Cured of Corona, but the Suffering continues: The great fear of long-term damage

In the midst of the terrible Figures of the Corona-crisis value stood out always, the hope is that the number of Healed. Millions of people worldwide have already survived a Covid-19-disease. But months after the beginning of the pandemic is becoming increasingly clear: The Virus had an effect on many Sufferers long. To expect millions of people with long-term consequences?

Yet overall, little is known about Late and long – time of a Corona-infection is not known to follow, said Peter Berlit, Secretary-General of the German society for neurology, at the beginning of June. First information on the possible neurological consequences, as there were collected about only a couple of weeks. “Which were previously not known, the disease is still young.”

“No one knows how to do it with you”

But now, weeks later, there is from the science is already clear warning signs. "People think: Either you die, or is it a good. It’s not like that,” says the British Doctor Helen Salisbury in the “mirror”. In the debate it was long gone to intensive care units and mechanical ventilation courses. She fears, however, that there are a lot of people, “which remain, perhaps, permanently sick.”

• Read also: All the News in the Live-Ticker to the Corona-crisis

Many of the patients that you treat and have a Covid-19-the disease is actually already behind, would continue to suffer from symptoms such as fatigue, episodes of Fever or cough. How are you Affected to treat? You don’t know it. “No one knows how it is going on with them,” says Salisbury.

“Covid-19 is the strangest disease, I kenne"

Timothy Spector, Professor at King’s College in London, examined in a study the disease progression of more than 200,000 patients over a longer period of time. After what he has seen so far, he Covid-19 for “completely unpredictable”. About ten percent of the observed patients had longer than one month unexplained symptoms, many of them even after two months. The complaints range from fatigue and headaches to difficulty breathing, dizziness, and diarrhea. "I’m trained as a rheumatologist and am familiar with strange diseases. But Covid-19 is the strangest disease, I kenne", he says the “mirror”.

Intensive care physician Matthias Kochanek, a senior physician at the University hospital of Cologne, had already reported a month ago, that patients had complained of a mild course of the duration of the disease feels longer as you know it from a normal flu.

And in the case of seriously ill patients, a pattern was seen. In comparison to patients with other forms of lung inflammation, you would need much longer for the recovery.

Neurological damage observed

A question that is of concern to more and more doctors are now caused damage Covid-19, by attacking the brain. In some patients, after disease and severe neurological diseases were visible – the so-called encephalopathies.

“That expresses itself in restlessness and confusion, the performance of the memory can be affected,” explains Peter Berlit. The fear is that such restrictions could remain over a longer period of time, he warned a few weeks ago.

Another risk are the long-term seizures, which are observed according to the Berlit, not only in patients who are severely ill Covid-19-patients due to a higher tendency to Thrombosis frequently followed by shock. What are the symptoms remained, hanging mainly from the affected area of the Brain.

Parallels to the Sars pandemic in 2003

According to the report of the “mirror” to see Doctors, in the meantime, a Parallel to the Sars pandemic in 2003. Also at that time the causative agent was a previously unknown Coronavirus, which caused the patient a severe respiratory disease – and many patients would have sued long after the disease mainly through exhaustion symptoms.

Harvey Moldofsky, sleep, and pain researcher at the University of Toronto, had spoken with Concerned about long-lasting problems complained of. "More than a year after they survived the infection, the people were exhausted still, felt weak, had muscle pain, sleep disorders, and could no longer denken&quot clear;, he said now the “mirror”. Complaints that resemble those seen in chronic fatigue syndrome.

Whether Covid-19-patients threatens the long-term Similar – currently, the doctors and researchers can’t say yet. But the fear remains that in the future, not only the treatment of the acutely Infected the Doctors face challenges.

“Cannabis is not a broccoli”: drugs officer responded patzig on Reporter question

FOCUS Online/Wochit “Cannabis is not a broccoli”: drugs officer responded patzig on Reporter question