Long Covid Syndrome: What is it ?

The SARS-CoV-2 virus has been of interest to the global community for the past years, leading to the pursuit of innovative research ideas, mechanisms and strategies for the treatment, restriction and prevention of the spread of the disease.

The pandemic leaves long-term problems regardless of the severity of the infection. It is estimated that a  5% of patients who had even mild illness, as subclinical and asymptomatic forms, suffer from various symptoms, characterized as persistent patients and even 1% of them for more than a year.

The Long Covid Syndrome or Post Covid, as recognized by the W.H.O., has begun to be understood by the Greek patients who experience enormous difficulties after their illness. Αt the same time, it gathers scientific interest, with experts looking for the causes and ways to treat it.

Long Covid Syndrome: Which are its symptoms?

The symptoms of the syndrome affect various systems of the human body. In the USA it is referred as “disability” and includes a variety of symptoms such as: fever, exhaustion, shortness of breath, headache, cough, dizziness when standing, tachycardia, procardiac pain, arthralgia, myalgia, depression, mental discomfort, difficulty thinking and concentrating, loss of taste, anosmia, tinnitus, herpes, acne and hair loss.

SARS-CoV-2 can also directly affect certain brain cells, causing neurological and stroke episodes with memory loss, foggy thinking, mental retardation and cognitive deficits. It is therefore necessary to monitor patients with Coronavirus in specially organized structures by an interdisciplinary team, something that is already being done in many European countries.

In Greece, there are Post Covid Reference Centers in Evangelismos (Athens) and Papanikolaou Hospitals (Thessaloniki) and in Nursing Clinics. Furthermore, the Long Covid Patients’ Association also operates to monitor patients who have been hospitalized and need physical rehabilitation and self-management training for a gradual return to daily life.

It is true that the greatest effect of prolonged Covid-19 disease was found in those aged 25 to 34 years at 18.2% compared to other age groups, acting as a danger signal for young people to rush for vaccination,  because the sooner the better it is.

The Long Covid Syndrome, which occurs regardless of the severity of the infection with symptoms both physically and mentally, requires everyone to be sensitized so as not to feel invulnerable to the virus. But mainly to establish the vaccine as the only preventive measure to avoid disease and post-infectious side effects.

Long Covid Symptoms: Treatment with Medical Acupuncture

Medical Acupuncture is a peripheral tissue stimulation that is transmitted to the Central Nervous System (CNS) and is described by neurophysiology. Acupuncture as a method of peripheral aesthetic stimulation (neurostimulation) causes changes in the aesthetics, excitability, function of the autonomic nervous system, hormone levels and in the immune response. The therapeutic goal is the changes in the level of brain nuclei, nerve axes and functional neural networks.

Recent studies on the effect of Medical Acupuncture on brain stimulation using functional magnetic resonance imaging (f MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) have shown that large specific areas of the brain are activated and deactivated when Acupuncture is applied to certain parts of human and animal’s body.

In summary we can point out that Medical Acupuncture has been established internationally as an integrated therapeutic system.

The World Health Organization ((WHO) has recognized Acupuncture as a medical treatment method with a number of indications, with application to more than 100 diseases. In 2010, UNESCO included Acupuncture in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.