Content
Post-COVID syndrome 19 is a possible complication of the new coronavirus, which appears to be appearing in some of the patients who were considered cured of the infection. This type of syndrome has been seen in other viral infections of the past, such as the Spanish flu or SARS infection, and causes, mainly, excessive tiredness that can persist for several months.
According to some reports, there are cured patients of COVID-19 who appear to be showing this type of syndrome, with excessive tiredness, muscle pain and difficulty sleeping, even after having eliminated the coronavirus from their body.
Although little is known about the post-COVID syndrome 19, several investigations are being carried out to understand what the effects of the new coronavirus may be over time, even after the person is considered cured.
Main symptoms
Some of the symptoms that are being related to post-COVID syndrome 19 include:
- Excessive tiredness;
- Muscle pain;
- Anxiety;
- Depressive symptoms;
- Difficulty sleeping.
These symptoms seem to appear or persist even after the person is considered cured of the infection, when the COVID-19 tests are negative, indicating that the immune system was able to fight the virus.
Why the syndrome happens
Since this syndrome is not well studied, the exact cause for its appearance is not known. However, as the symptoms appear even after the person is considered cured, it is possible that the syndrome is being caused by a change left by the virus in the body.
It is possible that the post-COVID syndrome 19 is the result of the "storm" of inflammatory substances that occurs during infection. These substances, known as cytokines, can end up accumulating in the central nervous system and cause all the characteristic symptoms of the syndrome.
What to do to treat the syndrome
At the moment there is no type of treatment indicated for post-COVID syndrome 19, however, and according to the treatment done in syndromes that arose after other viral infections of the past, such as SARS, it is possible that the symptoms can be relieved with lymphatic massage sessions, to help the body eliminate excess inflammatory substances.
In addition, monitoring by a multidisciplinary team may also be necessary to help treat anxiety, depressive symptoms or to help improve sleep quality.
Created by: Tua Saúde Editorial Team
Bibliography>
- ELSEVIER. Into the looking glass: Post-viral syndrome post COVID-19. 2020. Available at:. Accessed on 27 Jul 2020
- ISLAM, Mohammed F. et al .. Post-viral fatigue and COVID-19: lessons from past epidemics. Fatigue: Biomedicine, Health & Behavior. 2020
- MAZZA, Mario Gennaro et al .. Anxiety and depression in COVID-19 survivors: role of inflammatory and clinical predictors. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. 2020