LONG TERM CONDITIONS FROM HAVING COVID
Several individuals who were diagnosed with the COVID-19 recovered within a few weeks. Unfortunately, this cannot be said of everyone as some individuals suffer from its effects for a very long time. The symptoms such individuals struggle with is called the Post COVID 19 syndrome. They are considered the effects of the COVID 19 conditions and this takes a long time before they completely disappear.
Sadly, the older population or people with chronic health issues are the ones that usually contend with these health problems. However, this is not entirely left for the older generations as even younger ones can feel unwell for a period of contracting the infection. Some of the signs of COVID 19 that lingers for a while are cough, joint pain, chest pain, loss of smell, fever, muscle pain, depression and dizziness. Some long term conditions from having covid-19 are:
Organ damage: Covid-19 is considered a disease that can only damage the lungs. But, this is not entirely true as the virus can also affect the organs of the body including the heart and kidney. Organ damage is one of the long term conditions that people who had covid-19 suffer. People who have organ damage as a result of covid-19 usually contend with health issues such as difficulty breathing, stroke, kidney impairment and also Guillian-Barre syndrome. Also, children and adults may also experience multisystem inflammatory syndrome after contracting the virus and this can severely damage the tissues of the body.
Blood vessels problems: Another devastating effect of covid-19 is that it can make blood cells clump up and even begin to form blood clots. Large blood clots can cause heart attacks. But, heart attacks that covid-19 patients experience is caused by small clots that block capillaries in the heart muscles. Some parts of the body that are also affected by blood clots are kidneys and lungs. The covid-19 virus is also capable of weakening blood vessels and making them become weak and this result into a long-lasting problem for the kidney and liver.
Mood and fatigue: The virus is also known to negatively affect mood and cause fatigue. Patients with severe symptoms of covid-19 may be required to be admitted to the intensive care unit of a hospital with mechanical ventilators to make it easy for them to breathe. This isolation may cause such an individual to later develop Post Traumatic Syndrome Disorder (PTSD) and even anxiety.
Distorted sense of smell/taste: Covid-19 is capable of affecting the nose cells. The sense of smell and taste are related. So, if covid-19 affects the nose cells, it can affect alter the senses of smell and taste. Most times, when people get affected by covid-19, they lose their sense of smell and taste. Even after recovery, they may not be able to make full use of their smell or taste organs again. This is not a life-threatening situation but it is very devastating and may alter the needs of the individual. This means that people who have their sense organs tampered with may not be able to experience appetite for foods. Also, this situation can lead to depression or anxiety.
Neurologic problems: There are neurologic problems that people who have suffered covid-19 always struggle with. In most cases, these individuals are affected by the COVID infection that is capable of causing brain fog, dizziness and even headache. This situation is still unclear and is presently being investigated.
Mental issues: After suffering from the covid-19 effects, some people are left with long-lasting effects such as depression or mental illness. The physical changes such as being isolated, loss of a job or even the death of a loved one at such period can complicate the health issue and make individuals very distraught. Some of the survivors of covid-19 always have hallucinations where they feel their doctors are trying to harm them.
There are still a lot of unknown facts about the covid-19 and the research is still ongoing. Various individuals have pleaded with medical practitioners to closely study the people with the virus and understand the effect the virus has on their bodies. Although people with the covid-19 are known to recover quickly, there are still efforts concentrated to ensure people are given the right solutions to this health challenge. This is why hospitals are opening specialized centers to t6ake care of the health needs of the affected individuals. But, the long-lasting effect of contracting the virus makes it more important for people to reduce the spread of the virus by following simple precautions. These precautions include social distancing, wearing masks, personal hygiene and getting vaccinated.
