Holistic approach to treating covid

Well, this infection overtook us, although my husband and I followed all recommendations - we wore masks and gloves and did not attend any gatherings. True, we had to go to the dentist - maybe we picked it up there. But the most likely cause was a lunch with an acquaintance, which my husband had in secret.  Also, my husband complained that he was suffocating in the mask and began to wear a bandanna instead. I will say one thing about the masks - they work. My first symptoms appeared on October 17, and the day before that my daughter-in-law and I went for apples and spent several hours in the car, both wearing masks. I was definitely already infected, and she did not get sick. Wear masks, ladies and gentlemen!

It all started quite innocently - a tickling in the trachea, a slight cough. No runny nose, no fever, only some discomfort, and fatigue. And on the third day, the sense of smell and taste disappeared. It was a strange feeling – I was drinking coffee and it tasted like tap water. As a result, I didn't feel like eating at all. But I had to. I forced myself to drink more - green tea, pomegranate juice, just water - no sugary or carbonated drinks. The food was light, but high in calories: chicken broth, applesauce, and mashed potatoes, boiled chicken - the stomach does not need to be loaded with heavy food. The chicken was the most unpleasant dish - like wet cardboard, completely tasteless.


As always, at the first sign of a cold, I put on a wool vest over my naked skin.  Natural wool is irreplaceable and useful. First, it slightly irritates the skin and increases blood circulation, thus helping the lungs' regeneration process. Second, any other material, when a person perspires from weakness, becomes a cold compress, and the wool absorbs moisture and retains heat.


Unfortunately, there was no one for me to do the massage - and I massaged myself and used a hammer massager in a gentle mode, starting from the lower section of the rib cage, along the ribs, going up. But if there is someone to massage with warm hands, then, of course, no massager can compare with therapeutic massage.


It is very good to use essential oils - eucalyptus, rosemary, oregano, frankincense, cinnamon, geranium, fir. Essential oils reduce discomfort and diminish the risk of complications due to their bactericidal properties and activation of the body's defenses. For massage of the chest and rubbing, the therapeutic mixture can be made out of 50 ml of olive (or other base oil) and 5 drops of fir, mint, and rosemary oils each. For coughs and runny nose, I mix tea tree, eucalyptus, and lavender in a base oil to massage the chest, the wings of the nose, and the point between the eyebrows.


In this case, given the viral nature of COVID, I used bergamot, eucalyptus, tea tree, and rosemary in cold-pressed hemp base oil, which, due to its high content of phytoncides and antioxidants, helps to increase overall resistance, effectively softens mucous membranes and regenerates the skin. I used this mixture for a light acupressure massage of active points. Since there were no symptoms, I massaged: 1. The fossa in the neck between the collarbones to increase the body's resistance to infectious diseases. It must be massaged very gently. 2. Two symmetrical points near the sinuses. The massage is done at the same time. The impact on these points restores the sense of smell lost with cold, reduces the swelling of the mucous membrane. 3. The point between the eyebrows. Stimulating this area helps to relieve nasal congestion, headaches and improves overall well-being. This mixture I also used for my daily aromatherapy sessions with an aroma lamp.


Every morning, I would hang from the bed with my upper body parallel to the floor and do breaststroke movements - this helps to avoid fluid stagnation in the lungs and stimulates blood circulation.


And finally, once a day I tried to do breathing exercises developed by A.N. Strelnikova, more precisely, three basic exercises - "Palms", "Shoulder loop", and "Pump".  I was pretty weak and I did all the exercises while sitting and not full sets. 1. Exercise "Palms". The starting position is sitting straight, arms bent at the elbows, palms directed away from you. Clench your palms into fists while taking sharp and noisy breaths. After completing a series of 8 breaths, take a short break and repeat the exercise (20 sets of 8 breaths in total). 2. Exercise "Carriages". Starting position - sitting upright, legs are slightly narrower than shoulder-width apart, hands at waist level, palms clenched into fists. While inhaling, sharply lower your arms, unclenching your fists and spreading your fingers, and at this moment try to strain your hands and shoulders with maximum force. Do 8 series 8 times. 3. Exercise "Pump". Starting position - sitting straight, legs are slightly narrower than shoulder-width. Inhale deeply and slowly bend over, and then just as slowly return to the starting position, as if you were working with a pump. Do 8 series 8 times. Additionally, I daily inflated a balloon and breathed into the water through a straw. Note: Do not do breathing exercises if the COVID pneumonia is fully blown or do them very gently, otherwise you can damage the lung tissue.


Two weeks after the first symptoms appeared, my sense of smell and taste returned. The oxygen level in the blood was 95-98. The only thing that lasted for nearly two months was extreme fatigue.  But in general, I think I got off easy.


Unfortunately, my husband did not survive the disease, despite the heroic efforts of the VA Hospital staff. After three weeks in the ICU and the aggressive regimen, including the injection of the convalescents' blood plasma, his lungs succumbed to three types of pneumonia: COVID, bacterial and fungal.


Perhaps I was just lucky. Or perhaps a timely non-invasive treatment helped me cope with this terrible infection. You need to listen to your body, not to hope that "it will pass by itself." In no case do I advise substituting alternative medicine for traditional medicine - everyone has different organisms. Not everyone can tolerate essential oils.  Breathing exercises according to Strelnikova might be difficult for people with pulmonary problems. Pneumonia with high temperature and cough most likely requires antibiotics. This infection is here for a long time. Buy yourself an oxygen meter measuring oxygen in your blood, start doing breathing exercises - in any case, it will not harm, take zinc and vitamin D - they support the immune system. The main thing is not to take COVID lightly, this is not the flu, it is much worse. Be healthy!