• ENG

You're likely to develop long-COVID if you have more than 5 symptoms

You're likely to develop long-COVID if you have more than 5 symptoms
You are likely to develop long-Covid if you have more than 5 symptoms

So far, the focus has been on saving lives during the pandemic, but there is now a growing recognition that people are facing long-term consequences of COVID-19. Read to know more about it.

Written by Satata Karmakar |Published : October 28, 2020 1:52 PM IST

At a time when the whole world is fighting the deadly coronavirus, the news of its lasting impact is now doing the rounds. But what is it? And, how this can be another reason for you to worry? For a selected group of people, the COVID battle is a long journey. They are the long haulers who are trying to fight the battle against the coronavirus symptoms really hard. In the recent past, data has revealed that many of these COVID patients are showing the symptoms of the disease for weeks and months. Researchers now have termed this as "long-COVID". According to the study, tracking of these individuals is tough since they do not show specific or clear symptoms of COVID, making the diagnosis and its treatment challenging. These individuals are the hosts of the virus who can spread it to someone else but won't get easily tracked by anyone.

"For some, COVID-19 is a mild disease causing cold and cough, which can be cured by either staying in isolation or by taking medicines. But, for some, the struggle is different. Many of the COVID-19 patients who have already recovered are left struggling with symptoms including lasting fatigue, shortness of breathing, and constant body ache for months. In medical terms, this is now being called 'long-COVID'. This can exhaust the patients and can leave a life-long impact on their body," said Dr. Uday Basu.

A recent study on long-COVID has also stated that the patients who were diagnosed with the virus won't recover completely right away. The study was concluded that after intensive research being done on 4,000 coronavirus patients, almost 20% of them have recorded that they were still not feeling better after four weeks of recovery. The study went on to add that by the end of eight weeks, around 190 patients reported the lingering symptoms and by the end of 12 weeks, almost 100 patients confirmed that they were yet to fully recover.

Also Read

More News

You must be wondering what is this 'long-COVID'. Let's dive deep into this term and understand its impact on your body.

What is long-COVID?

There is no specific definition of long COVID or a list of symptoms that you can look out for in order to know if you are suffering from this. However, various studies have revealed that one of the common symptoms of COVID is crippling fatigue. There can be other symptoms as well, such as - muscle ache, joint pain, breathing issues, constant headache, loss of smell and taste, a cough that won't go away, etc. This not only affects your overall health but also leaves you with a severe mental illness as well. Depression and anxiety are the most common out of all. Researchers said that even the ones who have suffered from relatively mild impacts of COVID-19 can also be left with life long impact. "We've got no doubt long COVID exists," BBC quoted Prof David Strain, from the University of Exeter as saying.

The recent study added that patients who were experiencing more than five symptoms of coronavirus during the first week of their illness are more likely to develop long COVID. These five major symptoms can be difficulty in breathing, chronic headache, fatigue, muscle or body pain, and hoarse voice.

COVID cases in India were only a few thousand short of the 8- million mark even as the country recorded its second-lowest fresh COVID-19 cases on Tuesday with 42,704. The cases are not rising but they are still coming in and at this time long-COVID can be another major issue that can bring more pain to the medical department of the country. Although, there are no specific home remedies that can completely keep you safe from Covid-19. But, certain changes in your habits and lifestyle can help you stay safe.

Stay Indoor

Anyone who is down with fever or is showing signs of COVID should stay home unless they need medical care. This simple step can prevent the illness from spreading to other people.

Eat Healthy

There is no specific reason why you should eat healthy foods. Not only for preventing yourself from COVID-19 but for your overall health, you must eat healthy. A healthy diet can help you to build your immunity and keep your body safe from external viruses.

Eat low carb diets and focus on a protein-rich diet to improve your overall health and immunity. Consume green vegetables and fruits like mushrooms, tomato, broccoli, oranges, kiwis, etc. that are rich in vitamins and build resilience in the body against infections. Some other natural immunity supplements include ginger, amla, and turmeric that you can include in your diet.

Exercise

Stay indoors but stay fit. Regular exercises like stretching and no weight muscle training can help you to stay immune from diseases. A good exercise followed by yoga asanas or meditation can help you cope with the stress and keep your body strong.

Stay Hydrated

Drink plenty of fluids. While drinking water does not guarantee that you will not contract the virus, staying hydrated can boost your immune system and ensure that the body is able to fight the virus. Drink enough water so that your pee is a pale, clear colour. Avoid alcohol as this will make you more dehydrated.

Drink up to 8-10 glasses of water every day, to stay hydrated. Hydration will help flush out the toxins from the body and lower the chances of flu. Other alternatives include juices made of citrus fruits and coconut water, to beat the heat.

Get plenty of rest

Good sleep is the best way to help your body build immunity and strengthen brain activity besides repairing dead cells. Good snooze time for 7-8 hours is the best way to help your body build immunity; lesser sleep will leave you tired and impair your brain activity. The lack of sleep will prevent the body from resting and this will impair other bodily functions that will have a direct impact on your immunity. Lack of sleep adversely affects the action of the flu vaccine.

PLEASE NOTE: Follow these tips only when you have mild symptoms and no breathing issue or loss of smell or taste. These are ways you can strengthen your immunity and prepare your body to fight the virus, but they shouldn't be used as an alternative to medical treatment or in case of serious symptoms. Please consult your doctor before taking the final decision.