Although rules and restrictions may have eased around the world, Covid is still spreading.
Many people who are infected with the virus are mild experiencing symptoms ,yet are still going on to develop symptoms long after the infection period.
Health experts have warned that regardless of whether you have had mild symptoms, you can still go on to develop long Covid.
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According to the NHS, "many people feel better in a few days or weeks and most will make a full recovery within 12 weeks. But for some people, symptoms can last longer. The chances of having long-term symptoms does not seem to be linked to how ill you are when you first get Covid."
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) also defines long Covid - or post Covid syndrome - as symptoms that continue for more than 12 weeks after testing positive, according to the Express. Some of these could linger from the initial infection, while others could develop afterwards. NICE says the condition usually presents with “clusters of symptoms” that can change over time and can affect any system within the body.
But what are these symptoms? The NHS lists other common signs of long Covid as:
- Chest pain or tightness
- Difficulty sleeping
- Heart palpitations
- Dizziness
- Pins and needles
- Joint pain
- Depression and anxiety
- Tinnitus, earaches
- Feeling sick, diarrhoea, stomach aches, loss of appetite
- A high temperature, headaches, sore throat
- Rashes
However, a new study has found patients could also experience a lump in their throat which is said to be more common in women than men.
Research carried out in the Netherlands, published in the Lancet Journal, collected self-reported data by more than 4,200 people who were between the ages of even and 53, all of which had Covid.
They explain: “Persistent symptoms in COVID-19-positive participants at 90 to 150 days after COVID-19 compared with before COVID-19 and compared with matched controls included chest pain, difficulties with breathing, pain when breathing, painful muscles, ageusia or anosmia, tingling extremities, lump in throat, feeling hot and cold alternately, heavy arms or legs, and general tiredness.
“We found that about one in every eight patients are affected by persistent symptoms after COVID-19. This finding shows that post-COVID-19 condition is an urgent problem with a mounting human toll.”
They also said that they were also able to identify 23 potential long Covid symptoms. They continued: "We analysed 23 symptoms: headache, dizziness, chest pain, back pain, nausea, painful muscles, difficulties with breathing, feeling hot and cold alternately, tingling extremities, lump in the throat, general tiredness, heavy arms or legs, pain when breathing, runny nose, sore throat, dry cough, wet cough, fever, diarrhoea, stomach pain, ageusia or anosmia, sneezing, and itchy eyes."
It also listed cardiopulmonary symptoms - chest pain, difficulties with breathing, and pain when breathing, musculoskeletal symptoms - painful muscles, and general symptoms - heavy arms or legs, and general tiredness - as more severe.
They added: “Furthermore, although sex differences are known to be present in persistent somatic symptoms of COVID-19, this is the first study of our knowledge to stratify symptom dynamics by sex both before and after COVID-19,” it says.
“Multiple somatic symptoms—for example, feeling hot and cold alternately, lump in throat, and general tiredness—were shown to be more severe after COVID-19 in women than in men, compared with controls.”
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