The people who were severely ill with COVID-19 and are taking a long time to recover tend to be older people with the highest risk. Studies aren't definitive yet, but as many as one-third of the people who have had COVID, with symptoms or not, may still suffer more than a month after infection, and some people may have symptoms persisting for months or even years. People with this condition are sometimes called “long-haulers.” Long COVID can happen to anyone who has had COVID-19, even if the initial illness was mild, even if they didn't display any symptoms when they caught it. On death's door: A Tallahassee man's journey through long-haul COVID-19 symptoms Who can get long COVID? The symptoms range from being annoying to leaving the patient unable to work, drive or live a normal life. But a study of 3,762 participants in 56 countries, published July 15 in The Lancet, identified more than 200 symptoms across 10 organ systems associated with long COVID, including problems thinking clearly (brain fog), difficulty concentrating, depression, muscle pain, endless headaches, rapid heartbeat and intermittent fever. Watching the symptoms: These symptoms and risk factors may predict whether you could become a 'COVID-19 long hauler,' study suggests What are the most common long-term symptoms of COVID-19?Īccording to the CDC, the most common lasting symptoms are fatigue, shortness of breath, cough, joint pain and chest pain. 'I'm 29 years old and I feel like I'm 70': Long COVID patients continue to struggle for months, years Nir Goldstein, a pulmonologist and director for The Center for Post-COVID Care and Recovery at National Jewish Health in Denver. Patients who are academics and professors who forget what button to push on the washing machine to make it go," said Dr. "We have patients who were Olympians who struggle with basic activities of daily life. It can tricky to tell if long COVID symptoms are caused by the long-term effects of the virus, from the effects of hospitalization, from mental health effects from isolation, economic situations, grief, or combinations of all or any of these. "Some are minor, but other people may need continuing care and even readmission to the hospital.”īut even people who were never very sick with COVID-19 are getting long COVID symptoms.
“We're seeing a spectrum of symptoms after acute COVID-19, some of which would be expected after other critical illnesses," said respirologist Dr. According to the CDC, these effects can include severe weakness, problems with thinking and judgment, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). There's something called post-intensive care syndrome (PICS), which refers to health effects that begin when you're in an intensive care unit that can continue after you go home. Long COVID symptoms also can come from or be aggravated by the stress of ongoing medical problems and lengthy hospitalizations. According to an article from Harvard Medical School, some researchers suspect that COVID-19 infection can trigger long-lasting changes in the immune system or can affect the autonomic nervous system to impact heart rate, blood pressure, and sweating, among other things. COVID-19 also can cause autoimmune conditions where your immune system attacks healthy cells in your body by mistake, causing inflammation or tissue damage.īut there are no definite answers yet about what causes ongoing symptoms for some people. In a detailed, though not-yet-peer-reviewed study of 107 long-haul patients, about 20% to 25% showed lung damage, blood clots, heart failure or similar symptoms caused by their initial infection. What causes long COVID?ĬOVID-19 attacks practically every organ and system in the body, including the lungs, kidneys, brain, nervous system, liver, heart and others.
#Are covid patients coming back to life series
More: Is long COVID a syndrome or a series of coronavirus complications? What we know now about lingering symptoms. Long-haul COVID-19 can last months: But here’s why experts are optimistic about recovery. Long COVID isn't a condition or syndrome as much as multiple medical issues persisting or emerging after the initial infection, which makes it tougher to diagnose and tougher to deal with.
These conditions can present as different types and combinations of health problems for different lengths of time.
Whatever term you use, it means patients experience a wide range of new, returning, or ongoing health problems four or more weeks after first being infected with the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The National Institutes of Health call it post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC). Post-COVID syndrome, post-acute COVID-19, chronic COVID, long-term COVID.
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