Much has been learned about Covid-19. The good news is it can be easily treated and most people will recover within a few weeks. By treating the illness effectively early, the likelihood of a quick recovery from Covid-19 dramatically goes up. 

I tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday, 11th February at 7am. I had been feeling really fatigued and exhausted for two days before I tested positive and on the night before, I started getting a fever, chills and aching body. I had already done a lot of reading on Covid-19 so I was quite prepared. I was also vaccinated and I believe this helped in reducing the severity of my symptoms. 

There are Three Phases to Covid-19

1. The Viral Phase (Day 1 - 5): Transmission is at its highest and you can expect to experience flu-like symptoms such as fever, joint and muscle pain, headache, sore throat, loss of appetite, loss of taste/smell, nausea, diarrhoea, and weakness.
   
   
2. The Inflammation Phase (Day 5 - 10): Your body’s immune system has geared up to fight the virus and you may still experience flu-like symptoms. Inflammation can lead to feelings of breathlessness, coughing, or difficulty breathing.
   
   
3. The Hyper-Inflammation/Clotting Phase (Up to 30 days): Without early treatment symptoms can progress to this stage where you may experience chest heaviness/pain, breathing difficulties, and blood clotting. 

My Early Covid-19 Treatment Plan

Vegetables. I wasn’t very hungry most of the time and I only ate 2 meals a day but when I did eat, I made sure it included vegetables. I made up a big bowl of salad consisting of leafy greens, cucumber, tomato, cheese and mayonnaise and ate this once a day. The other meal was typically some meat and steamed veggies. I also often drank a smoothie each day consisting of coconut water, and frozen fruits such as mango, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, dragonfruit or banana. 

Supplements. I’m not one to take supplements because I believe I can get enough nutrients from the food I eat; however, I believed I needed a bit extra support for my body so I started taking zinc, vitamin C and vitamin D. Vitamin D is produced by the skin when its exposed to the sun so I made sure I spent time outside during golden hour. 

Water. Your cells work best when they are hydrated so I kept up my regular morning routine of 500mL - 1L of water when I first woke and continued to drink 250mL - 500mL every couple of hours. 

Rest. Sounds obvious but I’m not someone who can sit and do nothing for very long. Considering that I felt like I could be more active most of the time during my covid experience, I had to remind myself to take time out. Pure resting is important too — not watching TV or reading. I tried to take time out to zone out. I meditated by staring at the garden, the clouds, listening to music or meditating. One of my favourite meditation apps is that by Wim Hof. 

Sleep. The best recovery tool is sleep. I struggled to get to sleep and sleep all night; I’m presuming because I wasn’t very active throughout the day, but I tried. I haven't yet but I might try some melatonin supplementation. 

Movement. My body seizes up when I don’t move so when I was feeling up to it, I did gentle stretching and walked around my yard. This was usually at golden hour time in the evening to absorb the sunlight and I also did it barefoot on the grass for the grounding benefits. I figured this movement would help reduce the risk for clotting too. 

We have learned a lot about Covid-19. With early treatment, the likelihood of a quick recovery goes up dramatically. Always listen to your body. And of course, if you have any serious symptoms such as chest heaviness/pain or difficulty breathing, please go straight to the hospital. 

What strategies would you recommend? 

Leave your answer to that question in the comments section below. 

As I said at the top, I did a lot of reading; but the resource I used most for this article was the Early Covid-19 Treatment Guidelines PDF from the World Council For Health. It is much more in depth. I recommend you check it out.