Post COVID risk: People never diagnosed with COVID-19 complaining of lingering symptoms in India. Here's why this is concerning

According to reports, doctors are seeing people complaining of post COVID issues who had no history of being diagnosed with COVID-19.

The most commonly reported issues people shared included dry cough, breathlessness and chronic fatigue, which are fairly common with COVID long haulers.

The patients were also administrated with an RT-PCR test to rule out the possibility of COVID infection.

According to reports, doctors are seeing people complaining of post COVID issues who had no history of being diagnosed with COVID-19.

The most commonly reported issues people shared included dry cough, breathlessness and chronic fatigue, which are fairly common with COVID long haulers.

The patients were also administrated with an RT-PCR test to rule out the possibility of COVID infection.

Upon checking their medical history, a few of the patients complained of suffering from a mild cough and fever spell in the early months of the year, i.e. February and March, when COVID-19 rates weren't as evidently surging as right now.

The patients also underwent an Ig antibody test, which revealed that the patients had positive COVID antibodies, which indicated the presence of a past infection.

The past infection and the detailing of symptoms confirmed that it was highly likely that the patients suffered from COVID-19 but were undiagnosed.

What was more shocking was that the patients in question exhibited the same lesions and deterioration signs in their vital organs, much like other COVID patients do. A CT scan confirmed the same. It was seen that the patients showcased mild residue COVID like symptoms, including lung scarring, fuzziness in the chest (which can prompt a delayed immune response and respiratory symptoms), which makes it all the more evident that the patients did have an active COVID infection at some point.

More researchers have suggested that some of the patients were also at a higher risk of developing pulmonary complications, lung fibrosis, which are life-threatening problems. Some even required constant oxygen support to return to living like they did pre-COVID.

The recent cases have made COVID-19 even more complicated. While the risk of developing long COVID exists primarily for those who have a higher risk or have a few typical symptoms in the first week of infection, we now have evidence which suggests that SARS-COV-2 could induce recurring, longer-lasting symptoms on those who suffer from the mildest forms of infection or had negligible symptoms.

The doctors also speculate that the people who have come forward to report these symptoms are only a part of the group who might have been undiagnosed or misdiagnosed with COVID-19, and hence, could have contributed to the spike in disease in India, which is the second-worst affected nation in the world.

The complication has also made experts re-assert the value of testing and diagnosis. Not only can accurate tests alert authorities to take the right action, but also help many, at risk get the neccessary treatment.

While post COVID symptoms can be relatively harder to recognize, such as in the above cases, nonetheless, it should never be ignored.

Even those with mild or moderate infection can take a while to resume like to normalcy.

India, as a country should also be paying attention to the problems of post COVID, experts feel. Even though India records one of the highest caseloads with COVID-19 and good rates of recovery, there's still not a lot of awareness about post COVID care and symptoms. Higher the rate of recoveries, more are the chances of long-term complications with COVID-19.

In recent months, only a few clinics and special post COVID medical centres have opened up.

Doctors have said that COVID recovery should not be taken lightly, and patients should continue to practice utmost care and precaution for 2-3 months post testing negative.

India, with its ageing population and a higher share of co-morbidities, is also at a more prevalent risk of post COVID complications. From persisting cough, recurring fevers, stress, neurological complications, lung fibrosis and cardiac problems, the risks of suffering from long term side-effects continue to be many.

CDC guidelines have also suggested that COVID-19 can also cause prolonged illness in healthy patients with no pre-existing medical problems. Hence, irrespective of age, healthy or recovery, people require care from day 1 of recovery.