The dreaded COVID-19 may haunt humans for long, even after it disappears from the globe. The virus has affected all sections of society, irrespective of age, gender, social and financial status and wiped out several families. Recovery has not ended the misery of patients in many cases.
“An estimated 30% of patients, who were affected severely, suffer from post-COVID complications, which can include involvement of any organ from head to toe. The common problems being hair fall, asthenia, body and joint pains, listlessness, indigestion, vomiting and chronic diarrhoea,” says Dr. P.V. Sudhakar, principal of Andhra Medical College.
The other complications include post-COVID myocarditis (increase in heart beat or irregular heart beat), abnormal rise in creatinine levels, chronic cough and breathlessness on exertion, pulmonary fibrosis and psychological issues. “The patients, who are isolated in the initial stages of COVID-19, feel lonely and depressed and on recovery experience the after-effects. We have opened three Post-COVID Clinics at King George Hospital (KGH), Government Hospital for Chest and Communicable Diseases (GHCCD) and at the Visakha Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS) to treat these kinds of post-COVID sequelae,” he says.
“A general physician, pulmonologist, psychiatrist and duty doctor are available at our Post COVID Clinic. The general complaints include palpitation, weight loss/weight gain and unusual tension. The response from patients to the clinic is far from encouraging. It could be due to a lack of awareness among them,” says Dr. K. Rambabu, Director of VIMS.
“Heart, lungs and neuro-psychiatric problems are the major post-COVID problems being seen in patients. During COVID-19 infection and also after recovery, clotting of blood and blockage of blood vessels occur commonly in some patients. It results in weakening of the heart muscles, heart failure and heart attacks. When blood vessels to the brain are blocked it results in stroke and paralysis,” says Dr. S.N.R. Naveen, physician and pulmonologist, KGH.
“Pulmonary fibrosis, which is characterised by lungs losing their elasticity and becoming hard is also seen in some post-COVID cases. The patient will be exhausted after walking a few steps. Anti-fibrotic molecules and monoclonal antibodies are being used to treat this condition with an average success rate,” he says.
Adverse impact of social media
Dr. Balasubramanyam Kovvali, a specialist in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Psychological Counselling, explains to The Hindu the case of a 28-year-old software engineer working from home from his native Srikakulam district during the lockdown. His parents contracted COVID-19 and he took precautions and isolated them. While attending on them also he took adequate precautions for himself and his wife.
However, subsequently, an overdose of information on the pandemic and the death of a relative, triggered negative thoughts in the well-educated man leading to anxiety and COVID-phobia. Following online counselling, he opened up slowly and admitted that he was scared of death due to COVID. “Through psychological counselling sessions, I changed his thinking pattern and made him realise there is no need to fear COVID-19 though adequate precautions are needed to protect oneself,” Dr. Kovvali says.
“After three weeks, he called me and told me that he has got over his anxiety. Constant stress releases a hormone, cortisol, which reduces immunity and maintains anxiety. Sometimes, misinformation on social media is causing undue stress not only among recovered patients but also general public, he observes.
“In another case, a B.Tech final year student from the city developed an extreme fear of COVID-19 after seeing several messages on Whatsapp about the pandemic. He stopped going out of the house and even locked himself in a room whenever relatives visited their home fearing that he would get infected,” he says.
Dr. Kovvali advises that people should develop positive thinking and follow COVID-19 protocols, and not think too much about the pandemic nor get scared by all the information that is circulated on Whatsapp and other social media. When anxiety and depression continue to persist, one should consult a psychological counsellor for help.”
