Long COVID: THIS symptom seen in 90% of mild COVID cases can take years to recover

While most people who get infected with COVID-19 recover after experiencing symptoms for a few days or weeks, some people end up having symptoms that stay despite recovery from the initial infection. This condition is called long COVID or post-COVID syndrome and is said to happen when your COVID-related symptoms last for longer than 12 weeks.

As the end to this ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is difficult to determine owing to the changing variants that can combat immunity built even through vaccination, the list of patients in the long COVID cohort keeps increasing.

In a new study, researchers from Italy and the UK sought to understand how long some symptoms of COVID-19 last for, especially the common symptoms present even in mild COVID cases.

In this study, the authors wanted to know how long it takes for mildly symptomatic patients to recover from the early symptoms of COVID-19, particularly a loss of sense of taste and smell.

The researchers noted, “88.2% of patients reporting a COVID-19–related smell or taste dysfunction completely recovered within 2 years. A late recovery was observed in 10.9% of patients.”

They found that it took two years for about 90 percent of the patients to regain their complete sense of taste and smell after an initial COVID infection. This long time period can be extremely challenging and can interfere with one’s day to day activities.

While the study adds to the growing body of research and understanding of long COVID, here are some important limitations of the research shared by the authors:

• Sample size was relatively small and geographically limited

• Patients with more severe symptoms were not included

• Data was self-reported

• Psychological evaluation of the chemosensory function was not performed

• Data for chemosensory treatments was lacking

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Apart from loss of sense of taste and smell, a long COVID patient can experience a variety of symptoms. These include:

• Fatigue
• Fever
• Shortness of breath
• Cough
• Difficulty thinking or concentrating
• Headache
• Sleep problems
• Dizziness on standing
• Depression or anxiety
• Joint or muscle pain
• Chest pain
• Fast or pounding heartbeat
• Diarrhea
• Stomach pain
• Blood clots
• Rashes
• Changes in menstrual cycle

Long COVID symptoms vary in severity. Some patients are able to carry out their daily activities efficiently, while others may be even bed ridden.

Apart from the varying severity of symptoms, scientists and doctors are baffled with the ever-rising variety of long COVID symptoms, with some estimates that these could be over 200.

This could be due to the fact that each new mutation of COVID-19 brings with it a new variant. These new variants come with their own different symptoms, which adds to the list of long COVID symptoms as well.

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Long COVID requires precise management over a long period of time to be able to heal completely. While there are treatments for COVID-19, doctors and scientists are still working on understanding long COVID, which is why there are very few treatments for the condition at present.

As more and more people join the cohort of long COVID patients, there is an increased pressure on health services around the globe for treatment. Timely recognition and treatment of long COVID is essential to reduce the number of patients suffering long term on a daily basis.