Long distance Covid: a year later, this mother is afraid to take a shower because of the amount of hair she lost

The worst part of a year of symptoms, she told CNN’s Chris Cuomo, is the amount of hair she lost. In August, she said it was as if she had taken her hair out of a small bird’s nest.

The mother of four said she, her husband and her 18-year-old son are among the growing number of people who suffer from what is called long-term Covid or long-term Covid. Although experts are still learning about this condition, they say that even those with mild cases can have symptoms that persist for months.

After years of being active, Mandel said three weeks ago that she was diagnosed with asthma. Although her doctors are not sure whether the virus caused her disease, she says she has not been breathing easily since the first day she felt the infection.

“Just sitting and watching TV, sometimes I can’t breathe,” she said.

She is struggling to exercise more energy, she said. She started the New Year by riding the elliptical for 2.5 minutes, she told CNN. Now she has up to 15 minutes.

What people are feeling

Covid’s long-standing condition is still a mystery, but doctors say they are learning more all the time.

More than 100 of these symptoms have been reported by patients, including fatigue, headaches, brain fog and memory loss, gastrointestinal problems, muscle pain and heart palpitations.

“I am very surprised by what happens on a daily basis,” said Dr. Dayna McCarthy, who handles Covid’s long haul trucks on Mount Sinai in New York. She hears a long list of symptoms, including brain fog, rapid heartbeat and irregular blood pressure.

It is not just people who are seriously ill and hospitalized with the virus who still suffer months after becoming ill.

“New or prolonged symptoms can occur beyond four to six months among patients with Covid-19, regardless of the severity of the acute SARS-CoV-2 infection,” said Alfonlso Hernandez-Romieu of the CDC during a medical webinar in January.

Doctors and therapists say they are treating people of all ages and people who were extremely healthy before they acquired Covid – including marathon runners, athletes and coaches.

What long-haulers can do

Those who suffer from long Covid, who call themselves long-haulers, turn to support groups and clinics to overcome their condition.

Facilities are being opened across the country to meet this growing need for assistance.

New York’s Mount Sinai was the first to open a specific clinic in May, when it opened its Center for Post-COVID Care.

The center saw more than 1,600 patients, and there is a waiting period of months for consultations because the demand is very high.

The Piedmont COVID Pulmonary Recovery Clinic in Atlanta opened in November and has already had about 600 referrals, said Dr. Jermaine Jackson, the medical director.

“We are learning more and more about this virus every day,” he said. “I like to say that we are building the plane while flying it or that we put the wheels on while driving.”

Currently, there is no specific treatment for long Covid. For now, doctors focus on treatment based on the symptoms reported by a particular patient, especially since patients have varying symptoms.

Initially, many patients who experienced symptoms months after infection said that doctors ignored their symptoms, but now they say they are being taken seriously.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention held a webinar last month to help doctors identify the signs and symptoms of the long Covid and learn how these patients are being treated.

Those who are suffering, as well as researchers who seek to understand their condition, are benefiting from online support groups.