Even after the official recovery, millions of people are still unable to return to normal life. Those who have been ill for a long time remain with various signs of the previous illness.
Scientists continue to closely monitor the current situation with the spread of a dangerous infection. Virologists regularly conduct various investigations and update statistics to obtain new, more reliable information about the insidious virus.
So, the other day in the scientific journal Lancet, the results of a web survey on the symptoms of coronavirus were published. In particular, scientists have collected information on dozens of symptoms that can persist for many months. The study involved more than three thousand participants from fifty-six countries. They identified two hundred and three symptoms affecting ten systems of our organs at once. The effect of most of these symptoms was observed in patients for seven months or more. An important point is the fact that such long-term symptoms can be observed regardless of the severity of the course of the disease.
Among the most common signs of COVID-19 infection were fatigue, worsening of other existing symptoms after physical or mental exertion, as well as many different cognitive dysfunctions – a decrease in memory and overall performance.
Many infected people also experienced similar symptoms: diarrhea, memory problems, visual hallucinations, tremors, itchy skin, changes in the menstrual cycle, heart palpitations, problems with bladder control, shingles, blurred vision and tinnitus.
In addition, in rare cases, a person may experience constant severe fatigue, muscle aches, nausea, dizziness, insomnia and even hair loss for a long time.
In addition, scientists have put forward a whole theory about why we have to endure such complications. According to immunologists, there are four options for the development of COVID-19.
The first version of the “long covid” says: despite the fact that PCR tests cannot detect the virus, it does not leave the patient’s body completely, but remains in one of the organs – for example, in the liver tissue or in the central nervous system. In this case, the presence of the virus itself in the body can cause chronic symptoms, since it interferes with the organ’s normal functioning.
According to the second version of the protracted coronavirus, during the acute phase of the disease, the coronavirus severely damages an organ, and when the acute phase passes, it cannot always restore its functions in full. That is, covid provokes a chronic disease not directly related to the virus.
According to supporters of the third option, the coronavirus is capable of disrupting the inherent settings of the body’s immune system from childhood and knocking down the signals of proteins that restrain other viruses that constantly live in our body. As a result, they are activated and begin to multiply actively. It is logical to assume that in the conditions of the shattered immunity of the coronavirus, the usual balance is disturbed – and as a result, entire colonies of these microorganisms begin to get out of control, causing some kind of chronic symptoms.
The fourth possible reason explains the development of long-term symptoms of the disease by genetics, when, as a result of an accidental coincidence, the coronavirus enters into some kind of conflict with the patient’s DNA, turning the virus into a chronic autoimmune disease. This happens when one of the proteins produced in the patient’s body turns out to be similar in shape and size to the substance of the virus itself.
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