Description
Long term illness following infection is an age-old phenomenon. It occurs after endemic infections such as glandular fever. It occurs after pandemics – influenza, COVID-19 or otherwise. It even occurs after standard bacterial infections. These long term illnesses are often called post-viral syndrome. Long covid is the newest member of this condition.
Long covid’s most common symptoms include faintness, fatigue and massive elevation of adrenaline (which make you feel breathless, tremulous and anxious). In other circumstances, these symptoms might be labelled as PoTS (postural tachycardia syndrome) and ME/CFS (myalgic encepahalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome). Understanding PoTS and ME/CFS allows a better understanding of long covid. Whether joint hypermobility is the link that connects these conditions to post-viral syndrome is yet to be determined – but it sure makes a nice hypothesis.
