“I’ve been suffering from COVID debts for two years now.” More and more people are struggling with this disease

Long COVID-19 is otherwise the long-term symptoms of coronavirus infection. They can occur even months and years after an infection has healed. The exact causes of this phenomenon are still unknown, and there is no clear standard of treatment for this ailment. More and more people are complaining about long COVID.

1. It is still unknown exactly how many people suffer from long COVID. Reports are very divergent – they range from 15 to 80 percent. infected people.
2. Even people who have had the infection asymptomatically can experience long-term effects of coronavirus infection
3. In extreme cases, long COVID can last up to two years. The BBC writes about this case
4. Neil Robinson began rehabilitation after undergoing COVID-19 a year ago, but his condition has still not improved
5. More information can be found on the Onet homepage

Long COVID – what is it?

Long COVID affects both those who required hospitalization for the coronavirus and those who passed the infection asymptomatically or relatively mildly. It can last up to six months after contracting the infection, although, according to more and more doctors, it can last for years.

According to the British Office for National Statistics, one in 40 people in the UK after coronavirus outbreak have symptoms that persist for at least three months after infection. In total, around 1,5 million people in the UK say they have long-term symptoms of Covid, and the number of those who believe it has lasted more than a year is rising to 685.

‘It’s a phenomenon we see more and more,’ Dr. David Strain of the NHS Covid Task Force, senior treatment specialist at the University of Exeter told me.

“I’ve been suffering from long COVID for two years now”

One of the people experiencing this condition is Neil Robinson. He cannot accept the fact that he still has to deal with the coronavirus. “I should have recovered a long time ago,” he says. His biggest problem is constant fatigue. As he developed additional brain fog and confusion, he immediately remembered his grandfather struggling with dementia because the symptoms were “almost identical”.

Neil started going to the rehab clinic a year ago. There, he performed breathing exercises, and his activity and energy levels were monitored. However, recent physical and mental tests have shown that his condition has not improved. As he said, he found himself in “limbo”. “I can’t finish my rehabilitation, but on the other hand, they have nothing new to offer me,” he says.

1. Find out more: Eight surprising symptoms of long covid.

John Dusabe Richards’s condition, on the other hand, is improving, but is still far from recovering. A year after suffering a mild COVID-19 infection, he was unable to read a bedtime book to his children because of a “bag of sand on his chest” making it difficult for him to breathe. He also experienced shortness of breath, constant headaches and joint pains, these symptoms subsided but the fatigue persists. When he wants to exercise or play sports with his children, he has to plan it carefully, as he then needs a lot of time for rehabilitation.

Long COVID sufferers talk most often about fatigue, brain fog, and muscle pain. However, the list of symptoms is very long, covering almost every function of the body, from digestive problems to night sweats and depression to hair loss.

Long COVID – causes

Experts are still wondering how a short-lived and mild viral infection can cause such debilitating symptoms, lasting months or even years after recovery.

There is no single cause of long COVID, but scientists distinguish four main factors:

Thrombotic complications and damage to small blood vessels (microclots). Some of the effects of long COVID can lead to tiny clots that block the smallest blood vessels in our body – the capillaries. Capillaries provide oxygen and nutrients to the cells of our body, and remove waste products. Blockage of these vessels damages the cells of the body.

‘That would explain why some people feel great in the morning after their body recovers at night, but as the day goes on, that energy is depleted very quickly,’ says Dr Strain. “It can also cause long-term fatigue, which lasts up to several days after intense exercise because the toxins build up in the body and are not removed at a normal pace,” he says.

Studies show that after a mild COVID-19 infection, the brain can shrink by 0,2 to 2 percent, hence the conclusion that damage to capillaries can cause brain fog.

1. Read also: What awaits us in the third year of the pandemic?

Immune system disorders. Changes in the immune system have been noticed in people with long COVID. Inflammation is the body’s normal response to infection, but the presence of protein in the blood indicates an overreaction of the immune system. In such a situation, it is counteracted not by attacking the virus, but by the body’s own cells, damaging tissues and various organs. “People with muscle pain and weakness may have a muscle-related autoimmune problem, and people with an abnormal heart rhythm may have antibodies against the heart tissue,” explains Professor Chris Brightling of the University of Leicester.

Metabolism disorders. A person infected with the coronavirus can also damage the mitochondria, or “power plants” present in the chambers of the human body. Mitochondria convert energy from food into forms usable by the body.

Some specialists believe that the coronavirus puts the mitochondria to sleep, so infected people run out of energy much faster, says Dr. Strain.

Still ongoing coronavirus infection. Some scientists believe that in people with long COVID-19, it is still uncertain whether the body actually fought the coronavirus. They say the infection could have started in the lungs or airways, but after a while the virus could be found elsewhere in the body, such as the intestines.

‘There may be so much virus in your blood that when you seem to be okay but you experience a flu-like illness again, you are exhausted for no apparent reason,’ explains Dr Strain.

Long COVID – treatment

The coronavirus pandemic has forced the creation of many rehabilitation clinics for convalescents, but there is still no effective cure for long COVID. Several concepts are analyzed.

The high level of inflammation is an argument in favor of using antihistamines. According to prof. Brightling, these measures can mitigate an overly intense immune response in the same way as with allergies.

Drugs that thin the blood that hinder the formation of blood clots are being investigated, as are drugs that strengthen the work of the mitochondria. Conversely, if long COVID is caused by an ongoing infection, this indicates the potential usefulness of antiviral drugs, vaccines or antibodies produced in laboratories.

1. Read also: How to treat the effects of long COVID? New research shows that it doesn’t take much

Prof. Brightling also points out that switching to a healthier lifestyle can help, as the severity of long-term COVID is linked to obesity and other conditions.

However, you have to be careful when making any effort. According to Dr. Straina in some cases may worsen the condition of patients. Recovery from exercise can take much longer than the benefits. It’s one step ahead, two steps back, ‘he says. She suggests finding the limit of your brain and body’s capabilities before fatigue occurs, and then no more than 80 percent. this limit

It is still unknown what the outlook is for people with long COVID. But researchers find similarities to another condition, also difficult to treat, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). The cause of CFS is not clearly defined, although there are various infections among the “suspects”.

Dr Strain points out that ‘ME / CFS and long COVID are’ very likely the same family of conditions, albeit with a different trigger ‘, and symptoms in both cases can last for years.

Also read:

1.  What is the level of herd immunity in Poland?
2. Can you exercise while suffering from COVID-19? Doctors warn against common mistakes
3. Why do some people not get COVID-19? The answer … swine flu?