We are all policy makers! We decide how our family members behave, how our school, classroom, shul, and/or business should function.
We affect so many lives by the decisions we make.
Below you will find vital information regarding the short-term and possible long term effects of Coronavirus based upon the quoted research for you to consider when making your decisions.
I. Is Covid Just a Respiratory Disorder?
“COVID-19 is not just a respiratory disorder,” said Dr. Harlan Krumholtz, a cardiologist at Yale University. “It can affect the heart, the liver, the kidneys, the brain, the endocrine system and the blood system.”
Doctors are worried that in its wake, some organs whose function has been knocked off kilter will not recover quickly, or completely. That could leave patients more vulnerable for months or years to come.
A present study shows that most patients requiring hospitalization for COVID-19 still have persistent symptoms, even 110 days after being discharged, especially fatigue and dyspnea.
These results highlight the need for a long-term follow-up of those patients and rehabilitation programs. Surprisingly, many patients (mainly women) spontaneously reported significant hair loss, which may correspond to a telogen effluvium, secondary to viral infection and/or a stress generated by the hospitalization and the disease. (PMC)
II. How Does Corona Attack the Body?
Viruses work by hijacking cells in the body. They enter host cells and reproduce. They can then spread to new cells around the body.
Amongst many organs, coronaviruses affect the respiratory system, which is a group of organs and tissues that allow the body to breathe.
Respiratory illnesses affect different parts of this respiratory system, such as the lungs. A coronavirus typically infects the lining of the throat, airways, and lungs.
III. Asymptomatic Corona Explained
The COVID-19 infection also includes pain among its symptoms. Whether it’s headaches or muscle aches, it’s still a version of pain that’s telling you something isn’t right. But it turns out that the same SARS-CoV-2 component that’s used to infect cells can also bind to a key protein that’s part of the pain signaling process.
“It made a lot of sense to me that perhaps the reason for the unrelenting spread of COVID-19 is that in the early stages, you’re walking around all fine as if nothing is wrong because your pain has been suppressed,” Dr. Rajesh Khanna told NeuroScienceNews.
IV. Early Symptoms
Early symptoms of coronavirus may include coughing or shortness of breath, severe damage to the lungs.
For example, some people might develop acute respiratory distress syndrome, leading to severe breathing difficulties.
Usually, the immune system will identify and respond to coronavirus early by sending special proteins, or antibodies, to fight the infection.
The immune response to infection has side effects for the body, including fever. During an infection, white blood cells release pyrogens, a substance that causes fever.
A temperature of greater than 100.4°F from an oral thermometer indicates a fever.
V. Other Symptoms
Medical News Today
Sometimes other symptoms will occur alongside a fever, including:
- breathlessness
- a cough
- muscle pain
- a sore throat
- a headache
- chills
- new loss of taste or smell
These symptoms will usually last until the body fights off the coronavirus.
Symptoms might not show up straightaway. For example, people with COVID-19 may get symptoms 2 to 14 days after infection…But one can transmit the illness even if one does not feel symptoms.
VI. Risks and complications
Coronavirus can have severe complications, such as pneumonia even for younger people.
Pneumonia occurs if the virus causes infection of one or both lungs. The tiny air sacs inside the lungs can fill with fluid or pus, making it harder to breathe.
Coronavirus can also damage the heart, liver, or kidneys. In some people, it will affect the blood and immune system. For example, COVID-19 can cause heart, renal, or multiple organ failure, resulting in death.
Some people are more at risk of severe complications than others.
The risk can increase for those with an underlying health condition, such as:
- serious heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
- kidney disease
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- obesity, which occurs in people with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher
- sickle cell disease
- a weakened immune system from a solid organ transplant
- type 2 diabetes
- Older adults are also at risk of severe illness from coronavirus.
- people with HIV
- pregnant women
- people with asthma
- cancer patients, patients in remission
VII. Can Covid Cause Infertility?
Can Covid be transmitted between partners?
Dr. John Aitken
The corona-shaped spike that gives the virus its name targets ACE2 enzymes that are found in many testes cell types. Additionally, the COVID-19 virus may also gain access to male sperm cells once they leave the testes, which could be very dangerous in terms of transmission.
Mature sperm have all the equipment needed to bind and fuse with COVID-19, and then reverse transcription of viral RNA into proviral DNA. The reverse transcription produces double-stranded DNA that is integrated into the genetic material of the person. This means that human sperm can act as a vehicle for sexually-transmitted COVID-19 transmission.
A COVID-19 attack on human sperm leads to a build-up of angiotensin II, which is a hormone that regulates kidney function and blood pressure. Increased levels of this hormone cause an immune response against the invading COVID-19 virus particles that increases the availability of reactive oxygen species that causes cell death.
Prolonged exposure to elevated angiotenstin II levels can lead to cell death in sperm.
The available research suggests that when the ACE2 enzyme cleaves at specific amino acids, the exposure causes decreased sperm viability and function, and can ultimately result in a loss of male fertility.
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Similar research was done in Sheba Medical Center in Israel as reported in the Jerusalem Post
VIII. Pregnant Women
Can Covid cause Miscarriages
COVID-19 and pregnancy
Based on what we know at this time, pregnant people might be at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 compared to non-pregnant people. Additionally, pregnant people with COVID-19 may be at increased risk for other adverse outcomes, such as preterm birth.
Organ damage caused by COVID-19
Organs that may be affected by COVID-19 include:
- Heart. Imaging tests taken months after recovery from COVID-19 have shown lasting damage to the heart muscle, even in people who experienced only mild COVID-19 symptoms. This may increase the risk of heart failure or other heart complications in the future.
- Lungs. The type of pneumonia often associated with COVID-19 can cause long-standing damage to the tiny air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs. The resulting scar tissue can lead to long-term breathing problems.
- Brain. Even in young people, COVID-19 can cause strokes, seizures and Guillain-Barre syndrome — a condition that causes temporary paralysis. COVID-19 may also increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
Blood clots and blood vessel problems
COVID-19 can make blood cells more likely to clump up and form clots. While large clots can cause heart attacks and strokes, much of the heart damage caused by COVID-19 is believed to stem from very small clots that block tiny blood vessels (capillaries) in the heart muscle.
Other organs affected by blood clots include the lungs, legs, liver and kidneys. COVID-19 can also weaken blood vessels, which contributes to potentially long-lasting problems with the liver and kidneys.
Problems with mood and fatigue
People who have severe symptoms of COVID-19 often have to be treated in a hospital’s intensive care unit, with mechanical assistance such as ventilators to breathe. Simply surviving this experience can make a person more likely to later develop post-traumatic stress syndrome, depression and anxiety.
Because it’s difficult to predict long-term outcomes from the new COVID-19 virus, scientists are looking at the long-term effects seen in related viruses, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
Many people who have recovered from SARS have gone on to develop chronic fatigue syndrome, a complex disorder characterized by extreme fatigue that worsens with physical or mental activity, but doesn’t improve with rest. The same may be true for people who have had COVID-19.
Many long-term COVID-19 effects still unknown
Much is still unknown about how COVID-19 will affect people over time. However, researchers recommend that doctors closely monitor people who have had COVID-19 to see how their organs are functioning after recovery.
It’s important to remember that most people who have COVID-19 recover quickly. But the potentially long-lasting problems from COVID-19 make it even more important to reduce the spread of the disease by following precautions such as wearing masks, avoiding crowds and keeping hands clean.