S/o Long Covid-Why is it ignored as serious

Hopefully long Covid will get the serious recognition that it deserves.

In the absence of any current treatment for long Covid here are some tips that may be helpful based my family’s experience of a similar post viral illness. ( this is not about the type of long Covid that involves organ damage )

* see if there are any long Covid support groups in your local area and if there are any recommendations for sympathetic doctors

* If the doctor does not believe in the clinical condition of long Covid and is dismissive then try getting medical help based on specific individual symptoms rather than for long Covid as an entity. Avoid saying Long Covid if necessary to avoid symptoms being dismissed. Just concentrate on the main symptoms you want help with. So pain medication for pain, nausea medication for nausea, vertigo medication for dizziness et cetera.

* Pacing, this is the technique recommended by doctors in the article I linked to above in the British medical Association. This concerns the importance of resting and not over doing things to result in worsening symptoms.

* Post-exertional malaise. This is where symptoms worsen significantly after doing something. It can be delayed by a few days after an activity and it’s important to recognise so that pacing can be implemented to minimise symptoms and learn when to stop. There can be a gap between doing an activity and worsening symptoms that follow on later after a 48 hour or so delay.

* Disability equipment can make a huge difference if the symptoms of long Covid or any other post viral condition are ongoing and long-term and severe. It can help prevent post exertional malaise and reduce symptoms of illness. So a stairlift can make the difference between a person being bedridden upstairs to being able join in family life downstairs for a little while. A wheelchair can give freedom and a chance to get outdoors without being made significantly worse. Compared to being stuck indoors and feeling trapped.

* Some types of post viral illness can result in serious illness requiring help with feeding washing and bathing and even liquid food or being tube fed. Careful management in the beginning can sometimes make the difference between mild cases becoming worse through overexertion and ending up extremely severe.

* Recognise that post viral symptoms can often involve the whole body including distorted and blurred vision ,fuzzy thinking, weakness and exhaustion ,different types of pain -muscular ,nerve ,and skeletal, heaviness in limbs, feeling ill, problems with speech ,reading and writing ,balance and coordination, dizziness. Nausea ,vomiting and gastric pain. Inability to chew food and sometimes swallow. Extreme sensitivity to noise and light. Extreme headaches. Intolerances of medication and sensitivities to perfume and cleaning products and increased allergies.

In the long run the best hope for treatment is high quality biomedical research giving better understanding and potential medical treatment . Medical education is essential too.

Until then I feel the best approach is to rest as much as you can, and when trying things take it easy and build up gently , go back to resting again if your symptoms are worse,do not push through.
Careful management with rest may help things from progressing to severe.

For some people it will clear up of its own accord but for others it may progress into something ongoing and long-lasting.

GOOD NEWS ! SO PLEASED FOR ALL AMERICANS

Biden announces Long Covid can now be considered a disability under law.

edition.cnn.com/2021/07/26/politics/biden-resources-long-covid/index.html

from what I can gather this gives extra rights with employment, education and healthcare against disability discrimination.

more detail here
www.cnbc.com/2021/07/26/long-covid-biden-says-some-qualify-for-federal-disability-resources.html

some quotes 

These protections include providing additional time on a test for students with difficulty concentrating, providing refueling assistance at a gas station for a customer with joint or muscle pain, and allowing a person with dizziness to be accompanied by a service animal. Businesses and state or local governments may also be required to make other modifications that accommodate a person’s long Covid symptoms that rise to a disability.

The Biden administration also released new guidance that addresses the needs of children with long Covid who may have disabilities. The guidance, issued under the Department of Education, outlines how schools and public agencies can provide services to children and students with long Covid that rises to a disability.