PART ONE
Source: CDC.gov
Although most people with COVID-19 get better within weeks of illness, some people experience post-COVID conditions. Post-COVID conditions are a wide range of new, returning, or ongoing health problems people can experience four or more weeks after first being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. Even people who did not have COVID-19 symptoms in the days or weeks after they were infected can have post-COVID conditions. These conditions can have different types and combinations of health problems for different lengths of time.
Some people are experiencing a range of new or ongoing symptoms that can last weeks or months after first being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. Unlike some of the other types of post-COVID conditions that only tend to occur in people who have had severe illness, these symptoms can happen to anyone who has had COVID-19, even if the illness was mild, or if they had no initial symptoms.
People commonly report experiencing different combinations of the following symptoms:
· Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
· Tiredness or fatigue
· Symptoms that get worse after physical or mental activities
· Difficulty thinking or concentrating (sometimes referred to as “brain fog”)
· Cough
· Chest or stomach pain
· Headache
· Fast-beating or pounding heart (also known as heart palpitations)
· Joint or muscle pain
· Pins-and-needles feeling
· Diarrhea
· Sleep problems
· Fever
· Dizziness on standing (lightheadedness)
· Rash
· Mood changes
· Change in smell or taste
· Changes in menstrual cycle
Some people who had severe illness with COVID-19 experience multiorgan effects or autoimmune conditions over a longer time with symptoms lasting weeks or months after COVID-19 illness. Multiorgan effects can affect most, if not all, body systems, including heart, lung, kidney, skin, and brain functions. Autoimmune conditions happen when your immune system attacks healthy cells in your body by mistake, causing inflammation (painful swelling) or tissue damage in the affected parts of the body.
While it is very rare, some people, mostly children, experience multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS) during or immediately after a COVID-19 infection. MIS is a condition where different body parts can become inflamed. MIS can lead to post-COVID conditions if a person continues to experience multiorgan effects or other symptoms.
See the Caring for People with Post-COVID Conditions Web page for more information.