The scars of Covid are deeper and new symptoms are emerging even for patients with mild symptoms, doctors said.
The new post-Covid ailments are both physical as well as psychological, said physicians who have been treating Covid patients since the outbreak of the pandemic.
“Some of the post-Covid ailments could have been there in very small numbers earlier. Now, more people who have recovered from Covid are coming back with ailments which were not reported earlier. A big number of such people are either asymptomatic or had mild symptoms,” said Chandramouli Bhattacharya, infectious diseases expert with Peerless Hospital. Doctors and experts have termed this as “Long Covid” and in some cases, these symptoms can persist for even a year, they said.
Severe gastroenteric disorders to perceived notion of breathlessness, The Telegraph lists some of such ailments after speaking to the doctors.
Breathless, but oxygen saturation normal:
Doctors said many people, after recovering from Covid, are still complaining of breathlessness.
“Most of these people had mild symptoms and were treated at home. They are complaining of shortness of breath even if they are moving from one room to another. However, when they are checking the oxygen saturation level, it is above 94 which is normal,” said Bhattacharya. “There is a perception of breathlessness among many which is now common for post-Covid period,” he said.
One of the commonest symptoms of Covid is respiratory distress and fall of oxygen saturation level.
“However, for Covid patients who had mild or no symptoms such perceived breathlessness was not observed much earlier,” said Bhattacharya.
Doctors said those who had minor symptoms, are now also complaining of extreme fatigue that is not going away even after a couple of months. Long persisting fatigue, weakness, bodyache and headache were always associated with Covid, but mostly for those with severe and moderate symptoms. “Now even those with mild symptoms are complaining of such symptoms long after the mandatory period of isolation,” said Sauren Panja, critical care expert at RN Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences.
Gastrointestinal Disorders:
Abdominal pain, discomfort, nausea, diarrhoea and altered bowel habits are some of the complaints of people who have recovered from Covid.
A young woman, a resident of Gariahat, recently went to the doctor after having severe abdominal cramps and stomach disorder. The woman had just recovered from Covid and had mild symptoms for which she was treated at home.
“Such problems are now persisting for long, even more than a month,” said Panja. “It will take some time and research to say why such ailments are developing after Covid. But apparently it seems to be caused by Covid viremia which means the virus circulates in the blood, affecting organs,” said Panja. He said the treatment is symptomatic. “It becomes difficult for the patient and often they are suffering from depression because the gastrointestinal problem is persisting," said Panja.
Persisting Lack of Smell:
Many patients who had very mild symptoms are having a prolonged period of lack of smell.
Lack of smell has been common since the outbreak of the pandemic but, doctors said, in most cases the sense of smell would return within four to five days after catching the infection. “However, now in many cases, the lack of smell is persisting for weeks. In several cases, patients are complaining of an altered sense of smell. They are sensing smell of an object that is different from the actual smell,” said Bhattacharya.