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Doctor reveals breathing technique that helped JK Rowling and intensive care patients recover from coronavirus

Doctor reveals breathing technique that helped JK Rowling and intensive care patients recover from coronavirus
Doctor reveals breathing technique that helped JK Rowling and intensive care patients recover from coronavirus

Dr Sarfaraz Munshi, a doctor at Queen's Hospital in Romford, has shared a technique that his colleague, Sue Elliot, relies upon to help patients battling coronavirus in intensive care.

In the video the doctor shows how to take deep breaths, hold the breaths and then cough, before lying flat on the stomach to allow air into the lungs.

The technique came to most people's attention when Harry Potter author JK Rowling shared the video on Twitter, revealing that using the instructions helped her to recover after she exhibited symptoms of Covid-19.

In the video Dr Sarfaraz Munshi says: "While you have an active infection you need to get a good amount of air into the bases of your lungs and the only way you are going to do that is by having a technique."

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"I want you guys to start dong this if you have the infection right from the beginning, if you want to do it before you even pick up the infection, good idea."

"Take five deep breaths in, hold the breath for five seconds, on the sixth deep breath you will take it in and do a big cough, covering your mouth."

"Do this twice and then lay flat on your bed (on your stomach) with a pillow in front of you and taking slightly deeper breaths for the next ten minutes."

"The majority of your lungs is on your back , not on your front, so by lying on your back you're closing off your smaller airways and this is not good during a period of infection, it's very important that you guys understand this."