COVID-19 Long Term Effects and How to Manage Them

Despite the governments’ and personal measures to prevent the contraction of the coronavirus, a relatively large population has contracted the viral infection. Sometimes the symptoms might show after two weeks. During the period, the person can spread the infection by coughing or touching surfaces after touching their nasal fluids.

Most people recover after few weeks of supportive care. Since the disease doesn’t have a cure, the doctors provide treatments to manage symptoms. However, in some cases, symptoms can persist, and the patient develops further complications. Such patients can develop long-term health issues or be at risk of fatality.

Such people describe themselves as long haulers, and the conditions they develop are post-covid syndromes. Post-Covid syndromes are the conditions that persist in the patient’s body after four weeks from diagnosis.

COVID-19 Symptoms

The severity of symptoms depends on age and the underlying conditions. Aged people with chronic conditions such as hypertension, renal failure, and diabetes are likely to show severe symptoms. Also, the aged and ones with chronic conditions are likely to develop the after-effects of covid-19 on the human body.

Some of the symptoms of COVID-19 include:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

If you notice the above symptoms, you should visit an emergency room for COVID-19 to prevent the risk of further complications.

Post-COVID Complications

Although COVID-19 is known to damage the lungs, you might develop complications on other organs. Some of the organs that are at risk of damage include:

Heart

Even after recovery, some patients have shown damage to the heart muscles through imaging tests. Such a condition has also been present in people who experienced mild Covid symptoms. When your heart muscles are damaged, you might be at risk of heart failure and fatality in the worst-case scenarios.

Brain

In both the young and aged, post-covid complications can affect the brain. Some of the nervous system complications associated with COVID-19 include strokes, seizures, and Guillain-Barre syndrome. Guillain-Barre syndrome causes temporary paralysis in your body regions. Also, COVID-19 might increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.

Lungs

Pneumonia associated with COVID-19 causes long-term damage to your lung air sacs, and also, the scar left after recovery can cause long-term breathing problems.

Sometimes COVID-19 patients develop a multi-system inflammatory syndrome. The inflammatory syndrome causes the body tissues to become severely inflamed.

Blood Vessels and Clotting Problems

When you contract COVID-19, the blood cells clump together, forming clots. The clots block the blood vessels and increase the risk of heart failure and stroke. Blood clots can affect other organs such as kidneys, lungs, and liver.

Long Term Effects of COVID 19 on Mental Health

COVID-19 patients get treatments in an intensive care unit with ventilators. Surviving such an experience might cause post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression. Also, people who have survived COVID-19 have experienced stigma from the people around them without knowing about the disease.

Also, some patients develop chronic fatigue syndrome after COVID-19 recovery.

Managing Post COVID-19 Complications

For physiological complications, you can visit an emergency room near you for diagnosis and treatments. Your doctor might recommend medications such as heparin that damage the blood clots. Also, some medications can improve the activity of the damaged body organs.
If you develop post-covid complications such as chronic fatigue syndrome, you can rest. Fatigue goes away after some hours of rest. For mental health issues associated with COVID-19, the doctor will recommend counseling and rehabilitative therapy.

There Are Other Post-COVID Issues Affecting People

There are unknown issues affecting people after COVID-19 recovery. Therefore, if you develop other complications during or after recovery, you can visit an emergency room in Houston. Emergency response reduces the risk of further complications.

At the emergency room, the doctor will order some tests to determine the cause of the complications and design a custom treatment plan

Find Treatments for Complications After COVID-19

If you experience post-COVID complications in Houston, you can visit us at Memorial Heights ER. At our emergency room, the doctor will offer treatments that reduce the risk of other complications and fatalities. For mental health problems, the doctor will refer you to a counselor or therapist.