Typical symptoms of long COVID-19
Most people recover from COVID-19 in two weeks. The most common long-term effects of COVID-19 infection are mood problems, neurological issues, heart disease, liver disease, lung disease, and heart disease.
Most people recover from COVID-19 in two weeks. A few people can have symptoms lasting more than four weeks after diagnosis, a condition called “post-COVID-19 syndrome” or “long COVID-19“. Here are some of the most common long-term COVID-19 effects. We’ll also cover what experts say about getting pregnant after COVID-19 and other possible symptoms.
The most common symptom of COVID-19 is fatigue. It can be hard to walk short distances or do simple exercises without feeling exhausted. This exhaustion worsens after any mental or physical activity, and it doesn’t get better after rest.
Other common symptoms include:
Multi-organ failure
Severe cases of COVID-19 can cause more than one organ system in the body to stop working. Multi-organ failure can lead to increased time in the hospital. It can also increase the risk of death.
Lung diseases
The most severe symptom affecting the respiratory system is pneumonia. Pneumonia caused by COVID-19 can look very similar to other respiratory infections.
The usual signs of pneumonia are:
Pulmonary disease is the leading cause of death when it develops after getting COVID-19.
Heart diseases
Severe COVID-19 can cause Myocarditis in developed countries like the United States. Myocarditis is inflammation in the heart muscle called the myocardium. This makes it hard for the heart to pump blood and can cause the heart to beat faster than usual or irregularly.
Blood abnormalities
COVID-19 can cause changes in blood composition and increase the level of infection. Inherited blood disorders like sickle cell anemia or thalassemia can put you at a higher risk of getting severe COVID-19 symptoms.
Liver diseases
The way your liver functions can tell doctors a lot about whether your infection is getting better or worse. Liver injury is more common in serious cases of COVID-19. Other conditions like acute renal failure, cholestasis, fatty liver, and Hypoalbuminaemia can also develop.
Neurological diseases
Your neurological system controls the way you think and move. It drives natural processes in your body like breathing, digestion, and puberty. It also controls the way you respond automatically to the world around you.
Neurological diseases can be mild, moderate, or severe following COVID-19. You may get:
- Hypoplasia, when an organ or body part doesn’t develop fully
- Neuralgia, or pain in a nerve pathway
- Fatigue
- Muscle pain called Myalgia
- Loss of smell called Anosmia
- Loss of taste or Hypogeusia
- Head pain
- Reduced consciousness
- Dizziness
- Loss of muscle control or Ataxia
- Acute cerebrovascular disease, a condition that affects blood vessels and blood supply to the brain
- Seizures or Epilepsy
- Acute Flaccid Paralysis, a condition affecting the spinal cord
- Inflammation of the brain called Encephalitis
- Demyelination, a condition affecting the myelin sheath protecting your nerve cells
- Brain stroke
- Encephalopathy, a condition that changes the structure or function of the brain
Mood problems
Long periods of hospitalization and specialized treatment can cause depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress syndrome. Talk to your primary care practitioner about how you feel, so they can arrange support if needed.
A psychologist or psychiatrist will join your care team if you’re already in the hospital. They will set up a treatment plan and monitor how you’re doing.
Other unknown symptoms
Because we’re still learning about COVID-19, we don’t know all the possible long-term effects of the condition. Medical practitioners will keep updating their treatments as they have more information.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is studying who is more likely to have long-term effects and why. Studies on the long-term effects will help them understand the condition better so they can develop effective treatments.