Common Causes of Morning Nausea when living with autoimmune disease

 

1. Low Blood Sugar (Hypoglycemia)

Overnight fasting can cause your blood sugar to drop, especially if you didn’t eat much the night before. This can trigger nausea, shakiness, or lightheadedness upon waking.

2. Dehydration

Even mild dehydration can lead to nausea. If you’re not drinking enough water during the day—or losing fluids overnight through sweating or medications—you might wake up queasy.

3. Acid Reflux or GERD

Lying flat can allow stomach acid to creep upward, especially if you ate late or have reflux. This can cause nausea, a sour taste, or burning in the throat.

4. Stress or Anxiety

Morning dread, anticipatory stress, or chronic anxiety can manifest physically. The vagus nerve, which connects your gut and brain, plays a role in this gut-brain loop.

5. Medication Side Effects

Some medications (especially painkillers, antidepressants, or supplements like iron) can cause nausea if taken on an empty stomach or before bed.

6. Sleep Disruption or Fatigue

Poor sleep quality or abrupt waking (like from an alarm) can trigger nausea. Your body may still be in a stress response mode when you wake.

What You Can Try

• Eat a small snack before bed (e.g., a banana or a few crackers) to stabilize blood sugar.

• Hydrate first thing in the morning—a glass of water with a pinch of salt or lemon can help.

• Elevate your head while sleeping to reduce reflux.

• Track your medications and consider timing or food pairing.

• Practice gentle morning routines—slow breathing, stretching, or quiet time before rushing into the day.

If this persists or worsens, it’s worth checking in with a GP or integrative practitioner. They may explore thyroid function, gut health, or hormonal shifts—especially if you’re navigating chronic illness or fatigue.

Practical Steps for Managing an Autoimmune Disease

Living with any autoimmune disease, such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes or Sjogren's Disease, requires proactive management to maintain your health and quality of life. Below are general steps to help you navigate your condition effectively:

1. Stay Informed About Your Condition and Research
   Keep yourself updated on your autoimmune disease and emerging treatments, such as regulatory T cell (Treg) therapies, through reputable sources. Join patient advocacy groups like the Lupus Foundation of America, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, or Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation for reliable information and support. Discuss potential clinical trials or new therapies with your healthcare provider to explore future treatment options.

2. Communicate Regularly with Your Healthcare Team
   Schedule regular check-ins with your doctor (e.g., rheumatologist, endocrinologist, or other specialists) to monitor your condition and discuss new symptoms, treatment adjustments, or emerging research like Treg-based therapies. Ask specific questions about how new findings might apply to your disease and whether they could impact your treatment plan in the future.

3. Adhere to Your Prescribed Treatment Plan
   Follow your doctor’s recommendations for medications, such as immunosuppressants, anti-inflammatories, or biologics, to manage symptoms and prevent flares. Report any side effects promptly and don’t skip doses, as consistency is key to controlling disease activity.

4. Adopt an Anti-Inflammatory Lifestyle
   If appropriate for your condition, consider an anti-inflammatory diet (e.g., Mediterranean-style, rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and healthy fats like olive oil or fish). Consult a dietitian to ensure it suits your needs, as dietary triggers vary (e.g., gluten for celiac disease). Incorporate low-impact exercise like walking or yoga to support joint health and reduce stress, but avoid overexertion, which can trigger flares.

5. Manage Stress and Mental Health
   Chronic illness can impact mental health, increasing risks of anxiety or depression. Practice stress-reduction techniques like mindfulness, meditation, or gentle stretching. Consider connecting with a therapist or support group to share experiences and coping strategies with others who understand your challenges.

6. Monitor Symptoms and Track Triggers
   Keep a journal to track symptoms, flares, and potential triggers (e.g., stress, foods, or weather changes). Share this with your doctor to identify patterns and adjust your management plan. Being proactive about recognizing early warning signs can help prevent severe flares.

7. Build a Support Network
   Surround yourself with supportive family, friends, or community groups who understand your condition. Online or in-person support groups for your specific autoimmune disease can provide emotional support and practical tips for daily living.

By following these steps, you can take control of your health, stay informed about advancements like Treg-based therapies, and work closely with your healthcare team to manage your autoimmune disease effectively. Always consult your doctor before making changes to your treatment or lifestyle.

Specific help for:

Living with Rheumatoid Arthritis

ACR Guidelines for living with Rheumatoid Arthritis 

Sjogren's info has hundreds of articles for managing and understanding Sjogren's Disease.

Living with the Fatigue of Autoimmune Disease - 10 tips

Nourishing from the Inside: Food Sources of Vitamin D

While sunshine is the most well-known source of vitamin D, many people with autoimmune disease — especially those with fatigue, or sun sensitivity—may struggle to get enough through sunlight alone. Thankfully, certain foods can help bridge the gap.

Here are some naturally rich and fortified sources of vitamin D:

Food	Type of Vitamin D	Approximate Amount per Serving
Salmon (wild-caught, cooked)	D3	600–1000 IU per 100g
Sardines (canned in oil)	D3	270 IU per 100g
Cod liver oil	D3	~450 IU per teaspoon
Egg yolks	D3	~40 IU per yolk
Mushrooms (UV-exposed)	D2	400–500 IU per 100g
Fortified plant milks (almond, oat, soy)	D2 or D3	100–150 IU per cup
Fortified cereals	D2 or D3	40–100 IU per serving

Tips for absorption:

• Vitamin D is fat-soluble, so pair it with healthy fats (like avocado, olive oil, or nuts) to boost uptake.

• If you’re vegetarian or vegan, UV-exposed mushrooms and fortified plant-based products are especially helpful.

Note for Australians: Even in sunny places like Sydney, vitamin D deficiency is common—especially in winter, or for those with autoimmune conditions. Food sources can offer gentle, consistent support alongside supplementation.

Why Your Gut Loves Fruit (And Why You Should Too)

Your gut does a lot more than just digest food—it’s a major player in your immune system, energy levels, and overall health. At the heart of it all is your gut microbiome—a massive mix of bacteria, fungi, and even viruses that live in your digestive tract. When this mix is balanced and healthy, it helps your body run smoothly. When it’s not, it can lead to problems like inflammation, poor digestion, and even chronic diseases like diabetes and IBS.

So, how do you keep your gut in good shape? One of the easiest and most effective ways is eating more fruit.

Fruits are packed with the good stuff your gut loves: fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and polyphenols. These nutrients help feed the “good” bacteria in your gut, encouraging them to grow and thrive. In return, these helpful microbes produce compounds called short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that reduce inflammation, boost your immune system, and help your gut lining stay strong.

Some fruits stand out when it comes to gut health. Bananas, apples, citrus fruits, and berries are all superstars. Their natural fibers act as prebiotics (food for your gut bacteria), while their antioxidants help calm inflammation and protect gut cells from damage.

Fruits and their effects on gut health from Fruit-based Diet & Gut Health: A Review.

Here’s a quick breakdown:

• Soluble fiber (in apples, citrus) helps support good bacteria and produce SCFAs.

• Insoluble fiber (in pears, prunes) keeps things moving in your digestive system.

• Polyphenols & flavonoids (in blueberries, cherries, pomegranates) fight inflammation.

• Vitamins C & E and antioxidants (in kiwi, mango, grapes) help protect and repair your gut lining.

On the flip side, diets high in processed foods, sugar, and unhealthy fats can throw your gut out of balance—a state called dysbiosis. This can weaken your immune system and raise your risk for a bunch of health problems.

Of course, not everyone has easy access to fresh fruit all the time. Cost, availability, and personal dietary needs can make it tricky. But even small changes—like adding a piece of fruit to breakfast or swapping sugary snacks for berries—can make a real difference.

Bottom line? Your gut loves fruit. And the more variety and color you add to your diet, the better your gut (and the rest of you) will feel.

This overview shows the importance of fruit in maintaining gut health and supporting the immune system. For more detailed information, you can refer to the full articles and studies linked below.

Improving gut microbiome through diet rich in dietary fibre and polyphenols: The case for orange peels

Role of dietary polyphenols on gut microbiota, their metabolites and health benefits

Fruits, vegetables, and biotics for a healthy gut microbiome

Fruit-Based Diet and Gut Health: A Review

Articles you might also like:

The Microbiota in Human Health

Eat foods that aid the immune system

The Microbiota in human health

The microbiota — all the tiny bugs living in and on us — plays a huge role in keeping us healthy. It helps with things like digestion, immune defense, and even brain health. Everyone’s microbiota is unique, like a fingerprint, so future treatments could be personalized just for you. Scientists are still learning how it all connects, but understanding it better could lead to new ways to prevent and treat a lot of serious diseases, making life healthier and better for everyone.

When the balance of these microorganisms is disturbed (called dysbiosis), it can lead to diseases like diabetes, autoimmune problems, brain disorders, and heart disease. Keeping the microbiota healthy is important for overall health, and treatments like probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics, and microbiome transplants are showing promise in restoring balance and preventing chronic illnesses.

A recent large review looks at how the microbiota affects our health and highlights new ways to use treatments like probiotics, prebiotics, and fecal transplants to help prevent and manage diseases.

Everyone has a unique set of tiny microbes living in their body, and they play a huge role in our health. By studying a person’s microbiota with special tests, doctors can spot early signs of diseases like diabetes, autoimmune problems, and brain disorders, and even create personalized treatments.

In real life, changing your diet or using things like probiotics (good bacteria), prebiotics (food for good bacteria), and postbiotics (helpful stuff made by bacteria) can help keep your gut healthy. Foods like yogurt, kefir, garlic, onions, and whole grains are great for your microbiota. Some special new probiotics are being tested and could help with serious problems like obesity, diabetes, and gut diseases.

But quick fixes don't work — you usually need to stick with these changes for at least three months to see real results.

Another interesting approach is microbiota transplants, where healthy gut bacteria from someone else are used to fix serious infections. They're super effective for some conditions and are being tested for others like skin and gynecological issues.

Plus, your microbiota can even affect how medicines work in your body. Matching treatments to your personal microbiota could make medications work better and cause fewer side effects.

In short: taking care of your microbiota could be a game-changer for staying healthy and treating diseases in a much more personalized way.

RESOURCE: The Microbiota–Human Health Axis published April 20, 2025 in MDPI

Measures to identify unmet medical needs of children and adults with autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases

 

Patients with autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases face tough challenges in terms of their physical, mental, and social health, and they have many medical needs that are not being fully addressed. To help these patients, it's important to clearly understand what these unmet needs are. One way to gather this information is through Patient-Reported Outcomes (PROs), which are reports from patients about their own health issues. These reports are very useful in understanding what patients truly need.

This article looks at established ways to measure PROs to determine which are best for identifying the unmet needs of patients with autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases. Experts from the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare met to discuss these measures and also considered the possibility of using technology to collect PRO data electronically.

The experts suggested 28 potential measures, both specific to certain diseases and general ones. They emphasized the importance of making sure the measures are clearly understood in different languages and noted that the results from adults and children should not be mixed. They also discussed the challenges of moving from paper-based PRO measures to digital ones, mainly because of concerns about accuracy and a lack of technical and financial resources.

For non-disease-specific PRO measures, the experts recommended KINDL® and EQ-5D-Y for children, and SF-36v2® and EQ-5D™ for adults.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what these terms refer to:

1. KINDL®: This is a questionnaire specifically designed to measure the quality of life in children. It looks at various aspects of a child's well-being, like their physical health, emotional state, and social life.

2. EQ-5D-Y: This is a version of the EQ-5D, which is used to assess the general health of children. The "Y" stands for "Youth," so it's tailored for younger patients. It focuses on five areas: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression.

3. SF-36v2®: This is a survey used to measure health-related quality of life in adults. It covers a wide range of health aspects like physical functioning, pain, mental health, and social well-being. The "v2" indicates it's the second version, with updates for better accuracy and clarity.

4. EQ-5D™: This is a general health measure used for both adults and children. Like the EQ-5D-Y, it looks at five key areas (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression) but is meant for a broader age group.

These tools help doctors and researchers understand how diseases and treatments affect a person's day-to-day life and well-being.

READ ORIGINAL JOURNAL REPORT: Consideration of useful patient-reported outcome measures to identify unmet medical needs of children and adults with autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases published in Modern Rheumatology April 2025.

Nigella Sativa (Black Cumin) Health Benefits: A Natural Remedy for Inflammation, Infection, and Chronic Disease

Nigella sativa, also known as black cumin or black seed, is a plant from the Ranunculaceae family that has been used since ancient times for its healing properties. It has shown benefits in treating problems related to the stomach, lungs, heart, infections, and inflammation.

Black Cumin seeds and the plant it comes from.

This review focuses on the plant's health benefits, especially in Arab cultures where it’s called “the plant that cures any disease.” These effects come from natural chemicals in the seeds, such as thymoquinone, p-cymene, α-thujene, longifolene, β-pinene, α-pinene, and carvacrol. These substances give the seeds strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties by reducing harmful molecules in the body (ROS).

The review also highlights how black seed might work well when combined with other medicines—like antibiotics or cancer drugs—by making them more effective or reducing the needed dose. Research suggests that black seed could be used alone or alongside other treatments.

Although early studies are promising, more in-depth research and clinical trials are needed to fully understand how it works, how best to use it, and its safety. For now, black seed can be used in small amounts in food and medicine, but only for short periods until more is known.

Nigella sativa (black seed) is widely known for its positive effects on health. In traditional medicine, its seeds have been used to treat a variety of conditions, including aches, diarrhea, back pain, rheumatism, high blood pressure, diabetes, migraines, digestive and respiratory issues, and even cancer. It also acts as a natural antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and diuretic.

The most powerful compound in black seed is thymoquinone (TQ), along with other active ingredients like p-cymene, α-thujene, longifolene, β-pinene, α-pinene, and carvacrol. These are used in different forms—essential oils, powders, capsules, and extracts.

Researchers are increasingly interested in black seed because of its wide range of health benefits. Thymoquinone, in particular, helps reduce oxidative stress and harmful molecules (ROS), lowers inflammation, strengthens the immune system, and supports energy production and cell health. It may also help protect against serious conditions like cancer, neurological disorders, and diseases affecting the heart, liver, kidneys, lungs, digestion, and metabolism.

NS is acceptable to be used in food and drug manufacturing but in small amounts and to be administered for brief periods. Therefore, to be eligible for use in therapies, NS needs more detailed investigations to obtain clearer insights into the toxicological profile of NS and verify if it can be safely used in higher quantities and for longer times. To conclude, the findings reviewed in this paper offer an updated framework for future research in the field, encouraging further in-depth interdisciplinary studies that would help advance present NS-based therapeutic strategies to reach clinical settings. From Nigella sativa: A Comprehensive Review of Its Therapeutic Potential, Pharmacological Properties, and Clinical Applications. Published: 14 December 2024 in International Journal of Molecular Sciences.

Read the full, in-depth research. 

All about Antibodies and the Anti Nuclear Antibody Test (ANA)

Antibodies, proteins produced by the immune system, combat harmful foreign substances like bacteria and viruses. These proteins, made by B cells, trigger a response to fight infections, known as inflammation.

The immune system can sometimes mistake internal elements as threats, leading to the production of harmful antibodies called "autoantibodies." These invaders cause damage to various parts of the body like joints, skin, and muscles.

Antibodies targeting normal proteins in the cell nucleus are known as antinuclear antibodies (ANA). Elevated ANA levels are a common feature in autoimmune conditions like lupus, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, scleroderma, polymyositis, Sjögren’s syndrome, mixed connective tissue disease, drug-induced lupus, inflammatory bowel disease, and autoimmune hepatitis and more.

An antinuclear antibody test can help determine the existence of particular types of antibodies in the body.

ANA TEST PROCEDURE

The ANA test is a common initial test for autoimmune conditions, conducted by extracting a blood sample with a small needle. It's a simple procedure lasting about five minutes, causing minimal discomfort. A positive result doesn't always indicate an autoimmune condition.

ANA TEST RESULTS

ANA test results are typically divided into titers and patterns. 

Titers are often shown as ratios like 1:40 or 1:80, with some labs considering anything above 1:160 as positive. 

Patterns can include homogeneous, speckled, or centromere. 

If ANAs are present, the pathologist will see fluorescent cells making a staining pattern. The fluorescent pattern seen can help identify the type of autoimmune disease present. Staining patterns include:

• Homogenous: A homogenous staining pattern means the entire nucleus is stained with ANA. It’s the most common type of staining pattern. A homogenous pattern can mean any autoimmune disease but more specifically, lupus or Sjögren’s syndrome.
• Speckled: A speckled staining pattern means fine, coarse speckles of ANA are present throughout the nucleus. A speckled pattern may indicate various diseases, including lupus and Sjögren’s syndrome.
• Centromere: A centromere staining pattern means the ANA staining is present along the chromosomes. A centromere pattern may indicate scleroderma.
• Nucleolar: A nucleolar staining pattern means ANA staining is present around the nucleoles. The nucleoles is inside the nucleus and produces the cell’s ribosomes. A nucleolar pattern may indicate scleroderma. But it can also indicate Sjögren’s syndrome or mixed connective tissue disease or be a false positive.
• Peripheral: A peripheral staining pattern means ANA staining is present around the edges of the nucleus. It has a shaggy appearance. A peripheral pattern may indicate lupus. FROM CLEVELAND CLINIC

Lab norms may differ, so consult your healthcare provider for interpretation. 

A positive ANA test doesn't always mean an autoimmune condition is present. Around 3-15% of healthy individuals have ANAs. Aging and viral infections can also raise ANA levels temporarily. Medications and cancer can also impact results. 

Further investigation by a doctor is necessary for a definitive diagnosis.

What Does a Negative ANA Test Indicate?

A negative ANA test doesn't necessarily mean no autoimmune condition is present, but it suggests the likelihood is low. 

VIDEO: 5 Things You Need To Know About Your Positive ANA by rheumatologist Dr. Elizabeth Ortiz

Manganese benefits for autoimmune disease

Manganese is a mineral that is considered an essential nutrient because the body requires it to function properly.

Manganese doesn’t get a lot of spotlight, but it actually plays some low-key important roles—especially when it comes to autoimmune health. Here’s how it can help: 

It is a strong antioxidant that helps to reduce inflammation in the body. It also aids metabolism, helps regulate blood sugar, helps heal bones and connective tissues, and can help reduce premenstrual cramps. 

Low dietary manganese intake or low levels of manganese in blood or tissue have been associated with Osteoporosis and Diabetes mellitus.

1. Powerful Antioxidant Support

• Manganese is essential for the enzyme MnSOD (manganese superoxide dismutase)—a major antioxidant defender in your mitochondria.

• This helps neutralize free radicals and reduce oxidative stress, which is a big driver of autoimmune flares.

2. Anti-Inflammatory Effects

• By supporting antioxidant activity, manganese helps calm chronic inflammation, which is at the core of many autoimmune conditions like RA, lupus, and MS.

3. Supports Joint Health

• Manganese helps build collagen and is involved in the formation of connective tissue and cartilage.

• This can be particularly helpful in autoimmune conditions that affect joints, like rheumatoid arthritis.

4. Aids in Enzyme Function + Nutrient Absorption

• It’s a cofactor for several enzymes involved in:

  • Carb and fat metabolism

  • Wound healing

  • Bone formation

• Helps the body process other important nutrients like vitamin B1, vitamin E, and magnesium—which are all crucial for immune regulation.

5. May Support Brain + Nerve Function

• Manganese is involved in neurotransmitter production and neural protection, which could be relevant for autoimmune conditions affecting the nervous system (like MS or autoimmune encephalitis).

---

⚠️ A Few Notes:

• Too much manganese can be toxic—especially in supplement form. Stick with the recommended daily intake unless advised otherwise by a doctor.

• Food sources are usually safest: pumpkin seeds, oats, leafy greens, such as spinach, whole grains like brown rice and wheat germ, pineapple, nuts such as pecans, peanuts and almonds and tofu. 

• The good news is that we get adequate dietary manganese from eating these foods and rarely need to supplement our diet. If you’re considering a supplement, talk to your doctor first as excessive levels of manganese are toxic and supplements should be approached with care.

TOFU RECIPE. 

Tofu is made from soybeans and is soft and bland and can easily be incorporated in stir-fries as a great source of easy to chew protein. It easily absorbs other flavors so works well with asian sauces such as soya, oyster, or chili sauce. but if you are like me and can no longer tolerate these spicy sauces due to burning mouth syndrome you may like the following idea. 

Use firm or extra firm tofu and drain excess water off the tofu.

Slice the tofu into 1-inch thick pieces and place in a dish to use in the oven.

Mix all the sauce ingredients together and pour over tofu and bake for 20 minutes: 

• Peanut butter
• Golden syrup or coconut sugar or other sugar
• Sesame oil
• Salt or soya sauce
• a splash of lime juice

Enjoy with rice and vegetables.

I track my food, exercise and other health metrics with cronometer. It encourages me to focus on nutrition as a whole rather than counting calories and even tracks foods like miso and soy butter.

You may also like these articles:

• Antioxidant Therapies: A New Boost in Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment
• Turmeric's benefits
• Vitamin D and marine omega 3 and autoimmune disease Research 
• Pomegranate extract may reduce arthritis symptoms

Updated rheumatoid arthritis treatment recommendations

EULAR – The European Alliance of Rheumatology Associations – has updated its recommendations on disease-modifying treatment for people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to take into account developments and new evidence in the field.

Three small changes and one major change have been implemented, the major change involving Janus kinase inhibitors.

The updated recommendations were developed by a multidisciplinary task force of rheumatologists, other health professionals, and patient research partners. 

The information is based on evidence collected from three systematic reviews across efficacy and safety of both DMARDs and glucocorticoids.

WHAT IS EULAR?

EULAR is the European umbrella organisation representing scientific societies, health professional associations and organisations for people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs). EULAR stands for The European Alliance of Rheumatology Associations.

You can view the full update in pdf form here

SOURCES:

UPDATED Rheumatoid Arthritis #RA TREATMENT RECOMMENDATIONS 2022 update published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases https://www.eular.org/sysModules/obxContent/files/www.eular.2015/1_4229

ORIGINAL EULAR recommendations for the management of rheumatoid arthritis with synthetic and biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs: 2022 update

https://ard.bmj.com/content/early/2022/11/10/ard-2022-223356

INFORMATION ABOUT COVID- 19 for those with AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE and other chronic illnesses

The spread of the coronavirus, now called COVID-19, is causing alarm worldwide.
The World Health Organization has declared a global health emergency, and many countries have a rise in confirmed cases.
In the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is advising people to be prepared for disruptions to daily life that will be necessary if the coronavirus spreads within communities.

As Wuhan has seen the highest number of infections their numbers have been analyzed showing:

• people over 60 are more at risk.
• people with other chronic illnesses are more at risk.

Those with other chronic illnesses do worse: There have been approximately 5,000 cases where individuals have reported a known co-morbid medical condition, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, chronic lung disease, or cancer. The average mortality rate in these groups is in the 5-10% range, whereas of the 15,000 individuals who reported no other medical conditions, the mortality rate to date has been less than 1%. FORBES

While less than 1 percent of people who were otherwise healthy died from the disease, the fatality rate for people with cardiovascular disease was 10.5 percent. That figure was 7.3 percent for diabetes patients and around 6 percent for those with chronic respiratory disease, hypertension, or cancer.  THE SCIENTIST

It is hard to know the facts in these early days of the conronavirus about the long term prognosis for people with autoimmune disease. My concerns are that many people with autoimmune disease take immunosuppressant medications to manage their symptoms and these can make them more vulnerable to infection generally. Also our bodies are working so hard already, are they going to fight off the coronavirus?

THE SYMPTOMS

Common corona virus symptoms include:

• fever 
• dry cough
• fatigue

Some people also get:

• sore throat
• congested nose
• nausea and gastrointestinal symptoms
• shortness of breath
• flu like aches and pains

THE MAIN PROBLEM WITH THE CORONAVIRUS is that you are contagious when you do not have symptoms. These symptoms generally appear three to four days after exposure but can be up to 27 days later!

GENERAL PRECAUTIONS

According to the WHO, coronaviruses may survive on surfaces for just a few hours or several days, although many factors will influence this, including surface material and weather.

That’s why personal preventive steps like frequently washing hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, and wiping down often-touched surfaces with disinfectants or a household cleaning spray, are a good idea. HARVARD HEALTH 

WHAT WE CAN DO IF WE HAVE AN AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE:

"If you’re sick or you are immune-compromised, avoid places with large numbers of people." UCHealth.

In Australia we have been told by the Health Minister to stop shaking hands when we great people. In France they have been told to stop kissing on the cheek. This is because this disease is so transmissible. The only way to avoid it is to not have any contact with anybody!

Keep up to date on your local health warnings and advice. The main advice at the moment seems to be to wash our hands often, for 20 seconds or more, with soap and water.

CDC provides recommendations on postponing or cancelling travel to certain countries only, at this stage. These travel notices are based on assessment of the potential health risks involved with traveling to a certain area. Their list of travel notices is available here.

Smart Traveller, by the Australian government, provides travel updates on countries and recommendations.

The Institute of Public Health in Norway, says "To prevent infection, people should keep at least one metre away from people with respiratory symptoms and those who are ill should avoid coughing or sneezing directly onto others."
TREATMENT

• Avoid infection by not traveling to epidemic areas. 
• Infected people should use mouthwash. 
• Frequent and thorough hand washing and good general hygiene are recommended. 
• Preventive measures are especially important for people with weakened immune systems. 
• Immunosuppressants should be considered discontinued among those infected until the infection is over. A vaccine against covid-19 has not yet been developed (as of March 2020). Antibiotics (against bacteria) do not work against viruses. Anti-viral drugs especially for coronavirus are not available (as of March 2020). 
• In cases where covid-19 causes pneumonia, hospital treatment will often be necessary. Oxygen supplementation and breathing aid, including the use of a respirator may be necessary.
• People who use immunosuppressive drugs and have no symptoms of infection should continue with their usual treatment during an epidemic. 
• If signs of infection with fever and other influenza symptoms should occur, a 1-2 week treatment break with the immunosuppressive therapy may be appropriate. However, it assumes that one is not completely dependent on the treatment. Prednisolone and other cortisone preparations should not be terminated abruptly.  Physician and specialist in rheumatic diseases PhD Øyvind Palm 

WHAT I WILL BE DOING:

I personally have 3 autoimmune diseases and other health issues.

I will be avoiding all non essential travel and have sadly postponed an overseas holiday to Asia.

I will be avoiding all large events and gathering places such as universities, the library and the shopping mall.

If I was still working I would be asking to work from home due to my compromised immune system.

I am trying to be my healthiest self by eating well and exercising. I have already added magnesium and Vitamin D supplements to my diet and will now add a daily multivitamin as well and garlic tablets. It can't hurt and it may help fight off infection.

Eating garlic appears to offer the best of both worlds, dampening the over-reactive face of the immune system by suppressing inflammation while boosting protective immunity, for example natural killer cell activity, which our body uses to purge cells that have been stricken by viruses or cancer. In World War II garlic was evidently dubbed ‘Russian Penicillin’ because, after running out of antibiotics, that’s what the Soviet government turned to. Dr Michael Greger at Nutrition Facts

I have asked my doctor for extra scripts of my medications so I can have an adequate supply.

I have put in place a plan with my family regarding what we will be doing if more cases come to our area.

We have checked our medicine chest to make sure all painkillers etc are in supply and not out of date.

We are checking our pantry and making sure we have all our normal food supplies and a few extra so that we do not have to go to the shops as often. Our list includes extra toilet paper, canned food and dry goods such as rice and pasta.

For food, you can just buy two or three weeks’ worth of shelf-stable food that you would eat anyway, and be done; this could include canned food like beans and vegetables, pasta, rice, cereals or oats, oils/fats, nuts and dried fruits. It’s really not that hard because we’re talking two-three weeks, so whatever you get is fine. Zeynep Tufekci is an associate professor at the University of North Carolina School of Information and Library Science, her coronavirus article is at Scientific American.  

I will be updating this page with suggestions as I research them.

I have no medical background but use reliable sources when providing you information and when doing research. Best wishes from Lee Good.

You can check out my website on Autoimmune Disease here.

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