The UK health service predicted that long after the lockdown is lifted and the pandemic has receded, they may still be treating numerous long-term victims of the coronavirus.
There is evidence from early studies of patients with COVID-19 that suggest the infection may leave behind conditions ranging from heart and lung damage to sensory loss. Since the outbreak, numerous health experts already reported that it can cause lasting injuries to the heart and lungs, but now they suggest that there may be other consequences.
COVID-19 may leave behind sensory loss, heart and lung damage
After the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic that infected millions of people around the world, many who survived experienced depression and persistent lethargy, according to Laura Spinney, the author of Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu Of 1918 And How It Changed The World.
Spinney stated that the virus affected the entire constitution and people reported insomnia, dizziness, loss of smell or hearing and blurred vision. Because of this, some experts believe that the COVID-19 outbreak will lead to a similar explosion in post-viral depression and malaise.
According to the Italian Society of Neurology, there is a precedent with other epidemics. Neurological and psychiatric complications had been reported during the SARS epidemic in 2003. Aside from depressive mood alterations, suicidal ideas and anxiety disorder, cases of visual and auditory hallucinations, delusions of persecution, behavioral disturbances and disorientation have also been reported.
The link between respiratory viruses and mood disorders was supported by infectious disease experts at the Royal Free Hospital and University College London Medical School, the research was published in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity in 2016. The researchers found that people who had a flu infection in the previous 30 to 180 days had a 57% higher risk of developing depression, compared with people who had not contracted the flu.
Any viral infection can trigger post-viral syndrome, thus leading to persistent weakness and exhaustion. Symptoms include aches and pains, headaches, stiff joints, swollen glands and trouble concentrating and it can last for weeks or months.
It is unclear why these symptoms persist, but it may because of the triggering inflammation of the virus, or the lingering presence of the virus itself. COVID-19 may lead to other long-term problems as well. Six in ten people who have tested positive for it stated that they have lost their sense of taste and smell, a condition that is called anosmia.
After-effects of COVID-19
Although the loss may be temporary, British evidence suggests that in numerous cases, it may be permanent, and it is a condition called post-viral olfactory loss or PVOL. A professor of rhinology and olfactology at the University of East Anglia, Carl Philpott, told Good Health that it is very reasonable to think that COVID-19 may cause permanent taste and smell loss.
According to Professor Philpott, PVOL is seen after respiratory infections such as flu, and it is when the infection causes the fine hair-like endings of the odor-receptor cells inside the nose to fall off, so the cells are no longer able to pick up odor molecules from the nose.
But with COVID-10, new reports suggest that the virus is damaging cells in the lining of the nose that support the receptor cells. It may be doing both forms of damage. Professor Philpott warns that smell loss might seem trivial but it is not to those who suffer it. A lot of people are isolated, which also explains why more than 60% reported feeling depressed and stressed.
The NHS says that smell training, which involves sniffing scented oils daily to stimulate the olfactory nerves that detect odors, may coax the sense to return. The NHS may also have to provide services and support for coronavirus survivors who may have developed new heart and lung conditions, which is why they are campaigning for additional funds to be able to address all of the health issues.
