For people experiencing Long COVID a phenomenon termed “post-exertional malaise” (PEM) is a common experience (1). This is when you do physical activity, socialize, or perform a mental task and afterwards you have more severe symptoms (2). Many people with Long COVID are taking individual approaches to managing these symptoms including fatigue and ‘brain fog’ while trying to maintain activities of daily living and basic exercise (2). A practice called pacing has been found in research to be an effective way for people experiencing Long COVID symptoms to help manage energy and reduce fatigue.
Read MoreAlmost three years on from the first New Zealand coronavirus cases and across the country there is a subset of patients that sustain an acute SARS CoV-2 infection (1). They develop a wide range of persistent symptoms that do not resolve over many months. This condition has been labelled Long COVID or Post-acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) (1).
Long COVID has been estimated to affect 30% to 45% of populations around the world (2, 3). Due to the majority of the NZ population contracting the virus later than the rest of the world the percentage of the population affected by Long COVID is still emerging.
Sick and tired of being tired and sick? You may want to do some investigating, especially if you are noticing symptoms persisting for longer than a few days. Glandular fever or mononucleosis (mono), often transmitted through saliva, is commonly known as the kissing disease. It is a potentially debilitating illness that is most commonly seen in young adults and adolescents. The most common cause of mono is the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).
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