A Study Linked “Long COVID” to These Seven Symptoms
Did you know a random person on Twitter came up with the term “long COVID”? A woman in England used it as a hashtag in May 2020, and it caught on. (She’s a doctor, but not an M.D. She has a PhD in archaeology.)
Since then, doctors have been trying to nail down the exact symptoms it’s associated with. More than 200 things have been linked to it . . . everything from tremors and hallucinations, to shingles and bladder control issues.
But a new study at the University of Missouri found most of those could also be caused by other viruses, like the flu. And the number specifically linked to COVID might only be SEVEN. Even they were surprised it was that low.
They started with a list of the 47 most common symptoms people reported. But they say 40 of them don’t necessarily mean you have long COVID.
The seven symptoms directly related to it are: Fatigue, chest pain, joint pain, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, hair loss, and obesity.
To be clear, that doesn’t mean COVID can’t cause things like brain fog too. It just means brain fog doesn’t ALWAYS mean you have long COVID. But if you’re still dealing with a few of those other seven symptoms, you probably do.
It also means you’re more susceptible to those seven things for up to a year after you got sick. And it’s a good list for your doctor to have, so they can correctly diagnose you with long COVID, or figure out if it’s something else.
(University of Missouri / The Science Advisory Board)
