2021-08-16 07:53:51
After the acute phase of Covid-19, fatigue persists very frequently. It is logically found in patients who leave the hospital following having presented a severe form of the disease, but also in some people who have suffered only mild symptoms. ” Six weeks following infection, half of patients have not regained their full potential “, indicates Professor Pierre Tattevin, infectiologist and vice-president of the French-speaking Society of Infectious Pathology.
Why this post-Covid fatigue?
All infectious diseases can put the body flat for several weeks; and this is especially true with Covid-19. “The disease puts a lot of strain on the immune system, which might explain why fatigue is so marked following infection, especially in young and initially healthy patients, whose immune system is very reactive. This fatigue does not surprise us in patients who have been ventilated (placed under respiratory assistance, Editor’s note) and coming out of intensive care. It is more surprising in young people who have presented a non-serious form of Covid. We do not see such a situation following a flu ”, observes the infectiologist.
Is this fatigue different?
The High Authority for Health (HAS) delivered its recommendations on the management of long-term Covid in February 2021. In this practical document intended for doctors, it describes fatigue as “one of the most prevalent symptoms that may persist during the initial episode of Covid-19 or reappear suddenly following an improvement phase ».
HAS urges you not to overlook this apparently banal symptom and to seek out its cause as much as possible. ” Not everything should be blamed on Covid-19 “Warns Professor Tattevin, who invites patients to talk to their doctor regarding it.
Fatigue on exertion and persistent shortness of breath are common. They may reveal a breathing problem that has not been resolved, or a heart abnormality.
But other factors can trigger, or aggravate, this feeling of exhaustion:
- and non-restorative sleep,
- of stress and of theanxiety,
- even of the depression…
Why do we have to fight this fatigue?
In consultation, patients tell their doctor that they “can’t take it anymore”. The risk, in this context, is to fall into a vicious circle. When we are exhausted, we sit or lie down, we limit our activities. However, the less you move, the more you lose your muscles and breathing capacity.
After a Covid you must unquestionably rest; but without, for all that, remaining inactive. On the contrary, it is important to regain good physical condition as quickly as possible by strengthening their muscles and increasing their lung capacity. Another advantage, by practicing a physical activity, one regains self-confidence and the body secretes endorphins, anti-stress hormones, which help to overcome the anxiety linked to the disease.
In video: “The testimony of Grégory, who suffers from Covid long”
What physical activity following a Covid?
The resumption of physical activity must be gradual and adapted to each person’s abilities, for example walking or cycling. You have to train at your own pace, without trying to do too much.
It can be practiced at home or under the supervision of a professional. On its site, the Aprèsj20 association, which brings together patients suffering from Covid-long, advises a gentle bodybuilding program, to be done at home, developed by the Pitié Salpêtrière hospital (Paris).
For its part, the French Association of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (a disease which has many points in common with Covid-long) offers practical advice for better recovery.
For people with particularly respiratory problems, exercise rehabilitation sessions, supervised by a sports doctor or a physiotherapist, are necessary. It is currently one of the few treatments for Covid-long validated by the High Authority for Health. “These rehabilitation programs, which start in the hospital but can then be prosecuted at homeare offered to patients à la carte, following having assessed their difficulties: mainly muscle fatigability or breathing difficulties,” explains Professor Tattevin.
Post-covid fatigue: getting out of the mental fog
Many patients come out of the ordeal of the Covid with a feeling of “mental fog”. They complain of confusion, memory problems and a lack of concentration. These various symptoms are often exacerbated by the stress and anxiety generated by the disease.
To overcome these difficulties, some people need real psychological support. But most will get by by respecting simple rules of hygiene of life: avoid stimulants such as tea or coffee, ban screens following 6 p.m. to fall asleep more easily, sleep in a cool room, relax or even meditate if possible…
Most patients who feel exhausted following Covid will recover within weeks. For others, it will be longer. Evolution is often jagged, with ups and downs, at a different pace depending on the individual. As such, Professor Tattevin wishes to convey a message of optimism: “It’s long, but it always ends up getting better. Do not be discouraged ! »
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