Coronavirus: THIS ‘unusual’ stomach problem could indicate long COVID

Over the course of two years, we have learnt a lot about the SARs-CoV-2 virus. New COVID variants have emerged time and again, posing different sets of challenges and making it hard for the people to settle down. However, it is the lasting effect of COVID-19 that has made it difficult for people to return back to their normal lives. In medical terms, this condition is known as long COVID.

Also read: Long term cognitive decline common in older COVID survivors: Study

Long COVID refers to a condition wherein people can experience a wide range of symptoms that can last more than four weeks or even months after infection. These symptoms can go away and come back again, as per the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In conversation with Express.co.uk, Doctor Deepak Ravindran, head of the Berkshire long Covid clinic, said: “A study from 2021 suggested that almost 10 organ systems in the body can be affected producing more than 200 symptoms.”

According to the doctor, one of the symptoms include a bloated stomach.

“We know that the virus can affect the gut and intestine during the acute phase and indeed viral remnants can hang about in the intestine for a long time after the acute phase," the doctor explained.

“When the virus affects the gut nervous system then the system can function sluggishly and often not in a synchronised manner and this can then cause tummy symptoms like pain, nausea and bloating.

“There is also research to suggest that the virus can affect the microbiome diversity and this can also cause problems like bloating or more gas,” he adds.

In addition to explaining how long COVID leads to gut issues, Dr Ravindran also lists down some less common symptoms of long COVID. These include: disturbances to the menstrual cycle with earlier onset of menopause like symptoms in certain age groups of women, skin rashes that are often itchy and change colour and episodes of hair loss, as reported by Express.co.uk.

“A lot of these unusual symptoms can be understood better if viewed from the lens of the virus affecting the nervous system and immune system and impacting on them long term,” he said.

“So if the immune system is over activated by the virus and stays hypersensitive then it can cause skin issues like rashes and also contribute to hair loss.

“In some patients, there is a suggestion that they may have some histamine intolerance due to mast cells (a form of immune cells) not working. So treatment with simple antihistamines can be of help.

“If the hormone system in the brain is affected by the virus then that impact can affect the female hormone release causing the menstrual irregularities reported," adds the doctor.

In the past, experts have discussed how long COVID may manifest itself in many symptoms. The common ailments include: fatigue, persistent cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, neurological symptoms including difficulty thinking or concentrating, headache, sleep problems, dizziness when you stand, pins-and-needles feeling, loss of smell or taste, and depression or anxiety, muscle pain and heart symptoms and conditions.

While there are many theories to why long COVID occurs in the body, however, no solid evidence, a recent study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases journal suggests that the leftover residues of the SARs-CoV- 2 virus could be causing long term complications.

The researchers found that the spike protein of the virus remains in the blood of long COVID people up to a year after the infection, which is how the virus could be affecting the immune system, leading to complications like blood clots and inflammation.

The study says, "Active viral reservoirs could cause PASC or post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 symptoms, but circulating spikes may also give rise to symptoms. Similar to bacterial superantigens, SARS-CoV-2 spike contains structural motifs that skew the T cell receptor repertoire, possibly accounting for the hyperinflammatory response observed in severe COVID-19 and MIS-C patients."