By Nadia Peach, naturopath
While there is no standard definition of long Covid, and the syndrome itself is quite variable,
having symptoms that persist for more than 28 to 30 days following the onset of Covid is
increasingly being labeled as long Covid in medical literature.
Long Covid might be relapsing and remitting in nature.
Post viral symptoms are known to exist following other viral infections including Epstein Barr virus and Ross River fever virus.
What actually causes persistent symptoms following viral infections, including Covid, remains the focus of researchers.
The viral infection persisting itself is not as likely. Other theories include chronic inflammation, blood flow disturbances or nervous system damage.
The most common reported symptoms are headache, fatigue, sleep disturbance, concentration
difficulties, low mood, abdominal pain, muscle or joint pain, congested or runny nose, cough, chest tightness or pain, loss of appetite or weight, disturbed smell or anosmia, and rash.
In most of the studies on children, symptoms did not persist longer than 12 weeks.
In Australia thus far, our statistics for children with long Covid seem to fare a lot better than European countries did last year.
This might be due to different Covid strains.
However, in Australia we do not currently have definitive information on how many children this can affect and how long it can last.
One Victorian study on children found 8 per cent of 151 children had mostly mild infections had
some persistent symptoms for up to eight weeks.
Apparently, all these children fully recovered by three to six months.
Three to six months is still a long time to recover from an infection, and this poses the question: how can we support long Covid?
This first question I ask with post viral infections, as a naturopath, is regarding a history of low
vitamin D in the child or parents.
The role of vitamin D is important in the prevention and reduced severity of viral infections in children (by modulating the immune response to the virus) particularly in those that are low in vitamin D.
Other important immune nutrients that might need assessment include zinc selenium and vitamin A, all of which have an important role in healthy immunity and supporting lung and throat tissue.
Children at an age where they can swallow a capsule might benefit from Quercetin.
Quercetin has anti-viral properties and it is considered antioxidant, immune supporting and pain relieving.
Quercetin also seems to support respiratory health and has been found to reduce inflammation in the lungs.
For mood and sleep symptoms, good quality protein is important with sound nutrition and I would suggest seeing your health care professional for an assessment to support brain nutrition and reduce inflammation.
Fish oil might also be indicated to support inflammation and mood-related symptoms.
The EPA component of fish oil is quite anti-inflammatory and the DHA component is very important for brain health and memory.
Certain probiotics might be useful for long Covid such as bifidobacterium based probiotics as these boost immunity.
Consuming kim chi, sauerkraut, good quality yogurts, kefir and other fermented foods might provide these in a food dose, but supplements can provide a more therapeutic dose.
The benefit of probiotics with children is they are generally gentle and easy to give.
Increasing microbial diversity with prebiotics, fermented foods and eating high fibre plant foods is very important.
Your good bacteria in your gut need to have a diverse population for good health – to support this, eat more than 30 different plant foods per week.
This is easier than you think.
For a lingering cough, specific herbs that might be of benefit include marshmallow root, myrrh,
licorice, ivy leaf, and elderberry.
Always check with your health care professional when giving herbs to children, especially children under 4 years old.
For reduced energy and other long Covid symptoms, herbs and nutrients might need to be individually selected by a naturopath or relevant health care professional.
However, it is worth mentioning several products are available to support the mitochondria and reduce inflammation.
