The Covid epidemic is beginning to seem like a distant memory but as the title of this article indicates the epidemic may be gone but it is not forgotten. Many patients who had experienced a Covid infection along with those who occasionally get infected now can have lasting problems. Most of us have now heard about “long Covid” but fewer really understand this phenomenon and fewer still know what causes it.
Long Covid is the term we use to describe effects and symptoms of this viral infection which persist long after the active infection subsides. Some of the symptoms can be explained by damage the virus has done to an organ such as the heart but some are harder to explain. When patients come in with new asthma-like symptoms or sudden allergies to foods or the environment, long Covid could be to blame. Researchers have found that long Covid is associated with a persistent dysregulation of the immune system which can cause chronic inflammation and something called immune exhaustion and disrupted energy metabolism.
What this means is that patients that have experienced a Covid infection are more likely to present with asthma and allergy-like symptoms for example chronic sinus inflammation and even chronic inflammation of the esophagus. Also found is that those patients that were immunized against Covid had significantly lower risks of these symptoms even if they did indeed contact a mild Covid infection. These are important facts and insights about our old and new friend Covid.
