by Christine Tucker

Dr. David Pollack and his team at Pollack Wellness in Commack, New York, have been inundated with people experiencing post-COVID syndromes—also known as long COVID. “For some, the symptoms are respiratory. However, for most, the issues revolve around autoimmune, digestive, neurological and skin conditions,” he shares, adding that he has also seen a fair share of strange, unexplained symptoms. 

As more patients with long COVID came to the clinic, Pollack’s team began noticing symptom themes, based on when a patient’s COVID-19 infection occurred. “Many people who got long COVID from an infection in December 2021 to January 2022 had severe digestive issues, which often developed into an autoimmune disorder,” he explains. “Infections from earlier in 2021 often created heart-based symptoms and skin conditions. Certainly, this is not all-inclusive or comprehensive, but there seems to be some association with the time period and the preponderance of symptoms produced in long COVID cases.” 

While Pollack can’t help but ponder the true origins of these conditions, he and his team stay focused on helping their patients overcome this myriad of health challenges. 

“Fundamentally what has occurred from COVID-19 in long COVID cases is like that of rare reactions to other viruses and infections, just at a much more massive and unusual scale,” he explains. “Historically we have seen that after certain infections—and even extremely stressful events—some people develop serious medical conditions. It’s important to figure out what exactly has been injured in the body. These long COVID symptoms are not COVID. They are the left-over damage and reaction that has resulted.” 

After assessing what has been damaged in the body, Pollack determines whether there is evidence of an autoimmune reaction. “If an immune response is involved, the symptoms often become more dramatic and complicated,” he says. “Lastly, and very commonly, is the reactivation of other latent viruses in the body.” 

In Pollack’s clinic, they are seeing chronic persistent and novel reactivations of several infections including the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV6), Lyme disease, and many others. “Much of the time these viruses were already present in the body. However, because of the COVID infection they became reactivated, often more severe than the original infection.” 

One of the most important factors to successful treatment with long COVID, according to Pollack, is to help people overcome these infections while simultaneously making progress with healing any damage or autoimmune reactions. “We often combine antiviral herbal treatments with acupuncture and detoxification therapies to overcome these infections. It’s taking longer for people to respond to these therapies, but they are responding. Pre-COVID, helping someone with EBV or a similar virus, on average, took four to six weeks to see significant responses versus post-COVID where it is taking three or more months to see those changes.” 

Pollack affirms that combination approaches to help patients regain their health are making the biggest impact in his clinic. “Often, we combine enzyme therapy, herbal nutraceuticals, Chinese Medicine Therapies, bodywork, emotional release, detoxification, cold-laser therapies, and more,” he says. “Being persistent has shown great results.” 

Two years ago, when Pollack and his team first started seeing these types of cases—the wild skin rashes, severe digestive issues, fertility problems, and more—he wasn’t sure if they would respond to treatment. “I’m relieved to say people are getting better and back to their lives. There was a lot to figure out. If you are someone you know is suffering from post-COVID syndromes, let them know there is hope and they can get better.” 

Pollack Wellness is located at 66 Commack Rd., #204, in Commack, NY. For more information, call 631-861-HEAL (4325) or visit PollackWellness.com.