Longevity & Recurring Symptoms in Coronavirus Patients

Some patients who have endured sickness from COVID-19 report feeling better for a while and then having symptoms show up again, even after a month later from when they first tested positive. Some people even test positive for the virus again even after they have recovered. It has been over a month since patient Teresa Rodriguez began experiencing symptoms, and she is still combatting a lingering headache, cough, and ongoing fatigue. Rodriguez has said she is just starting to feel like she can walk about her home but has stated she still has yet to feel like her usual energetic self. When compared to her experiencing plenty of colds and flus in the past, she described COVID-19 as “far worse.” The longevity of the symptoms has surprised her more than anything.

Many patients diagnosed or people who have suspected they have COVID-19 are posting on online forums and on social media regarding symptoms that seem to go on and on. A large percent claim that it comes in waves: the patients start feeling better after a few weeks; however, they say it hits them again and persists to cause health problems. With some people experiencing coronavirus symptoms like a mild cold or flu, and some who are so sick they end up at the hospital, this section of patients say they feel somewhere in the middle with symptoms coming and going over an extended period of time.

Doctors treating COVID-19 patients have stated it is very possible some patients will experience lingering symptoms of the coronavirus for a month or even more. Most people have been typically recovering in 10 to 14 days. A problem that can prolonge symptoms though is when the virus travels to the lungs and causes pneumonia, which then makes recovery take up to six weeks or longer. This creates the question in many people’s minds: when is it safe to go out and be around other people again?