TCM Post-COVID Rehabilitation & Health Promotion

Patients may have symptoms of wind-cold attacking the exterior, wind-heat attacking the exterior, and superficies cold with interior heat (or combined with dampness). The main symptoms include aversion to cold, with or without fever, headache, dry cough, fatigue, dry mouth, bitter taste in mouth, inability to sweat, or poor sweating. There may also be symptoms of poor appetite, nausea, vomiting, and soft stools. 

The treatment principles may include methods of dispelling the wind-cold and wind-heat, removing the dampness, dispelling the exterior pathogenic agent, some commonly used prescriptions include Gui Zhi Tang, Xiao Chai Hu Tang, Huo Xiang Zheng Qi San, etc.

Patients may develop the syndromes of cold-damp constraint in lung, damp-heat retention in lung, damp-toxin retention in lung, and cold-damp obstructing the lung, etc.

• Cold-damp constraint in lung syndrome - fever, aversion to wind, fatigue, body aches, cough with white sputum, expectoration, chest tightness and suffocation, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, sticky stools.
• Damp-heat retention in lung syndrome - low-grade or no fever, slight aversion to cold, fatigue, heaviness in head and body, muscle aches, dry cough with little yellow sputum, sore throat, and dry mouth but unwilling to drink. Sometimes the symptoms may be accompanied by chest tightness and epigastric pain, inability to sweat or poor sweating, nausea, loss of appetite, loose stools, or sticky stools.
• Damp-toxin retention in lung syndrome - fever, sore throat, cough with little or yellowish green sputum, chest tightness, shortness of breath, abdominal distension, constipation.
• Cold-damp obstructing the lung - low-grade fever, feeling hot and discomfort or not developed fever, dry cough with little amount of sputum, fatigue, chest tightness, fullness in stomach, nausea, loose stools.

While the treatment principles may include methods of clearing the heat, dispelling the cold, detoxifying the toxins, and removing dampness, some commonly used prescriptions include Qingwen Baidu Decoction, Gan Lu Xiao Du Dan (Forsythia & Acorus Formula), etc.

Patients may possibly develop critical symptoms such as epidemic toxin blocking the lung and blazing of both Qi and nutrient.

• Epidemic toxin blocking the lung syndrome - Fever with flushing, cough, small amount of yellow and sticky sputum or blood in sputum, wheezing and shortness of breath, fatigue, dry mouth, bitter and sticky mouth, nausea and indigestion, difficulty in passing stools, and short, inhibited voiding of urine.
• Blazing of both Qi and nutrient - high fever with polydipsia, wheezing with shortness of breath, delirium, blurred vision. There may also be rash, vomiting of blood, bleeding, or twitching of the limbs.

The treatment principle may include strengthening the body, eliminating pathogenic factors, invigorating the heart and dredging the pulse, cooling the blood and promoting blood circulation, and removing blood stasis and sputum. Some commonly used prescriptions include Qingying Decoction combined with Shengmai Decoction, Fumai Decoction, etc.

Patients may suffer from syndromes of lung and spleen deficiency, Qi and Yin deficiency, and Qi deficiency with blood stasis.

• Lung and spleen deficiency syndrome - shortness of breath, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, fullness in stomach, difficulty in passing stools, loose stools
• Qi and Yin deficiency syndrome - Fatigue, shortness of breath, dry mouth, thirsty, palpitations, frequent sweating, loss of appetite, low-grade or no fever, dry cough with small amount of sputum

The treatment principles may include nourishing of Qi and Yin, moistening the lungs, strengthening the spleen, and removing dampness. Commonly used prescriptions include Shengmai Powder, Shashen Maidong Decoction, Shenling Baizhu Powder, Qingzao Jiufei Decoction, etc. If the patient develops pulmonary fibrosis, herbal medicines that can cool the blood and dissipate blood stasis will be added as supplements.