[HN Gopher] People also suffer 'long flu', study shows
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       People also suffer 'long flu', study shows
        
       Author : mrfusion
       Score  : 27 points
       Date   : 2021-09-29 20:25 UTC (2 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.bbc.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.bbc.com)
        
       | Abrownn wrote:
       | I caught Swine Flu in 2009 and really struggled for a few months
       | after but it _mostly_ went away. I can still think of several
       | things that still aren 't "right again" even years later though.
       | Worst 2 weeks of my life, hands down.
        
       | hvocode wrote:
       | Chronic fatigue syndrome has long been known to often start with
       | a viral infection (for example:
       | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21756995/). Other issues can
       | arise as a consequence of viral infections as well (e.g., thyroid
       | problems). I don't think this is well known amongst the general
       | public, even if it is known in the medical field. This may be a
       | reason why people are surprised about "long-covid" as if long
       | term effects are something unique to the SARS-COV-2 virus.
        
       | magicalhippo wrote:
       | I learned this the hard way back in highschool. I took extra gym
       | classes, but during the winter I caught the flu and was really
       | sick for a week or so.
       | 
       | Back at school, it was immediately obvious that my body was not
       | where it was before. Concentrating was more difficult for a
       | while, but the real difference was that during gym classes I got
       | exhausted almost immediately.
       | 
       | What really struck me was that this exhaustion stayed with me for
       | several months. It took me almost 4 months to get back to the
       | level I was before the flu.
       | 
       | I've had that experience very much in mind during these covid
       | days.
        
         | mixmastamyk wrote:
         | Yes, and many folks are familiar with the lesser malaise and
         | "cough that doesn't go away" for six weeks or so. You'll often
         | see "so tired of being sick!" posts around February.
         | 
         | My anecdotal survey is that they don't take great care of
         | themselves in the first place with diet/excercise, but also are
         | highly likely to be vitamin D deficient. Factors that prolong
         | recovery.
        
       | nradov wrote:
       | Not just influenza either. We've known for decades that other
       | viral infections can cause long term symptoms. Epstein-Barr Virus
       | has been frequently implicated.
       | 
       | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2540242/
        
       | empressplay wrote:
       | I have 'long flu', after having an adverse reaction to general
       | anesthetic in the early 1990s I caught the Asian flu soon after
       | and just never stopped being sick. I'm allergic to most things
       | one can be allergic to, have MCAS, chronic inflammation, fatigue,
       | etc. Not fun! But I was a long-accepted casualty of lax public
       | health policy when it comes to the flu. Hopefully we will take
       | the flu more seriously in future!
        
       | Arete314159 wrote:
       | All these articles seem to be like, "We ignored post-infectious
       | Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for a few decades, and now we're just
       | discovering it."
       | 
       | see: Chronic Lyme, Epstein-Barr, et. al.
        
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       (page generated 2021-09-29 23:02 UTC)