Long Covid: the symptoms and tips for recovery Updated 14 October 2022 Show
Many people are suffering long-term effects after having Covid. We look at the symptoms of long Covid and how you can manage them. What's on this pageWhat is long Covid?
Long Covid symptoms
Tips for managing long Covid symptoms
What tests and treatments are there for long Covid?
Vaccination and long Covid
Common questions about long Covid
We’re here for you with information and support around coronavirusOur fortnightly Heart Matters newsletter includes the latest updates about coronavirus when you have a heart condition, as well as support for healthy eating, staying active and your emotional wellbeing. I’d like to sign-upWhat is long Covid?What is long Covid?Long Covid is a term to describe the effects of Covid-19 that continue for weeks or months beyond the initial illness. More research is being carried out into how best to define long Covid, what its symptoms are and how to treat it. The UK health watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), defines someone with ‘long Covid’ to be:
Research published in June 2021 by Imperial College London, based on half a million people in England, found two main categories of ongoing symptoms: a smaller group of people with respiratory symptoms, such as a cough or breathlessness, (this group was more likely to have had severe Covid-19 illness initially), and a larger group with a cluster of more general symptoms, particularly tiredness and fatigue. Research published in July 2022 by King’s College London, based on 1,459 people who reported their symptoms of long Covid on the Zoe Covid Symptom Study app, identified three distinct types of long Covid based on the type of symptoms participants experienced:
Learn more about the symptoms of long Covid. How likely am I to get long Covid?The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates that between 3 and 12 per cent of people who catch Covid will still have symptoms 12 weeks after their initial infection. This is based on data provided by 20,000 people in the Coronavirus Infection Survey (CIS) between 26 April and 1 August 2021. It’s important to note that these estimates were made before Omicron became the dominant variant in the UK. A study published in June 2022 from the ZOE Symptom Study App found that people who had Omicron were less likely to develop long Covid than people who had the Delta variant of Covid-19. They found that 4.5 per cent of the people who had Omicron went on to develop long Covid symptoms, compared to 10.8 per cent of the people with Delta. These figures are based on adults who were vaccinated. The ONS estimates that 2 million people in the UK (3.1 per cent of the population) were experiencing long Covid symptoms as of 1 September 2022. This was defined as symptoms that lasted more than four weeks from the initial infection. This is up from 1.8 million (2.8 per cent) as of 2 July 2022. More than a fifth (22 per cent, or 429,000 people) of those people were experiencing long Covid symptoms more than two years after their first suspected infection. More than two thirds (73 per cent, or 1.5 million) said their symptoms had reduced their ability to carry out daily activities, with less than a fifth (19 per cent or 384,000 people) said long Covid had limited their daily activities a lot.
How can I prevent long Covid?One of the key ways to reduce the risk of long Covid is to get all the vaccines recommended for you. The vaccine not only reduces the risk of catching Covid-19, but there is also evidence that for those who do catch it, being vaccinated makes it less likely they will develop long Covid. But it doesn’t remove the risk of long Covid entirely, and some research carried out in the United States suggests that among those who catch Covid, the risk may still be significant. So it’s a good idea to also try to reduce your risk of exposure to Covid, including wearing a FFP2 or FFP3 face mask in crowded places. To read more about the evidence, see Does getting vaccinated reduce the risk of long Covid? Unfortunately, we still don’t know why some people and not others develop long Covid. So there isn’t any reliable advice about how to reduce your risk of long Covid once you’ve already caught Covid-19. How long does it take to recover from long Covid?We are still learning how long the illness lasts and it varies between people. It’s important to note that lasting effects aren’t unique to Covid-19 – other viral illnesses can also have lasting effects. The study led by Leicester researchers described above suggests that among those who needed hospital treatment for the initial illness, it is common for it to last five months or more, and there are separate reports of it lasting 12 months or more (this includes both people who didn’t need hospital treatment initially and those who did.) What are the symptoms of long Covid?Although most people who get Covid-19 recover quickly, for some the effects of the virus can last for weeks or months. This is known as 'long Covid'. For some, it can seem like a cycle of improving for a time and then getting worse again. These long-term effects aren’t only among those who needed to go to hospital, or even who felt seriously unwell when they first caught the virus. Research published in Nature Medicine in July 2022 suggests a wide range of potential symptoms of long Covid. The study from University of Birmingham researchers analysed the health records of 2.4m people, with data taken from between January 2020 and April 2021. In the study, researchers compared the symptoms of over 480,000 non-hospitalised people who had been infected with Covid-19 to 1.9m people who had not been infected. Taken alongside other studies, this research suggests symptoms of long Covid can include:
Get tips for managing long Covid symptoms. Which long Covid symptoms are most common?According to the ONS, as of 2 July 2022 the most commonly reported long Covid symptoms were:
Is it normal to have palpitations or changes to your heart rate after Covid?Some people are experiencing heart palpitations or changes to their heart rate as a symptom of long Covid. According to an analysis of several studies involving 48,000 people with long Covid, more than one in 10 of them (11 per cent) experienced heart palpitations. This can feel like your heart is racing, pounding or fluttering, and you may feel this in your chest, neck or throat. While this can feel worrying, it helps to know that heart palpitations are very common (even in people who aren’t recovering from Covid) and are usually harmless. In some people with long Covid, heart palpitations may be caused by a problem with their autonomic nervous system (which controls things such as your heart rate, breathing and blood pressure). This condition is called postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (PoTS). We don’t know for sure how common this is among long Covid sufferers, but it may be a significant proportion of those who get palpitations or dizziness when they stand up.1
When should I get medical attention?While palpitations are not usually a cause for concern, it’s a good idea to get medical attention if you are worried about them, if the palpitations last a long time or are getting worse, or if you have a history of heart problems.
Is it normal to have chest pain after Covid?Chest pain is a common symptom of Covid-19. Some people are experiencing chest pain that lasts beyond their initial Covid-19 infection, or that starts in the weeks after they’ve had the virus. It's important to remember that even if you have had Covid-19 and are now are experiencing chest pain, it may not be related to the virus. If you experience any new type of chest pain, it’s important to get medical advice, as chest pain can be a sign of something more serious, like a heart or lung problem. When should I seek urgent medical help? Call 999 if you experience:
If you have chest pain that comes and goes, you should still speak to your GP about it or call 111 – as chest pain should never be ignored. Some people with severe Covid-19 also experience heart and circulatory problems during their illness.
What type of chest pain do people get after Covid-19?We are still learning more about chest pain following Covid-19, but it seems likely that it can be caused by a variety of things. Muscle pain or soreness (myalgia) Severe viral infections, including Covid-19, can cause muscle pain or soreness, which can be in a specific area or spread more widely. The affected area feels sore to the touch and is made worse by specific movements such as turning the chest or stretching. Non-specific chest pain Non-specific chest pain, which is also called non-cardiac chest pain, can be sharp or dull, and can happen in short bursts or be ongoing. It often doesn’t have a cause that can be found.
Why do some people get palpitations, feel lightheaded or faint after Covid?There is emerging evidence that some people who develop long Covid have similar symptoms to people with a condition known as postural tachycardia syndrome, or postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (PoTS). This condition can cause dizziness when moving to an upright position and can be triggered by infections. The most common symptoms are feeling lightheaded, palpitations (being aware of your heartbeat) and fatigue. There have been several case reports in medical journals of people who had continuing symptoms following Covid-19 infection, and some were found to have PoTS. PoTs happens because your body's ways of avoiding a drop in blood pressure when you stand up aren't working properly. Normally when you sit up or stand up, gravity makes some of your blood flow downwards, which can cause a fall in blood pressure. Your body responds to prevent a fall in blood pressure by narrowing your blood vessels and slightly increasing your heart rate. But if you have PoTS these automatic changes don’t happen. When you move to an upright position the supply of blood to your heart and brain drops and your heart starts beating faster to compensate. While there is no cure for PoTS, it can be managed by diet, exercise and medication, and the researchers say it is important to get an accurate diagnosis so patients can be treated and advised on how to manage their symptoms. If this sounds like your symptoms after having Covid-19, you should let your doctor know to ensure you are correctly diagnosed and can receive effective treatment. The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) have published guidance for doctors that recognises orthostatic problems (including PoTS) as symptoms of long Covid. Orthostatic means relating to, or caused by, being upright. The RCP recommend to doctors that patients experiencing breathlessness, palpitations, fatigue, chest pain and fainting should be checked carefully for orthostatic problems. This includes having an active stand test, which measures a patient’s changes in heart rate and blood pressure after moving from a lying to a standing position.
Is it normal to have back pain after Covid?While joint and muscle problems can occur anywhere in the body during or after Covid-19, back problems are among the most common. You may have had back pain at times before getting Covid-19, and if you were less active while you were ill, this could have made joint or muscle problems come back, or get worse. Joint stiffness and muscle weakness is also likely to get worse if you weren’t moving around as much when you were unwell. In the weeks after getting Covid-19, some people have back ache or a feeling or pins and needles. As you continue to recover, many of these symptoms may also improve. You can aim for a balance of rest with as much of your normal daily activity you feel you can do, and also exercise to improve your strength and flexibility, such as stretches or yoga. When should I seek medical help? If your pain is severe, and interfering with your daily activities, you can talk to your doctor for advice, or if:
Find out more about how to manage joint and muscle problems on Your Covid Recovery from the NHS. Tips for managing long Covid symptomsManaging fatigue and breathlessness
Boosting your mood and mental health
Tips for dealing with brain fog, memory or thinking problemsMany people suffer from brain fog while recovering from long Covid. You may find it hard to concentrate or remember things, your thinking may be slower than usual, or you may feel fuzzy or forgetful. There are things you can do to manage the symptoms of brain fog:
Relieving joint or muscle pain
What tests and treatments are there for long Covid?Is there a test for long Covid?There isn't one single test to diagnose long Covid. It's a condition that isn’t fully understood yet. Speak to your doctor if you are experiencing lasting long Covid symptoms. They may refer you for tests to help understand how long Covid is affecting you and how it can be treated. Or it may even be that there is another cause for your symptoms. Tests could include:
Researchers are looking into new ways to test for long Covid.
Is there a treatment for long Covid?Unfortunately, there isn’t one single treatment or medication to treat long Covid. Everyone’s experience is different, so it’s important to chat to your GP about the symptoms you are experiencing. They can tell you how to best manage them, and let you know what other support is available. If long Covid is having a big impact on your life, you may be referred to a specialist rehabilitation service, or a specialist who looks after the symptoms you have. There’s lots of things you can do at home to manage your symptoms as you recover.
Vaccination and long CovidDoes getting vaccinated reduce the risk of long Covid?Yes – there is lots of evidence that being fully vaccinated reduces your risk of developing long Covid. It reduces your risk of catching Covid in the first place. But there is also evidence that being vaccinated can reduce the risk of developing long Covid if you catch Covid. A study published in Nature Medicine in May 2022 found that being vaccinated lowered the risk of complications from catching Covid (long Covid) by 15 per cent, and the risk of death by 33 per cent, compared to people who were unvaccinated when they caught Covid. The researchers found that being vaccinated was particularly effective in reducing the risk of lung and blood clotting disorders. But for other longer-term complications there was no difference. They also found that even in vaccinated people, Covid infections were linked to a higher risk of death and longer-lasting health issues, compared with seasonal flu. The researchers suggested that vaccination alone might not be the best way to reduce the risk of long-term effects of Covid. It’s important to note that this research was carried out in the United States, between January and October 2021, so may not be directly comparable to the UK or the current strains of Covid. Other studies have reported a greater reduction in risk of long Covid from being vaccinated. In February 2022 the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) published a review of 15 long Covid studies from the UK and across the world. They found that people who caught Covid after having two doses of Pfizer, AstraZeneca, or Moderna, or one dose of the Janssen vaccine, were half as likely to develop lasting Covid symptoms (lasting 28 days or more from the original infection), compared to those who were unvaccinated, or only had one dose. The research also found a reduction in longer-term long Covid symptoms (up to six months). Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) backs this up, showing that two doses of the vaccine could reduce the risk of developing long Covid by 40% (in people 18-69 years of age). But follow-up studies are needed to assess the impact of the Omicron variant and booster vaccines for the most vulnerable. One study published in the British Medical Journal in May 2022 looked at the effects of vaccination in people who had already had Covid by the time they were vaccinated. Using data from the Coronavirus Infection Survey (CIS), the study followed up the health of more than 28,000 people in this category over seven months between 3 February and 5 September 2021. More than a fifth (23 per cent) of the people in the study had long Covid symptoms for 12 weeks or more after they first caught Covid and just under a fifth (18 per cent) had symptoms that limited their activities. The research found that the first vaccine dose in people who had already had Covid reduced the risk of long Covid by 12.8 per cent and second dose reduced the risk by a further 8.8 per cent. The study suggests even after catching Covid, being vaccinated can reduce the risk of developing long Covid.
Does getting vaccinated help if you already have long Covid?There is growing evidence that getting the vaccine could reduce long Covid in people who caught the virus before they were vaccinated. We are still learning more about this and what the reasons for it might be. In the UKHSA evidence review, three out of four studies looking at long Covid before and after vaccination found that more people reported an improvement in symptoms (either straight away or over several weeks) than people who were unvaccinated. But there were a few people in all studies who found that their symptoms got worse. In research published in October 2021, the Office for National Statistics used data from the UK Coronavirus Infection Survey to look at the association between Covid-19 vaccination and long Covid in people who already had it before the vaccine. In research published in October 2021, the Office for National Statistics used data from the UK Coronavirus Infection Survey to look at the association between Covid-19 vaccination and long Covid in people who already had it before the vaccine. They found that the first vaccine was associated with an initial 13% decrease in the likelihood of self-reported long Covid, although it’s not clear from the data whether this was a lasting improvement or if symptoms returned after an initial improvement. The second dose was associated with 9% decrease in the likelihood of self-reported long Covid, relative to having received the first vaccination, and there was statistical evidence of a sustained improvement after this. Which vaccine was used (Pfizer, AstraZeneca or Moderna) didn’t appear to make any difference to the results. Nor did the person’s age, ethnic background, gender or other health issues. This type of study is observational, which means it can’t prove cause and effect. The study was also limited in that it only followed people for an average of 67 days after the second vaccine, and not everyone in the study had their second vaccine. So we can’t be certain from this that the Covid-19 vaccines help people with long Covid (although we do know that they reduce the risk of getting Covid again). Over time, the quality and understanding of this data will improve and the conclusions and statistics generated will be more definite. Can children get long Covid?Yes. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published data from the UK Coronavirus Infection Survey which looked at how many people showed symptoms five weeks after infection. The survey showed that almost 13 per cent of children in the survey aged between two and 11 and 14.5 per cent of children aged 12 to 16 reported certain symptoms including fatigue, cough, headache, muscle aches or loss of taste or smell five weeks after falling ill with Covid-19. But it isn’t clear from the published data how many children these figures were based on. The ONS also published data which showed that one in 10 secondary school pupils reported ongoing symptoms more than four weeks after a confirmed Covid-19 infection. A similar proportion of pupils who had a suspected (but not confirmed) Covid-19 infection also reported that they had symptoms that lasted more than four weeks. The most common symptoms were “weakness/ tiredness”, reported by nearly half of pupils who had lingering symptoms. Six out of 10 pupils with long Covid symptoms said it limited their ability to carry out day to day activities. The data was based on a survey of 2,326 pupils in schools in England from 2-26 July 2021.
Common questions about long CovidWho is most at risk of developing long Covid?Researchers have analysed data from the COVID Symptom Study app to discover who is most at risk of developing long Covid. They found that older people, women, and those who had a more severe infection (with five or more symptoms in the first week of becoming ill with Covid-19) were more likely to develop long Covid. They found that long Covid affects around one in ten 18-49 year-olds who get Covid-19, increasing to just over one in five (22 per cent) people over 70. The researchers also found people with asthma were also more likely to develop long Covid. This was the only clear link they found to existing health conditions in people who developed long Covid. Researchers from University Hospital Zurich have backed up these findings. Their research also found that people with low levels of certain antibodies (IgM and IgG3) in their blood may be more likely to develop long Covid. When they combined this antibody data with the other factors (such as the person’s age, number of initial Covid symptoms, and history of asthma), they were better able to predict who would go on to have long Covid. Figures from the Office for National Statistics on people with self-reported long Covid said it was most common among those aged 35-69, females, people living in the most deprived areas, those working in health or social care, or teaching and education, and people with another health condition or disability. This study was based on 305,997 people who responded to the Coronavirus Infection Survey in the four weeks to 2 January 2022. Is long Covid contagious?Long Covid is not contagious. Long Covid symptoms are caused by your body's response to the virus continuing beyond the initial illness. To avoid passing coronavirus on to others, you should self-isolate for 10 days from your original symptoms or positive test, or if after 10 days you still have a temperature, or runny nose or sneezing, or sickness or diarrhoea, until these symptoms have gone. If I have long Covid, will I test positive?No, having long Covid symptoms won’t cause you to test positive. If you get a positive Covid test result it’s most likely to be a new infection from the one that caused your long Covid symptoms. If you have a positive test, as always, you need to self-isolate for 10 full days to avoid passing it on. If after 10 days you still have a fever, or are feeling hot or shivery, or have a runny nose or sneezing, or are feeling or being sick, or have diarrhoea, you should self-isolate until those symptoms have gone. If any of these symptoms are lasting a long time and you think they may be symptoms of long Covid, you can get another PCR test to see if you still have an active infection. What support can I get for long Covid?
What research is being done into long Covid?The BHF and others are funding research to find out more about long Covid. Read more about what research is happening into long Covid. Read stories from people with long CovidIf you're struggling with the ongoing symptoms of coronavirus, it can be helpful to know you're not alone.
We’re here for you with information and support around coronavirusOur fortnightly Heart Matters newsletter includes the latest updates about coronavirus when you have a heart condition, as well as support for healthy eating, staying active and your emotional wellbeing. I’d like to sign-upBack to top ^ What to read next...How long does it take to get over the Delta variant?Generally speaking, a healthy person infected with the delta variant can expect to need at least two weeks to recover from a mild illness to six weeks or more to recover from a more severe infection.
How long does it take for Covid to go away?Those with severe COVID-19 may remain infectious beyond 10 days and may need to extend isolation for up to 20 days. People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised should isolate through at least day 20.
Does Delta variant symptoms get worse?The symptoms of the delta variant appear to be the same as the original version of COVID-19. However, physicians are seeing people getting sicker quicker, especially for younger people. Recent research found that the delta variant grows more rapidly – and to much greater levels – in the respiratory tract.
When will I feel better from Covid?Most people with coronavirus (COVID-19) or symptoms of COVID-19 feel better within a few weeks. You may be able to look after yourself at home while you recover. While you're ill, ask a friend, family member or neighbour to check up on you.
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How long does it take to recover from delta variant
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