2023-11-27 22:03:59
While one in thirty Europeans is affected by long-term Covid according to the WHO, which would mean 300,000 people in Switzerland, the days can prove difficult for those affected. Sometimes, the following-effects disrupt daily life significantly, all without a healing solution.
Fiona, who is following an exercise rehabilitation program in a Vaud clinic, explains on Monday in 7:30 p.m. that she experienced a sudden return to the bitter reality of Covid following a summer where she felt good.
“In September, I had a big crash where I immediately felt very tired, exhausted, with a recollection of all my symptoms. It really wasn’t easy but I’m starting to get back on track a little” , she testifies.
Indeed, following contracting long Covid, you can get better, but there is no treatment that cures it with the assurance of not relapse.
No treatment
Scientists define long Covid, or post-Covid syndrome, by the persistence of a wide variety of symptoms more than three months following an acute episode of Covid-19.
“All the treatments that can be given are for symptomatic purposes. They only make it possible to reduce the symptoms as much as possible,” explains doctor Mayssam Nehme, responsible for post-Covid consultations at the HUG, where more than 2,000 patients have followed one another. .
Respiratory problems, anxiety, fatigue and memory loss are all symptoms of the illness from which Thibaud still suffers, who prefers to remain anonymous because his employer is unaware of his illness.
“I looked for solutions on the internet and tested experimental treatments, making an acceptable risk-benefit balance. I went as far as Madrid to see other doctors. Now, I have an appointment every months in Zurich. I spent 35,000 francs in 3 years. I had to leave my apartment and return to live with my parents to cover this financial burden.”
More than 200 distinct symptoms have been reported by people suffering from long Covid. Not every patient experiences all of these symptoms and not all of them are necessarily linked to long Covid.
Further research
Even if the pathology can be experienced more or less intensely, it must be taken more seriously, according to the medical world.
“We need more research and support. The Confederation might help us more,” adds Dr. Mayssam Nehme.
At the end of the year, the current variant of the virus continues to circulate, with a still-present risk for affected people of subsequently contracting long-term Covid.
>> Listen to the Point J podcast on the return of Covid:
Is Covid back? / Le Point J / 8 min. / September 12, 2023
TV report: Emilien Verdon
Web adaptation: lan with afp
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