April’s Lessons In Covid
Updated November 4th, 2024.
Having Covid was an experience.
While I managed to avoid it for the last 4 years, there was always a strong likelihood that I would catch it at some point. It landed squarely over Christmas break last year when Clara was here.
I don’t like being sick - you feel like crud, it ruins plans, etc., etc., etc. I also don’t get sick very often and when I do, I’m only out for a day or two. I’ve been blessed with a very Yang immune system that fights fast and hard.
Back to Covid, while I often felt fine in the morning, by early afternoon, I was weary, down or out of it entirely. I found it interesting to observe how Covid behaved in my system and what my body was doing with it.
Though I am clear of Covid - I can feel what it took out of my Lungs to battle it, and it kicked off a few other patterns that are a part of me. This is where the “treat the person” comes into practice.
I’ve had a number of friends, alumni, and colleagues ask me to share my experience with Covid. It is an interesting array of questions — ranging from general concern to wanting to know tongue and pulse assessment, what herbs I used, and am using now.
I’ve created this short blog to share my experience, answer some questions, and offer some refined insight on how Chinese medicine addresses exterior pathogens. I have written and taught a lot about many of these ideas and will reference those posts here. I had planned to have a short video to go along with this blog. My best laid plans weren’t coming together — a bit of talking is triggering a cough — my Lung Qi deficiency doesn’t want me to talk today, I guess. Recovery continues —onward.
Yes, I am back to treating, and have my schedule set so that I treat during my peak hours and I am not overworking. Amma is the work my body does often, so it doesn’t feel like an exertion, I am accustomed to it.
Prevention is primary
One of the first principles of holistic healthcare forms is to prevent disease and illness whenever possible. This begins with education. In my courses, I start students off with the 8 Branches of Asian Medicine. This includes knowing yourself and constitutional type, understanding the nature of how disharmonies enter the body and being prepared. Take a glance at the Exterior and Interior Causes of Disease.
I had most of my ducks in a row and pretty solid on prevention - still, somewhere I was exposed to Covid and the viral load was strong enough compared to my Wei Qi’s strength at the time that I caught Covid.
Time to fight
Stop, drop and roll. It’s the first thing you do if you are on fire. When you are fighting an exterior invasion you stop tonic herbs and foods and start using herbs, formulas and treatment to push the pathogen out to the exterior. You help your Lungs and Wei Qi— immune system — fight. In any acute situation there is a hierarchy of treatment.
Treat the acute first
Assess the situation, and take immediate action. This might mean you stop bleeding, call 911 or to get urgent care. It may be that the severity of the situation is you just need to fight a cold, flu or a virus. Seek help if the situation is out of your scope of knowledge and skill. Wasn’t relevant in my case. Next…
Treat shock. Wasn’t relevant in my case. Next…
Stop tonic herbs and foods and use formulas, foods and herbs to fight the pattern.
Do something every hour to help the battle. That can be a tea, your next round of herbs, a sweat bath during the first 48 hours, or a steam, or a big glass of water and some vitamin C. I drank a lot of strong mint tea with orange peels.
Assess your pattern and hone treatment if you can. Covid is toxic wind heat, often times with phlegm. I manifested a fever, sometimes muscles aches, and brain fog. Use the chart below to help you identify what you are fighting.
Covid is toxic wind heat - I had a severe throat, moderate fever, thirst, surging pulse and red tipped tongue.
Treatment — Release exterior wind, clear heat and phlegm. Strengthen Lung Wei Qi. I masked up, Clara and Gary did a grocery run and I set out a plate with the herbs I would use regularly.
Kudzu
Gan Mao Ling and Initial Defense.
Echinacea and propolis.
I used some Ibuprofen and Nyquil a bit to provide extra relief or to help me rest.
Do not back down. Keep up treatment until you are 85% better then start backing off. If symptoms increase, pick your routine back up.
Treat The Person
This means that you adapt your treatment based on the individual's state and stage of health. Covid is Covid but how it affects one person can be different from the next. Big pathologies can often destabilize or trigger other patterns the person may have. Some people had cough, some don’t, some had aches and restlessness some don’t. Covid can attack digestive systems for those with weak digestive systems. We also consider any current health conditions and medications the person may be on.
In my case, the fever that my Wei Qi brought on to fight Covid —what my immune system is supposed to do, good Wei Qi, thank you — burned up a lot of Yin and Blood and triggered peri-menopause patterns including hot flashes and my cycle. I had balanced it out prior to this battle. It also contributed to agitation, restlessness, dry skin, thirst, and petechiae along the Lung and Pericardium channels — signs that the heat was burning up more of my Yin.
One day I woke up with pink eye. Great…mask and an eye cover? Did I mention wind? Windy conditions can flit about —an ache here, a headache there, they can come and go and change rapidly. Pink eye is toxic wind heat smack on the eyeball.
Not fun.
I added in cornsilk tea, an increase in echinacea, and working the points around the eye did the trick it was clear by the afternoon.
Interestingly, I did not get a cough, until after I was clear of Covid according to the test —an indicator that my Lungs were weaker and needed rebuilding.
Recovery and Restoring
Holy Lung Qi Deficiency, Batman.
I felt great after several days of negative tests. Jolly, happy — but a bit of exertion or too much activity brought on breathlessness and fatigue. I was also having more hot flashes and an incredible thirst.
Assessment - Lung Wei & Qi Deficiency, Spleen Qi & Yang Deficiency, Yin Deficiency. My tongue became pale.
Treatment —Rebuild Lung Qi, Tonify Spleen Qi & Yang, Harmonize Lung and Spleen, nourish Yin and Blood.
Herbs I used
Ban Xia Huo Pu Tang - Breathe baby, breathe.
Pneumoplex - A lung glandular I have used with clients and self for recovery from various upper respiratory patterns.
Kudzu - Fights those windy conditions and relaxes the muscles.
Spirulina & Nettles - Chlorophyll, nourish Yin and Blood.
Royal Jelly - An adaptogen to start rebuilding my overall Qi and balance hormones.
Estroven or Black cohosh - Estroven is a rhubarb compound that a lot of women in Germany use for menopausal symptoms. Both are lovely for the ladies shifting through the phoenix phase of their lives (peri/menopause).
Mineral supplementation - minerals are Yin in nature which I desperately needed to replenish after the flambe’ episodes used them up.
Foods on my recovery list
Chicken/bone broth soups - Most cultures have a favorite chicken soup recipe that is used for recovery. Lots of soups.
Congee - black rice with walnuts and apricots
Walnuts
More orange peel tea - often with thyme or sage
Green beans
Dried apricots
Mushrooms
Lots of the onion family
Rest - I am a morning person and have greater Qi and focus in the earlier part of the day. I saw clients in the morning, or early afternoon, took a short nap in the afternoon and didn’t commit to activities or busy evenings. Getting to bed earlier does wonders for the body.
As with all herbs and medications - seek guidance from your herbalist and doctor to make sure they are a match for you and there are not contra-indications or interactions with other herbs or medications you may be taking.
Blogs you may find beneficial
In The Long Run
One question that popped up that intrigued me was will I have long-Covid? I don’t plan too. That being said, I recognize Covid as a pattern similar to Mono, Shingles, Esptein Barr, and other post viral syndromes. Essentially, we will never fully ferret them out of the system, whether they pop back up and cause constant complaints depends on numerous factors. These patterns are Xiao Yang patterns - stuck 1/2 interior and 1/2 exterior. They are windy patterns and those with Gallbladder, Liver, and San Jiao patterns may be more prone to them. They recalcitrant, stubborn, Gu patterns, but very treatable. The primary formula here is Xiao Chai Hu Tang Wan. Other herbs, foods and lifestyle recommendations are varied from person to person. But be warned of Windy conditions - they can stir up latent wind patterns.
Be well,
April
