Covid-19

COVID-19 - The Long and Medium of It

COVID-19 is still with us, with more and more information becoming available each week. As we follow the science new findings and details are emerging. As your partner in health and wellness, Health Products For You wants to keep you up-to-date and informed.   

Unfortunately, we now have to educate ourselves about the after-effect “versions” of COVID-19 known as Medium and Long COVID. Understanding the differences may help you deal with symptoms and understand potential issues down the road. For symptom relief, please visit HPFY for all you need to treat symptoms of the virus.  

In For the Long Haul?  

For some being infected with the COVID-19 virus, getting over the effects can take a long time. These long-term effects are referred to as Long COVID, Long-Haul COVID, or Chronic COVID. These post-COVID health concerns can last weeks, months, or indefinitely according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC.) These long-term symptoms are frequently suffered by those who have experienced a severe COVID-19 illness, but anyone can develop long-term effects and not everyone who contracts COVID will experience long-term symptoms. An example of symptoms and percentages of people with long-term symptoms can be seen in the chart below:  

• Fatigue  
• Shortness of breath  
• Cough  
• Joint/chest pain  
• Memory issues  
• Chronic Headache  

Long-haul COVID may also affect our organs for some time after infection. The Mayo Clinic identifies organs that can be affected by COVID 19 as - 

• Heart  
• Lungs  
• Brain  
• Stomach  

Long-term effects of COVID may also include blood clots or blood vessel problems as well as issues with mood, brain fog, taste/smell, and chronic fatigue. The more we learn about COVID, the more we are coming to understand about the long-term effects this virus has on our bodies.  

Is Medium COVID Different?  

While we are learning more about the long-term effects of COVID, the effects of this virus in the days, weeks, and months following infection may also be debilitating.   

Thanks to vaccinations and boosters many of the most severe complications have been minimized or even unnoticed by those who contract the virus. However, some effects of the virus that can be troubling show up in what can be called “the middle” phase of post-infection.   

This can be up to 12 weeks after infection. The lingering effects of COVID are often lumped into a generic term that is called long-haul COVID but can include effects that show up after infection or even months later.   

The CDC cited a study that one in five adults will go on to suffer up to 26 medical complications. Complications can start as early as one month after infection and last up to one year or more. While these issues get lumped together as “long-haul” COVID, many of these risks are more prevalent right after infection and fade as time goes on.   

Scientists in Sweden found that pulmonary embolisms associated with COVID-19 were 32 times higher in the first month after testing positive then quickly diminished. As research continues, more information is pointing to higher risk shortly after infection and reduces over time. For instance:  

• The UK government reported higher rates of medium COVID relative to long COVID.  
• 11% of UK respondents reported lingering issues from COVID, but that rate dropped to 3% by 12 weeks post-infection.  
• Tracking data from the UK, US, and Sweden found that those experiencing COVID aftereffects dropped by 83% approximately 4-12 weeks after symptoms first appeared.  

Instead of lumping lingering symptoms of COVID into one generic, a general term like long-haul COVID, it is probably more accurate to recognize that the effects of this virus are actually more prevalent shortly after infection.   

Yes, some who have been infected with COVID will experience lingering effects for years down the road, but the vast majority will experience these effects shortly after infection.   

To deal with some symptoms of COVID, please visit HPFY to help deal with some symptoms during recovery. The more we learn about the lingering effects of COVID-19 the better we can assess the risk to our lives. 

 

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