As more people recover from the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19), I have seen some
frightening trend, that the Governments going gung-ho about how effective the
recoveries are… and have been highlighting the recovery rate vis-à-vis the
infections on a time-line. Just because
all these people have recovered does not mean that their health has gone back
to being normal. Because Covid-19 is a new disease, there are no studies about its
long-lasting after effects. However, we
have read about virus attaching itself to human cells in many parts of the body
and penetrate many major organs, including the heart, kidneys, brain, and even
blood vessels.
There have been many articles written and ongoing studies, on the
long-term after effects of COVID-19 and Doctors treating COVID-19 Patients and
seeing the recoveries have since stated that people who recover may not get
back to the normal way they were before and has warned that the “This infection
not only can cause mortality, but it can also cause disability”... of various
kinds, that will require life-long support and care.
Studies that are being done on recovered patients have since
unearthed cases of people having long-lasting after effects like difficulty in
breathing, permanent lung-damage and confused, disturbed thinking. Contracting heart stroke is another example
of people having complications after recovering from COVID-19.
COVID-19 and Lung Infections
John Hopkins Studies have shown that COVID-19,
can cause pneumonia and,
in the most severe cases, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS. Sepsis
is another possible complication of COVID-19, causing long-lasting harm to
various organs.
[Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition caused by
the body's response to an infection. The body normally releases chemicals into
the bloodstream to fight an infection. Sepsis occurs when an infection reaches,
and spreads through, the bloodstream, causing tissue damage everywhere it goes,
thus causing organ failure and cooperation between various organs of the human
body].
Super-Infection
Doctors have also warned about a condition called Super-Infection
where a person while having COVID-19 has his immune system working against the
Virus, but leaving the body more vulnerable to other infections like bacterial
or viral on top of the COVID-19 — a superinfection.
[Read the John Hopkins Article here :
Heart Damage
While the entire focus of COVID-19 has been its effect on respiratory problems and securing enough ventilators, doctors treating
the patients at many countries, including part of Kerala, India have observed
something extraordinary. People who have
recovered from COVID-19 have since developed heart complications and have been
dying of Cardiac Arrest. Doctors have
observed in countries like US, Italy, Spain and Kerala, India that the virus
can infect the heart muscle and the damage could be in 20% of the patients.
While it is true that a severe pneumonia or
even a hip-surgery can lead to severe stress on the heart leading to heart
failure, doctors have warned that Covid-19 infection can directly damage the
heart muscles.
Doctors from China published two studies that
gave the first glimpse at how prevalent cardiac problems were among patients
with COVID-19 illness. The larger of the two studies looked at 416 hospitalized
patients. The researchers found that 19% showed signs of heart damage. And those who did were
significantly more likely to die [Study report related to the same https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamacardiology/fullarticle/2763524?resultClick=1].
Neurological Effect of COVID-19
In some instances, doctors have observed that
neurological effects were the first manifestation of the Covid-19 disease.
While primarily a respiratory disease that attacks the lungs, COVID-19 has
impacted unrelated symptoms, such as memory loss or even loss of taste and
smell that can persist for months beyond the initial infection period,
suggesting a neurological impact
A study of neurological symptoms of 43 patients
hospitalized in the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London
with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19, was conducted and almost 12
people were diagnosed with inflammation of the central nervous system,
including nine cases of ADEM (acute disseminated
encephalomyelitis, a fatal condition of the brain). A further 10 patients experienced delirium or psychosis. Eight
patients suffered strokes, including one that was fatal, and another eight had
peripheral nerve damage.
At least two patients also developed strange
behaviour shortly after being discharged from the hospital. One woman, as
described in the paper, repeatedly donned and took off her coat, and began
hallucinating lions and monkeys, inside her home. Another woman became drowsy
and ultimately needed emergency surgery to relieve the pressure on her brain.
Pending Visits to Hospitals
Due Corona Virus and conversion of regular
hospitals to Special Covid Hospitals, many of the chronic patients of regular
diseases have bene postponing their scheduled visits to doctors and hospitals
for months now. It is quit likely that
such patients will have a flare-up of the existing chronic conditions and can
even prove fatal, because they have not been following up on their regular
check-ups and treatments. There have even been cases of surgeries being delayed/cancelled
or not being able to undertake because of stress in hospitals.
Psychological Effect of Social Distancing Protocols
Social distancing protocols and lock-downs have
caused people to remain at home, and many have become job-less, putting a
stress on the general mental health of the society. At an individual level, people have been deprived
of their personal space and private moments, causing frustration and
depression. Even for kids, being shunted
at home with online studies, missing their friends and regular physical
activity, will have a lasting impression on the regular mental health of the
children.
Summary
We have seen the pandemic affect almost a
billion people and if in the course of time and at the same time the disease
has been around only for months now, we will have millions of recovered people
and if even a small percentage of such people develop long-term complications
such as above, we are looking at a large population having various organ
defects affecting their ability to work go about with their daily lives.
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