- Covid-19 symptoms that occur after recovery may impact your daily life
- The symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, brain fog, sleep disorders, fevers, gastrointestinal symptoms, anxiety, and depression
- Long Covid may not be widespread in India
"Patients post Covid on the recovery stage can have multiple symptoms which includes weakness, myalgia, joint pain, breathlessness, cough, headache, and anxiety. Some of these symptoms are due to persistent respiratory dysfunction during the recovery phase of Covid infection and breathlessness is due to residual lung damage," Dr Praveen Gupta, Director and Head, Neurology, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram, told IANS.
For those past the middle age, the condition seems to be more critical.
"Covid survivors, especially after middle age, develop breathlessness and easy fatigue on exertion. Lung functions are compromised. Some would always continue to have reduced lung function in the form of breathlessness on exertion as fibrosis is seen following Covid. The degree of fibrosis in each case will decide the sequelae," said Dr Ravindra Gupta, Sr Consultant, Internal Medicine at Columbia Asia Hospital, Gurugram.
The symptoms per se are not life-threatening once you recover from the disease, but can affect quality of life, the health experts said, adding however, it is still too early to say how long the post-Covid symptoms could continue.
Another study led by University of Washington in the US, reported in February that about one in three patients who survived Covid, continue to complain months later of symptoms like fatigue, loss of smell or taste and brain fog.
"These symptoms are usually short-lasting and resolve with appropriate medication in a few months. These symptoms are not life-threatening," Gupta said.
The condition may not be widespread in India.
"Majority of Covid infections are self-limiting and do not have any long term consequences. In a few cases, anosmia and malaise remains and might persist for long duration. But no major post-Covid complications are reported," Dr Harshal R. Salve, Associate Professor at the Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS, New Delhi, told IANS.
"Major studies are undergoing to assess long-term impacts of Covid and the vaccines against it," he added.
Source-IANS