How to help symptoms of long COVID yourself
Tiredness and fatigue
If long COVID is causing tiredness or fatigue, there may be things you can do to help, such as avoiding drinking too much alcohol and sticking to the same sleep times every day.
Keeping a diary of your daily activities, sleep patterns, and feelings of tiredness and fatigue can help you identify any factors that may be worsening your symptoms. These factors are often referred to as triggers.
Eat a balanced diet
It’s important to eat well if you have long COVID because this helps you get better and stronger quicker. A balanced diet supplies the body with vital nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates and healthy fats and will help our bodies perform at their best.
Exercise
The amount of exercise you can do will depend on how you are feeling.
It’s a good idea to speak to a GP for advice before starting a new exercise programme if your symptoms are severe or you have not exercised in a while.
It can help to start small and listen to your body. For example:
- Stand up every hour
- Try some breathing exercises
- Move your joints
- Set realistic exercise targets
- Do not do too much, and stop if you feel unwell
- Drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration (your pee should be light yellow or clear)
Try not to stay in bed or sit for too long. Get up regularly and go for short walks if you can. If this is something you are struggling with, speak to your GP or long COVID clinic.
Breathlessness
Long COVID can cause breathlessness and a change in your usual breathing pattern. Breathing exercises can help to get your normal breathing pattern back.
This can include:
- Breathing in through your nose gently and at a steady rate
- Trying to avoid shallow breathing and breathe in gradually and more deeply
Difficulty concentrating (brain fog)
Some people with long COVID have difficulty concentrating, managing lots of information at once, or remembering things. This is sometimes called brain fog.
You should discuss this symptom with your GP if it is a constant or severe problem or getting worse.
There is local help and support available to access.
Long COVID clinic
Staff members suffering with long-term symptoms of coronavirus can access a specialist service provided by South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Staff members can benefit from the trust’s expertise in respiratory medicine, medical psychology, physiotherapy and lung function testing as well as its support services such as radiology and the cardiac investigation unit.
Appointments are being provided at Redcar Primary Care Hospital.
To access the long COVID clinic, patients must be referred by a GP or another healthcare professional. This ensures other possible underlying causes for symptoms have been ruled out.