Recovering from long COVID
Long COVID or post-COVID conditions or post-COVID Syndrome refers to a wide variety of symptoms that can’t be explained by another diagnosis. These last four weeks or longer after the initial COVID infection.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), anyone who has experienced COVID-19 infection can develop long COVID symptoms, irrespective of the severity of symptoms in the initial infection, including those who were asymptomatic.
Since its “long” COVID, the exact recovery period remains uncertain. A new research published in the European Respiratory Journal finds that regardless of severity, about 75% of people will recover from long COVID within a year.
Common long COVID symptoms
-Fatigue
-Difficulty breathing
-Cough
-Headaches
-Body aches
-Brain fog
-Anxiety and depression
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About the study
The researchers noted that all surveyed patients were otherwise healthy, and had no pre-existing autoimmune conditions or other underlying diseases before the COVID infection. By 12 months, about 75% of the participants had no COVID-related symptoms.
Autoantibodies can also develop
Now, the researchers found that the patients who recovered had a reduction in autoantibodies and cytokines, matched by their symptoms improving. However, those with persistent symptoms had elevated antibody and cytokine levels even after one year from the initial infection.
“Sometimes, while the body is fighting the virus, the immune system gets so amped up that, in addition to making antibodies that kill the virus, it can produce those that attack the host,” senior author Dr. Manali Mukherjee, an assistant Professor of Medicine at McMaster University said in a statement.
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When to see a doctor
She also recommended that these patients should see a rheumatologist, since they specialize in autoimmune disorders. Long COVID patients are currently assessed more by respiratory specialists or infectious disease specialists, instead of those specializing in autoimmunity.
Vaccination may reduce long COVID risk
According to Thomas Gut, DO, director of the Post-COVID Recovery Center at Staten Island University Hospital, part of Northwell Health in New York, “Vaccination so far has been the most effective option for preventing long-COVID.”
In another UK study, researchers found that receiving two COVID-19 vaccine doses, with the last at least two weeks before the COVID infection, almost halved the chances of the people developing long COVID symptoms later on.
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