In some instances, COVID-19 survivors have been found to have scarring on their lungs, which has been linked to lung infections and breathing issues⁷. One of the most common complications of COVID-19 is scarring and damage to the lungs, which can also be observed in people with long COVID. It can also be observed in people who have lived with critical conditions such as cancer. However, this phenomenon isn't unique to people who have had COVID. Researchers have already begun noticing a pattern of mental health conditions such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder⁶ in people living with long COVID or severe symptoms of COVID-19. They might experience hallucinations and delusions due to being isolated in strange surroundings and put through several courses of medication their bodies are unused to. Research shows that spending a prolonged time in the ICU can cause delirium⁵. People with PICS may also experience cognitive problems and find it challenging to recover from their illness physically. PICS also increases a person's risk of developing mental health conditions such as depression⁵. Symptoms include difficulty concentrating and thinking, weak muscles, anxiety, and stress. PICS occurs due to extended periods in the intensive care unit (ICU). People who had a severe case of COVID-19 may experience a condition known as post-intensive care syndrome (PICS)⁴. The following medical complications have been linked to the aftereffects of being infected with the COVID-19 virus. Unfortunately, little is indeed known about the long-term effects long COVID is likely to cause in people living with the condition. People with Long COVID are prone to medical complications from experiencing the virus's long-term effects. Of all the above symptoms, the most commonly reported are fatigue, loss of smell and taste, shortness of breath, and muscle and joint pain. Research is still ongoing into the various symptoms people with long COVID exhibit. The most recurring long COVID symptoms³ that people with the condition have reported include:ĭifficulty concentrating, also known as brain fog Symptoms of long COVID are similar to the COVID-19 virus.

It doesn't help that, in some cases, the symptoms may dissipate and reemerge. These symptoms can last for months, and what some fear may even be years. People with the condition exhibit a wide range of symptoms. It may be challenging to make a definitive list of the symptoms of long COVID. Not recovering completely from an initial COVID-19 infectionĮxhibiting symptoms as a result of an extended stay in the ICUĮxhibiting symptoms after already making a recovery from the initial infection The World Health Organization (WHO) describes long COVID or post-COVID-19 as persistent or recurring symptoms of the coronavirus three months after you first became ill.² Unlike COVID-19, long COVID isn't contagious. What distinguishes long COVID from COVID-19 is how long you continue to have symptoms after your initial infection. Long-term COVID could also happen in children, although it's much rarer than in adults. While long COVID is more likely to occur in people who had severe symptoms when they initially contracted the virus, it can also occur in people who had mild symptoms. Researchers are unsure what to make of this novel condition. What is long COVID?Īccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 30% of people hospitalized with COVID-19 for six months may develop long COVID. This number is one in four for people over the age of 65. In a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), researchers found that one in five people under the age of 65 may get long COVID¹ after being infected with the COVID-19 virus. Up to 24 million Americans may be living with long COVID. This isn't the case for people with long COVID. In most cases, a few days or weeks after getting COVID-19, you are likely to notice a significant improvement in your symptoms and, in some cases, no signs. The condition is known as long COVID, post-COVID, long-tail COVID, or long-haul COVID. Three years after the global outbreak of the COVID virus, some survivors are still living with its long-term effects.

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