There are now many people affected by Long Covid: despite the recovery from the infection, some of the symptoms of the virus persist over time
By: VirgilioNotizie | Published on:
Although more than two years have passed since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, we still know little about the effects of the infection in the long run. The condition of persistence of the various symptoms of the disease takes the official name of “Post Covid-19 condition”, but is commonly defined Long Covid.
The syndrome can affect different organs depending on the variant of the virus from which it derives and can have different duration and consequences from patient to patient. There is not always a correlation with the degree of severity of the disease.
To make a detailed assessment of the data collected by scientists to date is the volume of Sergio Harari e Vera Martinelli entitled “Post Covid. What we need to know about the long-term consequences of the virus for body and mind ”.
Respiratory disorders
Among the most common problems characteristic of the Long Covid there are those related to lungs. Often one suffers in fact from dyspnea, which causes respiratory fatigue and shortness of breath. But you may also feel an annoying sense of chest weight and a persistent cough.
These disorders may be the result of confirmed pneumonia linked to the virus, but also to other factors, includingpost-infectious asthma which can emerge from the period of positivity.
Muscle fatigue and weakness
Another particularly frequent disorder, and one of the most persistent over time, is that relating to tiredness and to muscle weakness. According to updated data, six out of ten patients already complain of it during the positive period.
It is a state not only physical, but also mental, which forces those affected to self-limitation in performing normal daily activities.
Sometimes this condition is accompanied byshortness of breath it’s at musculoskeletal pains. Lacking adequate energy, we tend to lose muscle mass and strength.
Chest pains and heartbeat
Often patients recovered from Covid can warn in the next two or three weeks severe pain in the chest and a perception of irregular heart rhythm. In other words, cardiopalmo.
In these cases, to ward off inflammation of the heart muscle, it is recommended always consult your cardiologistin such a way as to be able to carry out all the necessary tests, such as echo and electrocardiogram, blood analysis and cardiopulmonary exercise test.
Alteration of taste and smell
As everyone knows by now, coronavirus infection often involves the loss of taste and smell.
The alteration of flavors and smells can persist over time with a variability that can arrive even several months. Most of the time the problem is solved anyway within two weeks from the acute stage of the disease.
Skin rashes and hair loss
Those who suffer from Long Covid they can also go against persistent skin problems for some time. Among them, hives with itching in the limbs and trunk.
But not only that: often a large amount of hair loss can occur in the weeks following the negativization. The problem tends to resolve itself over time, but the wait can be particularly long.
Gastrointestinal disorders
The ability of Covid to hit the gastrointestinal tract and the liver is known.
After some time, gastric and intestinal disorders, which cause nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain, are however less frequent of the respiratory ones.
Mental fatigue and depression
Among the most widespread manifestations of the Long Covidand even more debilitating, we find the difficulty concentrating.
This is the so-called “brain fog”, better known as “Mental fog”. It is a condition that causes forgetfulness and slower thinking.
From what emerged from the research, after the cessation of the acute phase of the virus, various psychiatric complications can also emerge, such as depression, anxiety e cognitive disturbances.
Fonte foto: 123RF