Long-term Effects of Coronavirus

33 Replies

fusion-medical-animation-EAgGqOiDDMg-unsplash

If you are thinking you don’t need to wear a mask, please read this essay. I do not know who wrote the below essay which I received from a friend on Facebook, but it makes such good points that I’ve decided to pass it on. If anyone knows its source, please let me know.

“Chicken pox is a virus. Lots of people have had it, and probably don’t think about it much once the initial illness has passed. But it stays in your body and lives there forever, and maybe when you’re older, you have debilitatingly painful outbreaks of shingles. You don’t just get over this virus in a few weeks, never to have another health effect. We know this because it’s been around for years, and has been studied medically for years.
Herpes is also a virus. And once someone has it, it stays in their body and lives there forever, and anytime they get a little run down or stressed out they’re going to have an outbreak. You don’t just get over it in a few weeks. We know this because it’s been around for years, and been studied medically for years.
HIV is a virus. It attacks the immune system, and makes the carrier far more vulnerable to other illnesses. It has a list of symptoms and negative health impacts that goes on and on. It took many years of R&D before viable treatments were available to help people live with a reasonable quality of life. Once you have it, it lives in your body forever and there is no cure. Over time, that takes a toll on the body, putting people living with HIV at greater risk for other health conditions. We know this because it has been around for years, and had been studied medically for years.
Now with COVID-19, we have a novel virus that spreads rapidly and easily. The full spectrum of symptoms and health effects is only just beginning to be cataloged, much less understood.
So far the symptoms may include:
Fever
Fatigue
Coughing
Pneumonia
Chills/Trembling
Acute respiratory distress
Lung damage (potentially permanent)
Loss of taste (a neurological symptom)
Sore throat
Headaches
Difficulty breathing
Mental confusion
Diarrhea
Nausea or vomiting
Loss of appetite
Strokes have also been reported in some people who have COVID-19 (even in the relatively young)
Swollen eyes
Blood clots
Seizures
Liver damage
Kidney damage
Rash
COVID toes (weird, right?)
People testing positive for COVID-19 have been documented to be sick even after 60 days. Many people are sick for weeks, get better, and then experience a rapid and sudden flare up and get sick all over again. A man in Seattle was hospitalized for 62 days, and while well enough to be released, still has a long road of recovery ahead of him. Not to mention a $1.1 million medical bill.
Then there is MIS-C. Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children is a condition where different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs. Children with MIS-C may have a fever and various symptoms, including abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, neck pain, rash, bloodshot eyes, or feeling extra tired. While rare, it has caused deaths.
This disease has not been around for years. It has basically been 6 months. No one knows yet the long-term health effects, or how it may present itself years down the road for people who have been exposed. We literally *do not know* what we do not know.
For those in our society who suggest that people being cautious are cowards, and who resist even the simplest of precautions to protect themselves and those around them, I want to ask, without hyperbole and in all sincerity:
How dare you decide for others that they should welcome exposure as “getting it over with,” when literally no one knows who will be the lucky “mild symptoms” case, and who may fall ill and die. Because while we know that some people are more susceptible to suffering a more serious case, we also know that 20 and 30 year olds have died, marathon runners and fitness nuts have died, children and infants have died.
How dare you behave as though you know more than medical experts, when those same experts acknowledge that there is so much we don’t yet know.
What we DO know is that the virus is rapidly spread, and there are recommended baseline precautions such as:
Frequent hand-washing
Physical distancing
Reduced social/public contact or interaction
Mask wearing
Covering your cough or sneeze
Avoiding touching your face
Sanitizing frequently touched surfaces
Let’s work together to help each other. The more things we can all do to mitigate our risk of exposure, the better off we all are. Not only does it allow health care providers to maintain levels of service, it also reduces unnecessary suffering, and buys time for the scientific community to study the virus to understand the breadth of its impacts.”

This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , on by .

About lifelessons

My blog, which started out to be about overcoming grief, quickly grew into a blog about celebrating life. I post daily: poems, photographs, essays or stories. I've lived in countries all around the globe but have finally come to rest in Mexico, where I've lived since 2001. My books may be found on Amazon in Kindle and print format, my art in local Ajijic galleries. Hope to see you at my blog.

33 thoughts on “Long-term Effects of Coronavirus”

  3. yellowdaisies3

    I couldn’t agree more. Not knowing the long effects is what makes it scary. Sure, the majority of the people who have it, recover, but what does the future hold for them in say, ten years, 20? And another thing that scares me is all of the things we don’t know.

    I know people that aren’t taking this seriously. 😦

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓
  4. slmret

    Thanks for sharing this information. I think the unknown after-effects are what scare me most — With less than 20 more years to live, I don’t think I want to live those years worrying about how the coronavirus has affected my health. It’s a scary enough disease,, but, as one of your other commenters says, we don’t know what we don’t know. I like Lucy Jones’ mantra: “Don’t share your air!”

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓
    2. Argus

      Marilyn:

      Certainly I read ‘outside’, and sometimes (like now) am convinced. But then, I was convinced before. However, I’m not the problem—the problem is actually all those folks out there who think that they aren’t the problem …

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓
  7. Marilyn Armstrong

    The problem is that we already agree. We tend to build a support group who agree with each other. That’s WHY we form these groups. That’s why I wonder if we ever reach outside our groups to people who could be convinced … if they read our blogs.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓
  8. V.J. Knutson

    I suffer from Myalgic E, a debilitating disease which they predict will be on the rise because of Coronavirus. Although experts don’t know a lot about the disease, one theory is that it is caused by a virus that wipes out the system. For me, it was pneumonia that triggered the it. Imagine what this new virus can do.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

  9. Pingback: So You Think The Mask Is Optional? | sparksfromacombustiblemind

  11. judyt54

    nodding my head fiercely, Judy. thanks for posting this. I think we’re preaching to the choir on this, but you have to try.
    The scariest part is the stuff we DON’T know about.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓
  14. gc

    Reblogged this on THE MAIN AISLE (c) 2020 and commented:
    The COVID 19 virus is long lasting, mutating virus. To not wear a mask for any reason whatsoever is sheer folly. The skeptical quickly change their tune when the virus becomes a personal reality for them. This article offers more reasons why we all should follow the advice of medical professionals. Be smart protect yourself and others. Thanks Judy for the article.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.