GREENSBORO, N.C. — Some COVID-19 survivors say they're still dealing with the long-term effects of the virus several months after recovery. Such people who are experiencing lingering side effects are called long-haulers.
Some of the side-effects that have stayed long after a patient's bout with the virus can include lingering loss of taste and smell.
One Asheboro woman said despite recovering from COVID-19 about 5 months ago, she's still having difficulty with her sense of taste and smell.
"I couldn't smell anything and about the three-month mark, I thought it was a new air freshener I just bought in the car, and I said, 'Oh, this thing stinks!' and 'Oh, I can smell it!'" And then I started realizing, 'Wait a minute, everything smells burnt. Everything tastes burnt,'" said Amber Weary, a teacher in Asheboro.
According to the CDC, the most common long-term side effects for long-haulers are fatigue, shortness of breath, cough, and joint pain.
"When they did the triage they noticed my blood pressure was extremely high and it had spiked quite a bit and after three checks they were really concerned," Weary said.
"It's often not something that we can measure or something we can take a test and say, 'this is what's going on,'" Dr. John Sanders said.
Dr. Sanders is the chief of infectious disease at Wake Forest Baptist Health. He said many of the side effects are common with the experience of infection and trauma to the body's immune system
"Foggy brain, trouble concentrating, hair loss, I think those are the most common complaints we hear about," Sanders said.
He said researchers are also looking into other severe side effects.
Various recent studies (NCBI, NCBI MMWR) reported that a large percentage of recovered patients reported long-term side effects that ranged from difficulty concentrating and trouble with sleep to permanent lung and liver damage.
The reports also stated that a handful of young patients presented with pulmonary or heart-related issues and blood clots.
"Do those blood clots then contribute to heart attacks and strokes? That's the one that I think we should be most concerned about as the most serious," he said.
In the meantime, Weary said she is undergoing therapy to try to see if her olfactory senses can be reset with strong smells like essential oils and coffee beans.
"I don't know how to cope with it. I'm still learning that it is scary to think that this might be long lasting," she said.
Health experts advise a visit with your doctor if you're experiencing lingering COVID-19 symptoms.
