You're not going to like the next tweet in this thread, so don't read it.
I don't think there's a difference between the set 'people who have had a covid infection' and 'people who have long term effects from a covid infection'.
I just think that the second set 'people who have long term effects from a covid infection' varies enormously in degree and condition.
And I think that every extra covid infection adds to the effect.
I know that's not something anyone wants to hear.
But I'm not hear to make people all fluffy inside, I'm here to say what I see.
And this is what I see.
Vaccination helps, but not vaccination five years ago so much, or vaccination you've been offered but haven't taken up.
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I think one of the most important conclusions people are missing from the data in the recent big studies is that covid infections cause radically diverse long term effects in different age groups.
So much so that it could appear as if they've been infected with different viruses.
But it's not the virus that's different, it's the immune system, the metabolism, and the way the body repairs the damage done by the infection.
The word mucinous is going to become much more common.
Yes, bookmark this tweet, it looks bland, but it's important.
oh, okay. I won't leave you hanging.
I've written a lot recently about how we're missing the big picture of how covid infection is doing cumulative damage to interfaces in the body - linings, membranes, barriers, walls, filters.
I don't want to rewrite that all here, but I don't want to bust the flow of this thread, so at the end of it, I'll post the thread I wrote on linings.
I know, I know, you're going to laugh at me for saying that you're more likely to have problems with cramp after you've had a covid infection, but it's all very simple science.
Loads of people have been mentioning cramp recently, and like so many other conditions, yes, covid infection makes it more likely, and makes it worse.
It's just an extra factor on top of all the normal factors for cramp.
Muscles are fussy about blood flow.
They need a steady supply of oxygen to contract and, crucially, to relax.
Covid messes with the small blood vessels that supply it, so muscles end up slightly under-fuelled, and under-fuelled muscles cramp.