The end of the pandemic seems to be in sight: soon everyone will have received a vaccination offer - in Germany - and the incidences are fluctuating at a low level. But the horror is not over yet: There is currently a lot of discussion about “Long Covid”, including whether this risk could justify further restrictions in the future. Around fourteen percent of Covid 19 patients, in some studies significantly more, are still not healthy twelve weeks after their infection. More than a year ago, those affected first drew attention to their suffering, on the Internet and on social media. "Long Covid" is now well established among doctors and researchers, but important questions still remain unanswered, for example which symptoms characterize this ailment in the first place.
There is no clear answer, and one of the reasons is that there is neither a blood test nor any other examinations with which "Long Covid" could be detected;
X-rays and functional tests of the lungs are also rarely helpful.
People often report difficulty concentrating, exhaustion and confusion in what is described as brain fog;
Difficulty breathing, headaches, and blood pressure problems also occur.
According to a study in The Lancet, the symptoms can be varied.
Around 3700 internet users filled out the questionnaire and indicated a total of more than 200 different symptoms.
The subjects were found via self-help forums and social media and were not representative.
"Long Covid" is still a collective term
This diffuse clinical picture has not yet been able to be better narrowed down because no one can clearly determine it. which symptoms are due to an infection with SARS-CoV-2 or, for example, to a debilitating illness, which symptoms will disappear - or will remain forever. After treatment in the intensive care unit, patients can be debilitated for months. Many Long Covid patients suffer from pathological exhaustion similar to chronic fatigue syndrome, a neurological disease that can occur after viral infectious diseases. Many problems of long-covid patients are not unknown to medical professionals. What is surprising, however, is how frequently they occur.
In an article in “Science”, Nisreen Alwan now draws the comparison with an umbrella, under which many different syndromes can currently be found. The professor of public health at the University of Southampton, UK, goes on to say that specific research and clear diagnoses are needed to understand “Long Covid”. The new S1 guideline on Post-Covid / Long-Covid from the German Society for Pneumology, among others, should also contribute to this. The pulmonologist Christian Gogoll was involved in its development and can already say from experience that most of the symptoms disappear again. Dozens of studies are currently underway, and the final results on "Long Covid" are pending. And until then you will have to put up with a certain vagueness of the term.