Read the original article on Best Life. Some COVID patients experience post-viral syndrome, which can occur with other viruses too, where you’re technically no longer sick, but the virus continues to wreak havoc on your body. And one of the key symptoms of post-viral syndrome is fatigue.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb Leann Poston, MD, a licensed physician and health advisor for Invigor Medical, says post-viral syndrome is characterized by “persistent fatigue” and “exhaustion that is not relieved by sleep.” “Inflammation of the hypothalamus, a part of the brain that regulates many bodily functions such as sleep, appetite, body temperature, and hormone release, leads to the severe fatigue that people with prolonged symptoms of COVID are reporting,” says Poston. And for more up-to-date information delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter. If sleep doesn’t make you feel better, there are a few other ways to assess the potential that your fatigue is related to COVID. Chiropractic neurologist Tatiana Habanova, DC, says there are two questions you should ask yourself: “Do you now get unusually tired from minimal physical activity? Do you now get unusually tired from minimal mental activity (thinking, focusing, concentrating, etc.)?” If the answer to either of those questions is yes, you may have silently battled COVID. And for more signs you had the virus, check out These 2 Strange Symptoms Could Mean You’ve Already Had COVID. Poston also pointed out that “difficulty concentrating and brain fog” tend to go hand-in-hand with the fatigue that accompanies post-viral syndrome. Family medicine physician Abisola Olulade, MD, says patients often “feel they cannot think clearly and as if they are stuck in a fog.” In July, Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), warned about these symptoms of post-viral syndrome during the International AIDS Conference, saying that some people who had COVID were experiencing “brain fog, fatigue, and difficulty in concentrating” even after the virus dissipated. And for more on long-term symptoms, check out The “Very Strange” Long COVID Symptom Experts Are Warning About. Olulade says to look out for other aspects of post-viral syndrome including “persistent unexplained fever, trouble concentrating or paying attention, memory issues, muscle aches/pains, problems sleeping, dizziness, feeling lightheaded or weak, headaches, depression, and anxiety.” Poston also says that muscle aches and depressive symptoms are key signs of post-viral syndrome and if you’ve experienced any of these issues with your fatigue, you may have had COVID. If you’ve also been experiencing a headache lately, check out This Is How to Tell If Your Headache Is COVID, Study Says.
