Treatment of COVID at home can be very effective, but only if you know what to do. There is a good chance you don’t know the best way to take care of yourself once you test positive for COVID. Ok, you have put yourself in isolation, but that measure is to protect others. How about yourself? Are there any vitamins you can take? Is there a drug treatment for COVID-19? What else can you do to take care of yourself once you are diagnosed with COVID?
The good news is you can treat COVID at home if you have mild to moderate symptoms. In fact, most people who test positive for COVID develop only mild to moderate symptoms with the Omicron variants, as compared to the previous strains.1 Their best treatment option is to stay at home. Start an aggressive COVID treatment instead of just lying there in isolation and hoping to get better.
It is important to stay in touch with your healthcare provider and go to a hospital if you develop severe symptoms of COVID such as shortness of breath.
Here is my updated, comprehensive, and scientific approach to the home-treatment COVID in 2023.
Comprehensive Treatment of COVID-19 at Home
You can treat COVID at home if you have mild to moderate symptoms. The acronym for this at-home treatment for COVID is SNEVM, which is as follows:
- Stress management
- Nutrition
- Exercise – Rest – Sleep
- Vitamins – Minerals – Herbs
- Medications
Stress Management For COVID Treatment
Stress – physical as well as emotional – wreaks havoc on your immune system. Therefore, stay calm and take common-sense actions such as:
Do not watch news filled with fear. Unfortunately, most people in quarantine due to COVID end up watching sensational news which is so counter-productive. Instead, you can watch comedy shows, listen to meditation music, watch soul-lifting movies.
Be aware of your own busy mind. Watch how your mind creates fearful scenarios one after another. Take your attention away from these thoughts. Instead, pay attention to what you see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. Instantaneously, your worrisome thoughts disappear as well as their harmful effects on your body including your immune system.
Click here to get more details on how to treat anxiety due to Covid.
Nutrition When You Are Home With COVID
Good nutrition is extremely important for your health when you are sick with any infection including COVID-19.
Your best food option is chicken vegetable soup, if you are not a vegan or vegetarian. In addition to chicken, the soup should contain plenty of onions, garlic, ginger, salt and turmeric. Add some Tulsi (Holy Basil) if available. Garlic, ginger, onions, and Tulsi, possess antimicrobial properties. Turmeric is known for its anti-inflammatory properties.
Drink soup every 3 hours or so, while awake. Add a couple of slices of bread as your appetite improves.
Cloves – also known as long in Hindi and Urdu – are known to possess anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties. You can simply chew on Cloves every couple of hours or use it in a tea.
Gradually add eggs, more carbohydrates, meats, fruits, and nuts as your condition improves.
Use a lot of lentils and beans instead of meats if you are a vegetarian or vegan.
Drink plenty of liquids especially if you have a fever.
Use honey which not only soothes your sore throat but also possess antimicrobial properties.
Drink Z-tea to boost your immune system.
Avoid alcohol completely as it drains you of magnesium and zinc, two important minerals for the health of your immune system. In addition, alcohol directly impairs your immune system. For these reasons, excessive alcohol consumption may increase COVID mortality, according to my recent study.
Exercise – Rest – Sleep for COVID-19
Rest, rest and rest.
Stay warm.
In addition, avoid unnecessary talking. Many people don’t realize that talking consumes a lot of energy. Similarly, avoid mental work. You may not be aware that your brain consumes an incredible amount of glucose, especially when it is doing mental work.
Listen to your body. Fatigue is a common symptom which often lingers on. People who rush to their usual physical activities – despite fatigue – often find themselves struggling with COVID symptoms for a long time. This is one of the reasons for Long Covid .
Vitamins for Home Treatment of COVID
Vitamins are extremely important for the normal functioning of your immune system. Therefore, vitamins are a crucial part of treatment of COVID at home. Scientific studies support the use of the following vitamins when you have COVID-19
Vitamin D for the Treatment of COVID at Home
Vitamin D is the most important vitamin when you are taking care of yourself with COVID. Why? Vitamin D not only boosts your immune system, but it also prevents Cytokine Storm – one of the main reasons why people die from COVID-19. Unfortunately, most people are low in Vitamin D.
Several studies from all around the world have discovered that Vitamin D deficiency clearly increases your risk of dying from COVID-19. On the other hand, a good level of Vitamin D helps you to recover from COVID. For example, researchers from Teheran University, Iran discovered the rate of mortality from COVID-19 was 70% less in patients whose Vitamin D was 40 ng/mL or higher as compared to those whose level was less than 30 ng/ml. 2
In addition, a good level of Vitamin D – above 50 ng/ml – may cut down your risk of even catching COVID – by 50% – in the first place, as was documented in an excellent study in the summer of 2020.
How Much Vitamin D for COVID Treatment
Based on treating thousands of patients over a fifteen-year period, I recommend a daily dose of Vitamin D supplement as 5000 IU per 100 Lbs. body weight as a maintenance dose. If you develop symptoms of COVID, you may double the dose for about two weeks and then go back to the maintenance dose.
As an example, if you weigh about 200 Lbs., you may take 10,000 IU per day as your maintenance dose. You may increase the dose to 20,000 IU per day as soon as you develop symptoms of COVID. Then, you can continue this dose for about 2 weeks. Afterwards, go back to 10,000 IU per day. Make sure to get your physician’s approval for this high dose of Vitamin D.
I have not encountered any case of Vitamin D toxicity during my extensive clinical experience, but it may happen.
Learn about Vitamin D toxicity.
Vitamin D should be taken with vitamin K2, because these two vitamins reinforce each other’s actions.
Please refer to my book, “Power of Vitamin D” to learn more about Vitamin D.
Vitamin C for the Treatment of COVID
Vitamin C has long been used to treat the common Cold, flu and other respiratory illnesses and it makes perfect sense because Vitamin C is important for the normal functioning of our immune system. It is also an antioxidant and may prevent excessive inflammation. During an upper respiratory illness, your immune cells rapidly use up the available Vitamin C which leads to a relative deficiency of this important vitamin. Therefore, it is crucial to take a high dose of Vitamin C, at least 2 – 4 grams per day when you treat COVID at home. These short-term high doses of Vitamin C are safe. In fact, researchers in China safely used much higher doses (12 grams every 12 hours) of Vitamin C intravenously in their hospitalized patients with COVID-19.3
Zinc Supplements in the Treatment of COVID
Like Vitamin C, Zinc is a known remedy for the common Cold, flu and other infections. It is well established that Zinc plays an important role to fight off viral infections including coronaviruses. Zinc has direct antiviral properties. It also strengthens the lining of the respiratory tract. In addition, it prevents excessive inflammation.4 It is interesting to note that Zinc deficiency is common in the elderly, the obese. diabetics and alcoholics. These individuals are also at high risk of contracting COVID-19 and and dying from it. Therefore, Zinc is a excellent mineral for the treatment of COVID at home.
Numerous studies all around the world show the beneficial effects of Zinc to treat COVID-19 patients. In one such study, a researcher from George Washington School of Medicine, Washington DC, reports four cases of COVID-19 treated with high doses of Zinc lozenges. All four showed remarkable improvement within a 24 hour period. 5 The total dose of Zinc in the study was about 150 – 200 mg per 24 hours.
How much Zinc to Treat COVID-19
The recommended daily dose of Zinc (for maintenance of health) is 11 mg for men and 8 mg for women. However, when dealing with acute illness such as COVID, you need much higher doses such as 150-200 mg per 24 hours. However, these high doses should be used only for a few days to a couple of weeks.
Zinc is easily available as Zinc ( 7 mg) Plus Elderberry lozenges on the internet. In addition, use Zinc Plus Copper ( 50 mg + 2 mg) two to three times a day.
ZINC Toxicity
In general, Zinc is considered to be safe. Zinc toxicity is rare, but it can happen with extremely high doses. The symptoms of Zinc toxicity include nausea, vomiting, epigastric pain, lethargy, and fatigue.
Zinc in excess of 60 mg per day for longer periods may cause Copper and Iron deficiency which may cause low count of red blood cells, white blood cells and lowering of HDL cholesterol. Therefore, it is a good idea to use a combination of Zinc and Copper if you use a relatively high dose of Zinc for a longer period. Also take an Iron supplement and keep an eye on your HDL levels.
Magnesium Supplementation for the Treatment of COVID
Magnesium is important for the normal functioning of our immune system. Unfortunately, most individuals are low in magnesium especially the elderly, the obese, diabetics, hypertensives, alcoholics and those who are stressed-out. These are the people who are at high risk of complications from COVID-19. Therefore, it makes sense to increase magnesium intake – or add a magnesium supplement – if you are treating your COVID at home.
Taking hot bath with a cup of Epsom Salt (Magnesium sulfate) added is another way to get magnesium, relax muscles, and get rid of toxins.
Is there any study to show the benefits of magnesium supplementation in COVID-19? The answer is yes. In a study from Singapore, researchers gave a cocktail of magnesium, Vitamin D and Vitamin B12 to their COVID patients over the age of 50 upon their hospital admission. The results were impressive: 80% reduction in the risk of deterioration and need for an ICU admission. 6
In Short
Vitamins and minerals play an important role in the normal functioning of our immune system. Scientific evidence supports the use of Vitamin D, Vitamin C, Zinc and Magnesium in COVID patients.
Medications for Treatment of COVID-19 at Home
1. Relief of Symptoms
You can take Tylenol (acetaminophen) and/or Ibuprofen, Naproxen for fever and muscle aches. Mucinex (guaifenesin) can help relieve chest congestion. Vicks VapoRub is helpful to improve breathing through the congested nose, but it should not be used in toddlers under the age of 2. You should also avoid Cold and Flu formulas which contain antihistamines and decongestants, as these ingredients may actually prolong your illness. Click here to learn in more detail why you should not use Cold and Flu formulas.
You can also drink Z-Tea , which helps to relieve symptoms of COVID. At the same time, it enhances your own immune system to fight the coronavirus that causes COVID.
2. PAXLOVID
On December 22, 2021, the FDA gave Emergency Use Authorization to PAXLOVID, an oral anti-COVID pill by Pfizer. In the clinical Trial, a total of 1,039 patients received PAXLOVID, and 1,046 patients received a placebo. Patients were 18 years of age and older with a risk factor for progression to severe disease or were 60 years and older regardless of chronic medical conditions. All patients had not received a COVID-19 vaccine and had not been previously infected with COVID-19. Results: There were 0.8% hospitalizations or deaths among patients who received PAXLOVID as compared to 6% of the patients who received a placebo, which translates into 88% efficacy of PAXLOVID against hospitalization or death. 7
PAXLOVID should be taken within 5 days of the onset of symptoms of COVID. Do not use it as a pre-exposure or post-exposure prophylaxis for the prevention of COVID.
Side Effects of PAXLOVID
The following side effects of PAXLOVID were observed in the initial clinical trial:8
- Impaired sense of taste (6%)
- Diarrhea (3%)
- High blood pressure (1%)
- Muscle aches (1%)
Patients with liver and kidney disease should not take PAXLOVID.
Drug Interactions of PAXLOVID
PAXLOVID is contraindicated – must not be taken – if you are any of the following drugs:
- lovastatin, simvastatin
- sildenafil (Revatio®) when used for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)
- triazolam, oral midazolam
- alfuzosin
- pethidine, piroxicam, propoxyphene
- ranolazine
- amiodarone, dronedarone, flecainide, propafenone, quinidine
- colchicine
- lurasidone, pimozide, clozapine
- dihydroergotamine, ergotamine, methylergonovine
- apalutamide
- carbamazepine, phenobarbital, phenytoin
- rifampin
- St. John’s Wort (hypericum perforatum)
In Summary
You can take good care of yourself if you test positive for COVID-19 and have only mild to moderate symptoms. It is important to take action right away – the sooner the better. Take high dose Vitamin D with K2, Zinc, Vitamin C, and Magnesium. Contact your physician and ask if PAXLOVID is right for you. Eat nutritious foods. Rest a lot. Get at least 10 hours of sleep. Above all, do not panic! Live in the NOW and don’t pay any attention to scary thoughts. Most importantly, stay in touch with your healthcare provider.
Click here if you want to participate in our Study On Vitamin D and COVID
Magnesium Deficiency – Type 2 Diabetes, Hypertension, COVID and more
