Long-Haul COVID: What You Need to Know

For most people who get sick with COVID-19, the symptoms come and then leave after a couple of weeks. But for others, the symptoms stick around for much longer.

Here's what you need to know about "long-haul" COVID-19.

What Is Long COVID?

Long-haul COVID is the term people are using to describe COVID-19 symptoms that linger for much longer than they are supposed to — sometimes for months. Typically, people who have long-haul COVID get a normal COVID-19 infection, experience the symptoms and see the worst symptoms get better. But some symptoms stick around or even get worse after the virus is no longer detectable in the person's body.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), long COVID can happen with any kind of COVID-19 infection. That applies even to cases in which the patient had mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. Lingering COVID-19 symptoms have been reported in all age groups and demographics, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

What Are the Symptoms of Long-Haul COVID?

According to the CDC, those who appear to have long-haul COVID often report some combination of the following symptoms:

• Fever
• Tiredness
• Cough
• Muscle and joint pain
• Trouble breathing
• Chest pain
• Heart palpitations
• Lost taste or smell
• Trouble sleeping
• Anxiety or depression

These symptoms can last for months. Often, they seem to get worse after the patient engages in physical or mental activity, the CDC noted.

How Common Is Long-Haul COVID-19?

Because health officials are still learning about COVID-19 and many people don't report their illness or get tested, it is hard to know how many people are experiencing long COVID. However, according to Harvard Medical School, various studies and surveys suggest that between 50 and 80 percent of those infected with COVID-19 will have symptoms that last at least three months.

Because more than 31 million people in the US alone have had known COVID-19 infections, it appears that millions of people in the US are likely to have long-term COVID-19 symptoms.

What Causes Long COVID?

Researchers are still trying to understand long-haul COVID. They are conducting various studies and tests to try to determine the cause of these lingering symptoms. While health experts have made no determinations about the cause of long-haul COVID as of the time of publishing, Harvard Medical School did suggest a few possible causes:

• The illness has caused the body to have trouble making enough energy molecules to keep up with energy demands.
• Post-COVID abnormalities in the autonomic nervous system are causing decreased blood flow to the brain.
• An autoimmune condition related to COVID-19 infection is causing the body to make antibodies that attack the brain.
• There is a long-term, low level of inflammation in the brain.

Currently, there is no proof of any of the above theories. Initial research has only suggested these ideas as possible causes.

If you are concerned about COVID-19 infection or any symptoms you are experiencing, reach out to your health care provider.