A variety of treatments to help Long Covid patients rediscover the joy of living

In Luxembourg, more than 200 symptoms of Long Covid have been listed. These symptoms are felt at the time of the Covid-19 infection and for some, they do not disappear.

The spa resort of Mondorf-les-Bains takes care of these special patients with several types of treatment. Our colleagues from RTL 5 Minutes went to meet Carlo Diederich, Health and Spa Director, and Carine Ansiaux, dietician in charge of the olfactory workshop.

Different patients, different symptoms

Treatments offered at the spa resort range from physiotherapy sessions to psychological follow-up and workshops to regain taste and smell, Diederich explains. But is it possible to cure Long Covid? "This is something that is currently very, very complicated to say," Diederich acknowledges. In Mondorf, as well as at other centres, the main focus is on treating the symptoms, which can differ greatly from patient to patient. This means that the programmes are very personalised experiences," Diederich states. As a result, the rate of recovery is different for each patient.

According to Diederich, the first results "differ from patient to patient". There are patients who have good results already in the second or third week. There are also patients who, at the end of the treatment, see that it is starting to get better… but that their symptoms will nevertheless still last.

Carine Ansiaux, in charge of the olfactory workshop, confides that it is motivating to see that the treatments put in place work. Even minor progress reassures these patients who have not seen any improvement for a long time.

Unfortunately, some patients are not getting better. There are some who at the end of the treatment report that they have seen very, very little improvement. In this case "they are redirected to another centre or maybe there are still more specific medical treatments that need to be carried out", Diederich explains.

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Rediscovering the joy of living

Losing your sense of taste and smell can be very depressing and even dangerous. Ansiaux shares the example of a patient who had forgotten her cake in the oven and did not notice the burnt smell.

In Mondorf, a very special treatment has been set up to help these patients regain their sense of taste and smell: an olfactory workshop. Patients are trained to regain their lost senses using a "flavour wheel", a garden of aromatic plants and scented samples. Lemon, eucalyptus, clove, cinnamon… Strong smells to "wake up" their olfactory memory. Focusing on their other senses helps to reassure them and fill the gap.

On the other hand, the team makes sure to use a maximum of four or five foods because otherwise, patients risk "a saturation of the receptors", which would be "rather counterproductive".

The nurses use "sticks" of different smells that they make them smell, "but never blindly". The aim is to awaken the memory of a smell, a taste, or a texture.

The patients come to Mondorf for their treatments from Monday to Friday for an average of two and a half hours a day, with olfactory rehabilitation taking place twice a week. However, the team invites the patients to do the rehabilitation twice a day at home as well.

Loneliness is also a particularly serious ssue for the patients. They often feel misunderstood by their relatives and even by the doctors.

Meeting people in the same situation as them is very beneficial for these patients. They find people who understand what they are going through and realise that they are not alone. Ansiaux reports that new friend groups are actually formed through these different workshops.

About 100 patients have already been treated at the Mondorf spa resort since the treatment programme was launched.

Video report by RTL 5 Minutes (in French):