After testing negative the first time I got COVID-19, everything felt weird. I was slow in my thoughts, I forgot things as simple as everyday words, and I suffered from constant headaches. I didn't know what was going on. When going to the doctor, I heard for the first time the term “long Covid” or prolonged COVID, sequelae that the disease can leave in some people.
According to the STOP COVID-19 CA group of specialists, Stanford Medicine and the Community Participation Alliance ?CEAL? According to the NIH National Institutes of Health, post-COVID or post-COVID-19 conditions are new recurring or ongoing health problems that can last more than 4 weeks or even months after infection with the disease caused by the virus. SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Among its main general symptoms are fatigue, weakness, a general malaise, fever and chills.
However, it can attack certain systems or organs in a particular way. In the case of skin and hair, hair loss, rashes, bruises, and even yellowish skin have been detected.
At the brain and nervous system level, specialists point out that there is difficulty concentrating or remembering, headaches, dizziness when standing up, stress, sadness, tension, anxiety, depression and even sleep problems.
Some cases report neck pain that extends to the ears.
While at the pulmonary level there is difficulty in breathing and coughing, in the case of taste and smell there may be stuffy nose, loss of taste ?dysgeusia?, loss of smell ?anosmia?, loss of appetite ?anorexia?, and increased thirst.
The kidneys can also be affected, and it presents with pain in the side of the body, changes in urination - the process by which the urinary bladder eliminates urine -, and an increased risk of kidney failure.
The heart and blood are not spared, as there may be palpitations, heart failure, chest pain, and fainting. While in the digestive system there may be stomach pain, changes in appetite, diarrhea, constipation, and changes in the color of the stool.
Many have worried about the reproductive system, as the disease could leave sequelae such as erectile dysfunction, changes in menstrual cycles, and a temporary reduction in male fertility.
It should be noted that muscle or joint pain, reduced mobility, tremor in the hands and/or swelling in the legs or feet and even restless leg syndrome, a condition that causes an uncontrollable need to move the legs, generally due to to a feeling of discomfort. It usually occurs in the evening or at night when you are sitting or lying down. The movement temporarily relieves the unpleasant sensation.
According to specialists, people with prolonged COVID usually report one or more of these conditions, although they do not harm all of them in the same way. But they do not occur in all those who have acquired the virus.
Although prolonged COVID can affect anyone who acquires the SARS-CoV-2 virus, it has been shown more frequently in women, people who had severe Covid, who were not vaccinated, or who did not have their regimen so complete, and those who had comorbidities prior to the disease.
According to official figures, of the 98,560,000 to 50 COVID cases in the US as of November 25, 2022, 10 to 30 percent developed Protracted COVID.
Remember that if you present one or more of these symptoms, after having acquired COVID-19, you should go to your nearest clinic or your medical service provider for an accurate diagnosis and to obtain the appropriate treatment for your needs.
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