Most people with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) make a full recovery within a few weeks. But some patients – even those with a mild form of the disease – continue to experience symptoms even several months after the acute illness.
As the global COVID-19 pandemic progresses, evidence has emerged that some patients have long-lasting multiorgan symptoms and sequelae after the initial period of acute infection. The condition is called “post-covid syndrome” or “prolonged COVID-19 syndrome”.
Post-Covid syndrome is a new, unique phenomenon that is still being studied and monitored. Its symptoms, especially severe fatigue, can have a significant impact on a person’s quality of life – affecting private and family life, as well as productivity.
Even people who are not hospitalized and have a mild form of the coronavirus infection can experience persistent or late symptoms, including debilitating headaches, severe fatigue and body aches. Research is underway to determine the frequency of these symptoms, who is most likely to get them, and whether these symptoms will eventually go away.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is actively researching to learn more about the full range of short- and long-term health effects associated with COVID-19. As the pandemic developed, it became clear that many organs other than the lungs were affected by COVID-19 , and that there were many ways in which the infection could affect health.
Older people and people with very serious medical conditions are at greatest risk of developing long-term symptoms of COVID-19, but even young, otherwise healthy people can feel unwell for weeks or months after infection.
New evidence and patient data show that more and more people who contract COVID-19 are unable to recover from the effects of the virus several months after the initial illness. Symptoms are widespread and variable, and can include shortness of breath, chronic fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, and stress.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines, published on 30 October 2020 , identify post-COVID syndrome as signs and symptoms that develop during or after infection with COVID-19, persist for more than 12 weeks, and do not explain an alternative diagnosis… By definition, the condition usually presents with clusters of symptoms, often overlapping, that can change over time and can affect any system in the body. It is also noted that many people with post-COVID syndrome may also experience general pain, fatigue, persistent fever and psychiatric problems.
The long-term effects of the disease can be debilitating, even for young, healthy people or people who were not hospitalized when they first developed symptoms of COVID-19. The virus can damage the lungs, heart and brain, increasing the risk of long-term health problems.
The exact number of people who have symptoms of post-covid syndrome is not clear. Research into the spread of the syndrome continues.
Which people develop post-covid syndrome?
It is currently not possible to predict which patients are more likely to develop post-covid symptoms.
People who are only mildly affected by COVID-19 may have permanent symptoms, and people who have been seriously ill may make a full recovery after two months.
Post-COVID syndrome can occur in people who sought emergency medical help due to severe symptoms or had symptoms that required a short hospital stay, but also in people who had mild symptoms and were treated at home. It is important to note that these are people who did not require specialist care during the actual illness, but may now require specialist care as these persistent symptoms continue to affect their daily lives.
Some studies show that only 10% of people with a coronavirus infection will have post-covid syndrome, while other studies show much higher rates – some even suggest that up to 70% of people have permanent symptoms.
However, people are thought to be at greater risk of developing post-covid syndrome:
- older than 50 years
- experienced a more severe form of COVID-19
- with underlying medical conditions, especially heart and lung problems, hypertension, diabetes or obesity
Individuals with post-covid syndrome include two groups of people affected by the virus:
- People with permanent lung, heart, kidney or brain damage that may affect their ability to function.
- People who continue to experience debilitating symptoms even though no damage to these organs is observed.
What are the symptoms of post-covid syndrome?
As COVID-19 itself can present with numerous symptoms, so can the COVID-19 syndrome. The long-term consequences of these effects are not yet known.
The most commonly reported persistent symptoms of post-covid syndrome include:
- Fatigue
- Shortness of breath / difficulty breathing
- A cough
- Joint pain
- Chest pain
Other reported long-term symptoms include:
- “Brain fog” – difficulties in mental activity, inability to concentrate and impaired memory
- Loss or disturbance of smell and/or taste (anosmia or parosmia)
- irregular heartbeats
- Muscle pain
- A headache
- Depression
- Intermittent fever
- Sleep problems
- Rash
- Hair loss
Brain fog is not a medical condition in itself, but a symptom. It is a type of cognitive dysfunction and affects various mental processes, including memory problems, impaired mental activity, poor concentration, inability to focus. Some describe it as mental fatigue. Depending on the severity of the brain fog, it can interfere with work or school.
Experts are not sure how long these symptoms can last, but it is clear that in some people they can last at least six months or more. The manifestations of these symptoms are interesting and somewhat unique. For example, magnetic resonance imaging revealed myocarditis in some of these people, showing that the heart muscle can remain inflamed for months, even if heart-related symptoms did not predominate during the disease.
The cause and long-term effects of these lingering symptoms are also unclear. It is not known why the syndrome occurs after COVID, but hypotheses range from hidden areas of infection to a persistent inflammatory response. It is also not clear what the long-term consequences of these permanent symptoms could be, but it is known for sure that this syndrome can certainly affect the quality of life.
Many of the long-term effects of COVID-19 are not yet known.
Prolonged organ damage caused by COVID-19
If COVID-19 is considered a disease that primarily affects the lungs, it can also damage many other organs. This organ damage can increase the risk of long-term health problems.
Organs and systems that can be affected by post-covid syndrome include:
Cardiovascular system
Post-epidemic effects on the heart and circulatory system can be life-threatening and difficult to treat, especially in patients with pre-existing heart disease. Doctors noted that even after already testing negative for COVID-19, some patients had chronic fatigue, abnormal heart rhythms, palpitations, chest pain, and permanent damage to the heart muscle (findings in imaging studies). This contributes to an increased risk of developing heart failure and other complications such as cardiomyopathy in the future. Permanent heart damage has also been found in people who had only mild symptoms of COVID-19.
Another important observation in patients with COVID -19 is the formation of blood clots – while large clots can directly contribute to heart attacks and strokes, smaller clots can travel to the liver, kidneys, lungs, legs, etc. .N. and cause significant damage.
Respiratory system
Some patients recovering from COVID-19 complain of constant fatigue, shortness of breath, and the need to take deep breaths, which interferes with their ability to perform even small routine tasks. This can be a consequence of long-term damage to small air sacs (alveoli) and lung tissue. Fibrosis formed in the lungs as a result of inflammatory changes during the disease can lead to long-term breathing problems.
Brain
Some patients who have had COVID-19 have developed strokes , seizures, and mild to severe inflammation in the brain, leading to long-term effects. Some patients who recover with mild symptoms experience confusion, so-called “brain fog”, dizziness, blurred vision, inability to focus, etc.
Scientists believe that COVID-19 can even cause temporary paralysis (Guillain-Barre syndrome) and increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease in some patients.
Kidneys
Another growing problem is impaired renal function, which is seen in hospitalized patients and even those discharged. The presence of high blood pressure and diabetes further increases the risk of developing kidney dysfunction after COVID.
Patients had oliguria (small amount of urine), infrequent urination, and sometimes the damage required dialysis. Kidney damage, which occurs even in younger patients or patients with no history of kidney disease, is largely the result of direct viral attack, low blood oxygen levels, cytokine storms, and blood clots that can clog the kidneys.
Liver
Liver damage is the result of viral replication and damage to liver tissue during infection. Elevated liver enzymes and impaired liver function have been reported in patients receiving moderate to severe COVID-19. A retrospective study in China found that more than a third of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 had impaired liver function, with a higher incidence in men.
It has been found that in some patients, normal liver function tests do not return even after recovery from COVID-19. This may also be attributed to the cytokine storm associated with low-oxygen pneumonia and side effects of drugs used to treat the infection.
Digestive system
COVID-19 can potentially impair the absorption of nutrients from the gastrointestinal tract, making it difficult for the body to absorb essential nutrients and electrolytes.
Many patients often complain of nausea, abdominal discomfort, loss of appetite, persistent diarrhea and gastritis symptoms after recovering from COVID, which makes it difficult to return to a normal diet. Although this is mostly temporary, complications such as gastrointestinal bleeding have been observed in some patients.
Psyche, mood problems and fatigue
People who have severe symptoms of COVID-19 often need to be treated in a hospital’s intensive care unit for mechanical ventilation. Simply surviving this experience can increase the likelihood of later developing post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety.
Because it is difficult to predict the long-term prognosis and outcome of the novel COVID-19 virus, scientists are looking at the long-term effects seen with related viruses, such as the virus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
Many people who have recovered from SARS still develop chronic fatigue syndrome, a complex disorder characterized by excessive fatigue that is worsened by physical or mental activity but does not improve with rest. The same can be said for people who have had COVID-19.
Nature’s help
Based on the above symptoms of post-Covid syndrome, we have created a program of natural supplements that can reduce their intensity or alleviate them completely. The action of these preparations is involved in the regeneration of tissues and the repair of DNA sequences, improvement of energy, improvement of the functioning of the immune system.
The preparations are completely natural and have shown very good results in people who have succumbed to Covid 19 and had problems with arrhythmia, heart muscle (infarct), lack of energy and weakness, depression, hair loss, problems with the digestive system.
The program for the regeneration of the organism from Covid 19 is a combination of powerful preparations that will restore your vital activity, increase the activity of metabolism and gradually return the organism to normal functionality.
The list of preparations can be found below by clicking on the image.
