Long Covid-19 has become another coronavirus term in our shadow-of-the-Pandemic vocabulary. Thus, in this blog article, FLASS brings you the facts behind the latest Covid-19 slang.
Long Covid: In for the Long Haul with Coronavirus Symptoms
After Coronavirus Recovery, Stay In-Touch With Your Doctor. Healthy Exercise and Diet Will Be More Important Than Ever. And Communication About Any Persistent Health Problems Is Vital.
You probably already know that Coronavirus symptoms can sometimes continue for months. And the longer it persists, the more chances the virus has to “damage the lungs, heart, and brain…” In turn, the persistent damage caused by the virus “increases the risk of long-term health problems.” Patients who endure this condition often call themselves “long haulers.” Hence, the term, Long Covid.
Are You or a Loved One a Long Hauler?
These people sometimes describe themselves as “long haulers. We call the conditions post-COVID-19 syndrome or “long Covid-19.” Technically, we see the conditions of Long Covid when the virus lasts more than 4 weeks after the Coronavirus diagnosis.
As you would expect, “Older people and people with many serious medical conditions are the most likely to experience lingering Coronavirus symptoms…” And yet we know that young, healthy patients can still feel badly several weeks or months after the infection.
Road Signs: Symptoms of Long Haul Covid or Long Covid
We have discovered that age is no barrier to this phenomenon. Therefore, with the help of Mayo Clinic experts, let us list the symptoms even young, healthy people report for Long Covid.
- As you might expect, they report heavy feelings of fatigue.
- Sufferers often exhibit shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.
- A lingering cough and/or chest pain sometimes continues.
- Joint and muscle pain haunt the extended Coronavirus patients.
Look out for More Signs of Long Covid
Long COVID Gets Its Name From The Long Haul of Weeks and Years, Enduring Serious Health Issues.
Less obvious, but equally serious, we see that these patients speak of memory, concentration, sleep problems, and other symptoms.
- Muscle pain or headache, especially when combined with a fast, pounding heartbeat is sometimes a very scary symptom.
- You have all heard of the famous “Loss of smell or taste.” This can be a lingering problem for the long haulers.
- Additionally, fever, as well as dizziness, are also common symptoms.
- And what is worse, most patients report that these symptoms intensify after the patient attempts to exert normal amounts of physical or mental activities.
Is it any wonder that we must add depression and anxiety to this list of miseries? These are profoundly disturbing psychological problems that often confront long haulers in the post-recovery process.
In fact, these psychological problems, or mental problems of long haulers deserve a blog of their very own in our upcoming issues of the FLASS blog. For now, we are focusing on the extended physical aspects of Coronavirus.
Organ damage caused by Coronavirus
When we think of Coronavirus, we generally think about the damage it wrecks on the lungs. However, the coronavirus can wreak havoc on your heart, brain, and kidneys. This havoc is termed organ damage.
Organ damage can result in many health complications that linger long after the illness. In some people, we see “heart complications, chronic kidney impairment, stroke, and Guillain-Barre syndrome…” This condition causes “temporary paralysis.”
Double Trouble: Long Covid’s Effects on Blood Vessels
The Signs and Symptoms of COVID-19 Can Pose a Maze of Healthcare Problems For You and Your Healthcare Team.
You might not realize the microscopic danger these effects pose for your blood and Blood Vessels.
1. Did you know that Long Covid-19 can make blood cells more likely to clump up? That means they are more likely to create clots.
2. You are probably aware that large clots can cause strokes and heart attacks. However, studies show extended Coronavirus causes minuscule clots. These lodge into tiny blood vessels called capillaries. Unfortunately, Coronavirus can do this inside the heart muscle. It can create very small clots that block tiny blood vessels (capillaries) in the heart muscle.
Likewise, instead of clotting, “Covid can also weaken blood vessels and cause them to leak…” This condition can ignite long-term trouble in both the liver and the kidneys.
Long Covid: Journey to an Unknown Destination
We still do not understand how long Coronavirus will continue to affect people over the long haul. Of course, researchers continue to “recommend that doctors closely monitor people who have had COVID-19 to see how their organs are functioning after recovery.”
If you review our above list of symptoms, you will see the challenge this brings to medical professionals. The same list of signs and symptoms could indicate hundreds of other conditions and diseases. Proper diagnosis is key to the treatment of Long Covid.
The Terrific Take-Away from Long Covid and What it Means to Us All
Keep in mind that, as we said at the beginning of this article, the majority of patients who endure Covid-19, make an authentic recovery. Thus, we did not write this article to cause you undue anxiety. We hoped that by better understanding the severity and miseries of Long Covid, we could intensify our mission to reduce the spread of Coronavirus and all its variants.
The Omicron Variant has shown itself to be less lethal than the initial strain of Covid-19 or Delta. However, we still want to take precautions against it in all its forms.
Why? Because of the life-long problems, it can inflict upon unsuspecting patients, even after the infection. And there is no question, lifelong health problems can result from the coronavirus.
Remember, “for some COVID patients, symptoms never go away…” They can also “resurface after weeks of apparent health.”
And most insidiously, “Sometimes symptoms appear weeks later for people who never experienced symptoms when they first caught it.”
No Disclaimer on Our Long Hauler’s Message
A Short Term Variant Can Add Long-Term Destruction to Your Body. Talk to Us About Vaccination.
Yes, FLASS is aware that our message is one you may be tired of hearing. However, this time we have to say it on behalf of the “Long Haulers.” Some of them had light cases and almost no symptoms. And, yet now they are dealing with life-long health problems after recovery. Such is the power of the coronavirus.
We don’t want you to deal with Long Covid. Please consider the precautions listed below:
- Wear a mask in crowds outside your “bubble.”
- Re-consider getting your long-delayed vaccine or take regular testing. Remember you are not dealing with just Covid, but the long-term misery of Long Covid.
- Be aware of new developments as we continue to live still in the shadow of the Pandemic.
- Last but not least, we still endorse vigorous hand washing to avoid Covid-19, Long Covid, the flu, and our usual slate of winter viruses.
A Special Thank You
Enjoy the Long Haul of Health, Not Illness… Reconsider Innoculation!
As always, we thank you for visiting our Florida Lung, Asthma, and Sleep Center (FLASS) blog. This information is part of our ongoing educational commitment to keep you aware of your respiratory health.
And very soon we will bring you late-breaking information on the latest sub-variant of Covid-19, Omicron Stealth, or Omicron BA-2.
It only arrived recently in the US. We are watching its development as it spreads across the states. Stay tuned to our blog, as research continues. And, if you can, enjoy breathing deeply; it is one of nature’s finest gifts.