As the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise, scientists are becoming more confident that the deadly virus causes far more symptoms than initially suspected. There are reports from around the world that thousands of people of all age groups are staying sick for weeks or even months.
British forensic psychiatrist Jenny Judge began started having a fever, cough, headache, and breathing problems in March. She has since experienced waves of other symptoms including a racing heart, scalding rashes, and “COVID toes”, which were itchy and ulcerated, a report said.
Some reports claim that COVID-19 patients are complaining of soreness of throat, which was not amongst the symptoms. Fever was initially among the first few signs of the COVID-19 but people now come without a fever.
So far over 12 million coronavirus cases have been recorded worldwide and more than 5,50,000 people have lost their lives because of the virus. Some six million people are listed as “recovered”.
But those who have recovered have been reporting to suffering at least one symptom even 60 days after falling ill. Breathing difficulties and fatigue were the most common.
A similar trend was noted in research published last week by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It found that out of 350 people surveyed, about 60 percent of inpatients and around a third of outpatients were not back to health 14-21 days after testing positive.
Researchers think that up to one in 10 of them still have symptoms after 30 days and some remain unwell for months.
People leaving the hospital may need ongoing care for organ damage, injuries sustained in invasive oxygen therapy, or post-traumatic stress.
Part of the problem is the sheer variety of COVID-19 symptoms, many of which do not appear in official health advice.
As we learn more about the new novel coronavirus, our perception of the risks of the disease may need to stretch beyond the likelihood of dying.
