Boffins have discovered “long colds” exist – and they could be just as common as long Covid.
Millions of people are left with long-term symptoms after catching a respiratory bug other than Covid-19, according to researchers at Queen Mary University of London. They often include persistent coughing, stomach pain and diarrhoea.
A study classed patients as having a “long cold” if symptoms of a cold, flu or pneumonia stuck around for more than four weeks after infection. The scientists said: “Our findings suggest that there may be long-lasting health impacts from other respiratory infections that are going unrecognised, although we do not yet have evidence that these symptoms have a similar duration to long Covid.”
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Experts looked at data from 10,203 people taking part in the Covidence UK study into coronavirus in the population. At the time, 1,343 had suffered from Covid and 472 from a different respiratory illness.
In both groups, around 22% had symptoms that hung around for more than a month after their initial infection. The longest lasted 37 weeks for non-Covid sufferers and 64 weeks for those with Covid.
Lead author Giulia Vivaldi said: “Our findings shine a light not only on the impact of long Covid on people’s lives, but also other respiratory infections. A lack of awareness – or even the lack of a common term – prevents both reporting and diagnosis of these conditions.”
The research, published in medical journal The Lancet, found Covid patients were more likely to have lasting taste and smell problems, dizziness, heart palpitations, sweating and hair loss. But non-Covid sufferers were more likely to develop a long-term cough.
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Both groups experienced breathlessness and fatigue, said co-author Professor Adrian Martineau. He added: “Our findings may chime with the experience of people who have struggled with prolonged symptoms after having a respiratory infection despite testing negative for Covid-19 on a nose or throat swab.
“Ongoing research into the long-term effects of Covid-19 and other acute respiratory infections is important because it can help us to get to the root of why some people experience more prolonged symptoms than others.”
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