A RECENT survey identified dozens of potential long-term coronavirus symptoms that had previously been unreported, including hair loss. The study was conducted by a doctor at the Indiana University School of Medicine and the grassroots COVID-19 survivor group Survivor Corps using a Facebook poll. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently identified only 17 persistent COVID-19 symptoms, the survey of more than 1,500 patients found 98 possible symptoms, according to Dr. Natalie Lambert, an associate research professor at the Indiana University school of medicine. “The new symptoms our study identified include severe nerve pain, difficulty concentrating, difficulty sleeping, blurry vision and even hair loss,” Lambert said in a written statement. The U.S. CDC has identified fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting and diarrhea as symptoms that may appear between two and 14 days after exposure to the virus. More than a quarter of the new survey’s reported symptoms — 26.5 percent — were painful, according to the report. They included some of the same symptoms identified by the CDC, plus others like heartburn, back pain and chest pain. The rest of the symptoms were painless, including nearly a third of respondents who reported hair loss. Other reported symptoms included memory problems, anxiety, dizziness and blurry vision, among others. One member of the group who said she contracted COVID-19 in early April estimated she had lost 75 percent of her hair and wrote that she planned to get a wig. “My face already looks more aged since contracting the virus but still I’m resilient,” she wrote. “I’m not sure if my hair will ever return back the same.” The American Academy of Dermatology is also tracking “dermatologic manifestations” of the coronavirus. The group has already warned of people with the virus developing a rash or “COVID toes” that are swollen and discolored. (SD-Agencies) |