'Long Colds' May Be the Next 'Long COVID'

According to a recent study, cold symptoms can linger for days or weeks after the primary sickness.

The findings suggest that just like "long COVID," "long colds" may occur.

The research, written in the peer-reviewed academic journal The Lancet, demonstrated that non-COVID infections can be linked to several disorders that manifest more than four weeks after the original infection.

The common cold and other undiagnosed respiratory infections may have long-lasting health effects, according to researchers at Queen Mary University of London who examined 10,171 people.

They could not predict whether "long colds" would cause symptoms to linger as long as "long COVID."

"Post-acute infection syndromes are not a new phenomenon; indeed, many cases of chronic fatigue syndrome are reported to follow an infection-like episode. Nonetheless, these syndromes often go undiagnosed owing to the wide range of symptoms and lack of diagnostic tests."

-The Lancet

What is 'long COVID?'

Although there were overlaps in the symptoms of "long COVID" and "long colds," long cold sufferers were less likely to experience post-COVID symptoms, including disorientation and taste and smell impairments.

Generally speaking, "long COVID" refers to mid and long-term consequences that may appear after a COVID-19 infection, such as fatigue, dyspnea, and cognitive failure.

In the spring of 2020, when COVID-19 patients took weeks or months to recover after their first infection, the phrase "long COVID" was first used.

The World Health Organization states that post-COVID-19 syndrome affects people with a history of a SARS-CoV-2 infection, frequently three months after the start of COVID-19, and has symptoms that continue for at least two months and cannot be explained by another diagnosis.

Several common symptoms typically affect day-to-day functioning, such as exhaustion, shortness of breath, and cognitive problems.

After first recovering from an acute COVID-19 episode, symptoms may develop suddenly or continue after the original sickness. Over time, symptoms may also change or recur.