"If you know the cause you can directly treat the cause. More: Greene County COVID-19 vaccine tracker: 47% of people fully vaccinatedīut confusion around its cause makes long COVID more difficult to treat. They are those people who we as doctors expected to recover but didn't," Barbe said.Ĭurrent speculation around long COVID is in some the virus triggers an auto-immune response that "cause the body to sort-of attack itself." But Barbe emphasized this is just a hypothesis. "People with long-haul COVID are more those people who should have recovered. Some patients diagnosed with COVID could have long-lasting damage to their lungs, but that is not what is meant by 'long COVID.' Doctors know how a lung or a heart could be damaged while hospitalized with COVID.Ĭonversely, long COVID is defined by symptoms which should get better with time - but for some reason don't. The disease is also difficult to treat - largely because doctors still do not know its cause. More severe symptoms of long COVID tend to occur among those who had severe symptoms initially, according to Barbe. Because children and adolescents tend to not have those severe symptoms, current research suggests they are much less likely to suffer from long-haul COVID. In fact, long COVID was recently recognized as a disability under the the Americans with Disabilities Act, which means that those whose symptoms "substantially limits one or more major life activities" are entitled to accommodations from their work and from public amenities. More: Local health departments in Missouri halt 'all COVID-19 work' after court ruling, AG letterĪccording to Barbe, recent research suggests that 22 percent of those experiencing long COVID symptoms are unable to return to work or must severely restrict their working hours.
So, this has significant ramifications - social, economic, personal ramifications that extend beyond somebody just feeling bad." Even if you're a homemaker or you're trying to support your kids and your spouse, some people just are not able to do that. "This is not just feeling bad," he said. "It's impacting their livelihood, their ability to work, their ability to carry on their day-to-day responsibilities. While these symptoms could seem mild on their face, Barbe assured they can often be massively debilitating to a person's life. The 37-year-old is one of many COVID survivors suffering from 'long COVID', a still mysterious version of the disease that leaves many sick long after the infection has left their body.Īccording to Mountain Grove family physician and former President of the American Medical Association David Barbe, current research has found about a third to 40 percent of those infected with COVID have these long-term symptoms.Ĭommon long-term symptoms associated with long COVID include anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue, shortness of breath, body aches, and a lack of taste or smell. The Springfield resident hasn't tested positive for the virus for more than a year, but she still suffers from symptoms that leave her unable to work or do much of anything for more than a few hours. But a year-and-a-half later, she's still sick.
She was young, healthy, and had mild symptoms.
Holly Harrison contracted COVID-19 in June of 2020.