COVID – 19 has been around for three years already. Many of us have suffered from long-term health problems after COVID – 19 infection. This is called post-COVID-19 condition or “long COVID”. Although most people with COVID-19 experience mild symptoms or moderate illness, approximately 10-15% of cases progress to severe disease, and about 5% become critically ill. (Post COVID-19 condition (Long COVID), 2021)
Most people recover and return to normal health from COVID – 19 after 2 – 6 weeks but some can have symptoms that last for weeks or even months after recovery from acute illness though they are not infectious to others during this time. Even people who were not hospitalized and who had mild illness can experience persistent or late symptoms and some patients develop medical complications that may have lasting health effects.(Long COVID), 2021)
Anyone with COVID-19 can get post-COVID-19 condition, irrespective of the severity of the disease.
Common symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath and a decline in mental abilities like memory or brain fog (cognitive dysfunction). The case definition does not include an exhaustive list of reported symptoms. As studies continue, we can expect to learn more.
The most common symptoms are shown in the figure below.
Though less common, serious long-term complications are also been reported, especially in patients with severe COVID-19 who were hospitalized. These have been noted to affect different organ systems in the body as shown below.
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) recognises post covid symptoms as “lingering heat” that manifested as inflammation on multiple organs and body tissues. The effective treatment usually targets reducing the heat in the heart, lung and large intestine.
When the heat affects our heart, we usually feel heart palpitation, chest tightness or even panic attack. Patients with insomnia may feel tired, tense, lazy, or have delayed reactions, distractions, or headaches they can be treated with medications, herbal therapy, and psychologic or physical therapy. Many research study has proven Acupuncture appears to be effective in the treatment of insomnia. (Cao et al., 2009).
Reference
Who.int. 2019. Post COVID-19 condition (Long COVID). [online] Available at: <https://www.who.int/srilanka/news/detail/16-10-2021-post-covid-19-condition?fbclid=IwAR0xmXB2Z7hXmGuxWYDjy3a4yO8olNdphs-uAvT2erZLb6LltRvYI0dFNqs> [Accessed 11 June 2022].
Cao, H., Pan, X., Li, H., & Liu, J. (2009). Acupuncture for Treatment of Insomnia: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials. PubMed. Retrieved 11 June 2022, from.