“With over 139 million COVID-19 cases globally, the latest challenge for medical researchers is a post-COVID-19 syndrome referred to as Long COVID” [1]
So What Exactly is Long COVID?
This condition describes individuals: “who don’t recover from acute COVID-19 infection, and go on to have longer-term symptoms” [1]. Indeed, the acute phase can go on for up to 14 days, however, after this period, individuals can potentially suffer from post-acute illness, AKA Long COVID. The latter could last for two to three months [1].
The Office for National Statistics estimates, that: “1.1 million people in the UK were reporting long Covid symptoms in the four weeks to 6 March 2021. These were defined as symptoms that had lasted more than four weeks from initial infection, though for more than two thirds of these people the symptoms had lasted more than 12 weeks. A fifth said their symptoms limited their daily activities a lot” [2].
The Symptoms
“The most common symptoms long COVID sufferers experience are fatigue, shortness of breath, chest pain & brain fog. One systematic meta-analysis describes 55 different symptoms of Long COVID”
Whilst it has to be said that there is no current universal definition for Long COVID, the most recognised common symptoms comprise: brain fog, having difficulty concentrating, a racing heart, tightness in the chest, shortness of breath, and fatigue [1].
Joint Pain
In 2020, clinical experts listed joint pain as one of the many common COVID-19 symptoms. If you are suffering from any form of joint pain, you are advised to book an online or in-person consultation with an experienced Pain Specialist.
Are There Different Long-COVID Syndromes?
The answer to this, is “yes,” the chances are that there are are likely to be a few syndromes which generate Long COVID. Indeed, there could be a high number of underlying causes for individuals to be continually symptomatic three months-plus after they were first infected with COVID-19 [1].
The Long COVID Patients
Very ill patients who have been on a ventilator in intensive care for two or three weeks: “are most likely not going to be fully recovered, even at three months. This can also happen with other infections (post-intensive care syndrome)” [1]. Of note, Long COVID can however, also affect: people who are not hospitalised, and those who have only undergone a mild illness. In fact, a substantial percentage of these individuals are still not better when it comes to three months post-COVID-19 infection.
References
[1]. Berry, E (2021). Long COVID: What is it and what do we know about it? (medicalxpress.com)
HYPERLINK “https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/news/coronavirus-and-your-health/long-covid”
