Well, I’m still reading about COVID... but I think too many of us are “up to here” with anything COVID these days. We should be paying attention to the news telling us that, as predicted, COVID cases—and deaths—are increasing this fall. In fact, the company my daughter works for is closing their Montreal office and requiring all employees to work from home because of COVID. That’s making me pay attention! Stats in Quebec show It’s mainly one of the newer variants, BA-5, that’s driving their current surge, but other new versions are being closely watched.
So, it’s still a good idea to grab a mask on your way out the door if you’re heading to a crowded indoor place. My hubby and I have continued to do this anyway, although sometimes it felt like we were the only ones left taking precautions. I guess I’ve just been reading too much about Long COVID.
Medium COVID
But now experts are also using the term, Medium COVID, to describe those who have lingering symptoms for 3 months or so after recovering from the acute illness. They're the folks who are still tired, coughing and get short of breath with a fairly low level of activity although they've recovered from the initial illness. This seems to be quite common and, although after a few weeks they’re back to their normal selves, that’s still a long time to be feeling crappy. Not my idea of fun!
Long COVID
Far more serious, is Long COVD, the folks who just don’t get better for months or sometimes years. Sadly, doctors really don’t know how to treat these unfortunate people. Some continue to have overwhelming fatigue, breathing problems, heart issues, dizziness when standing up quickly, and more. Physical therapy is one option being offered, I suppose to help people adjust to their limitations and rebuild their strength. That’s a good example of treating the symptoms, not the cause.
However, there are others who develop neurological symptoms after recovering from COVID, like brain fog, difficulty thinking, poor short-term memory, and nerve pain, leaving them unable to work or keep up with normal daily activities. I don’t know about you, but that possibility is enough to make me continue to do whatever I can to avoid catching this virus... I like being able to think clearly!
Much like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Many have observed that symptoms of Long COVID resemble those of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (aka Myalgic Encephomyalitis of ME/CFS) that’s been around for many years. Like Long COVID, this syndrome develops after a viral infection, the cause is unknown, and they’re still looking for effective treatments. Too often, doctors have told these patients their problem is “all in their head” and prescribed antidepressants! But on the upside, certain antidepressants like amitriptyline can reduce nerve pain, so they’re not completely useless for a percentage of sufferers.
Another treatment being tried, is a low dose of a medication traditionally used to treat addictions, naltrexone. The treatment is referred to as “low dose naltrexone” or LDN, and a significant sub-set of patients with Long COVID and ME/CFS (but not all) find noticeable improvements with it. As the dose is about 1/10th of the commercially-available tablet, LCN needs to be prepared by a compounding pharmacist. This is something I used to do in my working days!
Other good news I also recently read about, is that the US Government is putting $1Billion into a research project called RECOVER that will test several potential treatments for Long COVID (and, hopefully, also for ME/CFS). Although only somewhere between 2 and 5% of those who have COVID will develop the long version, given the huge numbers affected by the virus, there are millions suffering from this debilitating condition world-wide. Experts fear it may become a significant drain on health systems and the economy in the future.
So, all experts are telling us that the best way to reduce your chances of developing these problems, besides avoiding the initial infection (by masking, washing hands and keeping your distance from others, especially if they’re sick!), is to stay up to date with immunizations. Studies are finding a reduced chance of Long COVID in those who’ve kept up their immunization. I have my shot #5 scheduled for next week! I’ll be getting the new bivalent vaccine that is designed to fight the Omicron family of Sars-CoV-2 as well as the older versions.
And I’ll also be taking the flu shot at the same time. Experts have determined that there’s no problem with getting them together except, I suppose, having 2 sore arms instead of just one. After a couple of slow flu seasons while we were all wearing masks and practicing physical/social distancing, chances are we may all be more susceptible to the flu virus this season. Already, hospitals across Canada are reporting high numbers of children with common viral infections, like RSV, along with the flu and COVID, resulting in swamped emergency departments.
So, here’s my rant: if you haven’t already, book an appointment at a pharmacy near you. And ask if you can get both the Flu and COVID shots while you’re there. Git ‘er done! As comedian, Rick Mercer says: “It’s just a little prick...” Watch him here for a good laugh!
PS The photo above is a sample of my latest photography experiment -- "Low key photography". And here's my first try at drawing one of them (a selfie!):
References:
Local hospitals could face strain as early viral infections swamp pediatrics: CPS -- The Abbotsford News
About ME/CFS -- National Institutes of Health
Your illustrations and photographs are fantastic.
https://anlonartsalon.com/
It is disappointing to see only a few people still masking up, especially when testing has also fallen by the wayside. Scariest to me is that many people don’t want to know if they have Covid because it might cramp their style. These folks have absolutely no concern about spreading the infection around, “to heck with the more vulnerable” it seems. My sister-in-law has been taking LDN for 9 months and unfortunately has seen only minimal improvement in her physical neurological symptoms. Her optimism is waning so we are all crossing our fingers that research will uncover new and more effective treatments. Sadly being fully up to date with vaccinations did not protect her. Great blog topic, thanks!
Your photography and drawing are excellent . I agree Rick Mercer's rant is good yet true. I too think we should be using all the same precautions as mask wearing, hand washing, etc. to prevent both covid and the flu. Excellent article as always.