Post COVID-19 Self-Care

March 23, 2021 Delainne B.

There is no magic pill to fix the problems caused by the assault the COVID-19 infection has had on your body, so self-care is as important in your recovery as working with doctors to manage the treatable medical conditions that Long COVID is causing.

Minimize physical and mental stress

Minimizing stress is critical because your body cannot heal when it is using its energy to cope with stress because it senses a physical or psychological threat.

No matter what the stressor is, your body reacts the same way, by releasing adrenaline and other stress hormones that change the way your body is functioning. This is called the fight or flight reaction, which is a protective response to danger, regardless of what the danger is such as:

Reading an upsetting article
Arguing with someone
An accident or a threat of an accident
A threat to your life
Fear about being sick, losing your job, an animal… anything that causes fear
Frustration, concern or worry about family, kids or friends
Extreme or rigorous exercise
Small things you react to quickly like spilled milk or burning your finger.

No matter what the stressor is, the fight or flight activation is physically triggering histamine release and diverting your energy and oxygen from its normal pathways that supply your brain and organs with oxygen to you large muscles in preparing to run or defend yourself.

How does COVID-19 cause this?

COVID triggers an immune response that releases of cytokines, the chemicals that normally fight infection and keep you healthy. But COVID interferes with the cytokine control mechanism, so it doesn’t know when to turn off, leading to cytokine storm.

In turn, the cytokine storm leads to mast cell activation and the body starts to over produce histamines that cause inflammation of the brain, nervous system, organs and tissues. This is called multiorgan inflammation syndrome (MIS). MIS-C refers to children, MIS-A refers to adults.

Histamines are chemicals that occurs naturally in the body and some foods. They normally regulate the body’s response to foreign substances and injury, and are involved in things like allergies, stress reactions and inflammation in the human body.

Things you can do to help yourself

Minimizing physical & psychological stressors is essential in recovery from Long COVID.

Nutrition: Try to eat protein and fresh vitamin rich foods daily and avoid chemicals, preservatives, sugars, fast foods, prepared foods and high histamine foods.
Don’t skip meals. Your body needs protein, vitamin C, and vitamin D to heal from any injury or illness. A low histamine or low carbohydrate (sugar) diet is recommended by doctors treating Long COVID (PASC), and many people report a reduction in symptoms within 1-3 days of the diet change, including decreases in sneezing, itching or hives, irritable bowel syndrome, body pain, along with a reduction in swelling and inflammation.
Hydration: A minimum of eight 8 oz glasses of plain water daily is recommended.
Avoid drinks with chemical additives. You can easily make a fresh electrolyte drink yourself by adding a dash of mineral rich Epsom salt and a piece a fruit like a raspberry for flavor instead of spending money on commercial drinks like Gatorade that contain chemicals and sit in plastic bottles for long periods of time. Remember that caffeine and alcohol have dehydrating effects.
Sleep hygiene: Getting 7-9 hours of sleep so your body can repair itself. You need at least 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep to get into the restorative phase of sleep.
Avoid stimulating activities after dinner like thrilling movies or books, arguments, negative news or frustrating stimuli.
If you wake up frequently or with a startle, you may be experiencing drops in your oxygen level, which signal your brain to release adrenaline to force you to take a breath. This could be a temporary inflammation issue or more enduring sleep apnea. Ask your doctor for a sleep study to evaluate your need for a CPAP or BiPAP, a machine that pushes air into your lungs when it senses an apneic episode (periods of not breathing).
Stress management: Stress affects every component of your life.
The only thing you can control about stress is your reaction to it. Try to avoid or minimize your exposure to stressful situations: Turn off the news, make family visits that end unpleasantly short, wait for the morning to have intense discussions, let go of things that annoy you but don’t really matter in the big scheme of things, avoid intense conversations or entertainment in the evening.
Exercise within tolerance: Pace yourself and do not push your body to extremes in any way.
For some this may mean seated breathing exercises, walking to the mailbox. Rest when your body says to slow down. Gradually build on your activity endurance as your body cues you to progress. This can be hard to gauge, because when you feel good you naturally do more, but if you do too much you may experience symptom flare ups 1-3 days later as the post exertion inflammation builds. Some people describe this as post exertional malaise, others experience severe recovery set backs.
Breathwork: You can literally stop the fight or flight reaction by taking slow deep breaths.
Deep slow breathing shuts down the adrenaline flow, slows your heart rate, lowers your blood pressure and decreases stress related histamine release. When you do this, your blood reroutes back to your brain and nervous system to allow you to think clearly. It also allows your body to use its energy and oxygen to heal your inflamed nerves and organs.

Long COVID Support

Keep moving, keep breathing.

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