It looks like the COVID-19 epidemic is coming to an end after two agonizing years. However, its consequences will make themselves felt for a long time. Unfortunately, there are many, many questions that science and doctors do not have answers to about what we call prolonged COVID.
The condition includes a wide range of new, recurring and ongoing health issues that people experience for up to four weeks after being infected with SARS-CoV-2.
However, doctors are aware of some of the most common symptoms of this prolonged COVID, as well as what science knows about the mysterious syndrome at the moment. Even if you have had the virus without any symptoms and have not felt anything, there are signs that you can tell that this has happened to you.
Labored breathing
Shortness of breath was a symptom of the first waves of COVID-19, and with prolonged COVID, the condition persisted long after the body cleared the virus.
Fatigue
One of the most common symptoms of COVID-19, fatigue, is a sign that the body is fighting the virus. For some people with COVID, fatigue does not stop and can be debilitating. They may not even return to work because they are exhausted.
Dizziness or brain fog
Post-orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, which affects heart rate and blood pressure (POTS), often occurs after COVID-19. If you feel dizzy when you stand up, heart palpitations, tiredness, or brain fog, it could be POTS. You may have had the condition before COVID and the virus made it worse.
Depression or anxiety
COVID can cause neurological problems such as depression and anxiety. These symptoms may last longer, likely exacerbated by long-term COVID issues.
Loss of taste or smell
Some people lose their sense of taste or smell, or both, during COVID-19. Sometimes these feelings do not return or do not return to their previous levels after the person is technically cured of the virus.
Other effects on various organs
These effects may include heart, lung, kidney, skin, and brain problems, and especially multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children.