Post by Yas Afifi, Modern Languages student
March 2024 marks four years since the first lockdown due to Covid-19, a time which had an effect on us all. For those of us with Long Covid, it marks the point where our lives would change forever. Surprisingly, even after four years, some have still never heard of the term ‘Long Covid’, which is also known as ‘Post-Covid Syndrome’, ‘Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection’ (PASC), among many others.
What exactly is Long Covid?
After an initial SARS-CoV-2 infection, many make a fully recovery, however an estimated 10-15% of those infected, regardless of previous health and fitness or age, will develop Long Covid. Long Covid is characterised as having persistent (often fluctuating) symptoms for 3 months or more after an initial infection. The severity of symptoms whilst infected with the virus does not matter, and some may even develop Long Covid despite being completely asymptomatic initially. There are over 200 different recorded symptoms, affecting any part of the body with every person experiencing the condition differently.
Some common symptoms of Long Covid include
- Shortness of breath
- Heart palpitations
- ‘Brain fog’ or memory and cognitive disturbance
- Persistent changes to smell and taste
- Fatigue
- Decreased mobility
- Post-exertional malaise (PEM)- a worsening of symptoms as a result of increased activity
I myself am just one person among the millions worldwide that have Long Covid. For me, the past four years have marked a period in which I have had to re-learn how to work with a body that is now so drastically different compared to the one I had lived with before becoming unwell, as is often the case with post-viral conditions. Navigating student life and your twenties in a new body with a new illness that has no treatment or cure brings a unique, and often very lonely, challenge. Living with a chronic illness that is still so new and misunderstood means that you will often be faced with a general view that you’re ‘just being lazy’ or ‘not trying hard enough’.
The aim of International Long Covid Awareness Day is to educate the public on the reality of living with Long Covid in order to help dispel these views as well as to push for better patient care in healthcare settings.
Further resources about Long Covid can be found here:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/covid-19/long-term-effects-of-covid-19-long-covid/
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