Thread by @DrFulli

#LongCOVID19 thread.
Even only #chronicSmellingLoss #Anosmia can be devastating emotionally:
Affected people loose any enjoyment in domains like food, ignore bad smelling warnings of many hazards, can become anxieux about body odours or house odours they aren't aware of ect.1/

Besides, a #MaxPlanKInstitute team got data suggesting #chronicSmellingLoss means brain access: " #SARSCoV2 can enter the nervous system by crossing the neural–mucosal interface in olfactory mucosa..penetrating defined neuroanatomical areas.."2/ #LongCOVID
nature.com/articles/s4159…

NB: Authors also suggest the existence of "other mechanisms or routes of viral entry into the brain " As we were able to detect #SARSCoV2 RNA in some individuals in CNS regions that have no direct connection to the olfactory mucosa..." #LongCOVID 3/
nature.com/articles/s4159…

Those were autopsy findings therefore but even if you are a fit youth suffering from the social and economic costs of #COVID19pandemic social distancing with lockdown periods, it is unwise to convince yourself that youth puts you above any risk of #longCOVID.4/

One certitude only in December 2020:

"best way to prevent #longCOVID(LC)..is to prevent #COVID19."

Experts still ignore:

-how long LC can last

-the absolute risk for previously fit young people to suffer from LC after any #SARScoV2 infection.5/

cdc.gov/coronavirus/20…

Healthy young people expect only mild acute #COVID19 symptoms if any but
"Surprisingly, people with mild cases..are more likely to have a variety of “strange” symptoms that come and go over a longer period, according to #PrTimSpector KCL" #LongCOVID 6/
bloomberg.com/news/features/…

USA #DrAnthonyFauci has speculated..many in the 2nd group will develop a condition called #myalgicEncephalomyelitis(ME) #chronicFatigueSyndrome(CFS)
#MECFS can be triggered by other infectious illnesses..mononucleosis,LymeDisease, #SARSCoV2"
#LongCOVID 7/
health.harvard.edu/blog/the-trage…

#LongCOVID19 is also taken very seriously in England:

-NHS announced plans to establish a network of more than 40 #longCovidSpecialistClinics..to help patients with long term symptoms of infection"
-Prospective #CoverscanStudy 8/
bmj.com/content/371/bm…

Even Acute medicine doctors like Dr.KenScheppke worry about #LongCOVID at least in the USA emsworld.com/article/122529…
“Now is the time for medicine to turn its collective eye toward this #postviralSyndrome& figure out what’s going on so we can help these poor people suffering..”9/

"we may be seeing massive numbers of patients with #MECFS/other lingering symptoms that could place an immense burden on healthcare&financial systems, not to mention stress on people’s personal lives—their families, careers,& mental health."10/ #LongCovid emsworld.com/article/122529…

It seems clear that even for the fit and young "catching this virus isn’t a way to get it over with, because even if it doesn’t kill you, it may leave you disabled, potentially for months, if not years" as Dr Scheppke says; not so with #longCOVID. 11/
emsworld.com/article/122529…

Back in June 2020 #longCOVID19patients had already felt abandonned:
"Even though the world is consumed by concern over #COVID19, the long-haulers have been largely left out of the narrative and excluded from the figures that define the pandemic."12/
theatlantic.com/health/archive…

In Aug. 2020 #LongCOVID19 patients still felt:
"...precariously perched on a physiological precipice-a difficult position from which to fight for their future.“A lot of people who don’t have the energy to educate the world are educating the world”13/
theatlantic.com/health/archive…

Vocabulary point: #longCovid19 is more often used than #COVIDLongHauleurs and both differs from #COVID19Survivors the chosen name of self-described grass roots movement fighting the #COVID19pandemic in the USA:

"BE A #SUPERHERO – #SAVELIVES"

. 14/ survivorcorps.com

"Every cloud has a silver lining". (Milton)

The silver lining in #longCOVID should be for the medically neglected sufferers of #post-viral #ME to benefit from the extraordinary research efforts fighting the #COVID19pandemic to escape health gurus & "All In Your Head" denial. /15