My Covid Strategy - Mommy Greenest

Wah wah. After feeling a slight sore throat and stuffy nose and testing negative for three days, on the fourth I got the dreaded covid double line. The good news (besides the fact that “The Crown” just dropped four new episodes) is that I’m vaccinated and my symptoms are mild. According to the World Health Organization, cases of the illness are down globally, but in California, where I live, there’s been a slight uptick in the number of people testing positive over the last few weeks. Time to break out the masks!

Meanwhile, I’m N95’d up, pounding vitamins C and zinc twice daily, and — most importantly — taking daily (masked) long walks with my dog, crossing the street when I encounter others as an extra precaution. (And also because Lula scares people — maybe it’s the backpack?)

Vitamins for the win!

Why C and zinc? The National Institutes of Health reported that a study of non hospitalized patients with COVID-19 who received zinc and vitamin C achieved a 50% reduction in their symptom severity — although admittedly, this was a very small study.

For years I’ve been taking these two vitamins (in addition to my regular multi) when I feel any symptoms. I rarely get sick, and when I do my symptoms are usually mild. Admittedly, this is anecdotal evidence: There is no clinically measurable connection between these three facts and I’m not a doctor so please do your own research on remedies.

Just add exercise.

Why exercise? A study reported in Harvard Health showed that routine activity may help prevent people with COVID-19 from becoming seriously ill, and one from Kaiser showed that people who exercise are at a lesser risk of getting the virus in the first place.

So I’ll keep taking the extra vitamins, mask up, and stay quarantined until Monday, when the CDC says its safe to go back into the world, although I’ll wear my mask in closed public spaces for at least a few weeks. Plus, daily extra-long dog walks — at least until I can go back to yoga.