Clinic Update #3 on Covid-19 | Harmony Family Medicine

Hi Harmony Family! Here’s the latest update regarding the office and your health during this pandemic.

As of yesterday Cherokee County has joined most of the cities in the county and issued a shelter in place order. We are considered an essential service and will remain open to care for all of you.

But we are making the following changes temporarily:

We will only be in the office Monday - Thursday from 9am to 4pm.
As usual I am still available for urgent needs outside of office hours.
We will conduct all visits remotely via video or telephone unless an in person exam is absolutely necessary
We will be rescheduling annual physicals that are scheduled in the next two weeks
We will still provide your medicine and supplement refills. We can mail these to you or bring them out to your car.
Call or text with minor emergencies - do not go to the ER or Urgent Care without talking to me first. My goal is to keep you out of these places to decrease your chance of becoming infected.
For a major emergency call 911!

I have had a lot of questions about the best ways to prevent getting sick. First and foremost for prevention are the following… These really work!!!

Hand washing frequently
Using alcohol based hand sanitizer when soap and water is not available
Staying home and social distancing when you must go out.

Along with the above here are some vitamins and supplements that may improve your immune function and help you stay healthy:

Zinc - up to 25mg daily, max 50mg daily - use lozenges or tablets. Don’t use a nasal spray as it can cause you to lose your sense of smell which can be permanent.

Vitamin C - at least 500 mg daily, can take more but watch for stomach upset with high doses

Vitamin D3 - at least 2000-5000 iu’s daily, (more if recommended previously)

Quercetin - this occurs abundantly in red wine, tea, onions, kale, tomatoes, broccoli, green beans, asparagus, apples, and berries and can be taken as a supplement as well ***Can lower BP and Sugar so you need to be careful if you are on medications for those conditions***

Green Tea extract - Two components have been studied: L-theanine and epigallocatechin gallate, this can be taken as a supplement or just drink some green tea a few times a day - it’s good for stress reduction too!

Elderberry - Generally safe and well tolerated but shouldn’t be used by patients with autoimmune diseases (because it can worsen those issues and cause the medications to be less effective)

Brewers yeast - Generally safe and well tolerated but shouldn’t be used by patients with autoimmune diseases (because it can worsen those issues and cause the medications to be less effective) ***Can decrease blood sugar and should be used with caution in patients with diabetes***

Lastly, I know this time is very difficult for all of us. Please try to stay connected to each other via virtual means and phone calls. Remember your older neighbors, friends and family that might not be as connected and give them a call.

Eat healthy, Drink lots of water and Exercise! Enjoy the sunshine and warmer weather while it lasts…. We will get through this.

This and all my past updates can be found at http://3.88.146.21/2020/03/10/clinic-update-on-covid-19/

Stay safe and well!
Let me know if you need me,
Dr. Neely

P.S. Yoda and Ben are missing all the extra love they usually get from you!