United States: There are about 5.8 million cases of long COVID in young people, as per the latest official data.
Dr. Rachel Gross of NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine, who is the author of a recently held study, said the major challenge she encountered while examining the illness was the varying nature of the illness.
She stated, “Long COVID can look different in different children, that not everybody has the same symptoms and that it can look different depending on when the symptoms start,” as CBS News reported.
Symptoms of long COVID- Experts
Commonly found symptoms in kids include – Headache, lost in sense of taste and smell, brain fog, and pain.
Take an example of the recent case of Amanda Goodhart’s 6-year-old son Logan, who caught COVID multiple times; however, even months later, his symptoms haven’t gotten any better.
In the case of Logan, the physical symptoms that he has been dealing with are – circulatory and gastrointestinal problems and tiredness.
As per the study findings, 12 symptoms have been commonly seen – in adults-
- post-exertional malaise
- tiredness
- brain fog
- dizziness
- gastrointestinal problems
- heart palpitations
- issues with sexual desire or capacity
- loss of sense of smell or taste
- thirst
- chronic cough
- chest pain
- abnormal movements
Recovery from symptoms after several years
Among most children, the symptoms of long COVID are recovered within the span of several months. However, about 33 percent of them keep on experiencing the symptoms over even longer than one year. as CBS News reported.
According to Goodhart, who described dealing with symptoms as frustrating, they have tried various treatments but have achieved only moderate improvement yet.
She said, “It’s terrible, there’s nothing worse than seeing your child go through something you can’t fix.”
What does the recent research find?
The research findings reveal that long COVID raises the possibility of a child developing type 1 diabetes.
This can also be fatal, which can further deteriorate into multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explained the syndrome as a “rare but serious condition associated with COVID-19 in which different body parts become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs.”
Gross said, “This study was urgently needed because there are so many questions that need to be answered about pediatric long COVID,”