In November 2022, the World Health Organization updated the "New Coronavirus Pneumonia Personal Recovery Guidelines" published in 2020.
This manual is written by rehabilitation professionals through consultation with recovered new coronavirus patients. It is designed to provide help and advice to adults after recovering from the new coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) infection.
Applicable objects: Discharged patients with new coronavirus disease and patients with community infection who do not need to be hospitalized.
You can read this manual step by step. Please start with the chapter related to the symptom for which you need the most help.
1.
"Danger Signs" that require urgent attention from medical personnel
Certain medical complications that require emergency medical treatment may occur during the recovery process after COVID-19 infection.
Always contact a medical professional if you experience any of the red flag symptoms:
· Significant shortness of breath that cannot be relieved by light activity
· Change in shortness of breath at rest
· Chest pain, rapid heartbeat, or headache Fainting
· Feeling confused and gradually getting worse
· Weakness in the face, arms and legs on one side of the body
· Anxiety or worsening of mood
If worrying symptoms occur, please call 120 or go to the hospital immediately.
2. Management of shortness of breath
Shortness of breath is common after COVID-19 infection.
It is normal to experience shortness of breath when exerting physical exertion (such as climbing a flight of stairs), and this can usually be relieved by taking a break.
When you are short of breath, stay calm and adopt some of the positions pictured below to relieve shortness of breath.
Patients who experience dyspnea/shortness of breath often need to retrain their breathing techniques to get rid of their symptoms as quickly as possible.
3. Physical activities and exercise
Long-term hospitalization or home recuperation after COVID-19 infection will lead to a significant decrease in muscle strength and endurance.
Exercise is important to restore strength and endurance, but it needs to be done safely.
If you experience increased fatigue and other symptoms after a little activity (called a "crash" or "exacerbation"), this is known in scientific terms as "post-exertion malaise" (PEM for short) and usually occurs within hours or days of physical or mental exertion.
If PEM occurs, you should avoid those exercises that cause PEM to conserve physical fitness.
If PEM does not occur, you can gradually increase the amount of activity and training.
Borg Subjective Fatigue Perception Assessment Scale
Please use the table above to evaluate your body.
Phases of Exercise
You should consider dividing your recovery exercise into five phases.
The following describes the stages and suggests activities. Maintain each stage for at least 7 days before moving on to the next stage.
If you find it difficult or your symptoms are regressing, you can go back to a stage.
If any "red flags" occur (such as chest pain or dizziness), the activity should be stopped immediately.
Phase 1 Prepare for return to exercise
Examples: breathing exercises, gentle walking, stretching, and balance exercises. Stretch your muscles while sitting or standing. Each stretch should be performed gently and each stretch should be held for 15-20 seconds.
Stage 2 Low-intensity activities
Examples: walking, light housework/gardening work. You can gradually increase your daily exercise time by 10-15 minutes. You should remain in this phase for at least 7 days without experiencing post-exertion malaise (PEM) before moving on to the next phase.
Stage 3 Moderate intensity activity. For example: brisk walking, going up and down stairs, jogging, introducing inclines, and resistance exercises.
Stage 4 Moderate intensity exercises with coordination and effective skills. for example: running, cycling, swimming and dance classes.
Phase 5 Return to baseline exercises. You can now complete the normal exercise/sports/activities you did before contracting COVID-19.
4. Preserving energy and managing fatigue
Fatigue is the most commonly reported debilitating symptom among COVID-19 recovery patients and is often described as a general feeling of physical and mental fatigue.
Physical fatigue: The whole body is heavy, and even a small movement requires a huge amount of energy.
Mental and cognitive fatigue: Difficulty thinking, concentrating, or taking in new information, memory and learning are affected, and even the most basic word selection and problem solving become difficult.
You may feel "burned out" and feel just as tired when you wake up in the morning as when you go to bed at night.
Ways to improve:
5. Management of voice problems
The new coronavirus can cause throat pain, irritating cough and the feeling of phlegm accumulation in the throat, requiring frequent throat clearing.
You may also have a weak, wheezy, or hoarse voice, especially if you have been on a ventilator with a breathing tube in the hospital.
You may feel that your throat/upper respiratory tract is more sensitive than before the illness.
For example, if you encounter a strong smell, you may cough, feel a tightness in your throat, or have difficulty breathing.
If symptoms do not improve for a long time, please seek professional medical advice.
6. Management of Swallowing Problems
You may have difficulty swallowing food and drinks because the muscles that help swallowing may be weakened.
For people who have been on a respirator in the hospital, the ventilation tube may cause bruising and swelling of the throat and glottis.
It is important to watch your swallowing to avoid choking and pulmonary infection.
If you have swallowing problems, try these tips:
7. Nutritional issues, including smell and taste
COVID-19 can affect your appetite and weight in different ways.
If you have been hospitalized for a period of time, you may lose weight;
Conversely, if you are experiencing Long Covid and are less active than before, you may also gain weight.
Taking in enough nutrients and ensuring 6-8 glasses of water a day is crucial for a speedy recovery.
If you have a reduced sense of smell or taste, it is recommended:
·Brush your teeth twice a day to ensure oral hygiene;
·Perform a sense of smell Practice, such as smelling something that smells like lemon, rose, clove, and eucalyptus every day, twice a day for 20 seconds; Try adding herbs and spices to your meals, such as cayenne pepper, lemon juice, and fresh herbs (don't overdo it, as it may cause reflux).
8. Management of attention, memory and mental clarity issues
During the recovery process of COVID-19 patients, various difficulties with thinking skills (called "cognition") may occur, including problems with memory, attention, information processing, planning and organization.
This condition is also called "Brain Fog".
Fatigue often worsens brain fog, which means the more tired a person is, the more difficult it is to think.
It is important for you and your family to be aware that you are experiencing these difficulties because they can have an impact on your relationships, daily activities, and returning to work or school.
If you are experiencing the above issues, the following strategies may be helpful:
9. Managing Stress, Anxiety, Depression and Sleep Problems
Being infected with COVID-19 and suffering from "long COVID" can be extremely stressful.
This kind of stress can have a negative impact on people's emotions, such as anxiety (worry, fear) or depression (low mood, sadness) and other emotions.
When you are not feeling well, you may also have some negative thoughts or feelings related to survival issues.
may also feel frustrated by not being able to resume daily activities or work in the way he had hoped.
Relaxation
Relaxation helps save limited energy during your recovery process and can help you control anxiety and improve your mood. Here’s an example of a relaxation technique.
Slowly think about the answers alone, one sensory question at a time, spending at least 10 seconds focusing on each question.
This situation is a normal problem during the post-COVID-19 recovery! But worry and worry often make symptoms worse.
For example, if all you can think about is that my head hurts, your head may become more painful.
In addition, it is important to understand that symptoms are often related to each other, and an increase in one symptom can lead to an increase in another.
If you feel tired, your concentration will be affected, which will affect your memory, which will then increase your anxiety, which will worsen your fatigue. This becomes a vicious cycle.
Therefore, improvements in one aspect should lead to improvements in another.
0. Pain management
Pain is a common symptom among patients recovering from COVID-19 and can occur in specific parts of the body (joint pain, muscle pain, headache, chest pain and abdominal pain) or spread throughout the body.
Persistent pain (lasting more than 3 months) may cause disability and affect sleep, fatigue levels, mood, and ability to concentrate or work.
If you have specific pain symptoms that worsen with activity, such as chest pain, you should first talk to your healthcare provider.
1. Return to work
Returning to work after experiencing COVID-19 may not be easy and requires careful planning and management to ensure you are ready to return to work.
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