COVID-19 HVAC

COVID-19 has affected people in many different ways, some of them critical and long term. Here's two metaphors to illustrate its pathophysiology (how a disease goes about mucking things up) from a Chinese medicine perspective.

COVID-19 attacks pathways.

One:

Think of the human body as a small, industrialized nation.

There's the military and police, charged with providing defense against harmful agents without and within. There's the farmers and manufacturers who produce the stuff needed for nourishment and vital infrastructure. There's the power plant and the water works.

There's also a vast system of pathways - roads, waterways, tracks, pipes, and lines - via which all of these other players and resources reach everywhere.

One day, a foreign enemy blockades these pathways. Resources can't get where they need to go. The consequences may be widespread and varied because the system feeds everywhere, everything.

If the enemy is strong enough, or the defense weak enough, major centers might be breached.

The enemy may be chased out, but damage to infrastructure (perhaps vital) remains.

Two:

Think of your body as a house.

One day, a family of critters finds its way into the HVAC system and builds its nests, clogging the ducts with debris.

Normalizing air can't go where it needs to go. Some rooms get hot, some go cold, others aren't affected.

The problem could range from mildly annoying to ruinous. The main furnace could fail, if the system struggles hard enough.

You can chase out the critters, but there's still the debris to deal with.