After two years of being ever so careful with social distancing, masking, and quarantining, I finally started to ease up. I’m double-vaccinated and boosted, so with Covid restrictions easing up I thought it was time. A quick run into the gas station to pay for gas, vending outside, and eating at a restaurant indoors, all without a mask.
Last Saturday I afternoon I noticed my back hurt. This isn’t terribly unusual for me and I thought I must have tweaked it. By the next morning, my throat was a bit hoarse. My allergies were crazy though, and I thought perhaps I had slept funky and was snoring the night before.
By Sunday evening I knew I was sick. My joints hurt, I was congested, my nose was running, and my throat was REALLY hoarse by now. I took an at-home Covid test and sure enough, it came back positive. Sigh.
My Personal Protocol
I have been vaccinated and boosted, so I wasn’t as concerned about symptoms as I was about getting others sick. After all, I had been at market when I first began experiencing symptoms. Luckily I maintain a 6 foot distance from everyone and the health department felt with the outdoor breezy conditions, it was unlikely I spread the virus significantly.
Since my positive test on March 10, I have been quarantined at home. I’m going to share the home remedies I used to help me feel better. However, I want to say something very clearly: IN NO WAY IS THIS POST TO BE TAKEN AS RECOMMENDATIONS FOR YOUR HEALTHCARE. I am NOT a health professional. This is just my experience in treating my Covid symptoms as a vaccinated individual. I have NO doubt my vaccination status made my symptoms quite mild considering.
Home Remedies
I did NOT use these remedies to combat Covid per se. I used them to help with the symptoms and to support my immune system in fighting off the infection. A combination of these home remedies and vitamins really helped me personally in fighting this virus off.
My team of immune system support included: Vitamin D drops, zinc, CBD tincture, lemon/ginger/honey tea, fire cider, and Golden Milk. This was combined with LOTS of rest and taking it easy on my work schedule. I am grateful I have the ability to do this. Fatigue was probably the most persistent symptom I dealt with, followed closely by nasal congestion.
Vitamins
For years now, I have been taking liquid Vitamin D drops daily. They have been absolutely instrumental for my positive mental health. I’ve also been taking zinc for several years, which I feel helped my immune system. Once doctors said there was conclusive evidence of Vitamin D helping to prevent Covid-19 infection, I said a little “whew!” out loud.
While my symptoms were strong, I upped my levels of both a bit. More importantly I think, I just made sure I took them even when I wasn’t feeling really with it. You may be wondering why I don’t mention Vitamin C here. I did up my does of that as well, but not in supplement form. You’ll see why in a minute.
CBD Tincture
There was some hype recently about the effects of CBD against Covid-19. A team of researchers found the raw forms of CBD (namely CBDA and CBGA) showed promise at stopping the virus from replicating. But. And that’s a HUGE but. Showing promise is NOT the same thing as being proven.
I’ve been taking about 100 mg of CBD in the form of a full-spectrum tincture from Lazarus Naturals for several years now. While sick, I bumped up my dosage. I know several cannabinoids are antiviral so this was my personal choice. Full-spectrum hemp tincture provides a variety of cannabinoids beyond CBD, giving me maximum benefit.
While there isn’t proof at all of CBD’s effectiveness on Covid, I deliberately included this as part of my home remedy kit. I figured this was a “all hands on deck” situation for my immune system and treated it accordingly.
Fire Cider
Fire Cider is an amazing home remedy that is excellent to keep on hand regardless of global pandemics. It is a fermentation of a variety of beneficial plants and herbs in apple cider vinegar (here’s a how-to for you to check out). My current concoction includes the following:
- Lemon
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Onion
- Horseradish
- Cinnamon sticks
- Turmeric
- Jalapenos
- Thyme
- Oregano
- Rosemary
Once everything is sliced or chopped, it’s put into a large glass jar and covered with good quality organic apple cider vinegar. Cover and allow to sit for a month or two. Strain out the plant material and then add a non-metal lid to your glass jar for storage in a dark location. When I’m fighting off the nasties, I mix a tablespoon of this potent concoction with raw honey and cold water. The featured picture for this post is of my Fire Cider preparations.
I’ll be honest. This isn’t a drink I relish or sip. I chug it. The plus side is I could feel almost immediate relief of my congestion when I drank it. I drank this 3 times a day during the worst of my sickness. On a side note, this is a great vinegar to add to salad dressings and marinades.
Golden Milk
Oh how I love Golden Milk. A few years ago I posted my recipe for it on Instagram and will have to revive it. In short, Golden Milk is a paste of turmeric and other related spices, heated up in the milk of your choice. I’m including a link to a recipe for it, but will summarize the process here.
In a saucepan, I mix 1/4 cup of organic turmeric with a few tablespoons of true cinnamon, a tablespoon each of cardamom and grated ginger, and a few twists of my black pepper mill. I add 1/2 cup of water and use a whisk to blend everything well. Heat this mixture on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, until it forms a thick paste. Once it’s off the heat I whisk in 2 tablespoons of coconut oil. Pour into a glass jar and leave in the fridge for storage. This is your Golden Milk paste.
To make individual cups, I measure out whatever milk I have on hand into a saucepan. I personally prefer mostly nut milk with a dash of cream for the consistency. Whisk in a heaping tablespoon of your Golden Milk paste and heat gently until warm. Mix in raw honey to taste and enjoy. This helped the body wide inflammation tremendously and gave me almost immediate relief.
Golden Milk is an ancient recipe in Ayurveda medicine for treating inflammation. It’s a soothing and delicious drink I enjoy regularly to help my body overall. When I drink it regularly, it makes a significant difference in my comfort. The heating of the turmeric helps activate it’s properties, along with the black pepper and coconut oil.
Honey Lemon Ginger Tea
Prior to the pandemic, this tea base was a staple in my refrigerator during cold and flu season. Any time I felt a bit run down or was around someone I knew was sick, this was an easy first step. It makes for a super quick cup of immune system boosting goodness. It’s also ridiculously easy to prepare and keep on hand.
Wash off a small organic lemon with soap and water. Dry it off and thinly slice the entire thing. Do the same for several inches of ginger. Layer the two items in a glass jar that can be sealed.
Pour raw honey (preferably local) until it covers the top of the lemon and ginger. Use a knife to move the lemon and ginger around, allowing the honey to reach the bottom. Seal the jar and store in the fridge.
For a cup of tea: spoon a few slices of lemon and ginger into a mug, along with some of the honey and juice. Add boiling water and cover for 5 minutes to steep. I drank this at least twice a day while sick with Covid. It’s probably my favorite home remedy of all time.
What Home Remedies Helped You?
So now I’m curious as to what others have used in this situation. Again, I am absolutely an advocate for using natural remedies WITH the vaccine. The vaccine made my symptoms mild enough to easily treat at home. What are some remedies you use successfully?
