Long COVID is real for people, even those who suffered a mild case of COVID-19.
Long COVID is when an individual who has had the illness still suffers side effects over two weeks after having it.
Studies are still being done, but what researchers do know is that 1 in 3 adults that have had COVID-19 will have at least one symptom lasting longer than two weeks.
In one study completed in the UK, researchers found that 25% of its participants between 35 and 69 years of age still had symptoms after five weeks of being diagnosed.
Hospitalization made the chances of long haul symptoms higher. A study in Italy showed 87% of people who were hospitalized still had symptoms two months after being released.
A study published for Nature’s Scientific Reports reviewed thousands of studies for long COVID, and then completed a meta-analysis of 47,910 patients between the ages of 17 and 87 to determine the most common symptoms.
The following 25 symptoms are the most common:
Fatigue: 58% reported
Headaches: 44% reported
Attention disorder: 27% reported
Hair loss: 25% reported
Dyspnea, or difficulty breathing: 24% reported
Ageusia, or loss of taste: 23% reported
Anosmia, or loss of smell: 21% reported
Post-activity polypnea, or heavy breathing/panting/sweating: 21% reported
Joint pain: 19% reported
Cough: 19% reported
Sweat: 17% reported
Nausea or vomiting: 16% reported
Chest pain: 16% reported
Memory loss: 16% reported
Hearing loss or ringing in the ears: 15% reported
Anxiety: 13% reported
Depression: 12% reported
Digestive disorders: 12% reported
Weight loss: 12% reported
Cutaneous signs, or skin and dermatological issues: 12%reported
Increase in resting heart rate: 11% reported
Palpitations: 11% reported
Pain: 11% reported
Intermittent fever: 11% reported
Sleep disorder: 11% reported
There are also 30 other symptoms that are considered less common, like psychiatric disorders and kidney failure.
The range of time that these side effects are reported are between 14 and 110 days after a patient has had COVID-19.
Individuals who contracted COVID-19 during the first wave of 2020 are still dealing with brain fog today.
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