SO YOU GOT COVID You’re sick, now what? Firstly there is a medication called Paxlovid that is a pill that can help reduce the severity and length of symptoms and decrease your chance of going to the hospital. To be effective, Paxlovid must be started within five days of symptoms appearing. If you are immunocompromised, still have symptoms from your last infection, or have other pre-existing conditions, you may want to have a doctor prescribe this to you. Early studies are showing that Paxlovid could also be beneficial in treating long Covid.
Treating Yourself at Home There are many different variants or versions of the Covid virus and each one can have slightly different symptoms. You could have a sore throat, dry cough, stomach pain, shortness of breath or feel mostly fine! Rest. This is the big one, really you need to Rest. Many Long Covid cases start with post-exertional malaise and not giving those long term effects a foothold means letting your body heal for as long as it needs to. Just like other illnesses, drink lots of fluids and you can take over the counter cold medications for cough, sore throat or headache. If you can, start taking vitamins C, B12, and D. Even better? You can also eat foods that are rich in these vitamins. The vitamins that come in pill form aren’t absorbed by your body as well as the vitamins and nutrients you receive from what you eat.
Food Anti Inflammatory spices are great- Covid is systemic and information points to the neurological effects being worsened by inflammation in the brain so try foods like: Salmon, Spinach and Citrus. These are have lots of OMega 3’s, vitamin D and C Turmeric, black pepper are spices people have been using to combat inflammation for a long time. And do eat, don’t try to starve the virus out, you want your body as strong as possible! If your sore throat makes that hard, broths (bone broths have lots of collagen which is good for you) and frozen juices watered down. Popsicles are easy too if you lose your sense of taste. Avoid dairy and other mucus causing foods. If you get crude in your lungs, sleep on your front. You can also get in a yoga position known as child’s pose to give your lungs more room. If you have difficulty breathing, experience chest pain, or become disoriented, you may be experiencing a medical emergency and should go to the hospital. Many emergency rooms have been full across the country, you can also call and ask the nurse if your symptoms are serious enough to come in.