Post viral fatigue
I’ve seen a couple clients in the past few weeks that have recovered from Covid-19 but are struggling with post viral fatigue. Some of the main symptoms of this include extreme fatigue, sensitivity to pain and light and sometimes depression. Other post viral fatigue symptoms can include headache, dizziness, poor concentration, impaired memory, irritability and sleep disturbance.
Although we have no research on post viral fatigue associated with Covid-19, there are a number of areas it makes sense to focus on:
- Stress support – as Covid-19 can be extremely inflammatory in nature, this places a huge amount of stress on the body. It would seem to make sense to focus some form of supplemental support on managing feedback between the HPA (hypothalami-pituitary-axis) and the adrenals to regulate the cortisol response. From a lifestyle perspective, stress management techniques like mindfulness meditation may be important.
- Anti-inflammatory support – the real damage caused by Covid-19 is due to excessive inflammation. Whilst in recovery it makes sense to follow an anti-inflammatory diet and to take supplements, like omega-3 fish oil, which are anti-inflammatory in nature.
- Mitochondrial support – the excessive inflammation of Covid-19 will typically cause a high levels of oxidative stress which may negatively impact mitochondrial function which would result in fatigue. To support mitochondrial function, dietary intake should focus on a very high intake of vegetables and some fruit (especially berries) for phytonutrient and antioxidant support. In addition to this, other important nutrients may include magnesium malate, Coenzyme Q10 and B vitamins (amongst others).
- Gastrointestinal support – the gut bacterial microbiome has been shown to be abnormal in chronic fatigue syndrome patients perhaps leading to gastrointestinal and inflammatory symptoms. It therefore may make sense to focus on gut support in any form of post viral fatigue.
Apart from the above, diet diet diet must be a focus. It may be worthwhile eliminating certain foods like gluten (found in wheat, rye,barley, oats and spelt) and definitely sugar. Dairy, corn and soy may also be problematic.
If you are suffering from post viral fatigue, get in touch with our office: clinic@hannahkaye.co.za
