- Hi everybody, I'm LorieJohnson, CBN's medical reporter.

Welcome to our Q&A segment where we

answer your email questions.

We do this twice a week, and if you'd like

to submit a question, emailus at newsanswers@cbn.org.

Today we're so happy to bejoined by best-selling author

and Christian psychiatristDr. Daniel Amen.

Welcome, Dr. Amen.

- Hi, Lorie.

- Well, before we getto the email questions,

I'd like to ask you about new figures

that show during thiscoronavirus pandemic,

here in America, alcoholsales have skyrocketed

compared to what they were a year ago.

Can you talk about ways people are coping

with stress these days, andmake some recommendations?

- Well, with all the bars closedand the restaurants closed,

there's actually a danger of people going

into alcohol withdrawal.

Now, alcohol is not a good way to manage

the stress, and they're using alcohol.

Here in California, where I am,

the pot dispensaries were determined

to be an essential business,which horrified me.

A lot of people are also overeating.

There's issues withpornography going up as well.

They are anxious, they're scared,

and they don't have goodtools in the toolbox

on how to deal with the anxietythat goes with the pandemic.

- Well, that is very interesting,

and I'm sure that's not hard for anyone

to believe, that people are resorting

to those things to relieve their stress.

Well, let's get to the questions now.

Chris emails us and asks, "Why are we told

"to wash our hands for 20seconds with hot water and soap?"

- Well, the virus hates soap,and they can live anywhere,

on your hands, underneathyour fingernails,

and the 20 seconds isto make sure that you

really do a good job eliminatingthe virus from your hands,

because your hands just go everywhere,

and if you get them closeto your eyes or your nose

or your mouth, you're justmore likely to be infected.

- All right, and Merrilyn wants to know,

"Is there value in wellpeople wearing masks

"to prevent catching the virus?"

- Yes, there's actually, andthe CDC is going over this now,

there's value in everyonewearing masks when they're out.

And one of the horrifyingstudies I saw recently

is 25% of people who areinfected have no symptoms,

so they can give you the viruswhen they feel just fine.

And so, the countries where mask-wearing

is just part of the cultureare doing much better

in this pandemic than thecountries that mask-wearing,

they just look at you like you're weird.

- Well, Trish wants to know,"Are there any cases where

"a person had only weakness,headaches, and joint pain?"

- The answer is yes.

Some people have no symptoms at all,

and that's what's so scary.

They're the ones thatare likely transmitting

the virus to large numbers of people,

which is why social distancingis important for all of us.

- Well, here's an interesting question.

Michael asks, "Does vitamin E help?"

- Vitamin E does help immunity.

I think there's actuallybetter research on vitamin D,

as in dog, and vitamin C, as in cat,

that vitamin C has actually been found

to be a treatment in some studies.

So you wanna do everything youcan to boost your immunity,

and part of that is sunshine if you can,

a healthy diet, especiallythings like onions,

mushrooms, and garlic,and then some supplements,

like vitamin E, C, andD, can be helpful too.

- That's great information.

Well, Harsh emails us andasks, "Is the combination

"of azithromycin, theZ-Pak, and hydrochloroquine,

"the malaria drug,effective for coronavirus?"

- Small studies say yes,but we don't really know,

and unfortunately, myparents, both of them,

are in the hospital becausethey caught COVID-19,

and hydroxychloroquine,which is the first thing

they gave them, andwhen I asked the doctor,

"Okay, so tell me your experience,"

she said some people, itjust really helps a lot,

other people, it doesn'tseem to help at all.

- Mm, all right, well, we certainly wish

the best for your parents.

And Dr. Amen, last question,Nell emails us and asks,

"Is there a way to find out if a person

"has already had the virus?"

- Well, there's an antibody test.

They're using it in South Korea.

There are a number of doctors in the U.S.

that are trying to importit from South Korea.

Odds are, by the end of April, that test

will be more widely available.

And that's really important, to know

if you've been exposed andyou have immunity to it.

Still, it's like 85% ofpeople, if they get it,

they do okay with it,and they're producing

a large number of antibodiesagainst this virus.

I wanna know if I'vebeen exposed and maybe I

was a nonsymptom carrier, and that way,

I feel better, my body'sdone with the virus,

and then those people can go out more,

and they can be our delivery people,

or they can be the people that can

work more safely in the hospital.

- Well, we certainlylook forward to that test

coming out on a more widespread basis.

Well, that's all the time we have for now.

Once again, our thanks to Dr. Daniel Amen.

His website is amenclinics.com.

Dr. Amen, we appreciateyour time, as always.

- Thanks, Lorie.

- And if you'd like to submit a question,

email us at newsanswers@cbn.org.

Thanks for joining us,and we'll see you again.