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POST COVID SYNDROME- NATUROPATHIC MANAGEMENT APPROACH

COVID -19 or corona virus disease discovered in 2019 is responsible for the global pandemic and is caused by a virus called novel corona virus or SARS-CO-V-2(Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus-2) which is similar to that caused SARS outbreak in 2002.

          This disease causes symptoms like fever, dry cough, soreness of muscle, soar throat, loss of smell and taste, headache, diarrhoea, etc. in cases person may experience symptoms like difficulty in breathing or shortness of breath, chest pain or pressure etc.

            After recovering from COVID 19 it is seen that some people aren’t fully recovering from the virus. this idea has been in the periphery for a while, especially because other corona viruses are known to have lasting health effects, but incoming data are pushing it more into central focus and raising concern even for those who did not have a severe case of disease. Its little early to understand just how long the long-term symptoms left. They are called as COVID LONG HAULERS; it is called as POST COVID SYNDROME.

Dr. Natalie Lambert of Indiana university is studying COVID-19 LONG HAULERS, the individuals who have reported suffering from symptoms even after weeks of recovery from the virus. In the report states that the long haulers’ COVID19 symptoms are far more than what is currently listed by the CDC. They reported to have 26.5% of symptoms to be painful.

Long term symptoms were recently reported by researches from Italy after assessing 179 patients who has been discharged from the hospital following recovery from the virus, at approximately 60days after symptoms had begun, only 12,6% of patients reported being symptom free where as 32% gad 1-2 lingering symptoms and 55% had 3 or more.

Another study by JAMA cardiology, in a group of 100 German COVID -19 patients, 60 of them still had inflammation of the heart when imaged a mean of 71 days after testing positive, 36 patients reported general exhaustion and shortness of breath that was not prior to contracting virus. In contrast to previous study, the majority of these patients had cases that did not require hospitalisation, meaning long term symptoms are not definitively linked to severe disease only.

A data from the COVID symptom study, currently suggests that somewhere between 10-15% of people don’t recover within couple weeks.

In short, the long haulers may experience symptoms like

NATUROPATHIC MANAGEMENT APPROACH

            Let’s briefly discuss the management of these symptoms. There is no definitive treatment as known from WHO. Nature cure provide an excellent way to manage and cure these symptoms in various different ways.

          Diet plays an important role in the recovery after a disease and for improving the overall health and to restore all those lost nutrients after a period of illness. It is essential to have a healthy balanced diet including all the essential macro and micronutrients such as vitamin- A, B6, B12, C, D, E, copper, zinc, selenium, iron, magnesium, etc. Food having these nutrients has shown to improve the immune function of the body. Uses of herbs such as Tulsi, peppermint, etc are shown to improve the health of the upper respiratory tract.

          It is also recommended not to consume any meat or poultry products as it increases the inflammatory cytokines in the body which worsen the persisting condition. Rather consume foods like lentils and pulses to meet the protein requirement. Stay away from processed foods too. So, it is advised to consume food that is plant-based such as fruits and vegetables loaded with nutrients, water, dietary fiber, phytonutrients, etc.

          Another important key food to be included in our diet is probiotics. It is essential to take care of the gut microbiota as our gastrointestinal tract produces a major portion of the immune cells. Similar to probiotics it is much needed to include dietary fibre in our daily diet. Our gut bacteria feed on this and these fibre helps for easy elimination of fecal matter.

          Always stick to 8- 10 glasses of water a day but now be extra cautious and have boiled water, make it to a lukewarm temperature and drink it. Or whenever possible drink it hot as enjoying a hot tea as the temperature helps to ease the respiratory tract. Avoid any kind of bottled beverages, carbonated waters etc, as they contain sugars and other flavoring agents and additives which are proved to produce adverse effect on our immune system.  

           A simple and effective way to improve the health is to take sunbath for 10- 20 mins every day this will improve the vitamin D3 in the body which is very good for immunity. We can be accompanied along with a walk which will improve the muscle strength and blood circulation throughout the body.

          Yoga practice is one of the basic and effective practice to keep the body and mind healthy and calm. In the physical aspect, the practice of kriyas such as jala neti, sutra neti, vamana etc helps on removal of the excess of sputum and acids from the body and it cleanses the epithelial lining of the respiratory and digestive tract respectively.

          Practice of different loosening exercises and asanas like tadasana, vrikshasna, ustrasansa, shasaankasana, bhujangasana, etc can be done for 10-20 mins every day. These practices will allow chest expansion and improve cardiopulmonary function.

          The practice of pranayama like Nadi shodhana will increase the lung capacity and it also increases the oxygen saturation which is generally affected in COVID -19. Pranayama practice will reduce the sympathetic activity and stimulates the vagal activity which reduces the stress and anxiety.

          It is very much needed to keep our mind calm to make our body to gain the immunity to fight the virus, for that practicing deep breathing and deep relaxation and meditation will be helpful.

          Always practice social distancing and self-hygiene practices like hand washing for at least 20 seconds whenever possible which is always superior to the use of sanitizer.