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'Long Covid': Why are Some People not Recovering?

posted by Fnord666 on Monday October 12 2020, @02:59PM   

takyon writes:

'Long Covid': Why are some people not recovering?

For most people, Covid-19 is a brief and mild disease but some are left struggling with symptoms including lasting fatigue, persistent pain and breathlessness for months.

The condition known as "long Covid" is having a debilitating effect on people's lives, and stories of being left exhausted after even a short walk are now common.

So far, the focus has been on saving lives during the pandemic, but there is now a growing recognition that people are facing long-term consequences of a Covid infection.

Yet even basic questions - such as why people get long Covid or whether everyone will fully recover - are riddled with uncertainty.

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Original Submission

• Re:These are symptoms of scurvy Re:These are symptoms of scurvy (Score: 2) by choose another one on Monday October 12 2020, @11:07PM (1 child)

  by choose another one (515) on Monday October 12 2020, @11:07PM (#1063751)

  Do they speculate (or _gasp_ have actual data) about whether the deficiencies are pre-existing at the time of infection, or a result of the body's reaction?

  Whichever, it isn't relevant to _long_ covid, which is symptoms several months after infection.

  EITHER someone's diet is seriously deficient and they get scurvy, in which case they would have had Scurvy before covid, in which case they would also have had these symptoms before covid (many/most long covid sufferers report being fit and healthy beforehand),
  OR someone's diet has enough Vit C, so they will not be deficient months after Covid (even if Covid depletes it in the acute phase, and remember many of these folk had very mild acute phase), so they will not have Scurvy now.

  Only, kind of, other possibility is that covid _causes_ dietary changes in people (all ships' biscuits and no fruit) or _causes_ some kind of problem with vit C absorption - in which case treating for Scurvy (oral Vit C...) ain't going to do any good. On the other hand, why not give vit C, if not better in 2-3 days then "long covid" ain't scurvy. Quick, practically zero risk, eliminates a differential, holy shit why the heck ain't someone tried it already. Oh, wait... https://www.newsletter.co.uk/health/coronavirus/pastor-reveals-battle-long-covid-six-months-after-leaving-hospital-2986226 [newsletter.co.uk]

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• Re:These are symptoms of scurvy (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 12 2020, @11:20PM

  by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 12 2020, @11:20PM (#1063757)

  They probably always had low vitamin C, but covid depleted it and their diet was never sufficient to get the oxidative stress under control. It could be easily answered with a 100 dollar blood test in a few of them.

  His sister-in-law, an NHS dietician, is giving him Vitamin C, zinc and probiotics for his immune system.

  This doesn't mean anything. A dietician is probably giving like 1 g/day max, more likely 100 mg or something sufficient for healthy people but not someone who is currently ill. How much is she giving him and what are the blood levels?

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