Have you been unfortunate enough to be a victim of the coronavirus? Do you find yourself in a position that even after several weeks or months, you haven’t properly recovered?
If you are in this situation or know someone who is, please keep reading, you might be surprised at how Chinese medicine can be effective in helping you getting back completely on your feet.
What can be done to prevent getting COVID-19?
There is no magical formula to avoid infection by the COVID-19. An old Chinese saying goes “fáng huàn wèi rán” which means “to prevent trouble before the event” or “prevention is better than cure”. Certainly Chinese medicine has advocated for this approach for a very long time by giving us a framework of lifestyle and nutritional advise (you can read the article here). However in case you come to the unfortunate circumstances of falling ill with COVID-19 and cannot recover properly, rest assured that there are things that can be done to restore your well-being completely.
What is the coronavirus?
As most of you know by now, COVID-19 is a new disease caused by a new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 which has so far not existed in humans. Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that have been around for years and were discovered back in the sixties. Other well known coronaviruses are SARS-CoV which caused the SARS outbreak in China back in 2003 and MERS-CoV which caused a localised outbreak in the Middle East in 2012.
How is coronavirus transmitted?
COVID-19 is a respiratory disease and has two possible ways of transmission. One is through the droplets that are generated when someone affected by the disease coughs or sneezes. The other is by touching contaminated surfaces or objects and then touching your eys, nose or mouth. By following some simple tips you could stay healthy during the pandemic, read our article here if you want to know more.
What are the typical symptoms of COVID-19?
People affected by COVID-19 develop a variety of flu-like symptoms such as:
- chills and fever
- cough
- fatigue
- muscle and body aches
- headache
- sore throat
- congestion or runny nose
- nausea and vomiting
- diarrhoea
additionally and more specific to SARS-CoV-2 people have reported:
- shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- loss of smell and taste
What happens after you have recovered from COVID-19?
Most people recover completely from COVID-19 like they recover from the flu, within a few weeks. However according to University of Washington researchers there seems to be one third of people who still has long-term symptoms that linger weeks and sometimes months after the acute phase is over.
The most common ones are :
- fatigue
- loss of smell and taste
- shortness of breath
- cough
- joint pain
- chest pain
- difficulty sleeping
- anxiety and depression
- palpitations
COVDI-19 can also cause organ damage that can lead to more serious health problems in the long-term.
How can Chinese medicine help?
Chinese medicine will look for the cause of your discomfort. Pulse and tongue diagnosis are powerful tools that help the practitioner identify which organ systems are affected. By knowing where the problem lies, the practitioner can put together a individualised acupuncture treatment plan and select a specific herbal formula that will treat the root cause and help restore the balance
What are other ways Chinese medicine can help you?
- Prevent getting sick in the first place
Chinese medicine puts strong emphasis on prevention. It can help you boost your immune system by taking specific herbal supplements, getting acupuncture treatment and by suggesting nutritional and lifestyle changes (read the article here).
- Taking herbal supplements
If you get sick Chinese medicine can help you get over COVID-19 faster with herbal supplements which have antitussive, expectorant and antiviral properties that support your immune system.
A review published in 2020 indicates that Chinese medicine can be effective in preventing and treating COVID-19.
What is my clinical experience with post-COVID patients?
Since the pandemic has started I have seen several patients, mostly young, lingering with one or some of the above described symptoms. It is not clear why some people can recover quickly and some other people – even if without other apparent underlying conditions – have troubles readjusting back to a normal, symptom-free life.
These patients have been receiving a recovery treatment plan comprising acupuncture and herbal supplements and so far the results have been very consistent. Every patient is different and their degree and speed of progress is also different.
Chinese medicine can be an excellent and effective solution if you struggle with some of the symptoms outlined above.
What is the recommended treatment plan?
At this stage it is difficult to estimate how long you will need treatment for. People respond to treatment in different ways and with different speeds depending on the symptoms, their severity, their constitution and age.
From my clinical observation it can be said that you will experience an improvement already after a couple of sessions and most patients will have recovered almost completely after about 1 month of treatment.
During the initial consultation a detailed and personal medical history is taken and an individualised treatment plan is laid out. Additionally any questions that you might have will be answered as well as possible.
Conclusion
Chinese medicine is an effective and safe solution to restore your well-being after COVID-19.
The sooner you address the problem(s), the sooner you will be able to recover. But the potentially long-lasting problems from coronavirus disease make it more important to reduce the spread of the disease by following a few basic precautions such as wearing masks, avoiding crowds and disinfecting hands and surfaces.
