Long-term Impacts of Contracting COVID-19

Ordinarily, the symptoms of COVID-19 fade away within a couple of weeks after an individual becomes infected, however, some patients have found themselves dealing with long-lasting issues months after they’ve initially recovered from being sick.

For a symptom to be a long-term effect of COVID-19, the issue needs to be present four weeks following a person’s initial diagnosis.

The common symptoms experienced by those who suffer from extended COVID issues include the following:

Dizziness
Fever
Fatigue
Loss of smell and/or taste
Memory issues
Difficulty breathing
Cough
Joint pain
Chest pain or pounding heartbeat

Most of these issues will eventually pass, and they’re not life-threatening for most individuals who do not have health conditions that are exacerbated by said symptoms.

The residual effects of COVID-19 are more common in seniors and individuals with compromised immune systems than they are in healthy young adults.

Serious Long-term Issues

In some cases, the long-term effects of COVID-19 lead to serious health issues including damage to certain organs, mood issues, chronic fatigue, and blood clots.

The lungs usually receive the brunt of the damage COVID-19 causes, but some patients also suffer from damage that impacts the kidneys, heart, brain, and nervous system. Examples of these issues may be chronic breathing problems, blood clots in the heart, cardiac issues, stroke, chronic kidney health problems, and numbness or temporary paralysis due to the development of Guillain-Barré syndrome.

When it comes to the development of mood issues like depression and anxiety following COVID-19 infection, it’s currently unclear whether the virus itself initiates these developments, or whether the stress of recovery leaves patients feeling anxious and depressed long after initial recovery.

Further, some individuals who have had COVID-19 later develop chronic fatigue syndrome. This disorder causes an individual to feel extremely tired and weak, to the point where bed rest does not improve symptoms. The symptoms usually become more intense with physical activity or exposure to mental stress.

Because COVID-19 is a relatively new illness, the full extent of long-term impacts is currently unclear, though further study will likely continue to shed light on the effects of contracting the illness.

If you have contracted COVID-19 and find that your symptoms have lasted beyond four weeks following your diagnosis or positive test result, it may be worth visiting a doctor to explore your options. Though the long-term effects of the illness will possibly improve with time, Swift Health can help make the recovery process a little easier with dedicated medical care.

Long-term Impacts of Contracting COVID-19