Long COVID

Exploring the Enigma of Long COVID Syndrome: An Ongoing Health Puzzle

In simple terms, Long COVID-19 or post-COVID-19 Syndrome is a condition in which individuals continue to experience symptoms weeks or even months after their initial COVID-19 infection. These symptoms can persist despite the individual testing negative for the virus and often affect various body systems, leading to a wide range of clinical manifestations.[1][2]

Long COVID Syndrome presents a wide array of symptoms that vary greatly from person to person. These symptoms can significantly affect one’s quality of life, making even basic daily tasks difficult. Commonly reported symptoms of Long COVID include[3]:

  • Fatigue: tiredness and lack of energy that persists despite rest and sleep[4]
  • Shortness of Breath: difficulty breathing even with minimal activity[5]
  • Cognitive Impairment: difficulty thinking and concentrating, memory issues.
  • Joint and Muscle Pain: Prolonged body aches and discomfort in joints and muscles.
  • Chest Pain: chest pain and heart palpitations.
  • Loss of Smell and Taste: Altered or diminished sense of smell and taste.
  • Headaches: Frequent headaches.
  • Mood Disorders: Anxiety, depression, and other mood disturbances.
  • Gastrointestinal Issues: Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and other digestive problems.[6]

Diagnosing and managing Long COVID syndrome can be challenging due to its wide variety of symptoms. This can lead to difficulty in distinguishing it from other illnesses. To accurately diagnose this condition, a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals, including doctors, physiotherapists, psychologists, and other specialists, work together to provide comprehensive support to patients. The current approach is to alleviate symptoms and assist with rehabilitation, which involves considering the patient’s medical history, and the duration of their symptoms, and ruling out any other potential causes.

If you’re experiencing fatigue and weak muscles, you can undergo graded exercise programs and physical therapy. Additionally, cognitive rehabilitation may be necessary if you’re struggling with your thinking or memory. Your mental health is equally important, so don’t hesitate to seek psychological support if you’re feeling down or anxious due to your illness. Remember, there’s no shame in asking for help when you need it.

Finally, protecting yourself from COVID-19 involves a combination of preventive measures recommended by health authorities, here a some of the essential things you can do to protect yourself from COVID.

  1. Stay up to date on vaccines and getting a booster is the most effective way to protect yourself and others, it also reduces the risk of infection and lowers the severity of the disease if you get infected.
  2. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
  3. Wear a mask if you get sick.
  4. Improve indoor ventilation: spend time outside and improve air quality at home by opening windows and using adequate filtration.
  5. Stay in your home if you experience any COVID-19 symptoms, fever, cough, difficulty breathing, loss of taste or smell, or fatigue.
  6. If you have symptoms of COVID -19 test immediately and contact your healthcare provider. Treatment is available that can reduce your chances of hospitalization and death.
  7. If you don’t have a health provider, contact the test-to-treat site to get tested, evaluated, and treated in one location. Test to Treat locations: https://covid-19-test-to-treat-locator-dhhs.hub.arcgis.com/

 

[1] Nalbandian A, Sehgal K, Gupta A, Madhavan MV, McGroder C, Stevens JS, Cook JR, Nordvig AS, Shalev D, Sehrawat TS, Ahluwalia N, Bikdeli B, Dietz D, Der-Nigoghossian C, Liyanage-Don N, Rosner GF, Bernstein EJ, Mohan S, Beckley AA, Seres DS, Choueiri TK, Uriel N, Ausiello JC, Accili D, Freedberg DE, Baldwin M, Schwartz A, Brodie D, Garcia CK, Elkind MSV, Connors JM, Bilezikian JP, Landry DW, Wan EY. Post-acute COVID-19 syndrome. Nat Med. 2021 Apr;27(4):601-615. doi: 10.1038/s41591-021-01283-z. Epub 2021 Mar 22. PMID: 33753937; PMCID: PMC8893149.

[2] Thaweethai T, Jolley SE, Karlson EW, Levitan EB, Levy B, McComsey GA, McCorkell L, Nadkarni GN, Parthasarathy S, Singh U, Walker TA, Selvaggi CA, Shinnick DJ, Schulte CCM, Atchley-Challenner R, Alba GA, Alicic R, Altman N, Anglin K, Argueta U, Ashktorab H, Baslet G, Bassett IV, Bateman L, Bedi B, Bhattacharyya S, Bind MA, Blomkalns AL, Bonilla H, Bush PA, Castro M, Chan J, Charney AW, Chen P, Chibnik LB, Chu HY, Clifton RG, Costantine MM, Cribbs SK, Davila Nieves SI, Deeks SG, Duven A, Emery IF, Erdmann N, Erlandson KM, Ernst KC, Farah-Abraham R, Farner CE, Feuerriegel EM, Fleurimont J, Fonseca V, Franko N, Gainer V, Gander JC, Gardner EM, Geng LN, Gibson KS, Go M, Goldman JD, Grebe H, Greenway FL, Habli M, Hafner J, Han JE, Hanson KA, Heath J, Hernandez C, Hess R, Hodder SL, Hoffman MK, Hoover SE, Huang B, Hughes BL, Jagannathan P, John J, Jordan MR, Katz SD, Kaufman ES, Kelly JD, Kelly SW, Kemp MM, Kirwan JP, Klein JD, Knox KS, Krishnan JA, Kumar A, Laiyemo AO, Lambert AA, Lanca M, Lee-Iannotti JK, Logarbo BP, Longo MT, Luciano CA, Lutrick K, Maley JH, Marathe JG, Marconi V, Marshall GD, Martin CF, Matusov Y, Mehari A, Mendez-Figueroa H, Mermelstein R, Metz TD, Morse R, Mosier J, Mouchati C, Mullington J, Murphy SN, Neuman RB, Nikolich JZ, Ofotokun I, Ojemakinde E, Palatnik A, Palomares K, Parimon T, Parry S, Patterson JE, Patterson TF, Patzer RE, Peluso MJ, Pemu P, Pettker CM, Plunkett BA, Pogreba-Brown K, Poppas A, Quigley JG, Reddy U, Reece R, Reeder H, Reeves WB, Reiman EM, Rischard F, Rosand J, Rouse DJ, Ruff A, Saade G, Sandoval GJ, Schlater SM, Shepherd F, Sherif ZA, Simhan H, Singer NG, Skupski DW, Sowles A, Sparks JA, Sukhera FI, Taylor BS, Teunis L, Thomas RJ, Thorp JM, Thuluvath P, Ticotsky A, Tita AT, Tuttle KR, Urdaneta AE, Valdivieso D, VanWagoner TM, Vasey A, Verduzco-Gutierrez M, Wallace ZS, Ward HD, Warren DE, Weiner SJ, Welch S, Whiteheart SW, Wiley Z, Wisnivesky JP, Yee LM, Zisis S, Horwitz LI, Foulkes AS; RECOVER Consortium. Development of a Definition of Postacute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection. JAMA. 2023 Jun 13;329(22):1934-1946. doi: 10.1001/jama.2023.8823. PMID: 37278994; PMCID: PMC10214179.

[3] Ma Y, Deng J, Liu Q, Du M, Liu M, Liu J. Long-Term Consequences of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Jan 16;20(2):1613. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20021613. PMID: 36674367; PMCID: PMC9863678.

[4] Hung-Jui Chuang, Chia-Wei Lin, Ming-Yen Hsiao, Tyng-Guey Wang, Huey-Wen Liang,

Long COVID and rehabilitation,

Journal of the Formosan Medical Association,

2023, ISSN 0929-6646,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfma.2023.03.022.

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929664623001079)

[5] Al-Jahdhami I, Al-Naamani K, Al-Mawali A. The Post-acute COVID-19 Syndrome (Long COVID). Oman Med J. 2021 Jan 26;36(1):e220. doi: 10.5001/omj.2021.91. PMID: 33537155; PMCID: PMC7838343.

[6] Long COVID or Post-COVID Conditions | CDC

[7] Hung-Jui Chuang, Chia-Wei Lin, Ming-Yen Hsiao, Tyng-Guey Wang, Huey-Wen Liang,

Long COVID and rehabilitation, Journal of the Formosan Medical Association, 2023