It is no longer a secret to anyone that coronavirus quite often causes the so-called post-covid syndrome. It can appear immediately after the disease and stay with the person for several months.
Ekaterina Yatsenko — Doctor of Neurology, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Member of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN)
Until recently, it was assumed that post-COVID could overtake only those people who had been ill in a mild form. However, practice shows that post-covid syndrome manifests itself regardless of the severity of the disease. Let’s explore this issue with Ekaterina YatsenkoDoctor of Neurology, MD, Member of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN).
Post-Covid symptoms:
- constant shortness of breath (even with the most minimal exertion);
- cough that does not respond to treatment;
- a constant feeling of weakness and fatigue, as if there is no strength to live;
- prolonged loss of taste and (or) smell;
- other neurological symptoms that prevent a person from leading a normal life.
Complications after coronavirus
Today we would like to dwell in more detail on post-COVID complications that directly affect the human nervous system.
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Depression and panic attacks
Depression and panic attacks are another common neurological symptoms of post-COVID syndrome. They arise due to dysfunction of the hypothalamus, which often appears after attacks of influenza-like viruses (and covid belongs to this group of viruses).
Hypothalamus dysfunction manifests itself in problems with the autonomic system, and also begins to produce a large amount of stress hormones. It is these hormones that cause spasms of the vessel, emotional swings, and sleep disturbance.
Imagine that you live with the constant feeling that your worst enemy is behind you. As a result, you will not be able to sleep normally, you will feel anxiety and constant stress, fear, tachycardia will appear, and so on. Of course, against the background of such a state, panic attacks and depression may appear.
A panic attack is a sudden onset of intense anxiety without a real cause. A person may feel dizzy, disoriented, he cannot control himself, his heart bursts out of his chest. After some time, his condition will return to normal. Although panic attacks are not life threatening, they have a strong impact on a person’s social life.
During depression, a person loses interest in life, the mood is depressed. Often, along with depression, insomnia develops and a person can actually do nothing with his condition. He cannot bounce back thanks to efforts on himself, auto-training or work with a psychologist. He needs help.
Depression and panic attacks need treatment, so with these symptoms you need to see a doctor and find the right therapy.
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Cognitive problems
Problems with cognitive functions, namely: problems with memory, concentration, difficulties with the perception of information, arise due to energy deficiency in the brain. The thing is that the coronavirus is quite neurotoxic, it is not a difficult task for it to penetrate the brain and disrupt some of its functions.
With any attack, the brain first of all turns off the so-called “redundant functions”: this is memory, the ability to concentrate and the ability to analyze the information received. This happens because he does not have enough strength to provide even the basic functions of life: breathing, heartbeat, digestion, hormonal balance, and so on.
It is important to understand that during periods when the brain is bad (this can be after any viral disease, stroke, traumatic brain injury), cognitive functions deteriorate first of all. These violations manifest themselves as follows:
- a person forgets just received information;
- cannot “pull himself together”
- unable to concentrate on a task.
Of course, this condition also affects the general well-being, most often people complain that during the whole day they feel as if they were abruptly awakened in the middle of the night.
Unfortunately, a magic pill that would quickly restore human cognitive functions has not yet been invented. This takes time and proper therapy. The main thing during the recovery period is not to reproach yourself that you cannot do or remember something. Plan your day as much as possible and give yourself the opportunity to relax. And don’t hesitate to seek medical help.
Postcovid syndrome can manifest itself in different ways. The main thing is to see the problem in time and not be afraid to solve it.
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