LONG HAUL
Long Covid is WORSE in patients who had mild or no symptoms, top doctor says
LONG Covid is worse in patients who had mild or no symptoms of the virus, a top doctor has warned.
It comes as researchers in the US found that a third of patients with long-term issues such as chest pains or fatigue had not experienced any traditional Covid symptoms up to ten days after they tested positive.
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Many people who contract and overcome Covid-19 have been left with long Covid and they can have symptoms including brain fog, fatigue and muscle aches.
The symptoms of long Covid are usually different from the three main symptoms of coronavirus outlined by the NHS which include a new persistent cough, a high temperature and a loss of taste and smell.
However other symptoms people often experience include fatigue, muscle ache and confusion.
One top UK doctor states that long lasting Covid symptoms are most common in patients who didn't suffer severe symptoms when they contracted the virus.
Dr Melissa Heightman a respiratory specialist at University College London Hospitals today said there are different patterns emerging in patients who were admitted to hospital with Covid and those who were not.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme she said: "Even in them, the virus has been able to trigger effects that can contribute to them being unwell for months. That’s something that’s been a surprise to us.
"The symptoms can be more difficult and more long-lasting in patients who were not admitted to hospital.";
What is long Covid?
HUNDREDS of thousands of people recovering from the coronavirus have been struck down with debilitating symptoms.
Those suffering have dubbed the condition "long-Covid", with many reporting symptoms of chronic fatigue and cognitive problems.
The all-party parliamentary group (APPG) of MPs on the coronavirus previously claimed there were 16 symptoms that people with long-Covid suffer with.
These are:
- Hair loss
- High temperature
- Diarrhoea
- Exhaustion
- Chest pain
- Insomnia
- Hallucinations
- Covid toes
- Chills
- Disorientation
- Cognitive problems
- Breathing issues
- Muscle or body aches
- A heart rate of more than 100 beats a minute (Tachycardia)
- Vomiting
- Issues with your heart rate or its rhythm (Arrhythmia)
She added that for some patients, the improvement in symptoms can be quite slow.
Dr Heightman continued: "And this post-viral syndrome that we see probably has a number of quite difficult mechanisms underlying.
"That is definitely something we need to research quite urgently."
Her comments come after a study conducted by found that people who weren't hospitalised with the virus had worse symptoms of long Covid afterwards.
The experts analysed 1,407 people in California who tested positive for the virus and found that more than 60 days after infection, 27 per cent of patients struggled with long Covid.
They reported symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain, cough or abdominal pain.
The study has not yet been peer reviewed but comes after various other studies found that people who contract Covid go on to develop conditions such as diabetes and are also at risk of other issues such as MS and heart conditions.
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In order to determine that the long Covid symptoms had been caused by the virus, doctors excluded any symptoms patients had reported in the year before their diagnosis.
The experts found that children also had long Covid.
One of the authors Melissa Pinto said: "Of the 34 children in the study, 11 were long-haulers."
The authors detected more than 30 long Covid symptoms including headaches, abdominal and chest pains.
They also reported patients struggling with anxiety, low back pain, fatigue, insomnia, gastrointestinal problems and rapid heart rate.
In the UK, hundreds of long Covid patient have been given access to treatment through 72 long Covid sites.
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One study previously found that eight in ten people who have had the coronavirus still battle at least one long-term side effect lasting more than two weeks.
Other scientists have said there could be 170 crippling symptoms, including rashes, brain fog, stabbing heart pains and depression.
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Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran previously stated that in the UK it is estimated that around 400,000 people are suffering from long-Covid.
But this figure could be much higher as these stats come from ONS data based solely on people who have tested positive for Covid-19 and do not include cases where the virus had not been detected - in scenarios where a patient may have been asymptomatic.
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