When the first COVID-19 cases began here in the U.S. approximately 18 months ago, we all worried about whether or not we would get the virus, and if so would we end up in the hospital, or worse. In fact, for both patients and doctors, the worry was how to battle the initial stages of the disease just to get through to tomorrow.
Yet, now we’re learning that not only is the aptly-called “Long COVID” a real thing, with many suffering symptoms far beyond the first few weeks, but the problem may also be more common and long-lasting than any of us ever knew.
Who’s at risk for long-haul symptoms?
Numerous studies have already delved into the phenomenon of Long COVID and the symptoms that just don’t seem to want to go away.
They found that both gender and severity of the disease play a role in your risk of suffering for months.
And they’ve discovered that your weight could actually turn you into a Covid long-hauler.
Research has even shown that Covid patients can end up living with thyroid inflammation that can damage its function and possibly lead to permanent thyroid problems
And sadly persistent Covid symptoms could affect more than a quarter of the people that are infected with the virus.
Not fully recovered six to eight months later
A study performed in Switzerland delved into the health consequences of COVID-19 in 2020 for adults from the general population who had lived through an infection. And it specifically looked at the long-term consequences that we know as “Long COVID” or “post-COVID-19 syndrome.”
The team followed 431 participants who had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) between February and August 2020. Each person also completed an online questionnaire about their health just over seven months after their diagnosis.
While 89 percent of these participants had symptoms at the time of their diagnosis, 11 percent were asymptomatic and just 19 percent were initially hospitalized.
And the researchers say that the results underscore the need to tailor services to meet the needs for people suffering long term.
They found that a whopping 26 percent of patients had not fully recovered at six to eight months after their initial COVID-19 diagnosis.
For these people:
- 55 percent reported symptoms of fatigue
- 25 percent had some degree of shortness of breath
- 26 percent were living with symptoms of depression.
- 40 percent needed to see their doctor due to COVID-19 symptoms after the acute stage of their illness had passed.
Of the people living with long-haul Covid, a higher percentage were women or had initially been hospitalized for the disease.
Supporting your recovery
So if you’re suffering from long COVID, you’re not alone.
To accelerate your recovery, make your immune system powerful by adding in 12 foods that truly are the best medicine.
And consider adding a natural winning combo of an ancient seed plus honey that research found helped alleviate COVID-19 symptoms in just four and six days in moderate and severe groups, versus seven for those taking the placebo.
Source:
“Long COVID”: More than a quarter of COVID-19 patients still symptomatic after 6 months – EurekAlert!