hallucinations, hair loss, erectile dysfunction may be symptoms of long covid

a new large-scale study from the u.k. identifies several troubling new symptoms of long covid.

by maija kappler

published jul 27, 2022

3 minute read

join the conversation

3 minute read

join the conversation

long covid symptoms: hallucinations, hair loss, erectile dysfunction

a study identified hallucinations and amnesia as symptoms of long covid. getty

you can add several more symptoms to the long list of things that can happen to people suffering from long covid, according to a new study, including hallucination, hair loss, incontinence and sexual dysfunction. “this research validates what patients have been telling clinicians and policy makers throughout the pandemic, that the symptoms of long covid are extremely broad and cannot be fully accounted for by other factors such as lifestyle risk factors or chronic health conditions,” the study’s senior author dr. shamil haroon of the university of birmingham told the school’s news portal. “the symptoms we identified should help clinicians and clinical guideline developers to improve the assessment of patients with long-term effects from covid-19, and to subsequently consider how this symptom burden can be best managed.”

long covid affects one in five people

long covid affects about one in five people between the ages of 18 and 64 who have contracted the virus, according to the mayo clinic. people 65 and older are even more likely to experience the continuation of covid symptoms 12 weeks after they first caught the illness, with one in four people experiencing it. and it does sometimes happen in children, as well, although those numbers remain unknown.

the most common symptoms of long covid are fatigue, fever, and respiratory symptoms like shortness of breath, a recurring cough, and difficulty breathing. and most people who experience it say their symptoms get worse after they exert themselves not only physically, but also mentally.

other symptoms, which not everyone experiences, include neurological problems (headaches, dizziness, difficulty concentrating, anxiety or depression), sleep issues, joint and muscle pain, rapid heartbeat, chest pain, stomach pain or diarrhea, blood vessel issues including a potential pulmonary embolism, rashes and changes in menstrual cycle.

three groups of long covid symptoms

the new study, published in the journal nature medicine, looked at anonymous health records of 2.4 million people in the u.k. between january 2020 and april 2021. nearly 500,000 of the people studied had been infected with covid at some point during that time, while 1.9 million had no indication of contracting the virus.

in looking at the continuing symptoms of the people who had had covid as compared to the non-covid group, researchers were able to split long covid symptoms into three categories: respiratory symptoms, cognitive and mental health symptoms and a third group, which included alarming effects like the loss of the ability to smell, amnesia, hallucinations, hair loss, incontinence, apraxia (being unable to move in familiar ways), limb swelling and erectile dysfunction.

young women of colour are especially at risk

the research also identified certain demographics who seem to be more likely to experience long covid. the people most likely to have symptoms, they found, were young people, women, people of colour, those from low socioeconomic backgrounds, smokers, people who are overweight and those with other health problems.

“our data analyses of risk factors are of particular interest because it helps us to consider what could be causing or contributing to long covid,” said anuradhaa subramanian, the paper’s lead author. “women are, for example, more likely to experience autoimmune diseases. seeing the increased likelihood of women having long covid in our study increases our interest in investigating whether autoimmunity or other causes may explain the increased risk in women.”

“these observations will help to further narrow the focus on factors to investigate what may be causing these persistent symptoms after an infection, and how we can help patients who are experiencing them.”

health canada is continuing to gather information about long covid, the government agency says.

maija kappler is a reporter and editor at healthing. you can reach her at mkappler@postmedia.com