Most people with COVID-19 will recover completely within a few weeks. However, some people may keep experiencing symptoms for several weeks or months after their infection. People who have a longer recovery period can experience: ongoing symptoms in the medium term (from 4 to 12 weeks from first getting COVID-19)
The most commonly reported symptoms of post- COVID-19 syndrome include: Fatigue. Symptoms that get worse after physical or mental effort. Fever.
Sometimes the symptoms can even go away and come back again. For some people, Long COVID can last weeks, months, or years after COVID-19 illness and can sometimes result in disability. Long COVID may not affect everyone the same way.
How long does fatigue last after COVID-19? Your recovery from COVID-related fatigue will likely depend on how severe your illness was. After a mild case of COVID-19 your fatigue may clear up after about 2-3 weeks. But if you had a severe case, it's possible to feel sluggish and tired for months.
Infectiousness usually begins to decrease after day 5, but this doesn't mean you can't spread the virus beginning on day 6. This is why it is SO important to wear a mask through day 10. Everyone's immune response is different, and we can spread the virus for different amounts of time.
After a positive test result, you may continue to test positive for some time. Some tests, especially PCR tests, may continue to show a positive result for up to 90 days. Reinfections can occur within 90 days, which can make it hard to know if a positive test indicates a new infection.
Try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people
Most people with COVID-19 will no longer be infectious to others after 5 days. If you have a positive COVID-19 test result, try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for 5 days after the day you took your test.
There are many reasons why you could feel tired after COVID such as: Your body is still getting better even when you no longer have the virus. You might have other illnesses or health conditions that means it takes you longer to get better.
Having long COVID does not mean that you are still contagious. Even though you may feel sick, other people cannot "catch" long COVID from you.
But for others, some symptoms drag on. These often include fatigue, brain fog, heart arrhythmia, lack of stamina, headache, body aches and breathing issues. This has come to be known as long COVID.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), symptoms can persist from the initial illness or begin after recovery, and they may come and go or improve over time. Long COVID can interfere with a person's ability to perform normal, everyday activities, like work and household chores.
While COVID-19 symptoms are more likely to be experienced in a consistent manner, there is evidence to suggest that they can also come and go in some cases.
In high-risk settings, they may be considered infectious from 72 hours before symptoms start. People with mild illness are generally considered recovered after 7 days if they have been asymptomatic or have not developed any new symptoms during this time. But some people may be infectious for up to 10 days.
How long do omicron symptoms last? Most people who test positive with any variant of COVID-19 typically experience some symptoms for a couple weeks. People who have long COVID-19 symptoms can experience health problems for four or more weeks after first being infected, according to the CDC.
If you continue to test positive on repeat testing through 10 days, you should continue to wear a mask and avoid people who are immunocompromised or at high risk for severe disease until you receive two sequential negative antigen test results.
Fluid retention is also another issue that can come up for those who are Long Covid. This means you might experience some swelling in your legs, hands, face, and feet, making it hard to move around with ease!
Your GP may refer you to a long Covid clinic, or a specialist who can help treat the individual symptoms you're experiencing, such as physiotherapy or psychological support. Speak to your GP or healthcare professional to ask if you're being referred.
Your treatment may include a combination of customized respiratory therapy, breathing exercises and medications.
It is a normal part of the body's response to fighting an infection. Usually the fatigue goes away quickly once the body has dealt with the infection. Post-viral fatigue is when the fatigue that started with a viral infection continues for a longer period of time after the infection has gone.
Some fatigue that persists for over two to four weeks and is new to you, can be associated with a medical problem. Fatigue is a very vague and non-specific symptom that accompanies many diseases. It is, for example, expected in cancer treatment and after major surgery.