Acupuncture for long COVID
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, public attention has mainly focused on the number of people who become severely ill and die from COVID-19. But what’s become clear in recent months is the large and growing group of people who continue to deal with prolonged symptoms long after their original illness. In a recent study, analysis of an international survey of more than 3,700 respondents with COVID-19 found that over two-thirds were still experiencing numerous symptoms at 6 months, with significant impacts on patients’ lives and livelihoods.
Long Covid symptoms can include fatigue, shortness of breath, difficulty sleeping, anxiety and depression, heart palpitations, chest tightness or pain, joint or muscle pain, not being able to think straight or focus (‘brain fog’), change to your sense of smell or taste, persistent cough, chronic headaches and gastrointestinal issues. For some, it can seem like a cycle of improving for a time and then getting worse again. These long-term effects are not only among those who needed to go to hospital, or even who felt seriously unwell when they first caught the virus.