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If you have tested positive for COVID-19 and are experiencing mild symptoms, you can likely recover at home. Be sure to let your health care team know right away if you tested positive with an at-home antigen test. If you are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19, there are medications and treatments that may help.
Dr. Melanie Swift, a Mayo Clinic preventive medicine physician, offers tips to self-care at home with COVID-19.
Journalists: Broadcast-quality video (0:59) is in the downloads at the end of this post. Please courtesy: "Mayo Clinic News Network." Read the script.
You've tested positive for COVID-19, but feel like you have a cold or flu.
"Most cases of COVID-19 actually resolve without needing any kind of prescription medication or advanced care," Dr. Swift says.
Dr. Melanie Swift says you should stay home for at least five days and isolate from others in your household during this time.
You might experience fever, chills, sore throat and muscle pain.
"It's simple things, getting rest, staying really well-hydrated," she says. "And sometimes you may want to take a Tylenol or acetaminophen for symptoms of fever."
Medications, like Paxlovid, are available for people with certain risk factors, so check with your doctor right away to see if you are eligible.
"If you find that you're having trouble breathing, you need to get medical attention. Chest pain or pressure in the chest is another reason to stop with the self-care and get medical attention," says Dr. Swift.
Read more:
- Helpful guidelines if you test positive or negative for COVID-19.
- COVID-19, RSV and flu–season of respiratory infections.
- RSV season: What parents need to know.
For the safety of its patients, staff and visitors, Mayo Clinic has strict masking policies in place. Anyone shown without a mask was recorded prior to COVID-19 or recorded in an area not designated for patient care, where social distancing and other safety protocols were followed.
