As the summer slips by we are joined by an uninvited guest. It is already causing havoc throughout the European region and day-by-day it leaves its mark here in the United States.
It is called COVID. Some victims will tell you it isn’t as bad as it was two-plus years ago. But others, who have ignored COVID symptoms, have a different story to tell. They suffer from Long Covid.
Long Covid is often a debilitating illness that, according to an analysis of the 2023 research, occurs as an outgrowth of at least 10 percent of COVID infections and affects at least 65 million people worldwide. It is a multi-system illness that encompasses Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and impacts multiple organ systems and also affects the vascular systems.
The National Academies of Sciences refers to Long COVID as an infection-associated chronic condition that occurs after a COVID-19 infection and is present for at least three months as a continuous disease that affects one or more organs. If your friend or neighbor tells you that they recuperated quickly from the disease, tell them to make sure that they took all of the precautions necessary before they went back to their tennis or golf game.
Long COVID is a very complex condition that has more than 200 symptoms. The variety of symptoms contributes to the difficulty of diagnosis, so if you are having nagging systems after your COVID diagnosis, report them to your physician.
One of the scary parts of the Long COVID diagnosis is that it can affect either the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, pancreas or spleen. One study found that 70 percent of 201 individuals had damage to at least one organ and 29 percent had multi-organ damage.
Neurological and cognitive symptoms are also a major feature of Long COVID which could be reflected in memory loss, cognitive impairment, dizziness, balance issues, sensitivity to light and noise, loss of smell or taste, all of which affect your daily living. Why am I discussing this troubling ailment? After a bout with COVID some years ago, I developed a neuropathy that caused its own issues.
After recovering from what I considered a not-so-serious case of COVID, I was suffering pain in my legs and arms. I attributed it to its being a typical ailment that senior citizens suffer from. When it didn’t go away, I consulted with my doctor and he indicated that it could linger for a long period of time, if not indefinitely. It is now almost three years from my COVID bout, and I am resigned to my Long COVID being a lifetime disease.
In my continuing quest for information I have spoken to many doctors who have said that some symptoms could last for only a month or two and then go away or not show up again until after you think your ailment is over.
Neurological symptoms often have a delayed onset of weeks to months. One study showed that 43 percent reported a delayed onset of cognitive systems of at least a month after COVID. The delay in surfacing is more generally experienced by younger individuals.
In my category of ailments, the pains in the joints didn’t surface until one year after my COVID problem. I was curious as to what age groups are more likely to suffer from Long COVID. While it can hit all ages, the highest number of cases impact people in the 36- to 50-year-old groups. Can you get Long COVID often after just one COVID? The answer is maybe.
Early research seems to say that there is an increasing risk of Long COVID with those who have suffered COVID a second or third time. So now that I have scared at least a few people who have had COVID, what is my suggestion? If you had COVID and sense some long aftermath, go see your doctor.
Do not attribute it to a senior ailment or aches and pains that young people suffer after Pilates. I have a Doctor of Laws degree but not a medical one. I have my aches and pains and regret I didn’t see my doctors sooner.
