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Most people infected with Covid do not have severe symptoms and improve relatively quickly, but a relatively large number of patients retain long-term symptoms after their recovery, even if they are not seriously ill.
As society prepares to return to normal life, there are fears that the long-term symptoms of Covid may affect those who have not yet received the two doses of the vaccine.
What are the long-term symptoms of Covid?
Instructions issued to health workers in the health sector describe long-term Covid as symptoms that persist for a period longer than 12 weeks after infection, whether severe or mild, and which cannot be explained by diagnosing the patient’s infection with another disease.
Symptoms, according to the NHS, include:
* Extreme fatigue.
Difficulty breathing, fast heartbeat, chest pain or shortness of breath
* Problems with memory and concentration.
* Changes in the sense of taste and smell.
* Pain in the joints.
Studies have identified dozens if not hundreds of other symptoms, University College London has identified 200 symptoms that affect ten organs or body systems in long-term Covid patients more than they affect patients who have restored.
These symptoms include hallucinations, changes in the senses of hearing and vision, impaired short-term memory, and problems with speech and language. Some patients have reported bowel and bladder problems, changes in the female menstrual cycle, and skin changes.
The severity of these symptoms varies from person to person, but many have difficulty meeting daily needs such as bathing, shopping, and remembering words.
What causes covid? long term?
We don’t know the exact reasons.
One possibility is that the infection makes some people’s immune systems overactive, attacking not only the virus but also their own tissues. This can happen with people whose immune system response is too strong.
And entry of the virus into cells can explain symptoms such as confusion in the brain and loss of smell and taste, while damage to blood vessels can lead to problems with the heart, lungs and lungs. of the brain.
Another theory is that parts of the virus stay in the body, stay dormant for a while, and then become active.
This happens with other viruses such as herpes (herpes or fever bite) and the Epstein-Barr virus which causes glandular fever, but there is not enough evidence that this is what causes glandular fever. happening with Covid.
The causes of symptoms can be different in different people.
Who becomes covid? long term And how common is this?
It’s hard to say, as doctors are just starting to officially register a long-term diagnosis of COVID.
However, there is enough research indicating that the risk of developing these symptoms increases with age and that the risk of infection is doubled in women.
Some of the long-term symptoms of COVID-19 are common in people who are critically ill or have been hospitalized.
A King’s College study found that 1-2% of people in their 20s will suffer from Covid in the long term, while that percentage rises to 5% in people over sixty.
said the doctor. Claire Steves, one of the study’s authors, says 1-2% of 100,000 cases per day is a high number.
said the doctor. David Strain of the University of Exeter School of Medicine, who works with Covid patients, said most of the patients referred to his clinic were in their 20s, 30s or 40s. The reason may be that people in these age groups are more affected by these symptoms, although they are rare in these age groups.
This may change because older people are more likely to receive both doses of the vaccine, said Dr Athena Akrami, one of the authors of the study prepared at University College London, and said: “We will treat a wave of patients with mild symptoms, as one in seven patients will suffer from Covid. In the long term, and it will be among young people.
How do you know if you have a long-term Covid?
Currently, there is no test that helps diagnose long-term Covid, but a diagnosis can be adopted to rule out possibilities of other pathological causes, Dr Strain said, as doctors rule out possible causes of other illnesses in order to make the symptoms more likely to be for the long-term Covid.
They make sure that the patient does not have thyroid problems, diabetes or iron deficiency, before diagnosis.
Researchers say a blood test responsible for the long-term diagnosis of Covid will be available in the future. Currently, more advanced tools are used in research to diagnose organ dysfunction in the body, but these tests cannot be obtained at a neighborhood doctor’s office.
A total of 89 long-term CoVid diagnostic centers have been set up in England, with another expected to open in Northern Ireland in the coming months, while suspected cases are referred to various destinations in Scotland and Wales, depending on the symptoms.
There is currently no proven long-term treatment for Covid, as the main goal is to treat symptoms and gradually increase activity.
Drug treatment trials are expected to begin soon.
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