Nearly 1 in 5 adults who have had Covid currently experience symptoms of “long Covid,” according to the US government’s Household Pulse Survey. Long Covid is defined as symptoms lasting 3 months or more after first contracting SARS-CoV-2.
Natural Medicine Journal Editor-in-Chief Tina Kaczor, ND, FABNO, recently discussed prevention of long Covid with 3 colleagues, each of whom has been practicing as a clinician for at least 25 years.
Kaczor posed 4 important questions to these experts:
1. What do you think the cause of long Covid is, and how is it related to other chronic fatigue syndromes?
2. What do you do across the board for your patients for acute Covid and long Covid?
3. Are there any certain labs that you use?
4. And do you consider long Covid curable, or is it something people have to manage for the rest of their lives?
The experts who weighed in are:
· Edythe Vickers, ND, LAc, a naturopathic physician and licensed acupuncturist with expertise in seamlessly combining Chinese medicine and naturopathic medicine to create personalized treatments for each patient. Vickers is the clinical director of An Hao Natural Health Care Clinic, a division of the Institute for Traditional Medicine (ITM), a nonprofit organization dedicated to keeping traditional medicine relevant in the modern setting. She practices in Portland, Oregon.
· Virender Sodhi, MD (Ayurveda), ND, has been practicing since 1988. He is founder and current CEO of Ayush Herbs, offering the highest quality Ayurvedic herbal products and supplements worldwide. He practices at his clinic in Bellevue, Washington, which is fittingly called the Ayurvedic and Naturopathic Medical Clinic.
· Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, is a medical doctor who is board certified in internal medicine and is known for his work in chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, sleep, and pain. He has authored numerous books, including the best-selling From Fatigued to Fantastic, which is now in its fourth edition. He has also developed the popular free smartphone app CuresA-Z. Teitelbaum currently resides in Kona, Hawaii.