06/30/2022

You Could Have Long COVID and Not Even Know It

Long COVID symptoms are fatigue and cognitive dysfunction

It took a long time for Rachel Bean to fully accept that she has Long COVID. Bean, 35, caught the virus in May 2020, when most experts were still saying that COVID-19 either causes life-threatening illness or milder symptoms that resolve within a few weeks. Bean's acute case was asymptomatic—so as time passed and she felt unwell, with a rapid heart rate and unrelenting fatigue, she figured there had to be another explanation.

Then, in August 2020, she joined an online Long COVID support group and found that plenty of other people hadn't fully recovered from COVID-19, either. But many of their symptoms seemed different than hers, so she kept pushing through. Finally, in late 2020—shortly before her illness forced her to leave her job as a social worker—Bean asked her doctor to refer her to a Long COVID treatment clinic.

Today, Bean is struck by how many people still don't realize that their health issues could be signs of Long COVID. She's talked to people who insist they've fully recovered from COVID-19, but also complain of classic Long COVID symptoms like fatigue and cognitive dysfunction. "People aren't necessarily connecting the dots," Bean said.

Please select this link to read the complete article from TIME.