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The Case:

Joanna is dealing with chronic fatigue and nausea and nothing seems to help
She heard an episode of Health Mysteries Solved with Kasia Kines and wondered if she might be suffering from EBV or Epstein Barr Virus
Her doctor ran a test and informed her that she did not have EBV so she was back to square one.

Not satisfied with this, Joanna came to me. I took a look at the labs that her doctor had run and saw that he hadn’t run a full EBV panel. This is common with conventional doctors because they may not be aware that in the last few years LabCorp has changed their panels to exclude an important marker unless the doctor specifically asks for it. As a result, Joanna was not tested for this marker and I knew this was the first step in us solving her health mystery.

The Investigation - Changes to EBV (Epstein Barr Virus)

This all started because Joanna had heard my conversations with Kasia Kines (episode 4 and episode 43). I’m not surprised because these are some of the most downloaded episodes! I know there are a lot of people struggling to understand what is going on with their health, just like Joanna, and exploring if EBV might be the root cause.

Since my last interview with Kasia, there’s been more research on EBV, including the impact of COVID and COVID vaccines. Joanna’s case seemed like a great reason to invite Kasia Kines back on the show to discuss EBV again.

Kasia Kines is a Doctor of Clinical Nutrition and the CEO of EBV Educational Institute and Holistic Nutrition Naturally. She is the author of the Amazon best-sellng book The Epstein-Barr Virus Solution.

EBV Testing

There are 4 markers to look for when testing for EBV and, as Joanna discovered, not all labs test for all 4 markers. The 4 markers you want to be included in your test are:

EA IgG (Early Antigen) – this is the most important test and it’s often skipped.
EBNA IgG (Epstein Barr Nuclear Antigen) – this marker shows the history of infection in non-acute cases revealing the long-term status of the virus.
VCA IgG (Viral capsid antigen) – identifies if there is an acute infection (and remains present after initial infection).
VCA IgM (Viral capsid antigen) – this shows up in the early stage of an infection and usually disappears.

It’s also worth noting that markers may not be detectable right after the initial exposure. And, some markers can go up and down in a day so tests may need to be repeated to get a true picture of what’s going on.

Studies have also found that healthy people can test positive for years without any symptoms.

Ebstein Barr Virus (EBV) and Autoimmune Disease

Once someone has been exposed to EBV (and Kasia says that 90% of children are), then it stays in the system for life. Most of the time, it remains dormant but different things can trigger it. Those with autoimmune issues are more at risk of their EBV being triggered because their immune system is often struggling or challenged.

This increased immune system activity could also potentially lead to molecular mimicry and result in the immune system mistakenly attacking organs.

What Causes EBV to Reactivate?

There are many triggers that can cause the Epstein Barr Virus to reactivate and it can happen over and over again. Some of the most common ones are stress, environmental toxins, anxiety, and hormonal changes (even a woman’s monthly cycle can reactivate EBV).

Kasia says that some of the people in her community (who generally are aware of their EBV status and have regular flare-ups) also reported that COVID as well as the vaccine increased their EBV reactivation.

EBV Reactivation Symptoms

Different people experience EBV reactivation differently. Some will say that they experience a special kind of fatigue while others might get a rash or have a fever. Becoming aware of and tracking your EBV symptoms will help you manage reactivation symptoms sooner. Tracking may also help you identify triggers to avoid reactivations. The Emergency Protocol to Treat EBV Reactivation Symptoms

When someone is experiencing symptoms and they know they have chronic EBV (even if it is not always active), Dr. Kines recommends a series of supplements to support the immune system and decrease symptoms. Her emergency EBV protocol includes:

Selenium
NAC (N-Acetyl Cysteine)
L-Lysine
Licorice
Vitamin C
Zinc
Vitamin E
Vitamin D

These supplements should help stabilize the immune system so that it can fight EBV. In addition, Dr. Kines encourages everyone to pay attention to the other factors like the environment, emotion (especially fear, anxiety, and stress) as well as nutrition.

EBV and COVID

Dr. Kines says that they learned a lot about EBV during the COVID pandemic. One of the things is that anti-viral supplements (like the ones mentioned above as well as the zinc/quercetin combo) can help with EBV as well as other viruses like COVID. They also found that EBV can reactivate when the body is fighting the COVID virus so they suspect that there may be a connection between Long COVID and EBV. Dr. Kines referenced a study that found that 73% of Long Haul COVID cases were actually an EBV reactivation.

One caution is that anyone who is pregnant should avoid taking large doses (over 400 mg) of Quercetin.

Another caution is around the use of steroids or corticosteroids which are sometimes used to treat COVID. Medical research has found that steroids are not recommended for those with chronic activated EBV.

Taking Action to Combat EBV

One of the points that Dr. Kines likes to stress is that we do not have to suffer from EBV. While it is not a virus we can kill, there are ways to find a balance and cohabitate with the virus. There is a way to keep it in check so that you can live a healthy life. This includes understanding your triggers and decreasing your exposure to them as well as recognizing and treating symptoms quickly with the emergency protocol.

Next Steps

In Joanna’s case, when I realized that her early antigen had not been tested I knew we needed to explore that as it is possible to have a reactivated EBV and still have a negative VCA IgM. The results backed up my suspicions.

We put Joanna on Dr. Kines emergency protocol with a few additional supplements to further support her immune system.

This included:

NAC - 2/day
Reacted Zinc - 2/day
Quercetin + Nettles - 4/day
Selenium - 2/day
Allimax - 6/day
...

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