How to Recover From COVID-19 at Home

If you come down with mild or moderate COVID-19, you probably know that you need to stay home to avoid infecting other people. But you may not know all the things you can do to battle the virus.

Over-the-counter drugs and nondrug interventions can help you cope with COVID-19 symptoms, which are typically some mix of runny nose, headache, fatigue, sneezing, sore throat, cough, shortness of breath, muscle or body aches, fever or chills, or other issues.

If you are at high risk of becoming extremely sick or even dying from COVID-19 — because you are elderly, have obesity, or have a medical condition like diabetes, for example — you may be eligible for prescription antiviral treatments.

The first thing you should do if you think you have COVID-19: Confirm with a test, since the symptoms of COVID-19 can resemble those of other conditions like the common cold or seasonal allergies. If you test positive and especially if you are at high risk for complications, call your doctor.

“We don’t want people to suffer in silence, at home and possibly alone,” says Paul Pottinger, MD, an infectious disease doctor at the University of Washington School of Medicine (UW Medicine) in Seattle.

Read on to learn what happens during a COVID-19 medical appointment, how to cope with symptoms using a variety of over-the-counter drugs and home remedies, and whether you might be a candidate for prescription medication that may help you get over the illness quicker and prevent a mild infection from turning serious.

Note: The following are signs and symptoms of severe COVID-19 that should prompt you to seek immediate emergency care, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

• Trouble breathing
• Persistent pain or pressure in your chest
• New confusion
• Inability to wake up or stay awake
• Pale, gray, or blue lips, skin, or nail beds (depending on skin tone)

What Happens When You Visit a Doctor for COVID-19

“If someone is really sick with symptoms of COVID-19, an in-person assessment is the best way to determine the course of treatment. There are certain vital sign measurements that just can’t happen via Zoom or a telephone call,” says Dr. Pottinger.

Doctors generally do the following during a COVID-19 evaluation.

Check your vital signs. In addition to measuring your heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature, physicians will assess your respiratory rate, which is how many breaths you take per minute. In a healthy person that would be around 12 to 16, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. A respiratory rate of 23 or greater is a red flag, per UW Medicine.

Doctors may also evaluate how well your lungs are working by using a pulse oximeter. This device clips on a body part such as a finger or earlobe to measure oxygen saturation (oxygen level) in the blood, according to John Hopkins Medicine.

Inquire about your age and medical history. To determine your risk of becoming extremely ill, your doctor will ask your age. “That’s because people over age 65 tend to have a more severe course of COVID-19 and have a relatively higher risk of dying as a result of the infection,” Pottinger explains.

A physician will also ask about any underlying medical conditions you have as well as your health history. “For example, is your immune system normal or is it reduced in some way due to a disease process or treatment of a condition that you have?” says Pottinger.

Per the CDC, the following conditions raise your risk of developing severe COVID-19:

• Cancer
• Chronic kidney disease
• Chronic liver disease
• Chronic lung diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma (moderate to severe), interstitial lung disease, and pulmonary hypertension
• Cystic fibrosis
• Dementia or other neurological conditions
• Diabetes (type 1 or type 2)
• Disabilities, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and Down syndrome
• Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathies, and possibly hypertension
• HIV infection
• Immunocompromised state, including a weakened immune system caused by prolonged use of corticosteroids or other immune-weakening medicines.
• Mental health conditions, including depression and schizophrenia spectrum disorders
• Overweight and obesity
• Physical inactivity
• Pregnancy
• Sickle cell disease or thalassemia
• Smoking, currently or in the past
• Solid organ or blood stem cell transplant
• Stroke or cerebrovascular disease
• Substance use disorders
• Tuberculosis

Conduct a physical examination. Your doctor will listen to your heartbeat and breathing, and ask about your symptoms, including how intense they are and when they started. COVID-19 has a broad range of symptoms — everything from diarrhea to new loss of taste and smell — so you should keep track and tell your doctor about all of them, even if you aren’t sure they are related to COVID-19.

Your doctor will use their clinical judgment, in conjunction with lab work, to determine if you need to be admitted to the hospital. “It’s hard to describe, but it’s part of the practice of medicine to identify a patient who is just not going to thrive when they go home,” says Pottinger.

Home Remedies and Natural Treatments for Mild or Moderate COVID-19

The following strategies can be part of an overall treatment plan:

• Difficulty Breathing If you are having symptoms of mild or moderate dyspnea (difficulty breathing), schedule an appointment with your doctor. They may recommend that you lie prone, or facedown, rather than flat on your back.
• Shortness of Breath If being short of breath makes you anxious, your doctor may advise breathing exercises that can help. UC San Diego Health created a video that details how to perform a simple breathing technique to help with COVID-19-related stress.
• Cough For help managing a cough, try cough drops, Vicks VapoRub, and hot water or hot tea with lemon.
• Dehydration To reduce the risk of dehydration, drink fluids regularly and keep eating. Aim for at least 64 ounces (8 cups or about 2 liters) of water every day. If you are sweating a lot from a fever, you may want to supplement water with an electrolyte-containing sports drink such as Gatorade, according to Geisinger Health System.
• Eating Issues To make eating easier, opt for foods that are easy to digest and relatively bland, such as chicken noodle or vegetable broth soup, avocados, or toast. Good nutrition will aid your recovery.

RELATED: 11 Foods and Drinks to Help Soothe COVID-19 Symptoms

A study published in 2021 in Food Science & Nutrition found that for people with mild or moderate infections, strategies like staying physically active, sleeping seven hours per day or more, drinking 2 liters or more of water per day, and consuming more plant-based proteins “can provide a significant role in early and safe recovery from COVID-19.”

Over-the-Counter Medications for COVID-19

The University of Chicago Medicine says some over-the-counter medications may improve symptoms of COVID-19.

• Fever, Body Aches, or Headache Try acetaminophen (Tylenol), naproxen (Aleve), or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) — assuming you don’t have any other conditions or allergies that would make these drugs risky for you.
• Congestion If you are very congested, short-term use of a nasal decongestant such as a nasal spray may help unblock your nose and open your sinuses, says Pottinger.

Antiviral Prescription Medications

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved one prescription antiviral treatment administered orally as pills: Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir tablets and ritonavir tablets). The agency has also granted emergency-use authorization to Lagevrio (molnupiravir). These treatments work differently but are both used outside of a hospital and in individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 and are at high risk for COVID-19 complications.

Paxlovid

Paxlovid can be used to treat mild or moderate COVID-19 in adults and children ages 12 and older who weigh at least 88 pounds, have tested positive for COVID-19, and are at risk of severe illness or death from the disease, according to the FDA.

Patients take three pills (two tablets of nirmatrelvir and one tablet of ritonavir) twice a day for five days, for a total of 30 pills. Treatment must begin within five days of the onset of symptoms. Research has shown that when taken in this time frame, Paxlovid can help you get over COVID-19 faster.

Nirmatrelvir helps prevent the novel coronavirus from replicating, while ritonavir slows the breakdown of nirmatrelvir to extend its presence and maintain its concentration in the body.

Paxlovid may not be a good fit for people with poorly managed or undiagnosed HIV, as well as those with severe liver or kidney disease. Paxlovid also may interfere with various medications, which the FDA lists on its website.

Side effects include the following, according to the FDA:

• High blood pressure
• Muscle aches
• Gastrointestinal issues like diarrhea
• Loss of taste

Molnupiravir

Molnupiravir is authorized for use only in adults who test positive for COVID-19 and are at risk of complications or death from the disease, notes the FDA.

Four pills are taken twice a day for five days, for a total of 40 pills. It works by causing a fatal genetic mutation in the coronavirus, according to an article published in 2021 in Nature.

Like Paxlovid, molnupiravir should be taken within five days of COVID-19 symptom onset.

The FDA recommends the drug only when Paxlovid and remdesivir (see below) are not accessible or clinically appropriate.

The agency advises pregnant women to avoid molnupiravir because some animal studies have found that the drug may cause birth defects.

Side effects of molnupiravir may include the following, per the FDA:

• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Diarrhea

Be sure to talk to your doctor about any health conditions you have and any medications you’re taking if you’re prescribed Paxlovid or molnupiravir.

Remdesivir

Remdesivir (Veklury), the antiviral infusion medication that doctors have used to treat people hospitalized due to COVID-19 since early in the pandemic, is an option for people recovering from COVID-19 at home, too.

In 2022, the FDA expanded eligibility for remdesivir to adults, children, and babies with mild or moderate COVID-19 who are at high risk of severe illness.

Healthcare providers administer remdesivir with an IV in sessions that take place over three consecutive days, requiring patients to make repeat visits to a hospital or outpatient clinic.

Talk to your primary medical team about whether you are an appropriate candidate for remdesivir and whether the benefits outweigh the risks given your health status.

Debunked or Unproven COVID-19 Treatments: Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin

Social media continues to spread unsupported or unhelpful claims about COVID-19 treatments, most prominently about hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin. “There is no evidence to support their use. There is actually quite a bit of evidence to show that they don’t help,” Pottinger says.

Hydroxychloroquine A meta-analysis including data from 11 clinical trials found no difference in hospitalization rates between people taking hydroxychloroquine and those taking a placebo, with the results published in March 2023 in the journal Clinical and Translational Science.

Ivermectin This drug is commonly used to treat or prevent parasites in animals, and ivermectin tablets are approved at specific doses to treat some parasitic worms in humans. A clinical trial concluded that ivermectin does not prevent mild or moderate COVID-19 from becoming severe. Research published in May 2023 found that treatment with ivermectin didn’t keep people with COVID-19 out of the hospital.

Taking large doses of ivermectin is dangerous, as is using medication intended for animals. Animal ivermectin products are very different from those approved for humans, per the CDC.