The Lingering Symptoms of COVID-19

The “surge” of COVID that we have seen with the Omicron variant seems to be ended. While this recent variant seems to have caused a milder infection than its earlier relatives, there are many who are still living with lingering symptoms of a COVID infection. The acute phase of COVID lasted a few days up to a few weeks for most, but some people, especially those with severe illness, have symptoms that have persisted for several weeks or months after recovery from the acute infection. This has been called various names;  “chronic COVID-19”, “post-COVID syndrome”, or “post-acute sequelae of SARS-COV-2 infection (PASC for short)”. Those with more severe cases of acute COVID are more likely to have the lingering symptoms. The most common symptoms are:
•  Fatigue (feeling very tired or tiring easily)
•  Dyspnea (trouble breathing, feeling short of breath)
•  Chest discomfort
•  Cough
The loss of sense of smell and taste that many experienced with COVID can also be a long-lasting effect. Less common symptoms that may persist are headache, runny nose, sleep disturbance, loss of appetite, diarrhea and excessive sweating. 
One of the most troubling sequelae can be the difficulty with memory and concentration that is often called “COVID fog”. This is often accompanied by or can lead to depression and anxiety, much like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) suffered by people who go through very difficult experiences.