Woman saves three relatives from Ebola

CNN ^ | Sept. 26, 2014 | Elizabeth Cohen, Senior Medical Correspondent

[lulu16]

“The use of Epivir for Ebola is an off label treatment and forbidden by the FDA.”

But do you think it would work?

And, I have not kept up with Fauci? Is there a political or medical reason he is not respected here?

And do the doctors in the US have to go through him when prescribing treatment. Then should the “relatives” of Duncan be blaming his for his death?

Or, do you think they wanted him to die to keep the white-survivors/ dead -African black man tension up? ( I keep an eye on CNN and that is their angle; he did not get the treatment he needed because he is poor and black.)

[PA Engineer]

Agreed.

[lulu16]

Thank-you for your post. It clarifies what the first order of business is; help the body send out its own “Ebola killer.”

[Yaelle]

Those must have been a hellish two weeks. Bravo and Gd bless this woman.

[FredZarguna]

I believe you will find that the FDA regulations with regard to off-label use are extremely squishy, and as long as they are not advertising or promoting a drug for off-label use, and as long as the use of the drug cannot cause a worse medical outcome that some other treatment [including non-treatment] doctors can pretty much prescribe off label and get away with it.

I think all of the criteria allowing an MD to escape from prosecution under 21 CFR [The part of the Code of Federal Regulations concerning FDA regulation of off-use, clinical trials, drug promotion, marketing, etc, etc.] are pretty well satisfied by antiviral drugs used in treating Ebola patients.

Anyway, unlike 0bama's mythical foot-choppers, every Doc I've ever known would be willing to do anything they could possibly do to save a patient, and damn the regulations.

Does it work? Only one way to really find out...

[PA Engineer]

But do you think it would work?

Don't know, however if I was ebola positive (early in the infection) I would want anti-viral treatment. It seems logical in this application.

And, I have not kept up with Fauci? Is there a political or medical reason he is not respected here?

He is a politician first and contra-indicated for pandemic control in the US.

And do the doctors in the US have to go through him when prescribing treatment. Then should the “relatives” of Duncan be blaming his for his death?

They don't have to go through him, but the FDA makes it very clear about off label prescribing. Secondly, I strongly believe Frieden and Fauci have a elemental responsibility to inform medical professionals of potential disease treatment options. Fauci was informed.

Or, do you think they wanted him to die to keep the white-survivors/ dead -African black man tension up? ( I keep an eye on CNN and that is their angle; he did not get the treatment he needed because he is poor and black.)

I just love the latest racial meme. I think Duncan was too late to the anti-viral party. If he had been honest about his direct ebola exposure, he may be alive and in jail today.

[wbarmy]

If she was able to acquire and use HIV retro-viral drugs and other IV equipment, etc., then she went far beyond just treating the symptoms. This sounds more like a thought out strategy based upon whatever training she already had. I would love to see a full blown article on why she specifically sought out those particular drugs.

Now, it could be that the doctor helping her told her to try those drugs, in which case he might have come up with a reasonable treatment for Ebola victims at home. But how many normal people can start IVs and administer drugs in the manner that she did?

[Black Agnes]

I propose there may be SNPs ‘like’ the ccr5 d32 mutation that confers partial immunity to HIV infection.

[RBStealth]

IN THE NEAR FUTURE:

>Woman saves three relatives from Ebola

pays for plane tickets to U.S.

[lulu16]

150 people from West Africa come to the US every day. That’s a lot of saving and increases our vulnerability manifold times.

My husband and I were just discussing this girl. She was using what would once be called American ingenuity and smarts.

If only people in those disease ravaged countries could adopt her techniques. I hope our military has depots to dispense the supplies she used and teaches others how to keep sanitary as they tend their relatives and friends.

[FredZarguna]

I propose there may be SNPs ‘like’ the ccr5 d32 mutation that confers partial immunity to HIV infection.

True, and that possibility is what I allude to in post #39. However, in order to develop a resistant sub-population a cytologic immunity would require earlier epidemics that killed large numbers of non-resistant people [or, alternatively, the fecundity of those with better resistance would have to be significantly higher than the background population ... which seems very far fetched.]

Unless that happened, we have no reason to believe that a sub-population of Africans with resistance was any more likely than a sub-population of Asians or Europeans with resistance. And that is my point: we have no evidence of an outbreak that would lead to a higher than normal expression of a resistant genome in any modern or colonial history. The preference of expression for alleles requires environmental pressure. And we just don't have any evidence of that.

[PA Engineer]

Oops. Post 42 was suppose to be addressed to you.

[lulu16]

I appreciated that you answered my questions and comments in detail. I am ( thru my husband) sending this post to friends and some who are in the medical field.

I do not know what you mean by “He is a politician first and contra-indicated for pandemic control in the US.”

So I looked up the definition via Wiki:

In medicine, a contraindication is a condition or factor that serves as a reason to withhold a certain medical treatment.[1] Contraindication is the opposite of indication, which is a reason to use a certain treatment.

A contraindication is a specific situation in which a drug, procedure, or surgery should not be used because it may be harmful to the patient.

There are two types of contraindications:

Relative contraindication means that caution should be used when two drugs or procedures are used together. It is acceptable to do so if the benefits outweigh the risk.
Absolute contraindication means that event or substance could cause a life-threatening situation. A procedure or medication that falls under this category should be avoided.”

If you would, please explain more. I simply cannot get over that our government is using this crisis for political manipulation.

[PA Engineer]

I believe you will find that the FDA regulations with regard to off-label use are extremely squishy, and as long as they are not advertising or promoting a drug for off-label use, and as long as the use of the drug cannot cause a worse medical outcome that some other treatment [including non-treatment] doctors can pretty much prescribe off label and get away with it.

I agree, however the last two years have been particularly chilling to drug companies and doctors alike. First hand experience, their message is getting out and having an effect. Enforcement is happening in both prescription writing as well as medical lecture audits.

[Axenolith]

It is, and I saw the piece the other day where the guy using it was 7 for 8, I believe, and the patient that died was 3-5 days more advanced than the others.

[bgill]

Yes, as far as I can determine, Gatoraid is used. There are several recipes for it online. Here is one with citrus in it as I’ve seen arguments that Ebola depletes Vit C from the body though those treatments call for much more than this small amount. I bet she used Vit C in IV form.

Gatoraid recipe:
1 (1/4 ounce) envelope unsweetened flavored drink mix (enough for 2 quarts)
1/2 teaspoontable salt (sodium chloride)
1/4 teaspoon salt substitute (potassium chloride; eg. Morton Salt Substitute)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup granular fructose (can substitute 1/4 cup plus 2 tbs. corn syrup)
1/2 teaspoon citric acid (can substitute 2 tbs. lemon juice)
water, to make 2 quarts

[lulu16]

Thank-you for this recipe. I am going to gather all these ingredients with your recipe and put it in a separate box in my preps.

I also saw those post for vitamin C. Funny thing, I was craving something tart this afternoon, and I immediately thought of my stored food and how I would satisfy my body’s need for vitamin C. ( I do have some packed for this reason.)

I have a calamondin bush in the backyard and I bought frozen calamondin from the Asian market yesterday. I wonder if triple sec in a margarita will work in a pinch during a shelter in place scenario (lol).

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Making an oral electrolyte drink is not difficult nor expensive. The hard part is to get them to over-hydrate when they can still drink. Start with a quart of clean water. Here is the recipe: 1/2 tsp table salt 1/2 tsp salt substitute a few grains of Epsom salts a ground up antacid tablet 1/4 tsp baking powder The primary ions of electrolytes are sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl−) (ordinary table salt), potassium (K+) (table salt substitute), magnesium (Mg2+) (Epsom salt, a few grains), calcium (Ca2+) and hydrogen carbonate (HCO3−) (Tums-type antacid, or found in baking soda, sodium bicarbonate), and hydrogen phosphate (HPO42−) (baking powder and sodium bicarbonate).

[lulu16]

I will remember to get them to drink and drink some more. I know when I get sick, I do not like to drink.

I think I will pass out this recipe when I dress up as the Florence Nightingale of Liberia at next Saturday’s party.

Thank-you for finding this recipe for me.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Oh, I almost forgot. It makes the drink a lot tastier to add a teaspoon of sugar to it. Otherwise it is somewhat bland.

It absorbs right through the stomach, quickly, which is super if you are dehydrated.