The study authors noted that patients were also asked about symptoms in the previous 4 weeks such as: fever, chills, or night sweats loss of smell or taste fatigue shortness of breath chest pain numbness or tingling nausea, vomiting or diarrhea muscle aches and rash.įinally, the questionnaire asked participants whether they had trouble keeping things organized, trouble concentrating on activities such as television or reading a book, and whether they forgot what they talked about during a phone conversation over the previous 4 weeks. The questionnaire asked participants if they felt their health had returned to normal, if they could complete vigorous activities (like running), moderate activities (like moving a table, climbing a flight of stairs, etc.), and bathe and dress independently. The participants were followed up with using questionnaires administered by nurses via telephone after 30-, 60-, and 90-days post-hospital discharge (or in the case of non-hospitalized patients, from the date of the first positive COVID-19 test). Brain fog has impacted all age groups, too, the study authors added, and neurocognitive symptoms can include memory problems, difficulty concentrating, trouble focusing, and PTSD. The study authors said such neuropsychiatric symptoms are common in acute COVID-19 and long COVID but the link between these deficits-so called “brain fog”- and long COVID are currently unknown. Patients were enrolled in the study between April 2020 and February 2021 after laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection. Investigators from UCLA conducted a prospective cohort study of 766 patients with COVID-19 in order to describe the characteristics of patients with perceived cognitive deficits within the first 4 weeks post-COVID-19 infections and the links between those deficits and long COVID. "We know from other research that people will talk about fatigue as something that they experience when they're feeling overstressed," says Bufka.For COVID-19 patients, perceiving cognitive deficits or “brain fog” within the first 4 weeks of infection might be associated with long COVID, according to an original investigation published in JAMA Network Open. "Exhaustion can be a symptom of many things," says Cyrus. In the meantime, Bufka and other experts say that there are things we can do now to fight the mental fog and exhaustion. "They may have struggled during the time of the challenges but generally come out OK on the other end." "We know that the majority of people tend to be resilient," says Lynn Bufka, a psychologist with the American Psychological Association. It's a normal reaction to a very abnormal year.Īnd while many people will likely continue to struggle with mental health symptoms in the long run, research on past mass traumas suggests that most people will recover once the coronavirus pandemic ends. But at the root of it are the stress and trauma of the past year, say Cyrus and other mental health experts. This kind of mental fog is real and can have a few different causes. Shots - Health News Pandemic's Emotional Hammer Hits Hard And many providers, like Cyrus, are feeling it themselves. are hearing similar complaints from people who weren't infected by the virus. While some people who have had COVID-19 report brain fog and fatigue as lingering symptoms of their infection - what's known as long COVID - mental health care providers around the U.S. 'All I want to do is stare at the ceiling.' " Others say they are more irritable. Some tell her they can "barely turn on the TV. Some patients tell Cyrus they've been making mistakes at work. They say things like, "It's just so hard to get out of bed" or "I've been misplacing things more often," she says. I don't feel like being active again."Įxhaustion is also one of the top complaints she hears from her patients these days. "I am taking a nap in between patients," says Cyrus, a psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins University. Kali Cyrus has struggled with periods of exhaustion. Feelings of exhaustion, irritability and mental fogginess are our bodies' normal response to an abnormal year of pandemic life.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |