Cimetidine and the immune system

Recently I learned that someone with a bad case of shingles was given the H2 Inhibitor Cimetidine as an immune stimulant to support his immune response to Herpes Zoster. At the moment I heard this from him, I thought, huh….Does that make sense"? I went home and googled a little bit and came to the following conclusion:

Research, easily accessible on the internet, attests to the efficacy of adding Cimetidine for patients in colon and colorectal cancer treatment. The mechanism by which inhibition of the Histamine 2 in the GI supports lymphocytic infiltration of tumors appears to be that it acts as an anti inflammatory, which disinhibits immune stimulating cytokines. The question is: would this also help a Herpes Zoster infection? And the answer is: probably; if that person had allergic reactions to foods in their GI acting as pro inflammatory mediation. And since pretty much everyone has this to some degree or other, it probably has some efficacy. And in fact, this particular person may have more of this going on than most people. Yet, it’s not really helping. Or, at this point symptoms are not remitting. I think maybe because the immune issue is not in the GI, as in the case with a lower GI tumor, but in the blood and the lymph closest to the inflamed nerves. Further, the open wounds of the herpes blisters require an inflammatory response in order to heal. The quickest way to do that is Vitamin A, but the nerves themselves are infected with the virus, so something else is needed to address this. There are probably many herbs that will work for this, including all the zinc ionophores that are now well known. However, St. John’s Wort has a particular affinity for the nerves. Naturopaths often prescribe 900 mg daily of St. John’s Wort to treat depression, but this also a good dose with which to saturate the lymph and reach the fatty material wrapping the nerves.

Interview with Dr. Carina Lopez on Waldorf and early childhood health

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QIMVCIGE9g

Covid Tongue is TCM Damp Pathogen Tongue

Traditional Chinese Medicine uses “Tongue Diagnosis” as one of the main tools in determining a patient’s condition, “Bian Bing” and the circumstances behind this “Bian Zheng”.

A “Damp Pathogen” tongue is swollen and has teeth marks on the lateral edges. Extreme Dampness manifests a Phlegm.

In order for a patient to contract an external “Damp Pathogen”, such as is considered to sometimes be contiguous with the modern class of pathogens we term “Viral”, it is assumed that there is some form of corresponding inner dampness.

In TCM, the organ called the “Spleen” is responsible for transforming the dampness in the body, which is partially seen as toxicity from unassimilated food.

The “Spleen” in Traditional Chinese Medicine is also seen as the organ responsible for maintaining a healthy level of energy at the surface of the body that shields the body against external forces and pathogens.

The phenomenon now being called “Covid Tongue” was first noticed by TCM practitioners who were involved in treatment of the first group of Covid patients in early 2020 in China.

How can we calm down an inflammatory process?

Inflammation is the word that we use to describe the immune systems' hyper reaction in a part of the body. We often experience this as heat, because there is a general assumption by the immune system that when something is wrong in the body, there is a foreign invader, such as a bacteria or virus, that needs to be killed off with heat, and so the body automatically raises the set temperature to assist with this. There is also heat experienced in a local area when the body send chemical to literally burn up foreign invaders by generating chemicals with extra oxygen molecules to the area. The ancients referred to this as Calor (heat), and it brings with it: Rubor (redness), Dolor (pain), and Tumor (swelling). 

If there is a bacteria or virus present, then this process helps kill off the invasion (or in the case of a virus, sends it into dormancy), and then everything calms down and the inflammation dissipates. But in the post-modern world, we have come to realize that really, it is only certain bacteria that trigger these reactions in the body, and only in some people. It turns out that there are trillions of bacteria in the human body, and we actually have more bacteria in us than cells. So what is it about certain bacteria or viruses that trigger these reactions in certain people at certain times? And why does the inflammatory process go haywire in certain people, so that their immune system begins to attack their own tissues? 

Genetics seems to play a role in some of these processes. We have already identified certain gene mutations that predispose people to certain errors in the immune system, and all indications are that we will find more. But these gene mutations seem to have another mechanism, that over time, regulates them, and this is called epigenetics, or soft inheritance. Epigenetics involves the adding or removing of small chemical groups that decide which genes are available for transcription and which aren't, and the indications are that genes that are shut down or stuck on for long periods of time become vulnerable to mutation, and this is the constant dynamic of adaptation that Nature has used to govern our relationship to our environment.

Although we are only at the beginning of our understanding, already we know that certain herbs and certain gut bacteria have particular effects on epigenetic markers and can be used to effect them. One well known herb that has been studied for its epigenetic ability to turn off the inflammatory process is curcumin, but there are many other herbs that can be used in this way. 

Working with Nature to turn off inflammatory processes through epigenetics is a much safer alternative to using steroids that also turn off the protective mechanisms of the immune system.