As an affected person, you will certainly have many questions, for example: What are the symptoms of Long COVID? When am I actually affected by it? How can I avoid long-term effects from an infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus?

 

And the most common question: Where can I find medical advice and help for treating and recovering from the effects of Long COVID ?

Defining Long COVID – also called Post-COVID Syndrome or PASC1 (post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2) –  is difficult as we are dealing with a multisystemic post-viral disease.

 

The statistics are sobering:  it is predicted that 10-20% of COVID-19 patients will develop Long COVID. They are officially considered recovered but are not statistically recorded. They struggle with manifold and often massively life-limiting conditions for months. Due to the variety of symptoms and their dynamic character, patients are not easy to categorise. As we now know, almost all systems of the body are affected.

People suffering from Long COVID are no longer contagious! Long COVID symptoms significantly affect their health and well-being!

 

There are three distinct phases of a COVID-19 infection:

 

  • Acute COVID-19 disease phase: up to 4 weeks after the onset of symptoms,
    Long COVID phase =
  • Sub-acute COVID-19 disease phase: COVID-19 symptoms occurring 4 to 12 weeks after the first signs of the disease,
  • Long COVID syndrome: symptoms that occurred in association with COVID-19 or thereafter persist for more than 12 weeks after the illness and cannot be otherwise explained.

 

Both the sub-acute phase of the disease and the Long COVID syndrome are referred to as Long COVID.