POST-COVID SYNDROME

6 months into this pandemic, we are starting to see some patterns emerging of infection, progression and unfortunately now, long-term symptoms and complications of this potentially deadly viral infection.

It is clear how it transmits: through inhaling contaminated respiratory droplets, sneezed, coughed or even simply exhaled out, and from hand to mouth or nose spread. 

It is clear that distancing and wearing a mask reduces the chances of spreading and contracting the virus significantly.

It is clear how infectious it is: at least 2-3x more than the flu or other viruses causing the common cold.

It is now clear that, although most people are still experiencing no or mild symptoms which clear within a few weeks, many, including young and apparently healthy people, are not. Recent stats in Florida show that 40% of hospitalized people are under 60 years of age.

It is clear that the more health issues you have, the greater the risk of having a worse course as well as developing long-term side effects. Conditions, mostly reversible ones, like simply being overweight, being out of shape, having any, even seemingly well-controlled medical conditions like pre-diabetes or diabetes, having hypertension or any other cardiovascular problem or… essentially anything else, increases your risks. 

It is clear that kids of all ages can get infected and can transmit the virus. They can harbor as much as 100x more virus in their nasopharynx in fact, partly because they have so much more lymphoid tissue (adenoids). It is wishful thinking that they can go back to school because they are “safer”.

It is clear that even without any health issues, some people get really sick and even die.

It is clear that the healthcare providers at all levels are getting decimated by this uncontrolled disease. As a result, many people are dying from other conditions like heart attacks because of fewer ER beds and resources.

NOW, it is clear that many are suffering symptoms for many months after general recovery and will likely have issues for the rest of their lives.

We know from SARS-1 that at 3 years, 90% of those infected who survived (remember that the death rate was almost 10% with that infection) were experiencing symptoms labelled as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CSF). 87% of survivors had some other kind of symptoms, like breathing issues and headaches, at 3 years as well. We are seeing these symptoms also developing after SARS -Cov-2 (Covid-19) infection also.

There are the patients in whom we can expect problems. Those who had heart, lung, brain or kidney problems identified before or during their Covid treatment. However, as I mentioned in previous posts, even minimally affected or asymptomatic patients have been shown to have permanent lung scarring and heart problems.

We don’t know all the reasons behind those who continue to have lingering symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, difficulty breathing, chest pain, and joint pain. There is some suggestion of a possible defect in mitochondrial functioning. The mitochondria are small “organelles” which can be thought of as the energy generators of cells. This has been suggested with CFS as well.

As far as brain symptoms are concerned, another theory suggests a disturbance in the lymphatic system that drains a specific part of the brain known as the cribriform plate, which is the very thin bony barrier between the nose and the brain. The defect involves special cells known as microglia that surround neurons or brain cells. These are some of the same cells implicated in the loss of smell and taste with Covid-19. This impairment of lymph drainage could cause an accumulation of pro-inflammatory compounds. The brain has its own “proprietary” cleaning system called the glymphatic system, which is very active, especially at night when we sleep (another reason why sleep is so crucial to good overall health).

One “silver-lining” to investigating causes of Post-Covid Syndrome is that it might shed light on other, long-standing and not well understood conditions like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or other post-viral infection complications.

Your best bet is to NOT get infected in the first place while the scientist keep working on better treatment protocols and a vaccine.  

We also know how to decrease the risks of getting infected!

MASKS are imperative and wear them properly, covering your nose.

DISTANCE if you must go out.

WASH your hands regularly.

DON’T TOUCH YOUR FACE.

WORK ON YOUR OVERALL HEALTH.

Have a great weekend.

Stay safe and be well. 

AC 😎✌️🌱❤🐖🏃🏻🧘🏻‍♂️🌎😷