Long Covid victim discusses daily impact of virus
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
The NHS says long Covid, depending on how long you have ongoing symptoms for, can be called one of two things. The first is “ongoing symptomatic Covid” which is where your symptoms continue for more than four weeks. If your symptoms last for longer than 12 weeks, it will then be called “post-Covid syndrome”.
The NHS notes that how long it takes to recover from COVID-19 is different for everybody, but many people feel better in a few days or weeks.
The health body explains that the chances of having long-term symptoms does not seem to be linked to how ill you are when you first get COVID-19, as “people who had mild symptoms at first can still have long-term problems”.
It says musculoskeletal symptoms, such as joint pain and muscle pain, are among a number of common possible long Covid signs.
Others can experience an ongoing cough, chest tightness, fatigue, brain fog and a number of other signs.
The NHS advice on long Covid says people who are recovering from an illness often report feeling a little better each day, and it can take time to fully recover.
It says: “With Long Covid you may feel fatigued after activities which were not previously difficult to cope with and this can affect your quality of life and ability to function as you did previously. This is more likely to occur at the end of the day or at the end of a busy week.
“Sometimes people experience a number of other symptoms worsening after physical stress. This could include brain fog, muscle aches or headaches alongside increased fatigue.
“Clinicians may call these ‘post exertional symptoms’. They are not in themselves dangerous but can affect your quality of life.”
The Mayo Clinic says although COVID-19 is seen as a disease that primarily affects the lungs, it can also damage many other organs, including the heart, kidneys and the brain.
It states: “Organ damage may lead to health complications that linger after COVID-19 illness.
“In some people, lasting health effects may include long-term breathing problems, heart complications, chronic kidney impairment, stroke and Guillain-Barre syndrome — a condition that causes temporary paralysis.
“Some adults and children experience multisystem inflammatory syndrome after they have had COVID-19. In this condition, some organs and tissues become severely inflamed.”
The organisation adds much is still unknown about how COVID-19 will affect people over time, but research is ongoing.
It states: “Researchers recommend that doctors closely monitor people who have had COVID-19 to see how their organs are functioning after recovery.”
There is also some suggestion that a vaccine can help reduce long Covid symptoms.
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) says: “In research published in October 2021, the Office for National Statistics used data from the UK Coronavirus Infection Survey to look at the association between COVID-19 vaccination and long Covid in people who already had it before the vaccine.”
The researchers found that the first vaccine was associated with an initial 13 percent decrease in the likelihood of self-reported long Covid.
The second dose was associated with a nine percent decrease in the likelihood of self-reported long Covid, relative to having received the first vaccination, and there was statistical evidence of a sustained improvement after this.”
Indeed, the CDC says: “The best way to prevent post-Covid conditions is to prevent COVID-19 illness.
“For people who are eligible, getting vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as you can is the best way to prevent getting COVID-19 and can also help protect those around you.”
Source: Read Full Article