GoBilgiThe havoc wrecked by Covid-19 is far from over. Along with this, the concern is increasing over the disease after effects.
Although most people are recovering within 14-21 days after infection, some continue to experience severe post covid conditions.
Such conditions are now termed long covid, post-acute covid and are experienced for four or more weeks.
Since the disease is relatively new to humanity, several post covid symptoms go unnoticed every day. Be it a mild to moderate coronavirus infection; aftereffects can be severe in all cases.
Such a lack of awareness and proper knowledge over this particular concern can shortly bring forth several upcoming challenges.
In this article, we entail all the seemingly critical covid after effects one needs to be aware of.
ONGOING COVID SYMPTOMS:
Some people have reported having primary covid symptoms for weeks or months after getting infected. Such symptoms persist even after testing negative.
Unlike other post covid complications, these particular symptoms can affect even someone with mild infection.
An asymptomatic covid survivor can also foresee these symptoms later in the disease cycle.
The majority have reported having a combination of the following symptoms stated below:
- Mild to severe cough
- Headache or migraine
- Low-grade fever
- Red itchy rashes
- Lightheadedness
- Blockage to smell and taste
- Acute fatigue
- Shortness of breath
- Nasal congestion
- Muscle cramps
- Mood swings
- Heart palpitations and irregular heartbeat
- Inability of workout
- Changes in menstruation cycle
POST-COVID CONDITIONS THAT AFFECT INTERNAL ORGANS:
Although covid is relatively harmless to a significant percentage of people, it can cause severe organ malfunctioning in those with existing comorbidities.
Multiorgan effects and autoimmune malfunctioning are some of the most common among others. Organ malfunctioning is when multiple organs in your body disrupt, cause damage, and even death.
1. LUNGS:
Your lungs are the epicenter of the whole covid ordeal. Naturally, it will be the most dreadfully affected.
Smoke lungs are the most common post covid condition that attacks the organ. In this condition, normal healthy lungs become rugged, clogged, and decrease in capacity like an acute smoker.
An already damaged lung can invite several respiratory complications for a person shortly. The risk of lung failure increases manifold in such cases.
Some survivors stated having no covid symptoms altogether other than a damaged chest x-ray report in hand. This is not it.
A different type of pneumonia can also be a post covid condition. Lung tissues with damaging alveoli are observed in this condition.
2. HEART:
After the lungs, your heart is the next sensitive organ under the gasps of the disease aftereffects. A covid survivor, even with a mild infection, can have lasting heart muscle damages. This is the one of the major signs of covid after effects.
Such patients are at risk of severe cardiac arrest and other heart complications. Stats says that almost 25% of survivors claim that their heartbeats have become more rapid and experience severe thumping after physical work.
3. BRAIN:
Yes, you read that right. Your brain can also be affected by the aftereffects. The possibility of strokes, paralysis, seizures increases manifolds in such conditions.
Disease risks like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Guillain-Barre become evident. Apart from this, a prevalent condition that covid survivors face is “brain freeze.”
Your brain temporarily stops functioning for a few seconds, leaving you in confusion and dilemma.
4. SKIN:
You must have known that mild skin rashes on hands and feet are now symptoms of covid. But what you don’t know is these rashes can become trouble for you even after you recover.
15% of people now have rashes as primary covid symptoms. Many among them continue to have rashes months after the infection is over.
Red, itchy and bumpy, these covid rash become evident especially on your feet and toes, causing discomfort.
Autoimmune disorders are immune attacks on healthy somatic cells instead of foreign particles. This leads to swelling of lymph nodes, Angio derma, and inflammation of other organs like the throat and tongue.
URTICARIA:
Almost 2% of covid survivors now live with Urticaria for months or even years. These are red, swollen welts on your body that experience repeated episodes until getting cured naturally.
Often assisted by Angio derma (swelling on the inside of skin), it can cause lifestyle dysfunction, irritation and can leave you completely sleep deprived.
In severe cases, Urticaria can bring you to the hospital emergency with an anaphylactic attack.
MIS:
Although rare, children with covid face Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome after coronavirus infection.
Different body parts become inflamed very quickly. If it progresses very rapidly, it can cause breathing difficulties, fainting, and even death.
POST-COVID CONDITIONS RELATED TO MENTAL HEALTH:
Covid-19 takes a severe toll on a person’s mental health in general. Research shows. One out of every three covid survivors develops neurological or psychiatric disorders eventually.
Experts have stated, these tendencies are generally noticed in those who have been to the intensive care unit for the infection.
The algorithm shows that a home isolated patient is less likely to have mental issues related to covid than those hospitalized for quite some time.
Almost 36% of people with such tendencies show the mental issue, with symptoms showing within 6 months of the infection.
About 13% of cases have never been subjected to mental illness before covid came crashing down in their life.
1. POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD):
It has been observed that patients that have been with life support machinery like ventilators are more likely to develop PTSD, anxiety, and depression.
Impaired attention, concentration, short-lived memory, and lengthy mental processing, along with the degraded quality of life, are some of the prevalent symptoms of PTSD.
Although, many young adults with covid have reported having depression temporarily as well. One particular concern that they all face is the chance of reinfection.
Patients with such conditions fear being reinfected the most. In many countries, such conditions go unnoticed and may lead to grave problems in the future.
2. SUBSTANCE MISUSE DISORDER:
Another mental disorder associated with covid is substance misuse disorder. Patients, in particular, show abnormal behavior to one or more substances at a time.
It is often associated with insomnia and dementia as well. Mobile phones are probably the most common substance that is being misused post covid.
Alcoholism, drug intake, and criminal tendencies are also prominent effects of this condition.
POST-COVID EFFECTS ON SOCIAL LIFE:
The never-ending quarantine and social distancing have also left their impact on the social life of the masses in general.
Such cases are also categorized under post covid conditions. Anxiety, anger, restlessness, alcohol abuse, and many more have decreased the behavioral health of people.
People have now been physically detached from each other for the most extended period. Many pieces of research show new social tendencies in people during covid.
It states people now avoid crowded places, refrain from washing hands in public, and restrict verbal communication to the minimum.
This feeling of being stranded alone possibly increases cases of depression, anxiety, violence, child abuse, suicide, and even severe crimes.
Hikikomori, also called social withdrawal, is the predicted outcome of this entire lifestyle shift.
Experts expect this phase to last for at least 3 years, even after the covid ordeal. Some people often confuse hikikomori with covid guidelines.
But to state the truth, these two are entirely different and show entirely different outcomes. Social isolation imposed by the government remains only on the surface level to stop the spread.
At the same time, social withdrawal is the individual social avoidance owing to the fear of infection.
According to the prediction of the World Bank, economic regression is advancing more rapidly during covid.
This particular fact is bound to affect the mental health of unstable societies. Stress and tension are skyrocketing due to the regression.
Many fear unemployment, job insecurity, financial condition, and an increasing gap between the rich and poor. Such people are falling under the clutches of mental disorders.
The pandemic has manifested suicide like nothing else. Stats says suicide rates are have increased considerably and are not showing any sign to steep down in the future.
OTHER CONDITIONS RELATED TO COVID AFTER EFFECTS:
The list of covid conditions is long and entails several more apart from those mentioned above.
These conditions are directly or indirectly related to the disease infection and are posing a continual threat to human life.
1. BLACK FUNGUS:
The most feared post covid complication in India is a black fungus. Otherwise harmless, this black mold targets the weak immune system of covid patients and brings forth a new series of complications.
Black fungus mainly affects diabetic patients with high blood glucose levels and patients on steroids for a long time, like cancer.
Generally speaking, this condition is aggravated due to the misuse of oxygen cylinders without proper maintenance of distilled water in them.
2. BLOOD CLOTTING CONDITIONS:
Covid infections makes blood cells clot more, which increases the chances of heart attack or brain hemorrhage.
Apart from these, small micro clumps resist the normal functioning of other organs like kidneys, liver, and many more.
With all such complicated conditions existing, the biggest fear of covid survivors is getting reinfected.
The chances, however, depend on various factors and scenarios. Generally, temporary covid immunity lasts up to 7-8 months.
The chances of getting reinfected are the least during this period. However, with all the different modified strains of the virus coming forward, one cannot be too sure.
Studies show 4.8% of individuals have shown reinfection in general, and the numbers are likely to get high if proper vaccination is not registered on time
CONCLUSION:
Much is still unknown about the viral disease, and precautions must be maintained carefully. As time goes by, this list of covid after effects will increase.
This is precisely why the masses should be made aware of them. Since we cannot exclude the disease from our life as of now, avoidance is probably the best solution.
Keeping a positive approach, maintaining the guidelines correctly, and helping those in need will make the process more seamless. Remember, we are in this together, and with the assistance of all, we can conquer.
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