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KOMPAS.com – Thousands of people who have been infected with Covid-19 report still experiencing symptoms, even after they are declared cured.
Symptoms that are experienced vary, ranging from fever, brain fog, memory loss, nosebleeds, shortness of breath, loss of vision, and others.
Business Insider spoke to 80 people who had these persistent symptoms.
While Covid-19 cases continue to grow in many countries, the number of recovered patients who experience persistent symptoms like them will increase.
Elisa McCafferty, a worker from Reading, England, who is experiencing the condition said some people are lucky because they can recover within a few weeks of testing positive. However, not all of them were as lucky.
“For us recovery takes longer,” he said, as reported by Business Insider.
Also read: UPDATE September 22: 184,298 Patients Recovering from Covid-19
Another story was told by a resident of San Antonio, United States, Hector Martinez (33). Before being infected with Covid-19, he claimed to have no mental health problems but now he feels anxiety and depression.
Four months after experiencing the first symptoms, he is still feeling sick, always feeling tired and experiencing brain fog.
“Some days I feel happy but some days I feel I have no feelings,” he said.
Also read: Social Life, The Key to Preventing Depression
Martinez is an electrician. However, when he returned to work last July, he was oddly unable to remember how to install a light switch.
“It feels like I did it for the first time. I cried on the way home and thought, why did this happen to me?” he said.
Now, he can only work a few days at a time and feels insecure about his future.
Less attention
Unfortunately, this lingering symptom of the coronavirus is still not a serious concern, as is the race to find a vaccine.
However, at least some doctors are aware of it. Neurologist Svetlana Blitshteyn, for example, says she has treated several patients with cases like Martinez.
Also read: The Story of an 18-Year-Old Student in Kulon Progo, Underwent 25 Swab Tests to Recover from Covid-19
Some patients come to the clinic with new symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness, difficulty standing, palpitations, shortness of breath, so that they are unable to exercise as before.
“Or they may also experience headaches, numbness, sleep disturbances, cognitive problems, and mood problems,” he said.
Meanwhile, cardiologist Saiya Khan said that patients with symptoms of fatigue are one of the post-Covid symptoms that are often seen in their patients.
“What we found was that they felt extremely tired a few weeks or months afterward,” Khan said.
A study of persistent symptoms of the coronavirus found that in 87 percent of patients they had at least one persistent symptom.
Also read: Chronic Fatigue, Side Effects After Recovering from Covid-19
Recovery time
At the start of the pandemic, health authorities said that Covid-19 recovery usually took about two weeks and that parents were at higher risk.
But as of July, it became clear that 20 percent of young adults without comorbidities continued to have symptoms, even up to three weeks after testing positive.
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are now aware that Covid-19 can lead to prolonged illness.
Elissa Miolene (27), a resident of New York City who has been infected with Covid-19, also feels it. It’s been more than 115 days after she tested positive, but Elissa is still feeling the same symptoms.
“For me, living in the moment is about waking up in the middle of the night and crying because I feel so much pain but don’t know why,” he said.
Elissa was an active and healthy woman in her 20s. But now, she has to rely on virtual physical therapy to treat her back and chest pain.
“I don’t know when I will be better. Don’t know when I can feel myself again, or when I can do the things I love again,” he said.
Also read: Effects of Hearing Loss After Recovering from Covid-19
Meanwhile, resident from Boise, Idaho, United States, Stephen Smith (64) is one of the patients who has the strangest persistent symptoms.
He contracted the Covid-19 infection in February after an official trip to Asia. Then he developed fever, intestinal infection, hair loss, swollen big toe, and headache.
Seven months later, he is still in pain.
“You have to believe that this is serious and has the potential to make you very sick, and in some cases can kill you,” said Smith.
More than five months after being infected on a cruise ship, another resident, McCafferty (48), also still has symptoms of shortness of breath and is very easily tired. He admitted that he had difficulty climbing stairs to go to the toilet without running out of breath.
“There are days when I cry for no reason. That condition will only make me angry,” he said.
The very bad days for her are when she feels so devoid of energy. McCafferty admits he can sleep nine to 10 hours at night, but his bones still feel tired when he wakes up. In fact, he could fall unconscious.
“Then my brain is like a fog. I can also be in the middle of a sentence when talking to a client or friend, then I can completely forget what I said,” he continued.
This uncertainty now haunts thousands of people who wonder if they now have any chronic conditions. They also often wonder to themselves about what they would do in life in such conditions.
“So, every time I go to bed, I always pray to God that the next day conditions will be better,” said Martinez.
Also read: Foreign Minister Retno: 20-30 Million Doses of Covid-19 Vaccine Available in 2020
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