“COVID-19 Can Cause Prolonged Fatigue in Mild Cases”
We have seen a spike of COVID-19 in our area but fortunately it appears to be of a mild variety. Many patients report mild headaches, muscle aches and low-grade fever. They seem to recover in a few days, but some are experiencing severe fatigue, which can last for long periods. Overwhelming fatigue, palpitations, muscle aches, pins and needles, and many more symptoms are being reported as after-effects of the virus. Around 10 percent of the 3.9 million people contributing to the COVID-19 Symptom study app have effects lasting more than four weeks. If one percent of the 290,000 or so people who have had COVID-19 in the UK remain under the weather at three months, this will mean thousands of people are unable to return to work. They will probably have complex needs that the NHS is ill-prepared to address. Chronic fatigue – classified as fatigue lasting more than six weeks – is recognized in many different clinical settings, from cancer treatment to inflammatory arthritis. It can be disabling. COVID-19 is not the only cause of chronic fatigue. Prolonged fatigue is well recognized after other viral infections such as the Epstein-Barr virus, which causes infectious mononucleosis (also known as glandular fever). Treating chronic fatigue is difficult and frequently ineffective.
