Are you among the 1 in 5 Americans with long COVID? Heres what you need to know about how brain-foggyand potentially dangerousit is – Fortune

Maybe you know the feeling.

You dodged the initial spring 2020 wave of COVID, but caught the virus during the Delta wave of fall 2021, or the initial Omicron wave the following holidays, or another Omicron spawn more recently. Months later, you find yourself feeling a little tired and foggy.

You could be forgiven for wondering, Do I have long COVID? Is that why Im mentally hazy?

Indeed, brain fog, muscle aches, and fatigue are some of the most common symptoms of the nebulous condition called long COVID, which experts think affects as many as one in five Americans who survived the relatively new virus.

Theyre seemingly mild, compared to the more than 200 other potential symptoms of long COVID, like the development or worsening of cardiac ailments, autoimmune diseases, and neurological issues like a persistent feeling of brain on fire.

Just how likely is it that your new, post-COVID symptoms are long COVID? How long will they last? And whats the difference between a bout of brain fog and a potentially fatal post-COVID complication?

Theyre the questions on the minds of countless patients and doctors right now: Is my new eczema long COVID? Is my worsening diabetic glycemic control due to COVID? I feel kind of mentally foggyam I a long hauler?

Its hard to attribute a symptom to a condition like long COVID when that condition has yet to be clearly defined, experts say.

The trouble is thatfor now, at leastlong COVID can encompass everything from patients who had mild COVID and have lingering mild symptoms, to those who were hospitalized with severe COVID and continue to suffer from resulting organ damage, Dr. Alba Miranda Azola, co-director of the Post-Acute COVID-19 Team Program at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, told Fortune.

For those with pre-existing conditions, its impossible to say if such outcomessay, a heart attackare due to COVID, the condition, or a combination of bothand the answer might vary by person. Those who had severe COVID-19 are at greater risk for death in the year following, according to a 2021 study out of Florida that considered more than 13,000 health records. And a study published in March of this year, considering over 150,000 COVID survivors and control groups in the thousands, found that survivors were at a substantially increased risk of heart disease, which could lead to death.

Whats more, some long COVID patients have symptoms that arent related to the condition, or that would have occurred anyway.

As far as how long long COVID symptoms might last, some patients do report improvement and symptoms that resolve completely in a matter of months, experts say.

But countless others have not reported such a resolution. They may eventually recover; its too early to say. Were only two and a half years into the pandemic, Dr. Glen Maysthe chair of the Colorado School of Public Health, as well as a professor theretold Fortune. Society has yet to truly see what the long-term consequences are.

Many who self-report long COVID simply have post viral complications that could happen after many viral and bacterial infections, such as Lyme disease and Epstein-Barr virus, Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, recently told Fortune.

In these cases, it will likely take someone three to six months to get back to normal. Healing from COVID can be a lot like healing from a scraped leg after a fall from a bike, he said.

The initial impact of the scrape is gone, but the scar is going to take time to heal, he said. Patients who are still coughing at two monthsthats part of healing.

Theres no evidence that patients who had mild COVID symptoms and now have relatively mild long COVID symptoms are at an increased risk of mortality, Azola said.

But that doesnt minimize the potential harm of such symptoms. For example, mental haziness could put someone at a greater risk of a car crash or an injury while operating heavy machinery.

Brain fogyou may not think it may immediately or directly result in death, but imagine situations where if youre not able to concentrate, thinkyou may be more likely to have an accident, Dr. Bruce Y. Lee, a professor of health policy and management at the City University of New York School of Public Health, told Fortune.

Those with long COVID who are easily exhausted may not be able to get adequate exercise, which could elevate their risk for chronic diseaselike obesity, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetesand premature death in the future, Mays said.

And then theres the mental health impact of long COVID that cant be ignored, he pointed out.

Theres an epidemic of mental health problems in the U.S., partially accelerated, directly and indirectly, by the COVID pandemic, Mays said. Thats another pathway where long COVID can have severe adverse effects on health by creating mental health conditions or worsening pre-existing ones.

Long COVID symptoms like depression and anxiety can be deadly, he said, adding that the inability to move like one used to, exercise regularly, and attend work can also lead to a longer pathway toward health decline.

The best advice, experts say, isnt to accept long COVIDor even COVIDas an inevitability, and to take precautions like using face masks and social distancing.

Theres a spectrum of how people get it, Galiatsatos said of the virus, adding that how you catch COVID may determine if you develop long COVID. For instance, those who vaccinate and/or treat their infection with antiviral Paxlovid may be at lower risk of developing the condition, some studies suggest.

Statistics like the CDCs assertion that one in five U.S. adults whove had COVID have long COVID are generally based on surveys, with individuals self-identifying and not necessarily having been formally diagnosed.

Such questionnaires are basically asking, Do you have any new health problems since youve had COVID? Dr. Alexandra Brugler Yonts, an infectious disease specialist who runs a long COVID clinic at Childrens National Hospital in Washington, D.C., recently told Fortune.

Which is a challenge, because life still goes on, and people still develop health conditions.

The takeaway: Now is not the time to throw your hands in the air and caution to the wind. COVID can be avoidedat least sometimeslong COVID isnt inevitable.

Said Brugler Yonts: Just because Im probably going to get flu at another point in my life doesnt mean I lick subway rails.

Read more:

Are you among the 1 in 5 Americans with long COVID? Heres what you need to know about how brain-foggyand potentially dangerousit is - Fortune