About Douglas Jones, MD, FAAAAI, FACAAI
Douglas Jones, MD is known globally as an innovator and “finding a way for those have not previously had one” by taking an integrative approach to patients. He is the founder and CEO of Global Allergy Immune Network. He is also the founder and medical director of Immunity Group Australia. Additionally, he cofounded and is president of two nonprofit organizations, Food Allergy Support Team, that helps allergists learn and implement best practices for food allergy diagnostics and treatment, and Allergy Microbiome Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the science of integrated prevention and treatment of allergic disorders. He also directed the Covid Long-Hauler’s program while at Tanner Clinic and the Metrodora Institute in collaboration with the Long Covid Foundation and React19.
After receiving his medical degree from Penn State University College of Medicine, Dr. Jones completed a residency program in internal medicine and subspecialty fellowship training in allergy, asthma, and immunology at Creighton University Medical Center. Dr. Jones is board certified by the American Board of Allergy and Immunology.
Dr. Jones is internationally recognized for innovative food allergy treatments including oral and sublingual immunotherapy as well as publishing the first diagnostic algorithm for a subtype of hereditary angioedema. Dr. Jones has served as the principle investigator for clinical trials involving primary immunodeficiency, hereditary angioedema, Sjogren’s syndrome, mastocytosis, mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), Long Covid, and asthma. He is published in peer-reviewed journals and is a national and international speaker at medical meetings. He is a Hereditary Angioedema Allies Award Winner and has also earned numerous awards including Most Compassionate Doctor, America’s Top Physicians, Patient’s Choice Award, and Salt Lake City’s Best of Utah’s Body and Mind 2022 #1 Allergist. He was honored by the governor of Utah for his dedicated work nationally and internationally in food allergies, Long Covid, and immune deficiency disorders.
My website: drdougjones.com; myimmunenetwork.com
Non-profit website: fastoit.org
Australia clinic: immunitygroupaustralia.com
About Global Allergy Immune Network (GAIN)
Global Allergy Immune Network (GAIN) is an innovative hybrid medical company based in Salt Lake City, UT, where patients can be seen in person, but also care can be taken to the patient via telehealth. GAIN strives to help those who may have fallen through the cracks or not had access to specialist care. https://globalallergyimmune.com/
Medical Travel & Digital Health News (MTDHN): Why don’t we start out with how you got interested in Long COVID?
Douglas Jones (DJ): Patients actually came to me once we were in the midst of the pandemic. I had done a lot of pioneering work in food allergy – as discussed in our previous episode – and because they weren’t getting any kind of treatment or help with Long COVID, they started coming to me for it since I was known to think outside the box.
I just felt so terrible that they weren’t being heard and validated so I decided to take a deep dive. I thought, somebody has to fight for them. Somebody has to step up and listen and at least try.
That’s what first got me started with Long COVID – just trying to help those few patients that came to me. But then once we started helping, word got out and it has since grown from there.
MTDHN: How do you define Long COVID? What are the symptoms?
DJ: Long COVID is interesting because it’s almost like this spectrum of different symptoms that people have and it is following an acute COVID infection.
Once that acute infection is resolved, there’s a whole host of symptoms that can occur within that person and not everyone is necessarily the same. Most people deal with symptoms such as chronic fatigue, brain fog, and loss of taste or smell. Some patients may develop what we call autonomic dysfunction, the part of our nervous system that’s automatic – regulating heart rate, breathing and blood pressure.
In these patients, that system can get disrupted. They may get irregular heartbeats, blood pressure changes, lightheadedness, nausea, dizziness and/or difficulty exercising. Other patients may get shortness of breath and/or insomnia.
MTDHN: We’ve even heard of hair loss.
DJ: Yes, that can occur.
Autoimmune issues can be triggered and patients may develop antibodies that attack themselves. They can also get reactivation of viruses, cold sores, herpes simplex virus, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which causes mononucleosis. These can lay dormant in the body and reactivate after COVID.
What’s dominant in one patient may be very different in another. I’ve even seen this evolve in time, where one patient started off with immune dysregulation, we corrected it, and a year later it migrated into more of an autoimmune picture. So, it can also be a moving target.
MTDHN: How many people, what percentage of the population do you estimate has Long COVID?
DJ: Currently, there aren’t great studies regarding this, in part due to inconsistent definitions and fragmented reporting systems. But I estimate somewhere between 15% to 25% of people may be affected.
MTDHN: And what is the treatment?
DJ: There are many different treatment modalities.
First, we run a panel of tests to see where in the spectrum of symptoms a patient falls. That helps us target treatments. Some patients may benefit from medications while others from lifestyle modifications. For example, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment is used for immune deficiencies or neurologic disorders.
Another option is low-dose naltrexone (LDN). The parent drug is naltrexone, normally used in higher doses. However, in Long COVID, we use much lower doses, starting around 1.5 mg and going up to 4.5 mg. At these doses, it can calm both the nervous and immune systems. It doesn’t work for everyone, but it helps a good portion of patients.
Alongside medications, we focus on diet, sleep, activity and natural processes to rebuild the immune system and reconfigure the nervous system.
MTDHN: Does Long COVID affect children the same way?
DJ: Yes, children can be affected, but we see a large female dominance, especially in childbearing age – twenties and thirties. These are often previously healthy people, which makes it surprising. We wonder if there’s a genetic predisposition and are interested in looking at genes and comorbid conditions to better understand risk.
Along with Long COVID, we also see patients with adverse reactions from the COVID vaccine that resemble Long COVID, often called “Long Vax.”
These patients, particularly from mRNA vaccines, may have nervous system issues such as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), or sensory neuropathies with pins and needles sensations. There’s overlap with Long COVID, but also some distinctions. Recent papers have started breaking these out to help us better understand risk factors.
MTDHN: What about patients who take drugs like Paxlovid? Does that have an impact?
DJ: We encourage patients to seek treatment early. Get tested, treat quickly and try to prevent the immune system from becoming dysregulated.
Right now, COVID cases are spiking alongside influenza, so prevention measures are key. I was recently asked to serve on a CDC work group advising on COVID vaccines. While those discussions are confidential, I can say I’ve been impressed with the focus on science and patient care, despite how polarizing and political the issue has become publicly.
MTDHN: Do you foresee another pandemic?
DJ: Yes, I think it’s inevitable at some point.
Viruses come around every few years. In my clinic, my goal is to prepare people by optimizing their immune health, empowering them with education and helping them take accountability for their health. Distrust in institutions is high, so I work to be a genuine, reliable teammate for patients.
MTDHN: How can people best prevent COVID?
DJ: Even under the best circumstances, people may still contract it. But prevention starts with basics: hand hygiene, keeping hands away from the face, masking when appropriate, wiping down surfaces and being courteous if sick.
I think one overlooked benefit of masking is reminding us not to touch our face as much. Beyond that, optimizing control of existing conditions, like diabetes, asthma, thyroid or autoimmune disorders, is crucial. If those are well managed, patients are in a better position.
MTDHN: Can you recap your availability for patients and your telemedicine services?
DJ: I run a hybrid clinic in Salt Lake City, Utah, operating both in-person and via telehealth. Through the interstate compact, I’m licensed in many states across the U.S., which allows me to reach patients in underserved or difficult-access areas.
For states outside the compact, such as California, patients can still book non-clinical strategy sessions with me. Education is empowering and I aim to help patients to know they have options.