JERUSALEM (VINnews) — In an attempt to discover the long-term effects of COVID-19 on patients who were infected with the virus, a Hebrew University research team has published a new study of symptoms which remain for those who have recovered from COVID-19. The study, led by Prof. Masha Niv of the department for Biochemistry, Food Science and Nutrition in the Agriculture Faculty in conjunction with Hadassah Hospital doctors led by Dr. Sarah Yisrael and Prof. Mordechai Muscat, focused on the symptoms experienced by those who recovered over a period of half a year afterwards. The study was published on the medical site Medrxiv and will be published later in a scientific journal.
Join our WhatsApp groupSubscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
The research team made telephone interviews with 112 people who had suffered light to moderate symptoms of COVID-19. Participants average age was 35 and they were asked 48 question in their interviews. The first questionnaires focused on the period of the virus and the next ones were taken 3 to 6 weeks after the participants were infected. The final interviews took place half a year after infection.
Participants were asked about 30 different symptoms including fever, dry cough, wet cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, runny nose, throat pain, muscle pain, stomach ache, diarrhea, nausea, lack of appetite, headaches, sight problems, increase in tears, eye sensitivity and discharge, white tongue, changes in smell and taste, changes in hearing, voice and ear pressure.
46% of the participants reported suffering from various symptoms during the half year following their bout of COVID-19. 20% of participants said that they suffer from tiredness even after half a year. The second most common symptom was changes in smell and taste. 9% complained of breathing difficulties. These symptoms (smell, taste and coughing) continued to be prevalent even after negative testing.
Researchers discovered some testimonies of memory loss, weakened heart function and loss of hair. One interviewee said that she nearly had a fire after she failed to detect a smell of burning in her over and another said he could not smell his son’s feces in his diaper.
Professor Niv says that most patients recovered their sense of smell and taste after three weeks but those who did not recover it after six weeks had more chances of long-term effects. Others experienced strange changes in their sense of smell with one claiming that bananas smelt like gasoline to her and others complaining that their perfume smelt different.
Researchers also found that in general people suffered from two concurrent symptoms from the first day of their infection. Headaches, high fever, dry cough and muscle aches were the most common features, with more than a third complaining of them, while 15% said the first symptom was loss of taste and smell. 14% complained of tiredness even though this was not on the questionnaire and researchers believe that it is a more prevalent symptom.
In a number of Israeli hospitals there are treatments for Post-COVID symptoms for those suffering from health issues after recovering from the virus.