{"id":446,"date":"2022-10-25T04:49:24","date_gmt":"2022-10-25T04:49:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/?p=446"},"modified":"2022-11-04T23:11:36","modified_gmt":"2022-11-04T23:11:36","slug":"what-is-long-covid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/covid-medications\/what-is-long-covid\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Long COVID? Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Highlights<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong>There is yet to be a formal medical diagnosis for long COVID, as researchers are still studying it.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong>Long COVID has a wide range of symptoms, some of which can be treated.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><strong>BidRX can help you get the best price for medication to treat long COVID symptoms.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As COVID-19 moves from being a novel virus to an unfortunate fact of life, a new concern is emerging. Long COVID, where one or more symptoms last after the infection ends, is impacting the health of millions. Here\u2019s what we know so far about long COVID, its treatment, its prevention, and what the future holds.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>What Is Long COVID?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There isn\u2019t yet a formal medical consensus on what we call \u201clong COVID.\u201d Informally, it\u2019s the continuance of at least one symptom after the infection has passed. While people with mild infections are at lower risk, there have been reports of long COVID symptoms even in people who had a COVID infection with no obvious symptoms.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>How Is Long COVID Diagnosed?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As there\u2019s no formal medical definition of long COVID, it\u2019s largely diagnosed in the absence of any other explanation for the symptoms, called a diagnosis of exclusion. This raises questions as to whether long COVID is a unique post-infection syndrome or unrelated issues finally being diagnosed and reported. As we develop a better understanding of those issues, a formal diagnosis should come into focus.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>What Are the Symptoms of Long COVID?<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-453\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/2.jpeg-88.jpg\" alt=\"Woman holding her head\" width=\"512\" height=\"270\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There\u2019s disagreement over what should count as a long COVID symptom. The most widely reported symptoms are memory concerns (called \u201cbrain fog\u201d) and fatigue severe enough to interfere with daily living.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mayoclinic.org\/diseases-conditions\/coronavirus\/in-depth\/coronavirus-long-term-effects\/art-20490351\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Other commonly reported symptoms<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Headaches<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lost or distorted sense of smell<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Breathing difficulties such as persistent cough or shortness of breath<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Neurological concerns such as tingling in the extremities<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sleep disorders<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Muscle pain<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Changes in menstrual cycle<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Depression and anxiety<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>How Common Is Long COVID?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As research is ongoing, there is no consensus on how prevalent long COVID is, with claims ranging from <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-022-01702-2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">5 to 50 percent of infections<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. There are several reasons for this lack of agreement.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Diversity of Long COVID Symptoms<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Long COVID is defined by one or more symptoms enduring past the infections. The CDC alone lists 19 possible symptoms, and other medical bodies add many others. This raises questions without easy answers. For example, if a person\u2019s sense of smell is permanently altered but they have no other symptoms, should that be classified in the same way as a person suffering from fatigue?<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Common Nature of Symptoms<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Symptoms such as dizziness, persistent cough, and depression are widespread on their own, but they are also common symptoms of other diseases. Depression, for example, is commonplace and is prone to the \u201cchicken and egg\u201d question: Is depression caused by long COVID, or do the circumstances of long COVID cause depression?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Aggravation of Chronic Conditions<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-452\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/3.jpeg-85.jpg\" alt=\"Woman holding her head\" width=\"512\" height=\"408\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">COVID-19 has shown a tendency to worsen chronic conditions such as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.diabetes.org.uk\/about_us\/news\/new-worse-cases-coronavirus\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">diabetes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-022-01702-2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">asthma<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and these conditions can <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/diabetes.org\/coronavirus-covid-19\/how-coronavirus-impacts-people-with-diabetes\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">make a COVID infection more severe<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Sorting long COVID from chronic conditions has presented a challenge to doctors. What patients group into long COVID may be sorted by doctors into many different diagnoses over time, as we better understand how COVID affects various organs.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Trauma From Hospitalization<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Life-saving procedures can have long-term effects on health. For example, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC7275663\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">higher incidence of airway trauma and post-removal risks<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> have been reported due to intubation, a common lifesaving procedure for COVID survivors. How many of these effects are caused by COVID and how much by trauma is an open question.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>The Changing Nature of the Virus<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Early strains of COVID-19 primarily attacked the respiratory system, but as it has evolved, COVID has attacked a wide range of organs. In addition, infections can attack tissues throughout the body, causing a broader range of symptoms.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>How Dangerous Is Long COVID?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The risk of long COVID depends on the patient. An otherwise healthy person may face serious concerns about quality of life, such as being able to work, but currently there\u2019s no evidence they\u2019re at increased risk of death in the short term. In the long term, we simply don\u2019t know.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Someone with a potentially life-threatening condition may be at higher risk because long COVID will complicate long-term care and potentially make that condition worse.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>What Are the Risk Factors for Long COVID?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So far, the following risk factors have emerged among reported long COVID patients, although <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.renalandurologynews.com\/home\/news\/nephrology\/long-covid-risk-factors-assessed-with-documented-care\/?utm_content=eda380d4151643e3bcd92641f609c910-29481148&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_campaign=run_daily_posts\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">more possibilities are emerging<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Age.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> People over age 50 are more likely to experience long COVID, according to current data.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Gender.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Women are less likely to develop severe COVID symptoms, but they seem more likely to develop long COVID.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Number of symptoms.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> People reporting five or more symptoms from their initial infection are more likely to report at least one of them continuing.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Asthma or other chronic respiratory illness.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> People with asthma are reporting more long-term symptoms, usually due to lung damage caused by COVID infections.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Body weight.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Obesity is considered a factor in long COVID at the moment, but this may change because obesity can be a symptom of other health issues.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>How Can I Prevent Long COVID?<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-451\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/4.jpeg-34.jpg\" alt=\"Man hunching over his desk\" width=\"512\" height=\"341\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The only known way to prevent long COVID is to avoid COVID-19 exposure as much as possible, and if you do get infected, to manage it quickly.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Get vaccinated, if possible, and remain current on boosters.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mask indoors and in crowded outdoor situations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Avoid poorly ventilated areas.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Practice social distancing when possible.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Test when you believe you may have been exposed.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If infected, contact a doctor immediately and use medications that limit the severity of symptoms.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>How Can BidRx Help Me Treat Long COVID?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Right now, treatment of long COVID is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthline.com\/health-news\/long-covid-the-latest-on-risks-recovery-and-treatment#Treatment-and-recovery\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">focused on reducing symptoms<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> where possible. Fortunately, as many symptoms of long COVID are common, you can treat them using commonly available medications.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">BidRX can help you get the best prices on medicines for your chronic conditions and long COVID symptoms. Enter a bid on our website and pharmacies across the country will put out their best price, with medication shipped to your door. Especially for people who need to plan their day to avoid fatigue or are concerned about exposure, it\u2019s a safer way to get your medication. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/home\/Contents\/medication\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Get started with BidRX now<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Highlights There is yet to be a formal medical diagnosis for long COVID, as researchers&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":450,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-covid-medications","post_format-post-format-image"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=446"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":456,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446\/revisions\/456"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}