San Diego, CA

Post COVID Syndrome Treatment in Del Mar, CA

Post COVID Syndrome Treatment in Del Mar, CA

Post-COVID Syndrome

The majority of people who have COVID-19 recover completely within a few weeks. But some people-- even those that had mild versions of the illness-- continue to experience symptoms after their initial recovery.

These individuals sometimes describe themselves as "long-haulers," and the conditions have been called "post-COVID-19 syndrome" or "long COVID-19." These health problems also are sometimes called "post-COVID-19 conditions." These health problems are usually considered to be effects of COVID-19 that persist for more than four weeks after individuals have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

Older people and individuals with many major medical conditions are the most likely to experience lingering COVID-19 symptoms, but also young, otherwise healthy people can feel ill for weeks to months after infection.

Common signs and symptoms that linger over time consist of:

Fatigue
Shortness of breath or trouble breathing
Coughing
Joint pain
Chest pain
Memory, concentration, or sleep problems
Muscle pain or headache
Fast or pounding heartbeat
Loss of smell or taste
Depression or anxiety
Fever
Dizziness when standing
Worsened symptoms after physical or mental activities

Organ damage caused by COVID-19

Although COVID-19 is seen as a disease that primarily affects the lungs, it can damage several other organs, also. This organ damage might raise the risk of long-term health problems.

Organs that may be impacted by COVID-19 include:

Heart

Imaging tests taken months after recovery from COVID-19 have shown lasting damage to the heart, even in people that experienced only mild COVID-19 symptoms. This may raise the risk of cardiac arrest or other heart complications in the future.

Lungs

The type of pneumonia commonly linked to COVID-19 can cause long-lasting damage to the small air sacs, or alveoli, in the lungs. The resulting scar tissue can cause long-term breathing problems.

Brain

Even in young people, COVID-19 can lead to strokes, seizures and Guillain-Barre syndrome-- a condition that results in temporary paralysis. COVID-19 also can raise the risk of developing Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.

Some adults and kids experience multisystem inflammatory syndrome after they have been infected with COVID-19. In this condition, some organs and tissues become severely inflamed.

Blood clots, blood vessel problems

COVID-19 can make blood cells more likely to clump and create clots. While large clots can lead to heart attacks and strokes, a lot of the heart damage caused by COVID-19 is believed to come from small clots that block tiny blood vessels, or capillaries, in the heart.

Other parts of the body affected by blood clots include the lungs, legs, liver and kidneys. COVID-19 also can damage blood vessels and cause them to leak, which results in potentially long-lasting problems with the liver and kidneys.

Issues with mood, fatigue

People that have severe symptoms of COVID-19 often need to be treated in a hospital's ICU with mechanical aid, such as ventilators to breathe. Simply surviving this experience can make an individual more likely to later develop post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety.

Because it's hard to predict the long-term effects of COVID-19, scientists are examining the long-lasting effects seen in related infections, such as the coronavirus that causes the severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS.

Many people that have recovered from SARS have gone on to develop chronic fatigue syndrome, a complicated disorder identified by extreme fatigue that worsens with physical or mental activity but does not improve with rest. The same may be true for people that have been infected with COVID-19.

COVID-19 effects still not known

Much is still not known about how COVID-19 will impact people over time, but research is ongoing. Researchers suggest that health care providers closely monitor people who have been infected with COVID-19 to see how their organs function after recovery.

A number of large medical centers are opening specialized centers to care for individuals that have persistent symptoms or related illnesses after they recover from COVID-19. Support groups are available, also.

It's important to keep in mind that most people that are infected with COVID-19 recover quickly. But the potentially long-lasting problems from COVID-19 make it even more important to minimize the spread of COVID-19 by following precautions. This includes wearing masks, social distancing, avoiding crowds, getting a vaccine when available, and keeping hands clean.