The Covid pandemic resulted in many unpleasant outcomes including the death of family and friends. In addition to the acute outcomes associated with Covid there is now growing evidence that so-called “long Covid” is a real thing and studies are finding various types of evidence to explain the continued symptoms in previously hospitalized Covid patients months after the acute disease has ended.
More evidence is now pointing to the presence of what is being called “long flu” with patients experiencing symptoms for 4 or more weeks after being hospitalized for the flu. Long flu was observed to have happened less often and was less severe overall than long Covid. The reason for the difference between long flu and long Covid may be the fact that the flu affects mostly the lungs whereas Covid can affect any number of organs.
I think one of the positive outcomes from the Covid pandemic is that we now realize how viral infections can have significant long term affects that we may have passed over before. The one thing that all of these observations say to me is that we should really protect ourselves at all time. This not only means washing our hands and keeping our distance from sick individuals but also getting the proper vaccinations at the proper time each year. The more we know the more we should be making the right decisions for ourselves and our families.
The peak viral season is ending but let’s try and remember things for next year.
