Traditional Chinese Medical Treatments Can Assist With Recovery From COVID-Brain Fog
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After more than two years of the COVID-19 pandemic with 600 million infections worldwide, the vast majority of the infected have recovered. However, some suffer from long COVID, and one of the most common symptoms is brain fog.
Brain fog is a condition that occurs when a person is awake but not fully conscious, and has difficulty following time, surroundings, or concentrating on a task.
Patients tend to describe this sensation as a blurring of the mind, or brain fog.
In clinical practice, there is no standardized test for brain fog, so its diagnosis is dependent on the subjective analysis of the physician. In general, such memory loss and difficulties in thinking and focusing may affect work efficiency in minor cases or may be much worse in severe cases.
Brain fog is not necessarily accompanied by drowsiness; the patient may be awake but less conscious than normal.
‘Spacing out’
Patients often describe themselves as feeling “foggy” or “spacing out,” which is common among patients with long COVID.
Patients with brain fog often experience mucus in the chest, and therefore should consider herbal medicine that reduces the amount of mucus, such as ginger, radix et rhizoma, Poria, fritillaria, Acorus, and rhizoma atractylodis.
High amounts of chest mucus can easily affect thinking and slow down nerve reactions.
Furthermore, for patients with already deteriorating brain conditions, it is good to consume Cistanches, wolfberries, walnuts, and eucommia, which are good for the kidneys.
Strengthening the body and mind in such ways can reduce the symptoms of brain fog.
In terms of diet, it is recommended to consume more food rich in flavonoids, anti-inflammatory contents, and ingredients that protect the blood vessels. This could be tea, apples, oranges, blueberries, green coconut, or chocolate, which can all improve the brain’s functions and blood circulation.
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Dr. Teng Cheng-Liang, is a Chinese and Western medicine practitioner with more than 20 years of professional medical experience. He is the Superintendent of Chi Teh Medical Clinic & Cheng-Liang Medical Clinic in Taipei, Taiwan. He graduated from the College of Medicine at Taipei Medical University and completed his Doctoral Degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine at the Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine.
