Covid Long Haul
Many people who tested positive for COVID-19 have persistent symptoms months after, despite negative test results. This phenomenon is referred to as PASC, which stands for Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV. More colloquial names include post-COVID syndrome and long COVID or Covid Long Haul.
Covid Long Haul Symptoms
Covid long haul can happen to anyone who had COVID-19, even if their illness was mild or asymptomatic. The most common covid long haul symptoms are chronic fatigue, brain fog, respiratory issues, cardiovascular problems, high blood pressure, and even an increase in the incidence of diabetes.
The following list consists of the typical symptoms one might experience with covid long haul:
- Fatigue
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Cough
- Joint pain
- Chest pain
- Memory, concentration or sleep problems
- Muscle pain or headache
- Fast or pounding heartbeat
- Loss of smell or taste
- Depression or anxiety
- Fever
- Dizziness when you stand
- Worsened symptoms after physical or mental activities
Covid Long Haul and Functional Medicine
Interestingly, covid long haul has some of the same features as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and chronic Lyme disease, such as mitochondrial dysfunction, tiredness, brain fog, and muscular discomfort. Not only that, but patients with covid long haul also respond similarly to the functional medicine approach and treatment protocols for those conditions.
To be more specific, in the functional medicine approach, practitioners look at the different functions and systems in the body. When looking at the post-infection state, where an individual has persistent symptoms across multiple systems, they ask what is the root cause of this imbalance. It appears that the root cause of covid long haul is immune dysfunction and mitochondrial burnout.
Treating this requires a specific multi-pronged approach that addresses the root cause.
Covid Long Haulers Treatment
Covid long haulers treatment consists of a comprehensive approach that addresses not only inflammation but also mitochondrial dysfunction. Your mitochondria make all the energy for all your cells and are concentrated highest in the brain (nervous system) and heart (muscle).
The free radical damage, also called oxidative stress, caused by a significant viral infection can cause the destruction of these critical structures, which may contribute to the many symptoms that people experience, especially fatigue and cognitive impairment, in covid long haul.
To treat covid long haul, from a functional medicine perspective, we reduce inflammation, rebalance the immune system, and restore the function of the mitochondria through the use of dietary interventions, sleep and stress management, exercise, and intravenous vitamins and supplements.
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