AUSTIN, Texas — The most common symptoms of COVID-19 right now are dizziness, fatigue, brain fog, sleep distribution, anxiety and loss of taste and smell. That’s according to Dr. Michael Brode, medical director of UT Austin’s Post-Acute COVID-19 Program.
Here's what he had to say about different symptoms:
Dizziness
For dizziness he recommends taking 15 seconds to stand up, sit down or to change positions at all. He said taking it easy will not just help with dizziness but also fatigue.
The doctor said getting over the counter melatonin could also help with regulating your sleep cycle which will help overall recovery.
Anxiety
As for anxiety, Brode said to consider mindfulness and to speak with a counselor. He said a lot of people report increased anxiety during the recovery period. Brode added that inflammation from the virus, especially on the brain, can be severe and common.
Loss of taste and smell
Finally, for loss of taste and smell, Brode said studies show that 99% of people regain their taste and smell within a year. He said most people will get it back much earlier and some are only losing it for a couple of days. If someone has lost their taste or smell for more than four weeks, he recommends smell retraining, which is physical therapy for the nose. He said you can look up online tutorials. He said you can also ask your doctor to prescribe you a nasal spray.
If you’ve been having symptoms for more than a month, he suggested seeing your primary care physician. If you’re not getting better by three months, then you may want to consider a specialty clinic.
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