Two of Macao’s top medical professionals have sought to clarify various Covid-19 issues during a phone-in hosted by Ou Mun Tin Toi, the Chinese-language radio channel of public broadcaster TDM.
Conde São Januário Hospital Western-medicine physician Liang Sung Wen said that people who have been infected with Covid-19 during the current outbreak should not worry about being infected with other Omicron variants in the short term, adding that even if they get infected with another variant, their risk of suffering severe symptoms would be “very low”.
People who have recovered from Covid-19 may test re-positive for the disease or be reinfected with it, but the two situations are “fundamentally different”, Liang said. He pointed out that the former refers to patients who still have viral residue in their body after self-healing even though the virus is not active anymore, so patients who tested re-positive for Covid-19 are not infectious or symptomatic, and they do not need special treatment if there are no new symptoms.
For the latter, Liang said, those who have recovered from the novel coronavirus have antibodies against the disease, which makes them immune to its various strains. Although some studies have indicated that the risk of reinfection with Covid-19 is not high within three to six months, Liang stressed that antibody levels will decrease over time.
As for people who are worried about myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) after recovering from Covid-19, Liang underlined that the virus can cause viral myocarditis, adding people should avoid strenuous exercise such as running, swimming, playing football and going to the gym for two weeks after recovering from Covid-19, which takes at least one to two weeks of recovery time for people who tested positive again. Instead, he added, they can choose to exercise gently.
Liang noted that the term “long Covid-19” refers to long-term symptoms lasting for up to three months after infection. Although the virus may remain in the body after infection, Liang pointed out, the symptoms will weaken with time.
Lam Chi Sang, the hospital’s traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner, said that Lianhua Qingwen Capsules, a TCM formulation that was distributed to the public with an anti-Covid-19 kit last month, was only suitable for people who are strong and with a “hot constitution”, adding that those with symptoms such as a sore throat, yellow phlegm and constipation after infection can take this medicine immediately after a self-diagnosis of Covid-19.
After recovery, Lam said, as the gastrointestinal function will be affected, convalescents should eat lightly and avoid “cooling or cold foods”, such as watermelon, cucumber, Chinese cabbage or starfruit.
Lam suggested Covid-19 convalescents who often coughed after testing negative for Covid-19 drink tangerine peel water or take Radix Pseudostellariae, (false starwort) and “tai zi shen” (“crown prince ginseng”) to regulate the body, The Macau Post Daily reported.
