Symptoms

Symptoms of Long COVID

Long COVID, also known as post-COVID syndrome, is a condition that can affect individuals who have recovered from a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Long COVID is characterized by symptoms that last for at least two months and impact everyday functioning, and may occur either as a new onset following initial recovery from COVID-19 or as a persistence of symptoms from the initial illness. These symptoms may also fluctuate or relapse over time.

Long COVID can manifest with a wide range of symptoms, with around 15% of individuals experiencing mental health and cognitive symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and brain fog, and another 5% experiencing respiratory symptoms like breathlessness and coughing. However, the majority (80%) of people with Long COVID have a broad range of symptoms that are not easily classified, including fatigue, hair loss, low libido, headaches, and pain.

In total, over 200 different symptoms have been identified and grouped into 10 categories based on the body system affected.

  1. Systemic (affecting the whole body) Most common symptoms: Fatigue, Chills/Flushing/Sweats

  2. Reproductive / Genitourinary / Endocrine Common symptoms: Extreme thirst, Sexual or Menstrual dysfunction

  3. Cardiovascular (heart and blood vessels) Common symptoms: Palpitations, Heart rate changes, Pain in chest

  4. Musculoskeletal (muscles and joints) Common symptoms: Tight chest, Muscle/Joint/Neck/Bone aches or pains

  5. Immunologic / Autoimmune Common symptoms: Allergies, Shingles

  6. HEENT (head, ears, eyes, nose, and throat) Common symptoms: Pain, Vision problems, Sensitivity, Ringing in ears

  7. Pulmonary / Respiratory (breathing and airways) Common symptoms: Short of breath, Cough, difficulty breathing

  8. Gastrointestinal (stomach and digestion) Common symptoms: Diarrhoea, Nausea, Loss of Appetite

  9. Dermatologic (skin) Common symptoms: Itchy, Rash, Peeling

  10. Neuropsychiatric (brain and nerves) divided into 9 areas:

      • Cognitive Dysfunction - Brain fog, difficulty thinking,

      • Speech and Language Difficulties and communicating with difficulty

      • Memory loss

      • Headaches

      • Smell and Taste changes

      • Poor Sleep - Insomnia, vivid dreams, Restless leg

      • Emotion and Mood - Anxiety, Irritability, Depression

      • Hallucinations

      • Sensorimotor - Dizziness, Pins and needles, tremors

Causes of Long COVID

The causes of Long COVID are not yet fully understood, but some possible explanations include:

  • raised levels of inflammatory chemicals,

  • damage to blood vessel walls in the lungs and the brain caused by the immune system attacking special cells called endothelial cells,

  • an overactive immune response,

  • chronic low-grade inflammation,

  • autoimmune reactions in which the immune system attacks the body's own cells.

  • higher levels of immune cells in the blood and lower levels of cortisol (the stress hormone).

Dysfunction in the immune system, and in the central and autonomic nervous systems feature in these suggested causes of Long COVID symptoms. In the next post, we will delve into how to address these dysfunctions and potentially relieve your symptoms.

References

mostly easy-to-read articles

  1. A clinical case definition of post COVID-19 condition by a Delphi consensus, 6 October 2021 https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-Post_COVID-19_condition-Clinical_case_definition-2021.1

  2. Hair loss and lower libido among long COVID symptoms – new research https://theconversation.com/hair-loss-and-lower-libido-among-long-covid-symptoms-new-research-187504

  3. Characterizing long COVID in an international cohort: 7 months of symptoms and their impact https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(21)00299-6/fulltext

  4. When does COVID become long COVID? And what’s happening in the body when symptoms persist? Here’s what we’ve learnt so far https://theconversation.com/when-does-covid-become-long-covid-and-whats-happening-in-the-body-when-symptoms-persist-heres-what-weve-learnt-so-far-188976

  5. Long COVID-19 and other chronic respiratory conditions after viral infections may stem from an overactive immune response in the lungs https://theconversation.com/long-covid-19-and-other-chronic-respiratory-conditions-after-viral-infections-may-stem-from-an-overactive-immune-response-in-the-lungs-186970

  6. Being stressed out before you get COVID increases your chances of long COVID. Here’s why https://theconversation.com/being-stressed-out-before-you-get-covid-increases-your-chances-of-long-covid-heres-why-190649

  7. Long COVID: How researchers are zeroing in on the self-targeted immune attacks that may lurk behind it https://theconversation.com/long-covid-how-researchers-are-zeroing-in-on-the-self-targeted-immune-attacks-that-may-lurk-behind-it-169911