Dr C’s check up: “You can manage lingering coronavirus symptoms”
With symptoms coming and going for weeks after falling ill, even with mild cases, Dr C says you can help yourself to feel better DR CHRISTIAN GIVES HIS TAKE ON THE HOT HEALTH TOPICS OF THE WEEK
Health issues caused by the coronavirus can linger for months, but that isn’t unusual. We’ve all had bugs that seem to drag on and on, but because this is a new virus and we’re not sure what to expect, everything is a surprise.
SOME SYMPTOMS ARE TO BE EXPECTED
After recovering, even from a mild infection, people are experiencing everything from heart palpitations to headaches, exhaustion, shortness of breath and even neurological symptoms like dizziness and confusion – but all of those are very typical of a bug that affects the respiratory system, like a bad case of pneumonia. Remember, too, there are lots of other things going on as well; it’s not very nice being ill and it’s also not ideal being shut up at home. Plus, this is a new bug – it might not just be the virus causing your symptoms, there might be lots of factors.
REMEMBER WE’RE INDIVIDUALS
Some people will have preexisting medical conditions, such as diabetes or asthma, which may slow down recovery. Experts say ongoing symptoms might be caused by an overly robust immune response, but I wouldn’t necessarily agree. These lingering symptoms in people who are ill at home are down to individual genetics. Some people are fine with a cold, others will struggle – it’s just differences in our make-up. For some, an illness can drag on for ages, while others get over it in a couple of days. Genetic variations, particularly within immunity, are vast and complex. It’s about what people have been exposed to before – have they been exposed to other types of respiratory diseases, for example – and how good their general health is. It all counts.
LOOK AFTER LUNGS
Studies in China have shown that over 70 per cent of COVID19 patients had patches of irritation in their lungs, known as “ground glass opacities”, which could develop into permanent scars. If you’ve been severely ill, you will have been offered pulmonary rehabilitation, but if you’ve been ill at home, take it slowly and don’t rush your recovery. You get these patches of irritation with other respiratory infections, too. In fact most people will have bits of scarring from some childhood infection or other – but your lungs are big, you have two, and in most instances it shouldn’t be a problem. Of course, if you smoke, try to stop, and don’t expose yourself to second-hand smoke. Lots of people have shared videos of breathing techniques, but I wouldn’t advise you to follow them because if you get the technique wrong, you could do more harm than good. If you are worried about your breathing, ask your doctor for your advice.
WATCH OUT FOR CLOTS
We’ve seen clots, strokes and pulmonary embolisms in hospitalised people. A big pulmonary embolism can kill you, but the people suffering from them are largely in hospital with severe cases of COVID, not those with a mild case recovering at home. Because we know about that risk, people in hospital are put on blood thinners to prevent clots. If you’re at home, the best thing is to be aware of the warning signs of an embolism, which are bad chest pains and difficulty breathing, or a DVT (deep vein thrombosis), which includes cramping, swelling and soreness in your lower leg. Headaches are another common persistent symptom, which may be linked to the fact that people can have very low oxygen levels for a while. We just don’t know yet, but if you’re getting very bad headaches, stay hydrated, rest, take painkillers and see if it helps, but if they aren’t clearing up and keep happening, see your doctor.
WHY YOUR MOOD CAN STAY LOW
Many people say they are suffering with mood swings and depressive symptoms long after recovering. There’s plenty of research on the impact being severely ill can have on you psychologically. A lot of people after suffering a major heart attack, for example, come out of it with depression – and that’s not surprising. People think you’re alive, so you should be happy, but it’s very traumatic. I would say something similar is going on here. If your mood is severely affected, don’t just battle that for weeks, talk to someone and see your GP.
Don’t assume it’s COVID – it’s your doctor’s job to work out what’s going on.
TAKE IT SLOWLY
It’s easy to feel like you’re recovering well and rush back to your normal routines, only to be floored again. It’s frustrating, but you need to pace yourself. With post-viral fatigue – that feeling of tiredness, which lingers after you’ve been sick with a viral infection – if you do too much one day, it knocks you out for the rest of the week. You have to get to know the way your body responds, and look for patterns. Keep a diary of what you do and how you feel afterwards. Then if your doctor asks you questions, you can be accurate with your answers. Find out what works, and when you then gradually start to increase your activity, see how you feel the next day – that’ll indicate if you’re getting it right.
NURSE YOURSELF
Try to get into a good sleep routine, eat well, rest when you need to, and look after yourself. Lots of people lose weight with coronavirus, especially if they have lost their sense of taste and smell, so nourish yourself back to good health with good food. If you don’t seem to be improving, see your GP, especially if you are getting spikes of fever, or persistent shortness of breath. Also, there are lots of other conditions that could be making you ill, so don’t assume it’s COVID. It’s still the case that, for most people, coronavirus will be like a flu, so you will get better. Even postviral fatigue is pretty common and is usually short-lived so you will return to normal after a few weeks.
BE UNDERSTANDING
Remember, this is a new and unique illness in a new and unique set of circumstances, so it isn’t surprising that it is having a lasting effect on you. An illness lasting a couple of weeks sounds like forever, but it’s not unusual, it’s just that we’re not used to it because we so rarely get knocked out by viruses like that. My advice is to really look after yourself, be aware of what helps and what doesn’t, and be patient. You will recover.