The risks of long Covid and common symptoms you may experience
As more Aussies become infected with Covid-19, many are now at risk of getting longer term symptoms. So how likely is it you’ll get long Covid?
It’s our summer of Covid and many Australians have become resigned to getting the virus but there is at least one reason why this may not be a good idea — long Covid.
Even those who get the mildest of symptoms can still experience this condition that could lead to ongoing fatigue, abnormal breathing, pain and even anxiety or depression.
While there has been scepticism about whether long Covid exists, more research has provided evidence that the condition is real.
“I don’t think there is any doubt about that now,” Deakin University epidemiologist Professor Catherine Bennett told news.com.au.
“They are finding virus in different parts of the body and changes to the plaques in the brain that could explain some of the symptoms.”
She said this was another reason why people were being urged to get vaccinated as the long-term impacts of Covid were still not known.
“A virus is much more unpredictable (than a vaccine) and we are still learning about the virus risk,” she said.
“There is a risk it could lead to complications we don’t know about yet.”
A Twitter thread from UK writer Emma Kavanagh recently went viral after laying bare the reality for many long Covid sufferers.
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“Look, let me be frank. My initial covid infection did not require hospitalisation. Ergo it was ‘mild’. However, I have never recovered. 2 years later & I am nowhere near who I once was. My body & brain have sustained long term damage. THAT is what Living With Covid looks like,” she tweeted.
Kavanagh went on to describe her symptoms.
“Some days I’m fine. Some days I can’t stop shaking. Some days my head feels like it is splitting in two. Some days I can’t get out of bed. Most days I can’t remember the stupidest of things. I can’t remember conversations or plans or things that happened.”
Another US woman Laura Miers tweeted photos of before she got Covid in February last year, and a more recent picture, saying she had suffered from long Covid ever since she was infected.
“I am mostly bed-bound. My entire body is numb. I have heart damage & a constellation of bizarre symptoms. I can’t feel hunger/thirst.”
2016, 2019, & currently. I got Covid in February 2020, & I’ve had LongCovid ever since. I am mostly bed-bound. My entire body is numb. I have heart damage & a constellation of bizarre symptoms. I can’t feel hunger/thirst. My PCP called LongCovid “behavioral.†#TreatLongCovidpic.twitter.com/txouY6LfnQ
— Laura Miers (@LauraMiers) November 24, 2021
With more Australians now getting Covid and at risk of becoming infected, here is what we know about the condition.
Who can get long Covid?
Basically anyone who gets infected with Covid-19 can get long Covid, even if they only suffer from a mild illness or are vaccinated.
One recent study that looked at cases in the United States, found the risk of long Covid appeared to be higher in patients who got a more severe form of the disease, in women and in the elderly.
However, more than half of those who had a mild case of Covid and were not hospitalised, still went on to suffer from long Covid. Children and young adults can also experience long-term symptoms.
Virologist Dr Chris Smith, from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, told the BBC that long Covid was most common among middle aged people aged 35 to 69.
People who are overweight, smokers, or in otherwise average or poor health, were also more likely to develop the condition.
The symptoms can vary
One of the problems with long Covid is that there is no proper definition of the condition yet.
However, there are some common symptoms that sufferers often report.
They can include breathlessness, headache, chest pain, abdominal symptoms, myalgia, fatigue, cognitive difficulties, as well as anxiety and depression.
“Some people will experience prolonged fatigue or tiredness or reduced exercise capacity or what is called brain fog,” Australia’s deputy chief medical officer Michael Kidd said in November last year.
“Where people just find they can’t think clearly, can’t concentrate clearly and some people will become quite depressed after infection with Covid-19.”
The symptoms can also vary depending on people’s age and sex.
The US study found women were more likely to have headaches, abdominal symptoms, and anxiety/depression, while men were more likely to have breathing difficulties and cognitive symptoms.
Younger patients were more likely to have headaches, abdominal symptoms, and anxiety/depression, while older patients were more likely to have breathing difficulties, cognitive symptoms, pain, and fatigue.
Can Omicron give me long Covid?
The research so far has focused on previous variants so it’s not known yet how Omicron will impact this.
Omicron is less likely to make people seriously ill so this could reduce the risk of long Covid but there is no evidence of this yet.
“It’s too early at this stage to know to what extent Omicron diagnoses will translate into long Covid cases,” Dr Smith said.
What’s the risk?
The US study found about a third of people infected with previous variants of Covid continued to have symptoms three to six months after falling sick.
But data from the United Kingdom found around 13 per cent of people had symptoms after three months. A much smaller study of 2904 cases in NSW early last year found about 5 per cent had symptoms.
Prof Bennett said the condition was difficult to study as each country had different restrictions and this could impact the results and how they interpreted the data.
For example if someone continued to have headaches or fatigue, it was difficult to determine whether this was because they were economically stressed due to lockdowns or other reasons, or if it was a physiological issue.
“You get different results in different populations because the context is different,” Prof Bennett told news.com.au.
Does being vaccinated protect you?
Being vaccinated can protect you from getting Covid so this could help prevent someone from getting long Covid.
But if a vaccinated person is infected they are still susceptible to long-term symptoms.
There are indications their risk of developing long Covid may be reduced, possibly because they are less likely to get seriously ill with Covid.
“Some studies show that initial disease severity predicts long Covid, others not,” Professor Adrian Esterman of the University of South Australia told news.com.au.
“Since being vaccinated generally protects against severe disease, it is feasible that it also gives some protection against long Covid – but the evidence isn’t settled yet.”
The epidemiologist said studies so far had also only looked at Delta or other previous variants, not Omicron.
Do you have a story about your experience with long Covid? Email charis.chang@news.com.au
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