COVID-19 Update: November 29, 2022

Long Term Impact on the brain.

Hello dear friends. I hope you are well and enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with your friends and families. Remember the year we couldn't do that? It has been a while but an update came out today that I wanted to share with you.

1. In a series of case studies (i.e. looking at the situation with an individual person) we have seen evidence that COVID has long term impacts on the brain. Based on those findings a study was conducted on a group of COVID survivors to see if those individual effects were seen on a larger scale, and the answer is yes. It was small study that has not yet been published but has been presented at a medical conference and they found, via MRI that there were brain differences in people who had had COVID compared to people who have not. The damage was in regions associated with, "fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, depression, headaches, and cognitive problems," They also found that in COVID-recovered people there were heightened reports of "fatigue, trouble sleeping, lack of attention, and memory issues." These are NOT people who are considered long-haulers, nor were they people who had severe COVID. It was a small study - only 46 people in the COVID group, but the very powerful with none of the control group (the people who hadn't had COVID) showing any of the same symptoms. People were evaluated 6 months after they had recovered from Covid. So.....if you have had covid and experience any of those symptoms it is worth mentioning to your doctor - because it's not all in your head. Well, technically it is....but not in the way we mean when we say that.

2. In case you hadn't noticed, flu cases and hospitalizations are on the rise (up 30% over the last week). RSV is also making it's way around. RSV poses a threat to those under 5 or over 65. The rest of us are pretty well protected because we had it when we were under 5. So watch your babies and your parents. And of course, get your flu shot, particularly if you are prone to the flu or are high risk.

3. COVID cases are expected to increase by 80% over the next few weeks. So again, if you are over 65 or are high risk, plan accordingly. If you fall into that group and are not fully vaccinated/boosted (and are so inclined), this is a great time to get vaccinated. Remember it takes 2 weeks for the vaccine to cover you, so getting it now will protect you during the surge.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Sometimes we just need a little break. Sometimes, we need to call in, sleep late, watch that Hallmark movie, or eat cake. It's amazing how renewing that can be. So self assess and see where you are. Put on Christmas music, drink hot cocoa, or curl up with a good book. Life is too short not to love yourself.