Thousands of severely ill patients with coronavirus who survive face a new “recovery” challenge. Many are trying to overcome a variety of troubling residual symptoms. Certain problems may stay for months, years, or even the rest of their lives. So let’s learn what recovery from COVID-19 looks like.
After being hospitalized for the infection’s serious respiratory failure, patients returning home face physical, psychological, cognitive, and emotional difficulties. And they need to navigate their recovery process as the pandemic progresses.
It is also too early to say if recovery from covid-19 will play out for these people. So here’s a look at:
- What they’re experiencing so far
- What we can learn from previous patients with common treatment experiences
- The problems that are most likely to lay ahead
How does your body fight off COVID-19?
When a human is exposed to coronavirus, the body develops antibodies to control the infection. These antibodies continue to contain the virus and prevent it from replicating. Then symptoms usually begin to decline, and you start to feel better. Eventually, if all goes right, your immune system will destroy all the viruses in your body. An individual infected with and survived a virus with no long-term health effects has been “recovered.”
On average, a person infected with SARS-CoV-2 will feel sick for around seven days. Even after symptoms vanish, small amounts of the virus can still be detected in the patient’s system. They can stay isolated for an extra 3 days to ensure that they have recovered and are no longer contagious.
What kind of complications do patients face when they leave the hospital?
There are many of them. Patients may leave the hospital with scarring, infection, or inflammation. They still need to treat these complications in the lungs, heart, kidneys, liver, or other organs. This can affect a variety of problems, including urinary and metabolism problems. The greatest physical issue the center has seen was shortness of breath. This may result from lung or heart issues or a blood clotting problem.
Some have an intermittent cough that doesn’t go down, making it difficult for them to breathe. Others do have nasal oxygen at home, but it doesn’t help them enough.
Some patients on the ventilators report difficulty swallowing or talking to a whisper. This is usually a temporary consequence of bruising or irritation from a breathing tube.
Most patients experience muscle weakness because they have been lying in a hospital bed for so long. Nerve injury or weakness can also reduce muscle strength. Neurological disorders can also cause other effects. Dr. Chen said Mount Sinai’s post-Covid center referred about 40% of patients to neurologists for problems such as fatigue, confusion, and emotional fogginess.
What makes anyone more likely to face the challenges of recovery from covid-19?
Researchers conducted studies of patients hospitalized for respiratory failure due to other causes. They suggest that recovery is more likely to be more difficult for people who were already frail and for people who received prolonged hospitalizations.
But many other coronavirus patients—not only those who are old or have other health issues spending weeks on ventilators and weeks longer in the hospital after their breathing tubes have been removed, making their recovery hills steeper. Another aspect that can prolong or delay recovery is a syndrome called hospital delirium. This can cause paranoid hallucinations and anxious confusion. It is more likely to occur in patients who:
- Require extended sedation
- Have limited social contact
- Cannot move around
Studies, including one team member at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, found some info. Patients with hospital delirium are most likely to develop cognitive impairment in the months after leaving the hospital.
What is the trajectory of recovery from COVID-19?
Ups and downs are all normal. It’s not a linear process, and it’s individualized.
Perseverance is really necessary. What we don’t like is for patients to go home and lay in bed all day long. That’s not going to help with the recovery and possibly make it worse.
Patients and their families should realize that advances in development are normal.
There’s going to be days when everything’s going well in your lungs. But your joints are getting so achy, and you can’t stand up and do your pulmonary rehab. You have a few setbacks, or your pulmonary care is going fine. But your cognitive fog is making you get nervous. You’re going to spiral. So you need to drop everything and work intensively with the neuropsychologist.
How long does it take to recover from COVID-19?
Researchers are continuing to research people recovering from COVID-19. Recovery time may be impaired by pre-existing conditions such as:
- Diabetes
- Elevated blood pressure
- A weakened immune system
If you have a mild case of COVID-19, you may feel better in a few weeks. A more serious case may take three to six weeks or more to feel better.
If you were in the Intensive Care Unit (I.C.U.), you may undergo post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS). PICS is the physical, emotional, and neurological changes that result following an illness or injury needing care at the I.C.U. You may find your physical, emotional, and psychological effects last for weeks or months.
Also, the amount of time it takes for your body to remove the coronavirus is unknown. But experiments are ongoing to explain this better.
How might your loved ones be affected by your recovery from COVID-19?
When you leave the hospital after being treated for COVID-19, you may have other complications. These include neurological dysfunction, leading to reduced driving ability or job loss. Your new needs may affect your family and friends. And you may suffer symptoms such as anxiety, fatigue, sleeping problems, and depression.
Just like you, your loved ones must keep in touch with their health providers daily. They should monitor and maintain their well-being.
Here are a few things you need to do after you have recovery from COVID-19:
Exercise consistently. Exercising can be difficult while you recover and your body is weak. But gradually bringing it to your routine would keep you both physically and mentally healthier.
Have a healthy food routine. Another important practice is to have a nutritional and supplement rich meal schedule. Try an eating regimen filled with nutritious products, fruits, eggs, and healthy poultry.
Work on your memory. The virus is believed to damage your memory cells. To recover your lost attention, critical reasoning skills, and memory, spend some of your days playing puzzles, memory challenges, and activities that help you think harder.
Create a way for others in your recovery journey. Understand that you need rest to feel as you do once you’re COVID-negative. Consequently, look for support at whatever point you need. It will help you ration your energy levels and fight depression.
The Bottom line
If you can or need to leave your home or go back to work, take common-sense precautions. These include:
- Wearing a mask
- Properly washing your hands
- Following your local authority’s recommendations
Experts do not yet know what causes a Covid-19 relapse or whether re-infection is possible. But be sure to know that taking this advice is the best that anyone can do. Complete recovery may take a while. And that’s all right.
