Coronavirus infection 2019 generally clears up within a few weeks. Although some people recover from their initial illness, some experience symptoms even after they have fully recovered.
People with this health issue sometimes refer to themselves as “long haulers”, and their condition has been termed “post-COVID-19 syndrome” or “long COVID-19.” These medical conditions are also sometimes called post-COVID-19 problems. After being diagnosed with COVID-19, this is generally considered to be the aftermath of the disease that persists for more than four weeks.
What COVID-19 Will Do In The Long Run?
There is no doubt that the entry of this virus has changed a lot of things across the globe. However, the biggest question is whether mankind will have to continue living with this virus or not. The million-dollar question is what it will do if it sustains for a long term like many of its siblings. Will mankind be able to cope with its new variants, or once again, the history with lockdown will be repeated. The experts try to find the answers to each of these questions.
COVID-19 symptoms are most likely to linger for months in older people and people with a wide range of serious medical conditions. However, even young, otherwise healthy people can feel unwell for weeks or even months after infection.
One in five people who survive COVID-19 critical illness die six months after they recover, and about 40 percent of survivors describe a new disability after overcoming their illness.
Researchers examined data from COVID-19 critical illness in Australia from March 6 through October 3, 2020, evaluating mortality, new disabilities, and return to work in people who have been admitted to intensive care units. The study is led by Professor Carol Hodgson.
Fourteen of the 213 eligible patients (21.3 percent) had died at six months, and 43 of the 109 surviving patients (37.3 percent) reported new disabilities.
Seventy-two percent of surviving patients experienced persistent symptoms such as shortness of breath, fatigue, headaches, and a loss of taste and smell despite recovering from the critical illness.
All participants reported a decrease in quality of life, but certain participants reported new difficulties with mobility, activity, and pain, as well as cognitive limitations, and half reported anxiety, depression, or PTSD. In addition to unemployed survivors, nearly one in ten was in poor health.
Critical Care published these results today. Professor Hodgson is the Division Director of Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies and Head of Monash’s School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.
The study was conducted at 30 intensive care units across Australia and was part of a short-term study of incidences of severe acute respiratory infections.
Fifty-eight percent of participants comorbidly had diabetes or obesity in addition to the median age of 61. 57% of participants were mechanically ventilated.
COVID-19 is a new disease; therefore, long-term outcomes among survivors are not yet known; however, Professor Hodgson believes that active screening for functional impairment after hospital discharge is necessary because chronic disability after critical illness is a public health emergency, he added.
After spending more than a month in the hospital, including 16 days in a coma, Serene, a study participant from Victoria, left the hospital in August 2020. COVID-19 has taken a toll on her physical and emotional health, which has prevented her from returning to work.
“This virus has made me look 30 years older. I depend on the assistance of family members to do even the simplest of tasks like cooking and cleaning,” Sherene said. “I have difficulty reaching the bottom of the washing machine without help.” “I haven’t returned to my normal speedy, joyous pace of life from before COVID, even after almost a year.”
