NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — They are called Longhaulers, people who recovered from the coronavirus infection but have lingering symptoms. Some call the headaches, dizziness, and fatigue, brain fog.
“I'm seeing healthy people that did not have these serious manifestations of COVID, people that are athletic, don't have underlying health conditions, that are reporting symptoms,” said Tulane Neurologist Dr. Michele Longo.
She says patients have:
- Short term memory loss
- Problems focusing
- Problems concentrating
- Problems finding words
- Trouble with daily thinking
“I don't think that there's been evidence so far of direct involvement of the brain cells from the virus itself,” she added.
So then what causes it? Here are the theories:
- People who had severe complications are more at risk
- Respiratory problems caused lower oxygen
- Other organs have been affected
- Inflammation from the immune response
- Fatigue from fighting the infection
- And in a small number of cases clotting
“The brain is very hungry for oxygen. Twenty percent of oxygen is going to the brain. If it doesn't get oxygen for three to five minutes, there can be irreversible changes,” said Dr. Longo.
So what can be done?
- Have a doctor check for any underlying medical conditions
- Are other medications, or behaviors causing it, like diet or lack of sleep or exercise
- Are there emotional factors?
- Or a vitamin or hormone deficiency.
“COVID is scary and there are people that are out there that have survived what has been a life-ending illness for many, and that's left us with a lot of anxiety, depression, some people even have symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.”
And even though little is known, Dr. Longo has an encouraging prognosis.
“We can reassure these patients, the way we do our patients that had had concussions, that most people will improve,” she said.
And Dr. Longo says if there are no underlying medical conditions causing the brain fog, it may just be that some people take longer to recover from the virus.
