Introduction
The term “long COVID” has been used to describe the lingering effects of the virus that can last for weeks or even months after the initial infection. While the majority of people who contract the virus will recover within a few weeks, some may experience long-term symptoms that can be debilitating. Experts are now warning that there are sure signs of long COVID that should not be ignored. In this article, we will discuss the signs of long COVID and what you can do to help manage the symptoms. We will also provide some tips on what to eat and what to avoid to help reduce the risk of long-term effects.
Sure Signs of “Long COVID,” Say Experts — Eat This Not That
As the world continues to grapple with the novel coronavirus, experts are warning of a new phenomenon: “long COVID.” This is when people experience symptoms of the virus for weeks or even months after they have recovered from the initial infection. While the exact cause of long COVID is still unknown, there are some signs that can indicate that you may be suffering from it.
Eat This, Not That
One of the most important things you can do to help manage long COVID is to pay attention to your diet. Eating a balanced diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can help boost your immune system and give your body the nutrients it needs to fight off the virus. Avoid processed foods, sugary snacks, and fried foods, as these can weaken your immune system and make it harder for your body to fight off the virus.
Get Plenty of Rest
Getting enough rest is essential for managing long COVID. Make sure to get at least seven to eight hours of sleep each night and take regular breaks throughout the day. This will help your body to recover and give it the energy it needs to fight off the virus.
Stay Hydrated
Staying hydrated is also important for managing long COVID. Make sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day and avoid sugary drinks and alcohol. This will help to flush out toxins and keep your body functioning properly.
Exercise Regularly
Exercising regularly can also help to manage long COVID. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise each day. This will help to boost your immune system and give your body the energy it needs to fight off the virus.
Seek Medical Attention
If you are experiencing any of the signs of long COVID, it is important to seek medical attention. Your doctor can help to diagnose the condition and provide you with the treatment you need to manage it.
Long COVID is again in the news, partly because last month, the Biden administration announced that Long COVID would officially qualify as a disability subject to protections under the Americans With Disabilities Act. But it’s largely because many Americans are suffering from the debilitating chronic condition, in which COVID symptoms don’t go away after the virus has cleared the body. On WNYC’s The Takeaway this week, host Melissa Harris-Perry asked people with Long COVID to call in and talk about their symptoms. She also spoke with an infectious-disease expert behind an illuminating study on the risks and manifestations of Long COVID. Read on to find out more—and to ensure your health and the health of others, don’t miss these Sure Signs You’ve Already Had COVID.
Long COVID may scramble your brain, making it difficult to concentrate or remember things. “The announcement was really validating, but it’s about a year too short for me,” said one woman who lost her job after experiencing “20 different symptoms” of Long COVID. “Right now my brain is slowing down, so I have to pretty much do one thing at a time. It’s hard for me to multitask.”
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“I haven’t gotten my taste or smell back since October,” said Linda, a woman who said she was in her early thirties. “I’ve had high blood pressure to the point that I’ve had to be medicated.”
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“My wife and I had COVID in the summer of 2020. I only had it for about four days, but the cough never quite went away,” said Tom from Sacramento, California. “Even months later, I would have a cough, and all of a sudden I had to spit or swallow. And it never went away. I didn’t have that before. It’s only just now clearing up. It still happens now and then.”
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“Long COVID is a very complicated syndrome. It can affect many parts of the body and it likely has many different causes,” said Dr. Jason Goldman, an infectious disease clinician and researcher at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle and lead clinical author of a recent study on Long COVID risk factors. “Some of these causes are things like tissue damage, inflammation or autoimmunity, persistence of the virus or viral antigen, or even psychosocial factors.”
Because the causes and effects are so varied, so are recovery times, said Goldman. “There’s a lot of patients that have the persistent fatigue or brain fog. Thankfully, those things seem to go away in the majority of patients. But there’s other patients who might have permanent tissue damage—for instance, some of the breathing problems that might develop after COVID. I’m thinking of one of my patients who had smoking-related lung disease before COVID, but it was mild. After COVID, he never really got off oxygen. That’s likely to be permanent for that patient.”
“I think there’s going to be a range” in Long COVID severity, he concluded. The CDC lists these symptoms:
- Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
- Tiredness or fatigue
- Symptoms that get worse after physical or mental activities (also known as post-exertional malaise)
- Difficulty thinking or concentrating (sometimes referred to as “brain fog”)
- Cough
- Chest or stomach pain
- Headache
- Fast-beating or pounding heart (also known as heart palpitations)
- Joint or muscle pain
- Pins-and-needles feeling
- Diarrhea
- Sleep problems
- Fever
- Dizziness on standing (lightheadedness)
- Rash
- Mood changes
- Change in smell or taste
- Changes in menstrual period cycles
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Ask your doctor for help treating your symptoms, or find a Long COVID clinic in your area. There is no cure for Long COVID yet; in fact, doctors are still studying it. “There is a very large study that’s been initiated some time ago, the RECOVER study, at the NIH and collaboration with other agencies, looking at the incidents, the prevalence, and hopefully understanding the pathogenic mechanisms of long COVID,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, at this week’s White House coronavirus task force briefing.
“Right now, the data are starting to come in,” he said. “It’s too early to make any definitive statements, but for those individuals—and as you know, long COVID means the persistence of signs and symptoms that are not explainable by any readily recognizable pathogenic process following the recovery from the acute infection—there have been some suggestions that it is an aberrant inflammatory response, perhaps some element of auto-immunity, perhaps some element of persistence of nucleotide fragments from the virus. All of these now are being actively pursued, but before we can make any definitive statements, we need to learn a lot more about it, but the ultimate goal of figuring out how we might be able to mitigate or prevent some of symptoms.”
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Follow the fundamentals and help end this pandemic, no matter where you live—get vaccinated ASAP; if you live in an area with low vaccination rates, wear an N95 face mask, don’t travel, social distance, avoid large crowds, don’t go indoors with people you’re not sheltering with (especially in bars), practice good hand hygiene, and to protect your life and the lives of others, don’t visit any of these 35 Places You’re Most Likely to Catch COVID.