Long-Covid-Syndrom

Long Covid is the common term for long-lasting health impairments after a corona virus infection. Sometimes extreme physical and mental exhaustion, concentration and memory disorders, and a general reduction in performance are at the forefront of the symptoms. However, shortness of breath, muscle weakness and muscle pain are also common. Not infrequently, a normal life is hardly possible.

The exact causes are still unclear. Virus persistence, microthrombosis (occlusion of the smallest blood vessels by blood clots) as well as excessive and misdirected immune reactions (autoimmunities) are discussed.

Thus, the Long Covid Syndrome is strikingly similar to the clinical picture of chronic Lyme disease or post-Lyme syndrome (persistent symptoms after Borrelia infection), both in its symptoms and in its mechanisms of development. There are also similarities to chronic Epstein-Barr virus infection (EBV), the most common cause of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and to chronic infections with chlamydia, babesia, bartonella and other pathogens.

It can therefore be assumed that a substantial part of the symptoms is not caused by the pathogens themselves, but by the triggering of a reaction cascade in the immune and metabolic system of the human being. In the end, the pathogens are no longer necessarily involved in the course of this cascade, and the reactions can take on a life of their own. Although pathogen persistence can be a permanent trigger that fuels and reinforces the misdirected reactions, it is not a mandatory prerequisite for their course. One example is chronic fatigue syndrome, which is the result of a pathogen infection: In this case, the immune system confuses the pathogens (e.g., the corona virus) with the body's own structures in the brain and, as a result, attacks these brain structures. The consequences are a permanent feeling of exhaustion, concentration, memory and sleep disorders.

The thesis of the triggered reaction cascade also explains why patients with other chronic diseases experience a flare-up of known symptoms after suffering a corona infection or receiving a corona vaccination. Both corona infection and vaccination can reactivate the immune system's faulty response once learned, causing old symptoms to reappear.

If the clinical pictures of Long-Covid patients and patients with other chronic infectious diseases are so similar in their development and symptomatology, then from a holistic-naturopathic point of view, diagnosis and therapy are also similar.

In contrast to other chronic infectious diseases, where many people go through a true odyssey until the diagnosis is finally made, the suspicion of a long-covid syndrome is usually made much earlier. Often it is easier to establish a temporal connection with an infection that has been passed through and there is a broader knowledge in the general population regarding the clinical picture.

A comprehensive diagnosis should clarify the following questions:

• Is there a secondary condition of a chronic infection at all?
• If so, is this infection active or inactive?
• What consequences are detectable (immune system disorders, metabolic changes, systemic inflammation, regulatory disorders, etc.)?
• Are there any accompanying factors (co-infections, heavy metal contamination, vital substance deficiency)?

The medical history already provides initial indications of the presence of a corona-related multisystem disease. Mainly the symptom pattern and its previous development as well as a temporal relationship between the first symptoms and a corona infection provide corresponding clues.

However, a corona infection rarely occurs alone. In most cases, the immune system must also deal with a whole series of other infectious agents. These include pathogens that have been present in the body for years as persistent pathogens. The immune system normally copes well with these. However, in concert with a misdirected immune system response cascade resulting from a corona infection, the pathogens can become active again. The occasional occurrence of shingles (herpes zoster virus) after a corona infection or corona vaccination is a clinical example of this. Other so-called co-infections can be:

• Bacterial pathogens: Borrelia, Anaplasma, Bartonella, Chlamydia, Mycoplasma, Yersinia and others.
• Viruses: Epstein-Barr, herpes, cytomegalovirus and others
• Parasites: Babesia, Toxoplasma, Worms and others.
• Fungi: candida, molds (aspergillos) and others

Here, a choice must be made with regard to diagnostics based on the clinical probability of the presence of such co-infection, the therapeutic consequence, and the cost.

In addition, the following examinations should ideally be performed in every patient with a Long Covid Syndrome:

• Cellular immune status (provides information about immune competence, immune activation and immune tolerance).
• Autoimmunity diagnostics (as a result of "confusion" of pathogen structures with the body's own tissues, the immune system may attack its own body = autoimmunity). For example, autoantibodies against receptors of brain messenger substances are a frequent finding in chronic fatigue syndrome as a result of a Corona, Borrelia or Epstein-Barr virus infection.
• Heavy metal screening (mercury, lead, cadmium or aluminum are not only harmful to the organism on their own, they also induce biofilm formation in the pathogens, a resistance mechanism which protects the pathogens from the heavy metals, from the immune system and unfortunately also from antibiotics)
• Vital substance diagnostics (serious chronic diseases lead to an increased need for vitamins, minerals and enzymes)
• Regulation diagnostics (disturbances in the vegetative nervous system, the control center of all internal processes in the organism, represent an obstacle to therapy and must be recognized and treated accordingly)
• Detection of metabolic changes typical of multisystem diseases, such as functional disorders of the mitochondria (the energy power plants of the cells), systemic inflammation, oxidative and nitrosative stresses (free radicals) or specific hormonal and enzymatic metabolic disorders

Overall, the diagnosis of suspected long covid syndrome or another infection-related multisystem disease is very complex and therefore belongs in the hands of a specialist. In principle, the following applies: As much diagnostics as necessary to find a holistic and promising therapeutic approach. However, no diagnosis should be made without a therapeutic consequence resulting from it. The final scope of the examinations to be performed will be determined during the initial appointment in the consultation.

A long-covid disease, as a multisystem disease, is not simply an infection that passes away by waiting. The pathogens themselves leave behind consequences or damage to the affected organ systems. The defense reactions of the immune system (inflammations, development of autoimmune reactions), changes in the metabolic and hormonal systems or regulatory disorders of the autonomic nervous system contribute to the development and partial "independence" of the clinical picture. The same applies to additional stress factors such as heavy metals, co-infections and vital substance deficiencies.

Antibiotic treatment cannot solve this problem either, because antibiotics are not effective against viruses. Recently developed antiviral drugs against the Corona virus can prevent a severe course in the case of an acute infection, but they do not help with the Long Covid Syndrome. A holistic therapy, which may extend over months or even years, must include the following components:

• Restoration of the immune system (both immune deficiencies and excessive immune reactions must be compensated for), e.g. through
  
  • Thymus therapy
  • Phytotherapeutic immunomodulators (e.g. with Samento)
  • Orthomolecular therapy (use of vitamins, minerals or secondary plant substances such as Samento, VitalMedix and others)
  • Enzyme therapy (e.g. Serrapeptase)
  • Regulation therapy (e.g. bioresonance therapy)
  • Detoxification therapies

• Elimination and detoxification, mainly of heavy metal contamination
  
  • Chelation therapy
  • Phytotherapeutics (e.g. Burbur-Pinella, Parsley, Sparga, Mapalo, Sealantro, Dandelion and others)

• Treatment of systemic inflammatory reactions
  
  • Procaine base infusion, DMSO
  • Oxyvenation
  • Phytotherapeutics (e.g., Samento, Tangarana, Serrapeptase and others).
  • All immunomodulatory, detoxification, and pathogen therapy measures contribute equally to inflammation control.

• Substitution of vital substances and treatment of hormonal imbalances
  
  • Orthomolecular therapy
  • Phytotherapy (e.g. Adrenal, Maca or the substitution of human-identical hormones according to the Rimkus method and others)

• Compensation of disturbances in the vegetative nervous system
  
  • Bioresonance therapy
  • Phytotherapy (e.g. Avea, Ezov, Amantilla, Babuna, RelaxMedix, MoodMedix and others)

• Energy buildup (mitochondrial therapy)
  
  • Oxyvenation
  • Active Programm Immunotherapy
  • Phytotherapy (e.g. Adrenal, VitalMedix, NADH, Maca and others)

• Long-term pathogen therapy, including co-infections.
  
  • This is the most long-term part of the entire treatment. Phytotherapeutic pathogen therapy is based on the Cowden Support Program developed by the American physician Dr. Cowden and extends over at least 12 months, although treatment periods beyond this are not unusual.
  • This is always accompanied by phytotherapeutic measures for detoxification and immunotherapy as well as for combating inflammation.
  • The first part of the therapy lasts about 3 months. In addition to combating the viruses, the focus in this part is on parasite and fungus treatment.
  • In the second part (also lasting 3 months), the therapeutic target is primarily Borrelia as well as viral and bacterial co-infections.
  • During the third part of the pathogen treatment, various antibacterial, antiviral and antiparasitic agents are alternated in order to achieve a comprehensive and lasting suppression of Borrelia and all co-infections. This part is carried out until either freedom from symptoms or a constant improvement in symptoms is achieved. This requires a minimum of 6 months, but often more.
  • If the decision is made to stop treatment, then tapering of therapy over several weeks to months is necessary.
    For some patients, long-term or even lifelong maintenance therapy is inevitable. The means and measures necessary for this depend on the health status achieved as well as some prognostically relevant laboratory parameters.

A promising treatment consists of the right combination of measures at the right time, taking into account the points listed above. The measures actually required in the individual case are coordinated with the patient after a comprehensive evaluation of the diagnostic results and adjusted as necessary during the course of treatment.