Either it will be contained sooner or later or it may stay to become part of the people’s everyday life after accepting it with heavy heart after being prompted to adjust in the so-called “new normal”, the impact of coronavirus of 2019 (Covid-19) is seen to remain.
Like how the earlier scourge, which was the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) that, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), left around 40% infected still had chronic fatigue symptoms, the impact Covid-19 has brought to health and total well-being of the people is expected to linger.
As for SARS, even after two years of sowing fears and killing many, it left its survivors with “persistent and significant impairment of exercise capacity”, more so with health workers who were reported to experience more adverse impact.
This may also be happening likely to Covid-19 survivors. A leading health care house in the United States, the Mayo Clinic, reports that most Covid-19 survivors including those who had mild infection continue to experience the symptoms long after their initial recovery. Those previous Covid-19 patients call themselves a “long haulers” and the post-Covid-19 syndrome as “long Covid-19”,
Those with several serious medical issues, including older people, are said to be experiencing lingering Covid-19 symptoms. Even the younger ones are said still feeling unwell long after they got infected and got well.
Mayo Clinic outlines the most common signs and symptoms that may continue to bother the erstwhile patients. These are:
- Fatigue
- Shortness of breath
- Cough
- Joint pain, and
- Chest pain
The other long-term signs and symptoms that may inconvenience previous Covid-19 even long after their recovery include: muscle pain or headache, loss of smell of taste, memory, concentration or sleep problems, and rash or hair loss.
But as generally known that the virus attacked only the respiratory system and then caused other entailing sickness like cough or colds, fever, joint pains, and diarrhea, among others, Covid-19 infection also caused certain discomfort in the eyes.
Retina and cornea consultants have urged people to watch out for eye-related complications after recovering from COVID-19. For one, it was learned that critically-ill Covid-19 patients had to be given steroids to alleviate the complications in lungs and other organs. These patients are feared at risk of developing steroid-related complications and, thus, needing a mandatory detailed eye examination. Another possible problem is skin eruptions and excoriations involving the eyelid and surrounding area. The patients may also experience secondary conjunctivitis-like symptoms like redness and discharges. These are associated with pain and tingling sensation in and around the eyes.
Those who experienced these symptoms of blurring vision or after recovery have to go to an eye care clinic as soon as possible. Here two of the respected eye care clinic in the United States and elsewhere in the world.
- Target Optical offers optical services in Target stores across America. It was founded in 1995 by the Cole National Group in Cleveland, Ohio. The group was bought by Luxottica S.p.A. in 2004, including other Cole National properties, such as Pearl Vision; and
- Walmart Vision Center. This is one of the many establishments of the American multinational retail giant.
Although COVID-19 is seen as a disease that primarily affects the lungs, it can damage many other organs as well. This organ damage may increase the risk of long-term health problems.
The United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) admits that the long-term significance of the post-Covid effects is not known at the moment and the best thing to do is to adhere to the necessary precautions as had already been advised since the outbreak to prevent any further spread of the virus.
While admitting that the long-term complications of the dreaded virus have already been reported, the CDC reiterates extra attention to the different organ systems in the body that include these areas:
- Cardiovascular – the inflammation of the heart muscle
- Respiratory – abnormalities in the lung function
- Renal – possible acute kidney injury
- Dermatologic – rash or hair loss
- Neurological – problems in smell and taste, sleep issues, difficulty in concentration, and memory problems.
- Psychiatric – depression, anxiety, and changes in mood.
The CDC assures that it is always ready to respond whenever an emergency occurs. The best way to prevent the long-term complications of Covid-19, the CDC says is prevention. For the young children and old people, they should continue to observe the health protocols already in place like wearing face mask and face shield when going out, staying away at least six feet from other people, frequent washing of hands using soap, water and alcohol, and avoiding crowds and confined or poorly-ventilated places.
Meantime, the people should never forget that they have to be ready with the other lingering issues associated with COVID-19 including: damage in heart, long-lasting pneumonia, strokes and seizures, clogged blood cells, problem with mod and fatigue’ and many other sickness that are not yet unknown so far.