicine ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that ~30 minutes of intense cardiovascular workouts every day are very beneficial for the prevention of respiratory diseases such as Covid-19 .
Especially during a stay of quarantine and limited exercise opportunities .
“ We can not live in isolation forever , ” said Yan .
“ Regular exercise has far more health benefits than we know .
The protection against this severe respiratory disease condition is just one of the many examples.
” In his interview with Newsweek , Yan listed several types of aerobics that can achieve that goal and that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ distancing norms .
Some of his examples were running , biking , and rowing – these and more are proven to be great at preventing or reducing the severity of ARDS – Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrom .
This is crucial because ARDS is one of the most common complications with Covid-19 .
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention between 20 % and 42 % of hospitalized Covid-19 patients also develop ARDS .
Even if you don ’ t want to or can ’ t exercise outdoors , the quarantine isn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from getting regular cardiovascular exercise every day .
A good example of that is Marty Kelly – a trainer from Ireland who ’ s also a boxing coach in New York City .
Marty has been posting workout videos from his home twice a day during the quarantine .
Marty insists that regular exercise isn ’ t just important for the body but also for the mind as exercise can help people cope with the stress and the anxiety during the pandemic .
Or , as he puts it , “ To win @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mentally.
” Marty also adds that “ I ’ ve taken the mentality and transferred into my coaching and training of others , it ’ s not just a physical workout it is a mental work out also .
We need to stay strong and fight this thing head on , we need to be mentally tough for ourselves and loved ones , stay active , keep moving for walks , online workouts , whatever it takes to move.
” Stress , anxiety , depression , and other mental healthcare issues are on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the subsequent financial and market crisis .
Fortunately , regular exercise has been shown to be invaluable in fighting off those conditions as well .

The current Covid-19 pandemic is not only deadly but that it can also cause a myriad of complications in many patients. A new preventive medicine study from the University of Virginia, however, has shown that regular exercise is crucial for preventing and reducing Covid-19 complications.
Advertisement
The fact that exercise is good for us is no secret to anyone. This study was done to highlight how regular exercise is even more important now.
Zhen Yan, the director of the Center for Skeletal Muscle Research at the University of Virginia School of Medicine’s Robert M. Berne Cardiovascular Research Center says that ~30 minutes of intense cardiovascular workouts every day are very beneficial for the prevention of respiratory diseases such as Covid-19. Especially during a stay of quarantine and limited exercise opportunities.
Advertisement
“We cannot live in isolation forever,” said Yan. “Regular exercise has far more health benefits than we know. The protection against this severe respiratory disease condition is just one of the many examples.”
In his interview with Newsweek, Yan listed several types of aerobics that can achieve that goal and that are doable even while adhering to social distancing norms. Some of his examples were running, biking, and rowing – these and more are proven to be great at preventing or reducing the severity of ARDS – Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrom.
This is crucial because ARDS is one of the most common complications with Covid-19. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention between 20% and 42% of hospitalized Covid-19 patients also develop ARDS.
Advertisement
Even if you don’t want to or can’t exercise outdoors, the quarantine isn’t something that should prevent you from getting regular cardiovascular exercise every day. A good example of that is Marty Kelly – a trainer from Ireland who’s also a boxing coach in New York City. Marty has been posting workout videos from his home twice a day during the quarantine.
Marty insists that regular exercise isn’t just important for the body but also for the mind as exercise can help people cope with the stress and the anxiety during the pandemic. Or, as he puts it, “To win physically, first you have to win mentally.”
Marty also adds that “I’ve taken the mentality and transferred into my coaching and training of others, it’s not just a physical workout it is a mental work out also. We need to stay strong and fight this thing head on, we need to be mentally tough for ourselves and loved ones, stay active, keep moving for walks, online workouts, whatever it takes to move.”
Advertisement
Stress, anxiety, depression, and other mental healthcare issues are on the rise during the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent financial and market crisis. Fortunately, regular exercise has been shown to be invaluable in fighting off those conditions as well.
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dailyhealthpost--2020-04-25--Why Turning Covid-19 Patients on Their Stomachs is Saving Lives

With the coronavirus still far from contained , scientists and medical professionals everywhere continue to look for viable treatments .
However , it turns out that even some simpler solutions can also help save lives .
Dr. Mangala Narasimhan , the regional director for critical care at Northwell Health recently helped a Covid-19 patient at the Long Island Jewish Hospital by simply instructing her colleagues in the ICU to flip him on his stomach .
This novel approach isn ’ t complicated , similar to how most NY hospitals started using large doses of Vitamin C to help their patients @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Covid-19 patients on their stomachs saves lives is because this helps them breathe more easily by allowing more oxygen into their lungs .
It ’ s called “ prone positioning ” and it ’ s not a new technique but very few doctors are applying it during the Covid-19 crisis .
Dr. Narasimhan stands by it , however .
“ We ’ re saving lives with this , one hundred percent , ” said Narasimhan .
“ It ’ s such a simple thing to do , and we ’ ve seen remarkable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ every single patient.
” Other doctors also vouched for the prone positioning method .
Dr. Kathryn Hibbert , director of the medical ICU at Massachusetts General Hospital added to Dr. Narasimhan ’ s statement by saying that “ Once you see it work , you want to do it more , and you see it work almost immediately , ” The reason this is working is that a lot of the Covid-19 fatalities are actually due to ARDS – Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome .
As prone positioning improves breathing , it can help @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at least for the time being .
How long have we known about this method ?
The method has been well-known for a while .
French doctors published an article about it in 2013 where they detailed how ARDS patients on assisted breathing had even higher survivability rates if they were placed on their stomachs as well .
Not all doctors have used this technique over the years but if ever there ’ s a time to adopt it , now might be it .
The 40-year-old patient in the Long Island Jewish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as the oxygen in his blood was shown to jump from 85 % to 98 % thanks to this method .
It can be an uncomfortable position to be in , of course .
Ventilated patients have to stay on their stomachs for ~16 hours a day and the other 8 hours on their backs .
Considering the benefits , however , the inconvenience may be worth the trouble .
“ By putting them on their stomachs , we ’ re opening up parts of the lung that weren ’ t open before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there any other downsides to prone positioning ?
One major drawback of this method is that some patients who remain on their stomachs for prolonged periods of time also need more sedation and that can often lead to staying longer in the ICU .
At Mass General , only the sickest patients get placed on their stomachs as they are the ones that gain the most out of this method .
When patients out of an ICU unit are asked to stay on their stomachs without any sedatives , it ’ s usually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a time .
“ Most are willing to give it a try , ” Dr. Hibbert said .
“ How long they stay in that position really varies from person to person , whether they ’ re comfortable falling asleep in that position , or if they get bored and want to turn over to their backs.
” It ’ s not entirely clear how beneficial this method is for non-ventilated patients , as the 2013 French study covered only patients with assisted breathing .
The Rush University Medical Center is currently performing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re utilizing prone positioning but their results aren ’ t out yet .
In their ongoing clinical trial patients are assigned randomly whether they ’ ll be on their stomachs or their backs .
David Vines , chair of the cardiopulmonary sciences department at Rush explains that “ We ’ ll see if proning helps , and if so , how long should they be in the prone position .
”

With the coronavirus still far from contained, scientists and medical professionals everywhere continue to look for viable treatments. However, it turns out that even some simpler solutions can also help save lives.
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Dr. Mangala Narasimhan, the regional director for critical care at Northwell Health recently helped a Covid-19 patient at the Long Island Jewish Hospital by simply instructing her colleagues in the ICU to flip him on his stomach. This novel approach isn’t complicated, similar to how most NY hospitals started using large doses of Vitamin C to help their patients a month ago.
The reason turning Covid-19 patients on their stomachs saves lives is because this helps them breathe more easily by allowing more oxygen into their lungs. It’s called “prone positioning” and it’s not a new technique but very few doctors are applying it during the Covid-19 crisis.
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Dr. Narasimhan stands by it, however.
“We’re saving lives with this, one hundred percent,” said Narasimhan. “It’s such a simple thing to do, and we’ve seen remarkable improvement. We can see it for every single patient.”
Other doctors also vouched for the prone positioning method. Dr. Kathryn Hibbert, director of the medical ICU at Massachusetts General Hospital added to Dr. Narasimhan’s statement by saying that “Once you see it work, you want to do it more, and you see it work almost immediately,”
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The reason this is working is that a lot of the Covid-19 fatalities are actually due to ARDS – Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. As prone positioning improves breathing, it can help prevent the need for life support, at least for the time being.
How long have we known about this method?
The method has been well-known for a while. French doctors published an article about it in 2013 where they detailed how ARDS patients on assisted breathing had even higher survivability rates if they were placed on their stomachs as well.
Not all doctors have used this technique over the years but if ever there’s a time to adopt it, now might be it. The 40-year-old patient in the Long Island Jewish Hospital is an excellent example of that as the oxygen in his blood was shown to jump from 85% to 98% thanks to this method.
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It can be an uncomfortable position to be in, of course. Ventilated patients have to stay on their stomachs for ~16 hours a day and the other 8 hours on their backs. Considering the benefits, however, the inconvenience may be worth the trouble.
“By putting them on their stomachs, we’re opening up parts of the lung that weren’t open before,” Dr. Hibbert explains.
Are there any other downsides to prone positioning?
One major drawback of this method is that some patients who remain on their stomachs for prolonged periods of time also need more sedation and that can often lead to staying longer in the ICU.
Advertisement
At Mass General, only the sickest patients get placed on their stomachs as they are the ones that gain the most out of this method.
When patients out of an ICU unit are asked to stay on their stomachs without any sedatives, it’s usually not for more than 4 hours at a time.
“Most are willing to give it a try,” Dr. Hibbert said. “How long they stay in that position really varies from person to person, whether they’re comfortable falling asleep in that position, or if they get bored and want to turn over to their backs.”
Advertisement
It’s not entirely clear how beneficial this method is for non-ventilated patients, as the 2013 French study covered only patients with assisted breathing.
The Rush University Medical Center is currently performing its own study into non-ventilated patients who’re utilizing prone positioning but their results aren’t out yet. In their ongoing clinical trial patients are assigned randomly whether they’ll be on their stomachs or their backs.
David Vines, chair of the cardiopulmonary sciences department at Rush explains that “We’ll see if proning helps, and if so, how long should they be in the prone position.”
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dailyhealthpost--2020-04-26--How The Coronavirus Damages Your Heart, Liver, Kidneys, and Brain

We ’ ve known for a while now that the coronavirus works by inflaming and clogging the air sacks in the victim ’ s lungs , thus preventing them from breathing and causing ARDS or Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome .
But what if the damage wasn ’ t limited to just your lungs ?
Clinicians around the world are seeing cases where the coronavirus is responsible for causing heart inflammation , various neurological malfunctions , acute kidney disease , intestinal damage , blood clots , liver problems , and more .
These additional problems don ’ t only complicate the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deadly on their own .
So far , many of these complications were attributed to the so-called “ cytokine storm ” – a strong immune-system response caused by the lung inflammations that attacks the body and deals severe damage .
However , more and more scientists are now coming to the conclusion that cytokine storm alone can ’ t explain all the complications found in Covid-19 patients .
Clinicians have noticed that in a subsection of Covid-19 patients , the immune system tends to go in hyperdrive .
This leads to the release @ @ @ @ @ @ @ capable of damaging organs when it ’ s released in excess .
In some patients , doctors have also found abnormally high amounts of a pro-inflammatory cytokine called interleukin-6 , also known as IL-6 .
The unfettered response is also problematic .
It ’ s called “ cytokine release syndrome ” and has been seen in patients with autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and in cancer patients going through certain immunotherapies .
Jeffrey S. Weber , deputy director of the Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone Medical Center is also of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reason why Covid-19 patients often require extra care and ventilation .
“ When your cytokines are systemically out of control , bad stuff happens , ” Weber said .
“ It can be a complete disaster.
” It ’ s not yet clear why cytokine storms occur in some patients and not in others .
To treat them , many doctors are using anti-IL-6 drugs such as tocilizumab – a drug approved for cancer patients who develop cytokine storms during their immunotherapies .
One of the many recent and worrying findings is that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Covid-19 patients have been found to have protein or blood in their urine which is a clear sign of early kidney damage .
Alan Kliger , a nephrologist at the Yale School of Medicine shared this statistic as he ’ s also a co-chair of a task force assisting dialysis patients .
Dr. Kliger also added that 14 % to 30 % of early-data patients from both New York and Wuhan , China have lost kidney function and have required dialysis or continuous renal replacement therapy .
As a result of that , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a stark shortage not only of ventilators and respiratory therapists but dialysis volunteers and sterile fluids .
“ That ’ s a huge number of people who have this problem .
That ’ s new to me , ” Kliger said .
“ I think it ’ s very possible that the virus attaches to the kidney cells and attacks them.
” Still , most medical professionals point out that the Covid-19 pandemic is in its early stages and we can ’ t draw concrete conclusions yet , only make observations .
There @ @ @ @ @ @ @ organ damage experienced by the victims and those causes are yet to be ruled out – high fever , respiratory distress , the various medications patients receive , or even just the stress of the whole experience .
Nevertheless , the evidence piles on in favor of Covid-19 causing such problems directly .
One study published in the Kidney International medical journal showed that 9 out of 26 of autopsies were found to have acute kidney injuries and seven had Covid-19 particles inside their kidneys .
Paul M. Palevsky , a University of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the National Kidney Foundation said that “ It does raise the very clear suspicion that at least a part of the acute kidney injury that we ’ re seeing is resulting from direct viral involvement of the kidney , which is distinct from what was seen in the SARS outbreak in 2002.
” And the devastating results of Covid-19 ’ s kidney complications are getting more and more unmanageable .
Hospitals all across the country and especially in New York are forced to ration their kidney treatment machines as they have more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they have devices .
Clinicians from both New York and China have reported Covid-19 patients with myocarditis – a heart muscle inflammation – as well as irregular heart rhythms that tend to lead to cardiac arrest .
Mitchell Elkind , a Columbia University neurologist and president-elect of the American Heart Association said that “ They seem to be doing really well as far as respiratory status goes , and then suddenly they develop a cardiac issue that seems out of proportion to their respiratory issues .
This seems to be out of proportion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people wonder about that direct effect.
” Elkind also said that according to data from ill patients in China , ~40 % of the patients suffered from arrhythmias and ~20 % had some form of cardiac injuries .
“ There is some concern that some of it may be due to direct influence of the virus , ” Elkind said .
There ’ s a lot of suspicions that the Covid-19 virus uses the same ACE2 receptors that it latches on in the lungs to also invade other organs .
The gastrointestinal tract @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as it has a hundred times more of the same ACE2 receptors than the lungs , while also being much larger .
This could help explain the large number of patients with digestive and gastrointestinal symptoms .
“ If you unfurl it , it ’ s like a tennis court of surface area — this tremendous area for the virus to invade and replicate itself , ” said Brennan Spiegel , co-editor in chief of the American Journal of Gastroenterology .
There is a myriad of gastrointestinal symptoms recorded in patients – diarrhea @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
This has led some specialists to even coin the # NotJustCough hashtag on Twitter .
“ The question is , is it kind of behaving like a hybrid of different viruses ?
” Spiegel said .
“ What we ’ re learning is , it seems anyway , that this virus homes in on more than one organ system.
” This isn ’ t anything new but some Covid-19 patients lose their sense of taste and smell as they get sick but it ’ s not yet clear why .
Claire Hopkins @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Society has said that many of the studied patients have lost their sense of taste and smell even before showing any other symptoms .
“ The coronavirus can actually attack and invade olfactory nerve endings , ” Hopkins said .
In other words , the aroma-detecting fibers are left unable to send information to the brain .
The medical term for a loss of smell is anosmia .
However , while it was well-known as a common problem for Covid-19 patients , it wasn ’ t officially recognized as a symptom for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the doctors on the field were just so overwhelmed by the respiratory symptoms of the disease that “ they didn ’ t ask the question.
” Yet , data has shown that up to 60 % of hospitalized Covid-19 patients have also experienced varying degrees of anosmia .
What ’ s also interesting to Hopkins is that people with severe anosmia tend to have milder respiratory problems .
On the other hand , some anosmia Covid-19 patients have also experienced confusion , lower blood oxygen levels , and even loss of consciousness – @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be able to travel through the olfactory nerve endings directly to our brains .
“ Why you get this different expression in different people , nobody knows , ” Hopkins said .
The virus also seems to occasionally attack the liver , according to some reports .
A 59-year-old woman in Long Island was hospitalized with dark urine which lead the doctors to discover an acute hepatis .
Later the woman developed a cough as well , and the hepatitis was attributed to the coronavirus for which she tested positive .
Spiegel has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he sees more every day .
Covid-19 patients have also been seen to develop blood clots .
These clots often break off from the veins they form in and travel to the lungs where they can cause pulmonary embolisms .
One study published in the Journal of Thrombosis and Hemostasis , examined 81 Covid-19 patients and found blood clots in 20 of them .
The clots were the cause of death for 8 of the patients .
Sanjum Sethi , an interventional cardiologist and assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are getting widely used in New York in attempts to protect Covid-19 patients from developing deadly blood clots .
“ We ’ re just seeing so many of these events that we have to investigate further , ” Sanjum said .

We’ve known for a while now that the coronavirus works by inflaming and clogging the air sacks in the victim’s lungs, thus preventing them from breathing and causing ARDS or Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. But what if the damage wasn’t limited to just your lungs?
Advertisement
Clinicians around the world are seeing cases where the coronavirus is responsible for causing heart inflammation, various neurological malfunctions, acute kidney disease, intestinal damage, blood clots, liver problems, and more. These additional problems don’t only complicate the treatment of the virus but are often deadly on their own.
So far, many of these complications were attributed to the so-called “cytokine storm” – a strong immune-system response caused by the lung inflammations that attacks the body and deals severe damage. However, more and more scientists are now coming to the conclusion that cytokine storm alone can’t explain all the complications found in Covid-19 patients.
Advertisement
Cytokine storms
Clinicians have noticed that in a subsection of Covid-19 patients, the immune system tends to go in hyperdrive. This leads to the release of a substance called cytokines which is capable of damaging organs when it’s released in excess.
In some patients, doctors have also found abnormally high amounts of a pro-inflammatory cytokine called interleukin-6, also known as IL-6.
The unfettered response is also problematic. It’s called “cytokine release syndrome” and has been seen in patients with autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and in cancer patients going through certain immunotherapies.
Advertisement
Jeffrey S. Weber, deputy director of the Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone Medical Center is also of the belief that cytokine storms are a big reason why Covid-19 patients often require extra care and ventilation.
“When your cytokines are systemically out of control, bad stuff happens,” Weber said. “It can be a complete disaster.”
It’s not yet clear why cytokine storms occur in some patients and not in others. To treat them, many doctors are using anti-IL-6 drugs such as tocilizumab – a drug approved for cancer patients who develop cytokine storms during their immunotherapies.
Advertisement
Kidney damage
One of the many recent and worrying findings is that close to 50% of the hospitalized Covid-19 patients have been found to have protein or blood in their urine which is a clear sign of early kidney damage. Alan Kliger, a nephrologist at the Yale School of Medicine shared this statistic as he’s also a co-chair of a task force assisting dialysis patients.
Dr. Kliger also added that 14% to 30% of early-data patients from both New York and Wuhan, China have lost kidney function and have required dialysis or continuous renal replacement therapy. As a result of that, the state of New York is experiencing a stark shortage not only of ventilators and respiratory therapists but dialysis volunteers and sterile fluids.
“That’s a huge number of people who have this problem. That’s new to me,” Kliger said. “I think it’s very possible that the virus attaches to the kidney cells and attacks them.”
Advertisement
Still, most medical professionals point out that the Covid-19 pandemic is in its early stages and we can’t draw concrete conclusions yet, only make observations. There are still other possible causes of the organ damage experienced by the victims and those causes are yet to be ruled out – high fever, respiratory distress, the various medications patients receive, or even just the stress of the whole experience.
Nevertheless, the evidence piles on in favor of Covid-19 causing such problems directly. One study published in the Kidney International medical journal showed that 9 out of 26 of autopsies were found to have acute kidney injuries and seven had Covid-19 particles inside their kidneys.
Paul M. Palevsky, a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine nephrologist and president-elect of the National Kidney Foundation said that “It does raise the very clear suspicion that at least a part of the acute kidney injury that we’re seeing is resulting from direct viral involvement of the kidney, which is distinct from what was seen in the SARS outbreak in 2002.”
Advertisement
And the devastating results of Covid-19’s kidney complications are getting more and more unmanageable. Hospitals all across the country and especially in New York are forced to ration their kidney treatment machines as they have more patients in need of 24-hour care than they have devices.
Heart damage
Clinicians from both New York and China have reported Covid-19 patients with myocarditis – a heart muscle inflammation – as well as irregular heart rhythms that tend to lead to cardiac arrest.
Mitchell Elkind, a Columbia University neurologist and president-elect of the American Heart Association said that “They seem to be doing really well as far as respiratory status goes, and then suddenly they develop a cardiac issue that seems out of proportion to their respiratory issues. This seems to be out of proportion to their lung disease, which makes people wonder about that direct effect.”
Advertisement
Elkind also said that according to data from ill patients in China, ~40% of the patients suffered from arrhythmias and ~20% had some form of cardiac injuries.
“There is some concern that some of it may be due to direct influence of the virus,” Elkind said.
Gastrointestinal tract
There’s a lot of suspicions that the Covid-19 virus uses the same ACE2 receptors that it latches on in the lungs to also invade other organs. The gastrointestinal tract is one place scientists are looking at as it has a hundred times more of the same ACE2 receptors than the lungs, while also being much larger. This could help explain the large number of patients with digestive and gastrointestinal symptoms.
Advertisement
“If you unfurl it, it’s like a tennis court of surface area — this tremendous area for the virus to invade and replicate itself,” said Brennan Spiegel, co-editor in chief of the American Journal of Gastroenterology.
There is a myriad of gastrointestinal symptoms recorded in patients – diarrhea, pain, vomiting, and others. This has led some specialists to even coin the #NotJustCough hashtag on Twitter.
“The question is, is it kind of behaving like a hybrid of different viruses?” Spiegel said. “What we’re learning is, it seems anyway, that this virus homes in on more than one organ system.”
Advertisement
Taste and smell
This isn’t anything new but some Covid-19 patients lose their sense of taste and smell as they get sick but it’s not yet clear why. Claire Hopkins, the president of the British Rhinological Society has said that many of the studied patients have lost their sense of taste and smell even before showing any other symptoms.
“The coronavirus can actually attack and invade olfactory nerve endings,” Hopkins said. In other words, the aroma-detecting fibers are left unable to send information to the brain.
The medical term for a loss of smell is anosmia. However, while it was well-known as a common problem for Covid-19 patients, it wasn’t officially recognized as a symptom for a long time. According to Hopkins, the doctors on the field were just so overwhelmed by the respiratory symptoms of the disease that “they didn’t ask the question.”
Advertisement
Yet, data has shown that up to 60% of hospitalized Covid-19 patients have also experienced varying degrees of anosmia. What’s also interesting to Hopkins is that people with severe anosmia tend to have milder respiratory problems.
On the other hand, some anosmia Covid-19 patients have also experienced confusion, lower blood oxygen levels, and even loss of consciousness – a worrying sign that the virus may be able to travel through the olfactory nerve endings directly to our brains.
“Why you get this different expression in different people, nobody knows,” Hopkins said.
Advertisement
Liver problems
The virus also seems to occasionally attack the liver, according to some reports. A 59-year-old woman in Long Island was hospitalized with dark urine which lead the doctors to discover an acute hepatis. Later the woman developed a cough as well, and the hepatitis was attributed to the coronavirus for which she tested positive.
Spiegel has said that such reports are common and he sees more every day.
Blood clots
Covid-19 patients have also been seen to develop blood clots. These clots often break off from the veins they form in and travel to the lungs where they can cause pulmonary embolisms.
Advertisement
One study published in the Journal of Thrombosis and Hemostasis, examined 81 Covid-19 patients and found blood clots in 20 of them. The clots were the cause of death for 8 of the patients.
Sanjum Sethi, an interventional cardiologist and assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center says that blood thinners are getting widely used in New York in attempts to protect Covid-19 patients from developing deadly blood clots.
“We’re just seeing so many of these events that we have to investigate further,” Sanjum said.
Advertisement
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