News of the Ebola Virus epidemic in Africa is everywhere. And now we have some confirmed cases of Ebola in the United States. As a chiropractor, I wanted to give some thoughts about the whole matter. Yes, Ebola is a nasty virus that can be fatal. But there is more to it than just the virulence or how nasty a virus is. The whole other side of the story is the health of the immune system of the individual.
The health of the individual is what I wanted to talk about. Just because Ebola is a nasty disease does not mean we are all going to die from it! There are things that you can do to help your immune system function at its best so that you are less likely to get ‘sick’ from Ebola virus or any other bacteria/virus. And unfortunately from the medical point of view, they usually gloss over this and just focus on how they can ‘treat’ the disease. While treatments are important, I still think prevention is best. It is interesting to note that the CDC website states: “Recovery from Ebola depends on good supportive care and the patient’s immune response.”
Now what are some of those things you can do to keep your immune system healthy and have a good immune response? Well I would put nutrition at the top of the list. And personally I think this is one reason why the outbreak in West Africa is so bad because this is a part of the world that is known for food scarcity and often people are undernourished. While Americans do not always eat the best, the majority have access to adequate food. This should make a difference. And as you eat nutritious foods it gives your body the nutrients to have a healthy immune system.
Another basic precaution for preventing many diseases is proper hygiene. Now I don’t mean you need to sterilize everything around you, but washing your hands with regular soap and water can help reduce your exposure to many viruses and bacteria. Again, I believe part of the problem in West Africa with the Ebola Virus is that there are not adequate means to keep contaminated items from infecting others.
A few more things in general with keeping the immune system healthy are adequate sleep and reducing stress. These two really go hand in hand because when you are overstressed it can often affect your sleep, and when you are not getting enough sleep you are stressing your body. So here are some things you can do to help reduce stress in your life. Stop worrying about things that you cannot control, easy to say but more difficult to do, but it really does not do you any good to worry about things you cannot change. Have a way to release stress like regular exercise, talking to someone, or deep breathing exercises.
In closing, I want to say that the Ebola Virus can be a scary thing, but I think it is also being sensationalized by the news as well, like most other news stories. I know people are dying from Ebola Virus and it has the potential to cause serious problems, but creating fear in people is not going to help matters any. I think the best thing is to keep yourself healthy and avoid as best possible exposure to the virus. I truly believe this will do much more good than fast-tracking a vaccine to try and combat it. So use some common sense and support your body’s natural ability to heal.
Reference:
http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/treatment/index.html accessed on October 9
