Coronavirus: endless symptoms for some patients, months after
For some patients, Covid-19 is a disease they cannot see the outcome of. Witnesses are multiplying, of people for whom the Covid-19 did not need to be hospitalized. But several months after the first symptoms, these patients are still not rid of the effects of the disease.
Their stories can be found on social networks, Twitter, for example. They are indicated by # afterJ20, # afterJ90, or #covidlong. And they all have one thing in common, after periods of several months, they still experience symptoms of SARS-Cov2 to the point of still having to lead a life in slow motion. "Since the end of February, chest pains, difficulty in breathing, periods of improvement and then a relapse. I am 21 years old and at a time when all people of my age are returning to sport, I wonder if I could one day do it again, ”Polo McCaffrey posted on Twitter.
For another subscriber of the Twitter network reached for 96 days, it is also the galley: "On D96, my main symptoms are chest pain, as if the area around the sternum / plexus was permanently congested / inflamed. Who recognizes himself. in that description and managed to get by and how? ”he asks, looking for help. Same thing for this other person, Lily who speaks to the other patients: "Did you have the feeling of a tight and narrowed throat to the point of having a phobia of suffocation, bad eating, and post-meal discomfort + fever after 3 months? ”she wrote.
Shortness of breath, intense fatigue, loss of taste, chest tightness ...
Persistent symptoms vary, but all of these long-lived Covid-19 patients suffer and wonder especially when this will end. At 37, Anne-Sophie Spiette, from Stoumon, was in this uncertainty. It was contaminated with Covid-19. She went to the emergency room several times because she was very short of breath, had severe chest pain. However, she was never hospitalized.
Admittedly, 10% of her lungs were affected by Covid-19, but it did not necessarily require hospitalization. After two weeks the "flu" symptoms subsided but it was far from over: "The other symptoms stayed with their ups and downs. After three or four weeks it seemed like it was over but 5 days later, it started again. Especially in the lung. Today, I am still very short of breath, I have chest pain, intestinal problems, big drops in blood pressure and fatigue. I have to sleep a lot, I don't I don't know how to do much anymore. I have trouble climbing the stairs, having a conversation on the phone. It's all everyday life that I don't know how to do well. At 37 years old. I was in good health before " , she sums up, describing her daily life.
Anne-Sophie Spiette would like to return to work, which she is still unable to do. She remains optimistic but admits going through moments of doubt: "I am a great optimist but I am beginning to despair. I see on Facebook groups some patients who are at 140 days. I am only 90. That scares for the future, ”she explains.
Not all of these long-term Covid-19 patients have the same symptoms. The most common are shortness of breath, severe fatigue, loss of taste or chest tightness. Today, these patients hope that medicine is interested in their cases. "The medical profession should start to think about long-term Covid patients, who were not hospitalized because the priority was serious cases. But here, we will all end up depressed. The others have not. necessarily the same symptoms as me but it's hard for everyone. We would like things to change ".
Faced with these cases, medicine seems lacking. Some patients say they wonder if they are taken seriously. For flu, no longer having a fever, no longer being contagious, this often means for the doctor that his patient is cured. However, this does not necessarily mean that the patient has regained his form before the illness. There may be a more or less long period, convalescence, before the patient has fully recovered. For long-term patients with Covid-19, it is the same mechanism. The length of convalescence varies. The state of form also.
5-10% of Covid-19 patients have long-term symptoms
We must first differentiate between people who have developed severe Covid-19 and who have, for example, been intubated in intensive care. "For these, it is normal to keep painful convalescence symptoms for a long time," explains Charlotte Martin, infectious disease specialist at CHU Saint-Pierre, in Brussels. "And there are people who have had a more moderate Covid, hospitalized or not, without seriousness and who, after the acute phase, fever etc., will essentially keep abnormal fatigability, abnormal shortness of breath at the slightest effort, great athletes who can no longer resume their sport, even to a lesser extent, chest pain. These are the symptoms we hear most often, "continues Charlotte Martin
According to the infectious disease specialist at CHU Saint-Pierre, 5 to 10 of the patients who have developed symptoms of Covid-19 have symptoms of long duration, sometimes lasting several months.
Other viral diseases also have long-lasting effects
Covid 19 is no exception. "It's not the first infectious disease that gives this kind of thing," explains Charlotte Martin. "We have multiple examples. In terms of viruses, mononucleosis can give symptoms that drag on for several months. Dengue, chikungunya are tropical viruses that can also cause abnormal fatigue, joint pain and bizarre pains for several months, ”she continues.
Should "Covid" patients be worried?
"We do not yet have a lot of hindsight to know if 100% of these people will fully recover. What is important is to be able to identify these people to ensure that they do not complicate their Covid. ", explains Charlotte Martin. It is then based on the experience of mononucleosis or chikungunya: "We know that these are people who will be relieved by multidisciplinary care, where we will combine physical activity, nutritional advice, etc. Several health professionals may be needed to support these people, ”she explains.
The infectious disease specialist also reassures on one point: the risk of contagion. In people who develop long-lasting Covid-19, they are unlikely to have remained contagious. Certainly, when performing a PCR test, traces of the virus remain, but one should not worry, according to the infectious disease specialist: "These tests use molecular biology. We do not detect the live virus. We detect its genetic material. . We know that it can remain in the respiratory tract for many weeks without necessarily meaning that we are contagious and that the virus is still viable and can be transmitted to someone else, "reassures Charlotte Martin. Three months later, the risk of being contagious would therefore be almost zero, according to the infectious disease specialist.
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