Treating Long covid with chinese medicine
While we have generally adapted well to life with COVID, some people find themselves dealing with lingering illness after having the virus – so-called “long COVID”.
The main challenge of these lingering effects is that we are no longer acutely sick, but not fully well either. While this may seem unusual, it’s actually more common than you think. Many familiar viruses have found ways of hiding and staying around long after an initial illness has passed. Some examples include the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) that causes mononucleosis, and the varicella-zoster virus that causes chickenpox and shingles.
Thankfully, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been successfully treating lingering, post-infection symptoms for millennia.
Because these lingering effects are equally unfamiliar and frustrating, I want to take some time to explain what’s going on, and some of the ways in which TCM can help.
The symptoms of long-COVID are varied, including fatigue, frequent headaches or migraines, brain fog, shortness of breath, cough, elevated heart rate, joint pain, menstrual cycle changes, altered smell or taste, anxiety, depression, and digestive symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, and stomach pain.
In TCM, the classic texts teach our practitioners how to diagnose and treat those with protracted illnesses following viral, bacterial, fungal, or parasitic infection. The ancient diagnosis for this was termed gu syndrome. The word gu essentially translates as “possession,” as many sufferers would describe how they feel as “not quite themselves” since their acute illness.
There are two main types of gu syndrome: brain gu, and gut gu. Brain gu affects the nervous system, causing symptoms like headaches, pain, anxiety, and depression. Gut gu affects the digestive system with symptoms of bloating, diarrhea, constipation, loss of appetite, stomach or abdominal pain, and heartburn. Gut and brain gu commonly occur together, and either can cause fatigue and feeling foggy-headed.
While there are some common patterns to long COVID, one patient’s experience of an illness can be quite different from another’s, so treatments are personalized based on presentation.
Acupuncture is very useful to relieve pain and calm the nervous system, while herbs are generally needed to strengthen the body and attack the lingering infection. Chinese herbs are offered as formulas, or a combination of herbs, which can better address the whole person, rather than treating a single symptom or concern.
Our bodies are designed to heal. TCM has, over time, uncovered the many ways in which to encourage them to do just that.
*If you or someone you know has been suffering with long COVID, please encourage them to reach out to an acupuncturist for help.
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