Your COVID Recovery is the main NHS advice website to support you in your COVID recovery.
It includes advice for managing various symptoms, returning to work, advice for parents and carers as well as lots of other useful information
Another helpful collection of resources has been developed from the Homerton University Hospital and can be downloaded HERE.
Fatigue is the most commonly reported ongoing symptoms after covid19 infection. This is not just physical fatigue but includes ‘cognitive fatigue’ also – that is, the mental effort required to do daily tasks. You may feel that you tire more easily, both physically and mentally, for a time after COVID19 infection.
Managing fatigue can be difficult, particularly if you are working or caring for children / elderly relatives, or you have other health issues to manage. The main advice in supporting recovery is to follow what we call the 3 P’s –
PACE
- Give yourself permission to slow down. Don’t expect to be able to do everything at once, or at the same pace you used to. Do less than you think you can.
- Break activities into smaller tasks and spread them throughout the day. You’ll recover faster if you work on a task until you are tired, rather than completely exhausted.
- Build rests into your tasks and plan rest breaks between activities. Resting is key to recharging your energy.
PLAN
- Look at the activities you normally do on a daily and weekly basis; develop a plan to spread these evenly across the week.
- Think about which activities you find most tiring and make sure you spread these out, with plenty of time to rest in between.
- Don’t try to complete several activities all in one go. This will drain your energy, and you will need more time to recover afterwards.
- If you find that your energy is lower or concentrating is harder at certain times of day, plan to avoid tiring activities at these times.
- Think about ways you can do activities differently to make it easier and less tiring. For example, you could sit down during tasks like washing and getting dressed. Rather than lifting and carrying items when cooking, try pushing and sliding them across the work surface instead.
- Rearrange rooms like the kitchen so the items you use most are easy to reach.
- Simple pieces of equipment can make lots of daily tasks easier to manage. Websites such as livingmadeeasy.org.uk will help you to find equipment that might be useful to you.
PRIORITISE
- Some daily activities are necessary but others aren’t. There might be some tasks that you can stop, do less often or ask someone to help you with, until you are feeling better.
- Make sure you have a balance of the necessary tasks but also things you need to do, like washing and getting dressed and things you want to do for fun and enjoyment.
- Start the day by asking:
- What do I need to don and what do I want to do today?
- What can I put off until another day?
- What can I ask someone else to help me with?
There are a number of specific resources which you may find helpful in managing fatigue.
Conserving energy
How manage post viral fatigue after covid19
Breathing issues are another commonly reported symptom. Providing your GP has ruled out any other causes of your symptoms we may want to discuss the possibility of referring you to physiotherapy as there is some evidence that this is beneficial for patients experiencing what we call ‘dysfunctional breathing pattern’
The British Lung Foundation has some good information on breathing techniques:
https://www.blf.org.uk/support-for-you/long-covid/breathlessness-support
There is also a great resource from the ENO breathe programme www.eno.org
Loss of smell / taste
Half of patients report a change or loss to their sense of smell or taste after COVID19 infection. This can not only be unsettling but also can take the joy out of eating and drinking!
Generally we expect symptoms to resolve within 12 weeks.
When to contact us
- Beyond this time if your symptoms followed COVID19 infection
- If it is not certain that your symptom follows a COVID19 infection
- If you have any additional nasal or neurological symptoms (such as nasal discharge, headache etc.)
There is evidence that ‘olfactory training’ can be useful if symptoms persist beyond 2 weeks- you may find the below resources helpful;
www.absent.org
www.fifthsense.org.uk
ENTUK also recommend Omega 3 supplements as an option for patients with loss of smell more than 2 weeks as an isolated symptom or following resolution of any other COVID symptom (These can be purchased over the counter).
