The big question everyone is asking right now is the new Covid virus, JN.1, a stomach bug? And how badly can JN.1 mess with your guts? The answer: scientists don’t know. However, there are things that are pointing to JN.1 being more of a gut virus than a respiratory issue, though symptoms of both can affect 1 person at the same time. I recently had the new Covid virus, JN.1, as did so many other people around me including my doctor, so we have been able to know what you should expect and how to help with some of the more difficult symptoms.
New Covid Virus Strand JN.1 Is Absolutely Terrible
Some people have been blessed enough to have no to mild symptoms with the newest Covid strand. However, myself, my doctor, her family, and many of her patients were not so blessed. What started out as, what we thought, was food poisoning or a stomach bug quickly into a month-long stomach bug of severe diarrhea. Some people did have vomiting alongside their diarrhea, while others had the respiratory symptoms. And the oddest thing is, despite being around my family, I was the only one who go it.
I originally thought it was my IBS-D acting up. But as it got worse and more painful I thought maybe I had gotten C.Diff again somehow. And after weeks I finally called the doctor who helped me figure out what was going on.
How Bad Are The JN.1 Symptoms?
Y’all, this post isn’t for the squeamish, you’ve been warned. I don’t know about everyone, but from what I heard from others, and what I’ve experienced, they suck. Diarrhea started slowly, a few times a day, and quickly became an all day ordeal. There were times I was in the bathroom about 15 times a day. I felt nauseated and could feel inflammation and swelling in my guts. I was in pain and I couldn’t even lay down because of the pain and discomfort…and laying down made me had to go instantly. And the gas was terrible. One, it was painful, and two, I had to run to the bathroom because I couldn’t trust a fart. I lost my appetite, and when I could eat I was instantly sick.
And others had the same thing. Generally, it seems, if you already had questionable gut health the symptoms were worse, but even in people with stomachs of steel, they had a lot of the same stomach problems.
How Long Did The JN.1 Covid Symptoms Last?
Mine lasted about a month… as did a lot of people’s. It seemed around the 3 week mark, according to my doctor, people started feeling better. Around the 3 week mark is when I started feeling human again, though I was still in the bathroom about 4-8 times a day. Around the 4 week mark is when I finally got 4 or less movements and then things got “normal.”
What Are The Actual Symptoms Of JN.1?
According to the news the symptoms are:
- Sore Throat
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Congestion
- Runny Nose
- Cough
- Fever Chills
- Diarrhea
So, Is Covid Becoming A Stomach Bug?
No one knows. The research isn’t in. However, there have been speculations that it is becoming a GI bug since there have been more complaints of stomach issues when infected with Covid recently and because scientists are finding the virus, in large amounts, in wastewater, particularly in Europe. The scientists believe it’s coming from the feces of people who had Covid and has helped scientists deduce that the new strand of Covid is more focused on the gut.
How Badly Can The New Covid Strand JN.1 Mess With Your Guts?
To be fair, all Covid strands can hurt your gut biome according the the NIH. However, yes, the new Covid strand can hurt your gut biome and gut permeability (which can cause leaky gut). One, it’s introducing a new virus that’s obviously harmful to the body, but teaches the immune system “hey we don’t like this guy” for next time. But, severe diarrhea and vomiting can cause an imbalance in your guts. It disrupts the gut biome and also reduces its diversity. This allows other bacteria, many we deem “bad” to flourish. And this can cause stomach pain, diarrhea, and chronic illnesses.
How Can You Deal With The JN.1 Symptoms?
Your doctor can probably help you manage your symptoms with this Covid virus JN.1. However, I didn’t know I had it at first and thought it was IBS because I didn’t even know stomach bugs could last this long. So I experimented with a lot of stuff. My doctor did offer me medication once I finally caved and made an appointment, but I decided to deal with it the natural way and allow my body to do it’s thing. Though I did intend on making another appointment if by the 4th week I was still ill. As the doctor said most people did take 3 weeks to start feeling better and it may take me a little longer considering the gut problems I already had.
1. Avoid Anti-Diarrheal Medications
First and foremost, do not take any anti-diarrheal meds until you are at least over the 2 week mark of having Covid virus JN.1. My doctor told me after 2 weeks you can take anti-diarrheal meds to slow things down so you can sleep or leave the house. But in general, unless it’s necessary, it’s better to let your body do what it needs to do.
These medications would include:
- Pepto
- Imodium
- Imotil
2. Eat A Very Light and Bland Diet
Eat lightly and a very bland diet. Most people will turn to the BRAT diet when they have diarrhea. I can’t have gluten and I’m allergic to bananas, and I don’t really eat rice. So that didn’t work for me. So, I ate plain baked chicken and a baked potato for about 2 weeks for dinner. I would sometimes swap out the chicken for plain salmon. If I did eat breakfast it would be an apple or a boiled egg or 2 scrambled eggs.
Is that a lot of food? No. But I wasn’t super hungry and it’s better that you don’t force yourself to eat when your body doesn’t want to. But I was getting enough and it kept the gas and pain to the minimum. I did try to eat 1 greasy and spiced meal during all this, and I was in the bathroom all night and felt terrible. So keep it light and bland.
3. Drink Plenty Of Water and Electrolytes
When you are having diarrhea and vomiting you lose water. Top that with not eating a lot, you have to make up the loss of fluid somehow. Sip water and carbonated water to stay hydrated and help with nausea.
Propel is fairly great for electrolytes. If you can handle Pedialyte that’s also a good option. You can also drink diluted Gatorade, Liquid IV. There are so many different options, but electrolytes are must when you’re losing a lot of water. To help, you can also add a small pinch of salt to your water in the morning. I know everyone is scared of salt, but salt is great for you as long as it is the right salt like:
- Celtic Sea Salt
- Redmond Real Salt
- Saltverk Icelandic Sea Salt
Any salt that still has trace minerals in it will work. But regular table salt isn’t going to have the same effect, though it is better than nothing.
4. Probiotics Are Your Friend
Probiotics are important for your body. And many of us have gut biomes that are a mess. However, when you are having a lot of diarrhea and vomiting from a gut bug, probiotics can help get things lined up. You don’t want to go crazy with these those, because too many probiotics can also cause diarrhea. I was taking 1-2 probiotics a day and then I began adding them to my diet through fermented food.
- Florastor– I was taking 1 of these every day for the first couple of weeks as this is a great strand that helps keep bugs away, antibiotics can’t hurt (I wasn’t on them), and can help firm things up.
- Suja Immunity– I only took one of these when my stomach was particularly upset. It does have probiotics in it, but the turmeric, pepper, and ginger helped soothe my stomach.
- Renew Life Extra Care Probiotic Capsules (30 Billion CFU)- I was taking this one every 2 days for the first couple of weeks. It helps balance the digestive system and replaces lacto and bifido bacteria you may be losing.
- Akkermansia– I only took this one once per week. I was on this one thanks to my doctor and had some leftover and took it once a week to try to replace some of the bacteria I built up previously.
- Fermented Food– Once I had fermented food available I stopped taking Renew and Akkermansia. I was drinking fermented lemonade, eating fermented carrots and apple sauce. I was able to enjoy this from this company Fermented Fairy. It’s expensive, but it helped a lot. Even helped my husband who was dealing with Gastritis.
Probiotic Notes:
Like always talk to your doctor before starting probiotics or any other supplement, but these are what I personally did when I have the Covid virus JN.1, but I’m no doctor. And sometimes you will need to play around with how much you’re taking. Especially if you’ve had a GI map so you know where your stomach gut biome is.
5. Supplements Can Help With Pain, Discomfort, and Help Heal Damage Done To Your Gut Biome
There are so many great supplements out there that can help when you’re feeling icky and when your gut biome and permeability becomes an issue. These again are the supplements I took, mainly because I had most on hand, but I also bought a couple.
Supplement Notes:
Before trying any of these supplements, please talk to your doctor. I’m not a doctor. These are what helped me personally and things you can ask your doctor about if you’re suffering for weeks and weeks thanks to this Covid virus strand, JN.1.
- Multivitamin– When you’re having diarrhea and vomiting, you aren’t absorbing the vitamins and nutrients you need. A multivitamin can help.
- PhytoBiome– I got this from Designs for Health when I was rebuilding my guts with direction from my doctor. This supplement is a blend of fruits and veggies that have a lot of polyphenols in it to help feed the good bacteria in your guts (prebiotics).
- Tri-Butyrin– Got this from the same place and had it left over, but this supplement helps with gut health, immune function, and supports gut permeability.
- IgGI Shield– This is one I’m still currently taking and I think is one that helped a lot. This tastes terrible, but helps support the cells of your intestinal lining to promote a good inflammatory response to the cells of the GI tract. It supports the intestinal barrier and helps with immune health. Also…it firms things up.
- IBGard– This is another important one that helped. I thought my IBS was acting up so I wanted to fix it. Turns out it wasn’t, but IBGard helped with a lot of side effects like gas, bloating, and discomfort. It’s slow releasing peppermint oil. IBGard is a little pricy, but you can find similar items for a lot less money.
- GI Microb-X– (Do not take this unless you talk to your doctor.) This finally came in when I was ill. I’d been waiting weeks because it got lost in the mail, because my doctor thought I should take it since I had so many bad bacteria in my guts (found on the GI-Map) and while this causes it’s own stomach issues, the diarrhea stopped as soon as I started taking it. This is a botanical blend of extracts that targets and attacks a lot of bad bacteria.
6. Rest As Much As You Can
This stomach bug is gonna take it out of you. You’re struggling to stay hydrated, you’re pooping out everything you eat and not absorbing nutrients, mentally you’re drained, it can wear you out. And to get better you need sleep. I know we live busy lives, but the more you can rest, the quicker you recover. It may be hard. I kept waking up to go and then I’d keep going so I’d only get 2-4 hours of sleep. But I would nap during the day. And laying down was too hard, so I was sleeping sitting up for the first 2 weeks.
Find a comfy spot and sleep. I know there is a saying “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” But when you’re tired and sick…sleep. Don’t be stubborn. Find a way.
7. Move Around
Didn’t you just say rest? Yes, yes I did. But you can’t lay down for a month. And if you have painful gas that you can’t get moving like I did, moving can help. I’m not saying go run a marathon…let’s be honest if you tried that with this Covid virus JN.1 bug you’d probably poop yourself, but just moving around a little bit can help move that gas through and help you get rid of it.
8. How To Take Care Of A Sore Booty
Since the Covid virus JN.1 can make you poop…a lot…and explosively… you may be wiping a lot. No matter how soft your TP is, it can make your booty sore. Plus, if you’re using wipes, at some point you start wiping away all your booty hole’s natural oils. That means friction burns, soreness, and even fissures if you’re not careful. Also, if you have hemorrhoids… they can flare. I won’t lie…I was in bad pain for a while so I thought it should be discussed. So, what do you do?
- Don’t wipe, dab. Once you realize you’re getting sure, or even before, start dabbing your booty. You don’t have to wipe so vigorously.
- Use a bidet or rinse yourself in the shower (if it’s liquid and not chunky) if you want to avoid soreness after pooping for the 1000th time or if you’re already getting sore. Make sure you bleach your bathtub when you’re finished to prevent anyone else getting any germs or allowing them to spread. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before rinsing or scrubbing it out.
- Beaudreux’s Butt Paste- Is this butt paste for babies? Yes. Can it help calm an angry booty. Yes. I suggest using gloves.
- Petroleum jelly or Aquaphor- Using gloves you can dab this stuff on your booty hole as well. It gives it a protective layer from the poo and can help keep it moisturized.
- Preparation H- If the chronic diarrhea and wiping is making your external hemorrhoids flare us, preparation H can work. I didn’t use this, but I know it is available.
- J.R. Watkins Petro Carbo Salve- My Gramma suggested this to me, but using a glove you can add this to your hemorrhoids (external, not internal) and it will help calm them down. It does sting for a second, but it did help. THIS IS NOT THE PRODUCTS INTENDED USE- so ask your doctor before using as I am not a doctor.
9. Pray
Laying hands and praying for healing is something we are meant to do. And sometimes we are healed instantly, and sometimes God wants us to learn from what we are dealing with. And in this case, I think it was the latter. I experimented with so much to find what worked and what didn’t that I feel like I can help guide others who may be dealing with this ridiculous Covid virus to help them feel better or at least get them talking to their doctor to create a plan so maybe they won’t feel terrible for a month like I and others did. And if anything, praying helped me mentally. This was mentally taxing and upsetting and God kept me calm through most of it though there were days I just wanted to cry. God always had me.
The Take Away From All Of This
I know this is a lot. I’ve suggested a lot and said a lot. But all in all, to take care of yourself while you have Covid virus JN.1 you need to:
- Eat well, but eat bland and simple food
- Replace bacteria you’re losing in your guts
- Take a good multivitamin
- Eat foods or take supplements that will help repair the damage done
I know a lot of the supplements I suggest are expensive. But you can eat a lot of food that will do similar things like:
- Berries
- Real Bone Broth
- Raw Dairy
- Fermented Foods
- Healthy Oils (fish oil, olive oil)
- Getting rid of all inflammatory foods and foods you have allergies/intolerances as well
Taking Care Of Yourself
Whether it’s the Covid virus JN.1 or any other illness, you should always take care of yourself. Doctors are important in keeping us healthy, but you understand your body best. It’s your body and often times it’ll tell us what it needs. And when it doesn’t it is up to us to nurture and take care of it with good food, good fluids, and lots of rest. I hope and pray you all stay healthy and well and if you’re sick that you feel better.
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Have you had the Covid virus JN.1? How bad was it for you? How did you deal with the symptoms?
