Long Covid

Sep 26, 2024

It’s Autumn again. The leaves are turning colour and falling. The days are shortening. Everyone I know seems to be getting covid.

Covid hasn’t gone away. The weekly rate in the UK up to the 11^th of September 2024 is 1,659 according to the British Government’s UKHSA data dashboard, up 3.6% on the previous week.  Most people will fully recover within a few weeks but unfortunately a proportion go on to develop longer lasting symptoms and complications. A study for the Office of National Statistics estimates that about 10% of people can have symptoms for more than 12 weeks.  These symptoms can include fatigue, brain fog, gastro-intestinal issues, persistent cough and chest pain. People’s social and work lives are often affected and their physical and mental health seriously compromised.

Western medicine has not had time, in the few years since the pandemic, to research and develop effective treatments for these post-covid problems. Doctors can prescribe anti-depressants to treat low mood, cough suppressants for coughing and blood thinners to treat micro-clots in the bloodstream. They can prescribe steroids to suppress the immune system in order to address the symptoms that seem to be auto-immune in nature. Many of these medications have unpleasant side-effects if used for long periods. Many patients find these treatment approaches unpalatable.

Acupuncture can be very effective at reducing inflammation in the body and in moderating the immune system. There are no drug side-effects. It uses the body’s own energetic resources to rebalance the function of the organ systems and, in that way, return the system to health. For example, if there are gastro-intestinal problems resulting from the viral infection, there may be issues with a leaky gut. If the gut can be returned to better health, the leaking of material into the blood will be reduced and there will be less for the immune system to overreact to. Of course it may not be primarily the gut that is poorly. It could be the lungs or the heart. Or the liver. The practitioner makes a diagnosis and plans a treatment accordingly.

If you are living with long covid and are looking for relief why not give me a ring on 07735541430 and we can talk about what can be done for you.