Editor’s note: Find more information about long COVID in Medscape’s Long COVID Resource Center.
Sept. 22, 2022 – Entrepreneur Maya McNulty, 49, was one of the first victims of the COVID-19 pandemic. After contracting the disease in March 2020, the Schenectady, NY-based businesswoman was admitted to the hospital for 2 months. In September 2018, she was diagnosed with the disease. COVID for long.
“Even a simple task such as unloading the dishwasher became a major challenge,” she says.
McNulty was treated by a variety of specialists over the course of the next few months, including neurologists. Pulmonologists, and cardiologists. She had months of Physical therapyto help you regain strength and function your lungs. Many of the doctors she visited were sympathetic to her feelings, but not all.
“I saw one neurologist who told me to my face that she didn’t believe in long COVID,” she recalls. “It was particularly astonishing since the hospital they were affiliated with had a long COVID clinic.”
McNulty started to network with patients with long COVID via a support group that she set up on Clubhouse at the end 2020. They exchanged stories and ideas about how they had helped one other. This led McNulty over the next 12 months to try Chinese medicine, a plant-based diet. vitamin CSupplements are just one of the many treatments available.
She also relied upon unscientific reports that she had found online. She did her own research and discovered that patients suffering from chronic coughing with asthma could benefit from dry salt therapy (halotherapy). Patients inhale tiny amounts of salt into their lungs to lower their symptoms. inflammationThicken mucus, open airways and widen them. She’s been doing this procedure at a clinic near her home for over a year and credits it with helping with her chronic CoughThis is particularly true as she recovers after her second bout of COVID-19.
It’s not cheap – a single half-hour session can cost up to $50 and isn’t covered by insurance. There’s also no good researchTo suggest that it may help with long term COVIDAccording to the Cleveland Clinic
McNulty knows that. However, he believes many people living with COVID have turned to these treatments for help.
“When it comes to this condition, we kind of have to be our own advocates. People are so desperate and feel so gaslit by doctors who don’t believe in their symptoms that they play Russian roulette with their body,” she says. “Most just want some hope and a way to relieve pain.”
According to the CDC, 16 million Americans have COVID. the Brookings Institution’s analysis of a 2022 Census Bureau report. A quarter of the people in this report have debilitating symptoms, according to the report. Work. While long COVID centers may offer therapies to help relieve symptoms, “there are no evidence-based established treatments for long COVID at this point,” says Andrew Schamess, MD, a professor of internal medicine at Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, who runs its Post-COVID Recovery Program. “You can’t blame patients for looking for alternative remedies to help them. Unfortunately, there are also a lot of people out to make a buck who are selling unproven and disproven therapies.”
Snake Oil, Sniffing It
Patients suffering from long-term COVID may be attracted to unproven treatments as there are not many evidence-based options. Hyperbaric oxygen has been a hot topic. This therapy is traditionally used to treat divers suffering from decompression sickness or the bends. It’s also being touted by some clinics as an effective treatment for long COVID.
A small trial with 73 patients with COVID for long periods of time was published in the journal. Scientific Reports,The results showed that people who were treated with a high-pressure oxygen system for 5 days per week for 2 years had improvements in brain fog and pain, energy, sleep, and anxiety. DepressionThis was compared to similar patients who received sham treatments. Schamess notes that larger studies are necessary to prove how effective it is.
“It’s very expensive – roughly $120 per session – and there just isn’t the evidence there to support its use,” he says.
Additionally, there are risks associated with the therapy, including ear and skin infections. SinusPain, vision changes, or injury to the middle ear, as well as temporary vision changes. Very rarely, lungAccording to FDA, collapse could be fatal.
One “particularly troubling” treatment being offered, says Kathleen Bell, MD, chair of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, is Stem cell therapy. This therapy is still in its infancy, but it’s being marketed by some clinics as a way to prevent COVID-19 and also treat long-haul symptoms.
FDA has warned that no approved products exist to treat COVID for long-term conditions and advises against their use unless they are in clinical trials.
“There’s absolutely no regulation – you don’t know what you’re getting, and there’s no research to suggest this therapy even works,” says Bell. It’s also prohibitively expensive – One Cayman Islands-based firmAdvertise your treatment up to $25,000.
Patients suffering from long COVID may travel as far as Germany, Switzerland, and Cyprus to undergo blood washing. This involves inserting large needles into the veins to remove lipids and other inflammatory proteins and filter blood. British Medical Journal reportedIn July. There are some patients who may be prescribed medication. Blood thinnersTo remove microscopic bloodclots that could contribute to COVID. But this treatment is also expensive, with many people paying $10,000-$15,000 out of pocket, and there’s no published evidence to suggest it works, according to theBMJ.
It can be particularly hard to discern what may work and what’s unproven, since many primary care providers are themselves unfamiliar with even traditional long COVID treatments, Bell says. Bell suggests that patients ask these questions:
- These claims are supported by published research.
- What is the best time frame to see improvement?
- What potential side effects are there?
- Is the physician who recommended the treatment available to work with you and your existing medical team to track progress?
“If you can’t get answers to these questions, take a step back,” says Bell.
Sorting through Supplements
Yufang Lin MD, an integrative physician at the Cleveland Clinic, said that many patients with long COVID come to her office with a bag of supplements.
“There’s no data on them, and in large quantities, they may even be harmful,” she says.
Instead, she works closely with the Cleveland Clinic’s long COVID center to do a thorough workup of each patient, which often includes screening for certain nutritional deficiencies.
“Anecdotally, we do see many patients with long COVID who are deficient in these vitamins and minerals,” says Lin. “If someone is low, we will suggest the appropriate supplement. Otherwise, we work with them to institute some dietary changes.”
This is usually a plant-based anti-inflammatory eating style such as the Mediterranean dietIt is a rich source of fruits and vegetables. Whole grains, nuts, fatty seafood, and Healthy fatsAvocados and olive oil.
Other supplements some doctors recommend for patients with long COVID are meant to treat inflammation, Bell says, although there’s not good evidence they work. One is the AntioxidantcoenzymeQ10.
However, Study of small preprintsPublié in The LancetThis August, 121 patients suffering from long COVID took 500mgs per day of coenzymeQ10. For 6 weeks, they saw no improvement in recovery than those who had taken a placebo. Placebo. The study has not been peer reviewed as it is still a preprint.
Probiotics are another option. The journal published a small study in 2021. Infectious Diseases Diagnosis & TreatmentIt was discovered that a mixture of five lactobacillus strains is more effective than a single strain. ProbioticsFor 30 days, the combination of an inulin prebiotic and the medication was effective in relieving long-term COVID symptoms, such as coughing. Fatigue. However, larger studies are needed to support their use.
Omega-3 fatty acid may offer more promise. As with many supplements, they may be helpful in long COVID. This is according to Steven Flanagan MD, a New York rehabilitation medicine specialist who treats long COVID patients at NYU Langone. Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York is home to researchers. Analyzing whether a supplement might be beneficialCan help patients who have suffered a loss of their ability to work Sensuality of taste or smell after an infection, but results aren’t yet available.
Among the few alternatives that have been shown to help patients are mindfulness-based therapies – in particular, mindfulness-based forms of exerciseThese include Tai chiQi gong, a gentle form of exercise that combines stress reduction with qigong, may prove to be beneficial.
“Both incorporate Meditation, which helps not only to relieve some of the anxiety associated with long COVID but allows patients to redirect their thought process so that they can cope with symptoms better,” says Flanagan.
A 2022 Study Publié in BMJ OpenPatients with COVID-19 recovery showed that these activities had a positive effect on inflammatory markers, as well as improved their respiratory muscle strength.
“I recommend these activities to all my long COVID patients, as it’s inexpensive and easy to find classes to do either at home or in their community,” he says. “Even if it doesn’t improve their long COVID symptoms, it has other benefits such as increased strength and flexibility that can boost their overall health.”
