A lot of people who contracted COVID-19 tend to recover completely within a few weeks but some people (even those who have had passive versions of the disease) continue to suffer symptoms after recovering initially.
These people are characterized as “long haulers” and the conditions they are in can be called post-COVID-19 syndrome or “long COVID-19”.
This health issue is occasionally referred to as a post-COVID-19 ailment. It is generally considered to be an effect of COVID-19 that continues for more than four weeks after one has been diagnosed with the COVID-19 virus.
Older people and people that have serious medical conditions are the ones that would most likely experience lingering COVID-19 symptoms, but even young, contrarily healthy people can feel unwell for weeks to months after getting infected. Some very common signs and symptoms that last over time include:
Fatigue
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
Cough
Joint pain
Chest pain
Memory, concentration or sleep problems
Muscle pain or headache
Fast or pounding heartbeat
Loss of smell or taste
Depression or anxiety
Fever
Dizziness when you stand
Deteriorated symptoms after physical or mental activities
Effects of long Covid
Organ damage
Even though COVID-19 is seen as a disease that mainly affects the lungs, it can also damage many other organs like the heart, the kidneys, and the brain. Organ damage may lead to health complications that prevail after COVID-19 illness. In some people, lasting health effects may include long-term breathing problems, heart complications, chronic kidney impairment, stroke, and a condition that causes temporary paralysis.
Some individuals experience multisystem inflammatory syndrome after they have had COVID-19. This is a situation where some of the individual’s organs and tissues become severely inflamed.
Blood vessel problems
COVID-19 makes blood cells more likely to clump up and form clots. Even though large clots can cause heart attacks and strokes, much of the heart damage caused by COVID-19 is assumed to stem from very small clots that block tiny blood vessels (capillaries) in the heart muscle.
Some other body parts affected by blood clots include the lungs, legs, liver, and kidneys. COVID-19 weakens the blood vessels and causes them to leak, which leads to potentially long-lasting problems with the liver and kidney.
Mood and fatigue
Individuals who have severe symptoms of COVID-19 have often been treated in a hospital’s intensive care unit with mechanical assistance such as ventilators to breathe. Simply surviving this ordeal can make the individual more likely to later develop post-traumatic stress syndrome, depression, and anxiety.
Since it is difficult to predict long-term outcomes from the new COVID-19 virus, scientists are looking at the long-term effects as seen in related viruses, such as the virus that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
Many individuals who have recovered from SARS suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome, a complex disorder indicated by extreme fatigue that worsens with physical or mental activity but doesn’t improve with adequate rest. The same may be true for individuals who have had COVID-19.
Other Unknown Long Term Effects
There is a lot of unspecified information about how COVID-19 will impact civilization within a period, but studies are being carried out. Researchers suggest that doctors closely monitor individuals who have had COVID-19 to see how their organs are functioning after recovery.
Many big medical centers are starting specialized clinics to care for people who have chronic symptoms or related illnesses after they recover from COVID-19. Support groups are accessible as well.
It’s crucial to remember that most people who have COVID-19 recover quickly but the potentially long-lasting problems from COVID-19 make it even more crucial to curtailing the spread of COVID-19 by following all safety precautions. Precautions include wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, avoiding crowds, getting a vaccine when available, and keeping your hands clean.
In conclusion, always check out for Covid Info and stay in tune with the Latest Updates on Covid UK or your region.
