That’s what we know about the long-term symptoms of Covid-19.

We’re now too familiar with the common symptoms of Covid-19: fever, dry cough, and fatigue. Some people also experience pain and soreness, sore throat, loss of taste and smell.

People suffering from mild illness may expect to get better A few weeks later.. However, there is plenty of evidence that this is not the case, and Covid-19 can leave a lasting impression on victims, as well as those most severely affected and the elderly and frail.

Superficially, Covid-19 is a lung disease. SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus can infect cells in the respiratory tract and cause life-threatening pneumonia.

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However, every condition affects multiple parts of the body. Ah An app that records daily symptoms Developed at King’s College, London tracks the course of over 4 million Covid-19 patients in the United Kingdom, Sweden and the United States.

In addition to the well-explained fever symptoms, loss of cough and odor are other effects such as fatigue, rash, headache, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. People who develop more serious illnesses Report again Confusion, severe muscle aches, coughs, shortness of breath.

About 20% Treatment of pneumonia in people infected with Covid-19 requires hospitalization and often requires oxygen support. In about 5% of cases, pneumonia will cause very serious patients to be hospitalized Intensive care for respiratory support..

Activates the immune system

People with severe Covid-19 appear to have altered immune responses even in the early stages of the disease. There are few circulating immune cells and we cannot control the virus efficiently, Exaggerated inflammatory response (“Cytokine storm)).

This is increasingly recognized as one of the major factors that make the illness of some patients very serious. This exaggerated response Immunosuppressant dexamethasone It remains the only cure that reduces mortality in people who require oxygen support or intensive care.

Patients with severe Covid-19 describe much more complex symptoms than are usually seen with pneumonia alone. This includes inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), which causes confusion and loss of consciousness. Up to 6% of severe patients can have a stroke..

Pathological studies and autopsy of patients who died of Covid-19 have revealed probable features of severe pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with extensive inflammation and scarring. ARDS occurs when there is a sudden, widespread inflammation of the lungs, which results in shortness of breath and bluish skin.

Uniquely, however, they also found that the virus appeared to directly cause inflammation of small capillaries or blood vessels in multiple organs, not just the lungs, Blood clots and damage to kidneys and heart..

Persistent symptoms are “irritating”

Anyone with a severe illness is expected to experience long-term consequences. However, Covid-19 seems to persist in mildly ill patients.

Social media is full of stories of survivors suffering from ongoing symptoms. Support group has appeared slack And Facebook Some have embraced thousands of people and some have been more than 60 days old. They call themselves “long-term” or “long-distance”.

One of the best known victims is Paul Garner, an infectious disease specialist at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in the UK. He was infected at the end of March and his symptoms continue. so Blog post published by British Medical Journal He explains:

…Steamy head, upset stomach, tinnitus (tinnitus), pins and needles, shortness of breath, dizziness, arthritis of the hands.

These symptoms have improved and have declined, but have not yet been resolved. He says:

…get annoyed. Many begin to doubt themselves…wondering if their partner is doing something psychologically wrong with them.

So far, only one peer-reviewed study has reported results regarding long-term symptoms of Covid-19 infection. 143 survivors from Rome.. Most of them did not require hospitalization and all were evaluated at least 60 days after infection. They reported poor quality of life in 44.1% of cases, including persistent fatigue symptoms (53.1%), shortness of breath (43.4%), arthralgia (27.3%), and chest pain (21.7%).

Survival of severe viral pneumonia or ARDS, especially after intensive care, is known to have long-term effects. Some survivors suffer from long-term shortness of breath and fatigue as a result of lung damage or other complications. Survivors can do it Suffer from depression (26-33%), anxiety (38-44%), or post-traumatic stress disorder (22-24%).

Long-term symptoms characteristic of other coronaviruses

Our experience with other coronaviruses should have warned us of these issues in advance. the first SARS coronavirus And that Middle East respiratory virus (MERS) causes serious illness in more patients than Covid-19, and a significant number of patients develop ARDS, requiring intensive care.

Canadian researchers Follow survivors Of the first SARS outbreak in Toronto. They found that sleep disorders, chronic fatigue, depression and myalgia were common. One third of survivors needed to change their work and lifestyle, and only 14% had no long-term symptoms. Similarly, Korean group of MERS survivors, 48% still experienced chronic fatigue after 12 months.

The Covid-19 pandemic is just beginning. A “long-term” survivor of symptoms is clearly not uncommon, and one must ask, investigate, and understand the symptoms and concerns. Clinical trials in the UK, Europe and the US Wanted now to do this..

As with many aspects of Covid-19, there’s a lot to learn and much to do.

This article Judith Neilson Journalism and Ideas Institute..

* Peter work Co-professor of Faculty of Medicine and Public Health University of Newcastle

This article is reissued from conversation Under Creative Commons license. Read Original work..