Post-Covid health problems

 Reminding that Covid-19 is a disease that affects not only the lungs but all organs, Internal Medicine Specialist Prof. Dr. Yaşar Küçükardalı said, "Organ damage can also cause significant health problems."

Although people act as if it is over, the pandemic continues… Moreover, the coronavirus does not seem to make one forget itself. Pointing out that a significant portion of the patients who got the disease and recovered after their treatment face some health problems, Internal Medicine Specialist Prof. Dr. Yaşar Küçükardalı listed these problems as follows…

cardiovascular diseases

In the acute phase, the coronavirus affects both the pericardium and the heart muscle. It has also been shown in studies that the virus causes heart muscle inflammation (myocarditis). However, it can also cause a deterioration in blood pressure balance. As a result, chest pain and shortness of breath may develop from time to time in the next period. People who have had an infarction, especially during the acute Covid period, should be much more careful. These people should be followed up like a cardiovascular patient, as their heart problems may continue for a longer period of time.

neurological problems

Fatigue, feeling of burnout, inability to concentrate, mood disorders, weakness in the musculoskeletal system, loss of strength as well as numbness in the hands and feet from place to place are among the neurological problems that patients complain about. If these complaints start after Covid, the patient should be evaluated neurologically.

Lung hardening

In the long term, the most emphasized issue in the lungs is fibrosis, that is, the formation of adhesions. Unfortunately, in patients who have had a severe acute Covid, a significant part of the lung has been exposed to the virus and the healing process has taken a long time, unfortunately, adhesions in the air sacs and the surrounding connective tissue occur during this healing process, and accordingly, stiffness occurs in that area. When this tissue hardening is on the walls of the air sacs, it changes and reduces the gas exchange, that is, the respiratory pump due to fibrosis in the lung does not work enough and gas exchange is not enough.

If the virus attacks this thyroid gland, which is in the front of our neck, the picture we call thyroiditis may develop. In this case, the patient has complaints such as palpitations, sweating, weight loss, tremors. In the following period, thyroid laziness may occur because the thyroid is damaged. Therefore, it would be appropriate for people with Covid to have their thyroid functions checked at least once every 6 months in the first year.

Diabetes

People who have had Covid may develop diabetes or worsen the course of diabetes. There are 3 basic disorders in the endocrine system after Covid. The most important of these is related to sugar. Due to the fact that the coronavirus disrupts the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, it can cause diabetes to occur in people who have never had sugar-related problems before. Secondly, cortisone is used to prevent shortness of breath, permanent damage and absence of adhesions in the lungs, especially in the majority of hospitalized patients. This treatment, which must be applied, may also have some side effects. Diabetes may develop. It can cause insulin resistance.