Promising Pandemic Safety Protocols

by James Lange

 

“Jim, I want to say that you have done an amazing job of highlighting the number of proactive measures that each and every one of us can take in order to protect ourselves (and others) from exposure to, and transmission of, the deadly virus. BRAVO!!!”
—Martha Stark, MD, Faculty, Harvard Medical School, CEO, SynergyMed for MindBodyHealth 

In 1811, a French chemist, while isolating sodium carbonate from seaweed, added a little too much sulfuric acid. To his utter shock and amazement, a plume of purple vapor burst forth from the ashes. 209 years later, many medical researchers are now endorsing the purple element as an invaluable part of a COVID-19 defense protocol. 

The French chemist’s mistake led to the discovery of iodine.[1] Povidone-iodine (whose active ingredient is iodine) is currently being recommended to doctors, nurses, and patients to potentially protect against the spread of COVID-19.

With the help of some friends and coworkers, my wife and I have assembled this guide outlining this under-publicized intervention along with some others that could help keep you safe.

The measures we plan to take are listed and outlined below.

Protocols for Staying Safer in the Pandemic

  1. An experimental, yet promising and relatively benign, protocol that includes using a povidone-iodine (Betadine® is a brand name) solution for gargling and a nasal spray.
  2. Wear a commercially available mask that looks a feminine version of a WWI gas mask. This filters the air that you inhale.
  3. Add an additional filter to the mask as it has an exhalation valve. This additional filter will help protect others from your exhaled aerosols.
  4. Use protective eye goggles.
  5. Continue to wash hands frequently and properly.

 

Please note we provide details on all of the above in the rest of this article. For a more complete description of items discussed in this article, information on proper usage of these items, and, as a suggestion, links to the products that I purchased for my family, go to https://paytaxeslater.com/endnotes.

I wish I could tell you all these protocols have been peer-reviewed and tested extensively and are 99.9% safe. They are not. As an example, people with certain thyroid conditions should not utilize the povidone-iodine gargle and nasal spray solution. Studies are in process and my reading is that they look promising. We reference and provide links to some of those studies to give you the opportunity to come to your own conclusions. That said, I think they all make sense, and my family and I are using them when appropriate.

Please keep in mind that the material provided in this article is general in nature and that time and additional studies could prove me wrong. In fact, and I will expand on this later in the article, I welcome additional information that contradicts, confirms, or adds to the information presented here. I consider this article to be a work in progress.

A natural objection to this entire article is that it is outside of my area of expertise and not given the scrutiny that it deserves. I plead guilty on both fronts. Truthfully, I would have liked it to have been written by an expert in infectious diseases and would have liked at least an additional month to work on it. I would have also liked it to have been reviewed by a lot more experts.

The problem with waiting is that, although large-scale vaccination efforts are already underway, the short-term outlook for this pandemic is extremely bleak. And, to me, that makes the additional safety protocols outlined here extremely timely. Frankly, I have decided to sacrifice closer scrutiny for speed. That said, hundreds of hours have gone into getting it to where it is now.

We have tried to make this information as accessible as possible. The mask is relatively easy to order but requires some fiddling to attach a filter to protect others. Safety goggles seem easy and obvious, but we include a link for the mask and the goggles that we chose. Mixing the povidone-iodine (Betadine® is one brand name) nasal/oral solution is the least familiar so we have attached links to papers that report on current research.

As with all of the health information I pass on, it is meant to offer readers some options to consider. Obviously, I am not a physician nor am I suggesting you use these protocols to go bar hopping and attend large indoor parties with strangers!

That said, I care about my “tribe” and want to keep you safe. I have been critically concerned about the virus since March. I have distributed 33,000 KN-95 masks mainly to charities and non-profits, but also many to family, friends, and clients. I’ve tried to be proactive in earlier emails providing information on building your immune system, washing your hands, and wearing KN-95 masks. So this is simply another effort on that continuum.

Please feel free to share this information with anyone you think might be interested.

To read our entire article including endnotes, please visit:

https://paytaxeslater.com/langes-advice-column/covid-preparation

[1]For the ease of the reader, we have compiled all the endnote references made in this article at https://paytaxeslater.com/endnotes. On the site, you will be able to access all the studies, articles, papers, and other documents cited in this article. The endnotes also include links for those who are interested in purchasing some or all of the items listed in these protocols, as well as usage instructions.