Neurological Complications of Covid-19

What is Long COVID?

Long COVID, as the name suggests, stay with patients for a very long time. Its symptoms take more than usual to get recuperated. The symptoms can last for weeks after the patient comes in contact with the virus. Moreover, It may affect the recovery period of patients.

Patients who suffer from mild to moderate symptoms of coronavirus can also develop long COVID symptoms.

What are the symptoms of Long COVID?

The number of people who are developing Long COVID symptoms is increasing rapidly. Many studies performed by various scientists suggest many symptoms related to this condition. Therefore, we have prepared a list of all the symptoms associated with long COVID condition.

Fatigue

It is the most common symptom of long COVID. Fatigue is a term given to a feeling of extreme tiredness or weakness. This symptom usually takes more time to recover as the body tries to eliminate the viral residue left in the body. Patients also complain about having muscle pain. Therefore, these patients are advised to take proper rest and stop exercising as it may increase the severity of the symptoms.

Loss of senses: Taste and Smell

Long COVID can sometimes affect your senses. It is observed that patients who suffer from COVID often complain about losing their ability to taste or smell. It can either cause a loss of taste, loss of smell or both. These symptoms stay only for a few weeks in normal cases of COVID-Positive patients. However, in patients with long COVID, these symptoms can escalate and take much longer to recuperate. In rare cases, these symptoms might never go away resulting in permanent damage of these senses.

Difficulty in Breathing

When the novel coronavirus came into existence, ’shortness of breath’ was believed to be one of the most common early symptoms of the virus. If you feel pain or uneasiness in your chest along with difficulty in breathing, you should get yourself tested for the virus. Like the other symptoms, shortness of breath can also escalate if you develop symptoms of long COVID.

Patients who have a history of respiratory diseases like asthma and bronchitis might have a higher risk of developing a life-threatening condition, though. Many external lifestyle factors can also make symptoms worse.

Brain fog

Contrary to popular belief, the symptoms of COVID are not just limited to your respiratory system. Newer studies suggest that the virus can affect other organs of the body as well. Therefore, the brain is also affected in some patients.

'Brain fog' is a term used for the disorders of the brain caused by the virus. Complications such as delusion and confusion can lead to mental fatigue. Which in simple words means having difficulty in focusing and thinking clearly.

Persistent cough

One of the most common symptoms of long COVID is a persistent cough. The affected person may suffer from cough for weeks after contracting the virus. However, doctors recommend taking a Vitamin-C rich diet to reduce the symptoms. You can also try some traditional home remedies to reduce cough. Gargling and steaming might also help!

Insomnia

Many patients complain about having difficulty in sleeping. This is another symptom of long COVID experienced by most of the covid-positive patients. Scientists are still trying to find out the relationship between sleeping and long COVID, though.

The symptoms usually go away in a few weeks but in rare cases, these symptoms may cause irreversible damage to some organs of your body. If the symptoms become worse, you should inform your doctor and make an appointment as soon as possible!

These were the symptoms of long COVID experienced by patients who contracted the virus weeks before these symptoms showed up. All the patients who suffer from this condition reportedly have at least one symptom of long COVID. Scientists from across the world are investigating and researching this condition in covid-positive patients.

What should you do if you have Long COVID?

Make sure that you take plenty of rest. Do not force yourself to do physical activity if you have fatigue weeks after you get diagnosed with COVID. Take a proper immunity building diet. Make sure that you include Vitamin-C in your diet.

Apart from that, if you think you have serious symptoms of long COVID, you should make an appointment with your doctor and inform him about your condition as soon as possible.

What is the recovery rate after long COVID?

Surprisingly, most of the people can recover from the symptoms after taking proper rest. You can take over-the-counter drugs to treat the symptoms of long COVID. However, we will advise you to talk to your doctor before taking any medicine on your own.

Since this is a new virus and we don't know much about it, the symptoms may cause some serious problems in some of the patients. Therefore, some studies suggest that these symptoms can become worse and cause single or multiple organ damage over time.