Is coronavirus actually as bad as this claims? Surely we'd of heard more about that?

[YellowEllis]

I was finally becoming relatively relaxed, but I find this very alarming?

@Redolent, that’s a very good idea. I’m beginning to wonder after all the information I’m seeing if “long tail Covid” is much more common than it initially seemed. I wish more research was done to put a clearer number on how many people are suffering from it. It’s now coming to the attention of the press more and more, but more in a personal anecdote kind of way which is easy to dismiss as “oh, but it’s rare”. Far from whipping up hysteria, as some claim, I think the media haven’t been as vocal about much of this as they could have been.
Hope you’re OK in these strange times. I’m being very conservative and doing everything I can to avoid catching this. It’s not a lottery I want to play given my heart, and also I have a 7 month old daughter who needs her mummy to be well.

I had a very bad chest infection in 2015 and am now on daily asthma medication. I'm now also more susceptible to infections / colds affecting my breathing since this particular illness. I'm 35. Luckily, most of the time I'm fine. Covid-19 is clearly a nasty illness, but it's not the only one that can leave you with ongoing issues. I think the pandemic has, understandably, made us feel more vulnerable but there has always been illnesses in circulation that can make you very sick or leave you weakened for the future. We just don't hear about it on a daily basis, or have so many people with no immunity susceptible in one go.

A good friend in early fifties who was otherwise healthy has suffered multiple organ failure, needed dialysis and now can only walk with a stick. So, yes it's more than just a cold. He's going to suffer for the rest of his life.

teacupdrama I don't know where you get your figures for flu deaths from but they are overestimates
Public Health England estimates that on average 17,000 people have died from the flu in England annually between 2014/15 and 2018/19. However, the yearly deaths vary widely from a high of 28,330 in 2014/15 to a low of 1,692 in 2018/19.

I was in icu with sepsis. I have a heart condition now and was told it would take me 9 months to fully recover from the tiredness etc (heart condition for life). Anything that is bad enough to put you in icu is going to mess with your body. It will have long term health and mental implications for those affected. The sepsis charity is actually extending its support to covid sufferers as it can help advise with long term recovery.

drinkingwineoutofamug
I missed the dementia link, what was that ?

I'm a HCP and am currently carrying out post covid assessments on all patients who tested positive regardless if they were admitted to hospital or not.

@ThousandsAreSailing I think the worrying thing here is that you’re only assessing patients who tested positive. There needs to be (as the GP mentioned upthread) some pathway to assess those who probably had the disease and have continuing issues but never got tested (given how sporadic tests were in the early part of lockdown). They will fall between the cracks if they’re not included in rehabilitation programmes.

@SirVixofVixHall

Sorry forgot to add , there are a few scientific papers about the covid and effect with dementia. That screen shot is the easy read version

Thank you drinkingwine
So much is unknown, I wonder how much they will have discovered about covid in a few years time.

Also gobsmacked at a medical professional saying a virus is "highly intelligent" and "designed to kill". Moron.

If there is any hint of truth in the rest of her post, it's defeated by this idiocy.

I would say it has some intelligence, as it has been able to mutate 🤷🏻‍♀️
So many different strains

Useless trivia to add...

People here are now 9 weeks and still trying to kick it, including fell runners (so VERY healthy). The three who made it out of ICU have been told the scarring on their lungs is long term damage and it’s tbc what that means, but the hospital warned them a second wave could basically take them out.

Known people to die from it, but maybe scarier that the ones who had it badly (inc healthy people with no underlying) are damaged long term :(

@drinkingwineoutofamug

I would say it has some intelligence, as it has been able to mutate 🤷🏻‍♀️ So many different strains

That's an interesting take on what it means to be intelligent

Daffodils mutate - are they intelligent?

Every living thing is the result of mutations.

Every living thing does not have intelligence.

Clearly.

If a virus hits you badly it can take time.

I look 12 weeks to feel even slightly normal after Swine Flu. Glandular Fever was 6 months then it took another 2 years for my metabolism to sort itself out and lose the weight I had gained.

DS took 6 months to be right from scarlet fever. DD was over it in a day or two

Mutations are not a sign of intelligence. If a virus was the most intelligent would be the common cold viruses. The perfect balance between infectious and not serious enough for us to want to do anything about it. Coronavirus would become less serious if it was

Maybe intelligence wasn't the most intelligent word to use , but it is interesting how it mutates itself to carry on spreading or survive.
Will have to excuse my intelligence as I'm just getting over the bloody virus.

But all life on earth mutates itself to carry on spreading or survive. That's how we all got to this point, and how we will continue. There isn't anything inherently intelligent about it, it's just "survival of the fittest" in action

I’m a healthy, fit 45 year old. I have mild v well controlled asthma, have barely used inhalers for 20 years. Had covid (untested but confirmed by doctor) in March. I’m still suffering from SOB, chest aches and neurological symptoms. I need daily inhalers now. I can feel my chest ‘buzzing/tightness’ as I’m typing this. My gp has been understanding and referred me to a neurologist.
I’ve also had a clear chest X-ray but was told this won’t show the chest inflammation I’m suffering from. I do have hope that I’ll make a full recovery.
Just feel a bit down about being so exhausted all the time and not able to go on long family walks/runs at the moment.

My brother and SIL had it v mildly at the same time. I think anyone’s experience of the disease will shape how you feel about the seriousness of it.

how it mutates itself to carry on spreading or survive
it 'mutates itself' in the same way that a ball 'rolls itself down a hill'

Virus mutate by accident all the time. Little variations that happen by complete chance as they multiply and replicate themselves.

Maybe the accidental variation means the person coughs a little more, so that particular variation is spread to more people, who in turn spread it to more people. Another variation may make the person terribly ill, but as terribly ill people are less likely to go out to Tesco and cough over people, that version is less likely to pass on and so will probably die out.

This is why the least harmful versions of viruses tend to be more successful and so most viruses mutate towards less deadly forms over time.

The so-called Spanish flu was a notable exception to this with a more deadly second wave, but that was thought to be in part because the very ill were bundled into trains and sent home, therefore the severe forms of the virus were given greater chances to spread.

Can anyone explain for me how a disease like this has such a huge spread of outcomes? I think it is unusual is it not? The spectrum of severity is quite odd to me but I’m no scientist or medic

As is the flu... I recently read a research paper that indicated 3/4 of infections were asymptomatic.

My aunt (late 60ies) has had it, she simply had a cough for a few days. As did her son and his pregnant partner.

My son had it in February, he was working with others in Europe, had to come home from France. He self isolated at home. Felt very rough for a few days and then recovered. Two colleagues also had it, one died and the other is still having severe lung problems.

Another friend caught the virus here and had a stroke, she died. She had no known underlying health problems.

A couple of other people that I know have had it, a mother and teenage son. They both recovered with no ill effects, him very quickly, she took a couple of weeks.

We can't generalise about how this virus affects people, everyone is different.