Is There a Cure for Long COVID?

While a worldwide, multi-million dollar industry has launched to find a pharmaceutical cure for long COVID and lots of research is being done into finding a solution for long COVID, 2 million people are still suffering from the symptoms in the UK alone. Just like the first days of COVID, research and findings into long COVID are still in their infancy, as the condition is a new player in the global medical industry, whilst people still wonder “is there a cure for long COVID?”.

What research has been carried out into long COVID?

In the U.K. most of the funding for long COVID has been split across nineteen different projects designed to understand the condition. The research is spearheaded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research,  which aspires to be a leading force in the fight against COVID and long COVID.

Some of the latest studies have found that the long-term effects of COVID lead to inflammations within the body that cause micro clots to be experienced.  If such findings are borne out this may potentially lead to forms of anti-clotting medication being prescribed to some long-haul COVID sufferers in the future, but these are still early days. And everyone is different. Every case of long COVID is different because COVID plays on our weaknesses and tends to affect systems of the body that were weak before infection.

At The Long Haul Lounge, we understand how emotional a question like ‘Is there a cure for long COVID? ‘is. If you are a long-hauler struggling to carry out the basic activities of everyday life knowing that your condition is barely understood by science you would probably try anything just for the promise of a cure. It might shock you to hear that we don’t believe that a complete cure will ever be available in the form of one or two simple pills. Because, long COVID, like M.E. and other chronic post-viral syndromes, is a multi-organ condition provoking long-term health complications. 

The cells of the brain, heart, lungs, gut and nerves can all be damaged. Inflammation has set in one or more of these organ systems and the immune system is in hyper-drive. Our immune systems are poorly understood in western pharmaceutical research and, in our opinion, it will be at least a decade before the pharmaceutical industry and the medical research establishment will come up with anything that can work at the subtle levels that long COVID is working at.

That is why we devised The AntiViral Life™ Programme for long COVID, as we know that the relief of long hauler symptoms may well not lie in expensive medical trials and test drugs. Rather, we know from our experience treating M.E, Fibromyalgia and other chronic fatigue syndromes, that a holistic approach to healing the body is necessary, that focuses mainly on breathing, the lymphatic system, mitochondria and the nervous system. Continue reading to understand how relief from long COVID is closer than you think.

What is long COVID?

The NHS defines that there are two forms of long COVID that you can be suffering from even after the transmissible part of the virus has left, which are the following: 

Ongoing Symptomatic COVID

This is the case if you are still experiencing any symptoms between one to three months after your initial positive test.

Post-COVID Syndrome

Anything that lingers or arises after three months is a long-term COVID sign.

COVID is one of those conditions that can also result in other health issues being experienced that were not initially apparent upon a positive test. 

You may therefore find that even if you did not suffer from a certain symptom during your positive period, you develop it months after the initial diagnosis. One of the hardest things to manage during long COVID is the unpredictability of the condition.

When you suffer from long COVID, you will likely suffer from one or more of the following symptoms. 80% of patients with long COVID reported suffering from the main symptoms after twelve weeks of diagnosis. 

Breathing Problems

Anything from tightness in the chest to breathlessness can be experienced. COVID attacks the lungs and damages lung tissue and this damage remains long after the initial infection passes. Those with chronic symptoms usually find that even the lightest of duties can lead to tiredness and a shortage of breath due to lung damage, even if that damage is not detected on routine scans.

Fatigue

This is the most common long COVID symptom, with 56% of patients reporting fatigue as an issue. This can range from feeling tired during the day and having to take breaks to being full-on bed-bound with no energy at all. 

Memory Issues

The COVID brain fog is said to affect 70% of COVID survivors, with many reporting issues regarding basic memory and cognitive tasks. Some of the main signs of this unwanted long-term problem are forgetfulness (68% of people experience this) and issues with speech (reported by 60% of people).  

Muscle and Joint Pain

The effect that COVID takes on the body can vary, but for some, it has a physical impact on muscles and joints. This is because the virus fights against the body’s white blood cells, and the resulting depleted functionality can lead to other problems.

Ear, Nose and Throat Issues

These cover losing your taste and smell to hearing and balance loss, tinnitus, nerve loss or dysfunction, a sense of food stuck in the throat and a long-term sore throat which comes and goes, with or without a cough.

Some people have all these symptoms, and others have none. There is no proven pattern for how COVID manifests itself, which is another reason long COVID is a nightmare to approach for doctors and other health professionals. 

How long can COVID last untreated?