{"id":91079,"date":"2023-05-25T14:25:06","date_gmt":"2023-05-25T04:25:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/?page_id=91079"},"modified":"2024-06-21T12:21:29","modified_gmt":"2024-06-21T02:21:29","slug":"what-you-need-to-know-long-covid","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/lung-health\/lung-conditions\/what-you-need-to-know-long-covid\/","title":{"rendered":"What you need to know"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":482,"featured_media":85604,"parent":91210,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-91079","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What you need to know - Lung Foundation Australia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/lung-health\/lung-conditions\/what-you-need-to-know-long-covid\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What you need to know - 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The World Health Organization has recorded over 200 different long COVID symptoms. Everyone\u2019s individual circumstances will vary. The best way to manage long COVID is to work with a healthcare professional to develop a tailored management plan to help your recovery. You may also hear long COVID referred to as post-COVID-19 condition or post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC).","link":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"column_content","columns":[{"column_type":"text","heading_text":"","paragraph_text":"<p>Long COVID is caused by infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus and is a chronic health condition that lasts at least 3 months in duration. It is a new and complex illness that patients and healthcare professionals are beginning to better understand. You may also hear long COVID referred to as post-COVID-19 condition or post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC).<\/p>\n<p>Long COVID can impact many organs of the body and affects everyone differently. For some people it may cause symptoms such as breathlessness, cough, hoarse voice and fatigue whereas other people may experience memory or thinking problems (often referred to as \u201cbrain fog\u201d).<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of specific symptoms, long COVID often affects a person\u2019s ability to perform their usual activities day to day and live their life as they normally would. Symptoms may be mild, moderate, or so severe that the person is unable to work or study.<\/p>\n<p>Click to know more in this video <a href=\"https:\/\/longcovid.physio\/long-covid-video-series\/what-is-long-covid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","button_display_setting":false,"button":{"":null,"button_type":"Link Button","link":null,"email":"","file":false,"modal_trigger":"","button_text":""},"background_colour":"transparent","column_image":false,"youtube_video_url":""},{"column_type":"image","heading_text":"","paragraph_text":"","button_display_setting":false,"button":{"":null,"button_type":"Link Button","link":null,"email":"","file":false,"modal_trigger":"","button_text":""},"background_colour":"transparent","column_image":{"ID":91262,"id":91262,"title":"iStock-1367858991","filename":"iStock-1367858991-e1685579706374.jpg","filesize":1042952,"url":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/iStock-1367858991-e1685579706374.jpg","link":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/lung-health\/lung-conditions\/what-you-need-to-know-long-covid\/istock-1367858991\/","alt":"two women talking","author":"482","description":"","caption":"","name":"istock-1367858991","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":91079,"date":"2023-06-01 00:28:07","modified":"2023-06-01 00:28:29","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1119,"height":640,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/iStock-1367858991-e1685579706374-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/iStock-1367858991-e1685579706374-300x172.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":172,"medium_large":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/iStock-1367858991-e1685579706374-768x439.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":439,"large":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/iStock-1367858991-e1685579706374-1024x586.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":586,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/iStock-1367858991-e1685579706374.jpg","1536x1536-width":1119,"1536x1536-height":640,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/iStock-1367858991-e1685579706374.jpg","2048x2048-width":1119,"2048x2048-height":640,"xxlarge":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/iStock-1367858991-e1685579706374.jpg","xxlarge-width":1119,"xxlarge-height":640,"xlarge":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/iStock-1367858991-e1685579584631-1280x819.jpg","xlarge-width":1280,"xlarge-height":819,"header-navigation":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/iStock-1367858991-e1685579706374-480x640.jpg","header-navigation-width":480,"header-navigation-height":640,"link-category":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/iStock-1367858991-e1685579706374-380x256.jpg","link-category-width":380,"link-category-height":256,"card":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/iStock-1367858991-e1685579706374-450x450.jpg","card-width":450,"card-height":450,"gform-image-choice-sm":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/iStock-1367858991-e1685579706374.jpg","gform-image-choice-sm-width":300,"gform-image-choice-sm-height":172,"gform-image-choice-md":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/iStock-1367858991-e1685579706374.jpg","gform-image-choice-md-width":400,"gform-image-choice-md-height":229,"gform-image-choice-lg":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/iStock-1367858991-e1685579706374.jpg","gform-image-choice-lg-width":600,"gform-image-choice-lg-height":343}},"youtube_video_url":""}]},{"acf_fc_layout":"quote","quote":"When you have long COVID you can\u2019t exactly avoid the crashes, the thing that does change is how severe they are and the quality of life you get in between. Pacing gives me a quality of life that I didn\u2019t have before and allows me to do things I enjoy \u2013 like gardening.\u201d ","name_and_reference":"\u2013 Lisa, TAS resident living with long COVID. "},{"acf_fc_layout":"wysiwyg_content_area","heading":"","content":"<h3>Common signs and symptoms of long COVID<\/h3>\n","link":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"icon_grid","grid_type":"title","simple_icon_list":[{"icon":"grid\/OYO180902_Website-Icons-18","title":"Fatigue"},{"icon":"grid\/OYO180902_Website-Icons-33","title":"PESE"},{"icon":"grid\/OYO180902_Website-Icons-40","title":"Breathlessness"},{"icon":"grid\/OYO180902_Website-Icons-20","title":"Cough"},{"icon":"grid\/OYO180902_Website-Icons-17","title":"Brain Fog"},{"icon":"grid\/OYO180902_Website-Icons-37","title":"Cardiac (heart) symptoms"},{"icon":"grid\/OYO180902_Website-Icons-51","title":"POTS"},{"icon":"grid\/OYO180902_Website-Icons-19","title":"Sleep"},{"icon":"grid\/OYO180902_Website-Icons-49","title":"Emotional wellbeing"}],"detailed_icon_list":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"icon_grid","grid_type":"title","simple_icon_list":[{"icon":"grid\/OYO180902_Website-Icons-45","title":"Pain"},{"icon":"grid\/OYO180902_Website-Icons-68","title":"Gastrointestinal symptoms"}],"detailed_icon_list":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"cta_horizontal","heading":"Symptoms and management tips","copy":"Visit our symptoms and management tips page for more information.","link":{"title":"Learn more","url":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/lung-health\/lung-conditions\/what-you-need-to-know-long-covid\/symptoms-and-management-tips\/","target":"_blank"},"link_icon":"none","background":{"background_type":"Colour","image":false,"colour":"#ffffff","overlay":"None","repeat":false}},{"acf_fc_layout":"featured_posts_static","heading":"","view_more_link":null,"posts":[{"ID":91170,"post_author":"482","post_date":"2023-05-25 09:57:57","post_date_gmt":"2023-05-24 23:57:57","post_content":"<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>This booklet contains information for people who have been diagnosed with, or<br>suspect they may have, post Acute COVID-19 or chronic COVID condition hereafter<br>called, \u201clong COVID\u201d. It has been designed to help you navigate your long COVID<br>journey and outlines common symptoms, provides helpful self-management tips,<br>treatment information and expert advice on how to discuss your condition with<br>healthcare professionals, family and friends.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->","post_title":"Understanding long COVID","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"understanding-long-covid","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-06-07 14:40:58","post_modified_gmt":"2023-06-07 04:40:58","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/?post_type=resource&#038;p=91170","menu_order":0,"post_type":"resource","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":91339,"post_author":"482","post_date":"2023-06-07 15:05:26","post_date_gmt":"2023-06-07 05:05:26","post_content":"<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Navigating a chronic health condition can impact a child\u2019s school experience. This fact sheet provides information on how parents and carers can best support their child with a chronic condition through school.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->","post_title":"Chronic conditions and schooling","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"chronic-conditions-and-schooling","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-06-07 15:05:29","post_modified_gmt":"2023-06-07 05:05:29","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/?post_type=resource&#038;p=91339","menu_order":0,"post_type":"resource","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":91360,"post_author":"651","post_date":"2023-06-19 16:15:31","post_date_gmt":"2023-06-19 06:15:31","post_content":"<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Long COVID is an emerging public health concern in Australia. In the wake of the report from the Federal Government\u2019s Inquiry into Long COVID and Repeated COVID Infections being released, we spoke to Scott Willis about his experiences. Scott is the National President of the Australian Physiotherapy Association and helps patients navigate their long COVID journeys daily. For him though, long COVID is personal. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>In this blog post, we will explore long COVID from Scott\u2019s perspective and learn about his journey, management strategies, and advice for those who may be experiencing similar symptoms.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><strong><em>But first\u2026what is long COVID?<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>While many individuals may recover from COVID-19 without any long-term consequences, others may experience ongoing symptoms which can significantly impact their quality of life. Long COVID is the term used to describe these ongoing symptoms, which can impact many organs of the body and affect everyone differently. It is a chronic health condition that lasts at least three months in duration. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><strong><em>Scott\u2019s long COVID journey<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Scott contracted COVID-19 in April 2020 while being treated for another medical condition at a hospital in Tasmania. While his initial symptoms were mild, he experienced persistent fatigue and reduced tolerance for exercise over the next few months. This went by largely unnoticed until one day when swimming he lost all his strength and only managed to recover by holding on to the lane rope. It was at this point that he realised his symptoms may be a sign of long COVID.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>After an initial period of hope his symptoms would spontaneously improve, Scott realised that management of his symptoms would need work. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u201cI think my frustrations led me to manage my symptoms. This is not a fitness issue, this is long COVID, and it is a chronic disease and I need to treat it like one so that I can function as near normal as possible. I had to learn to live with it to continue to work, to continue to enjoy my activities, to travel, to socialise, to do what I love doing. But it is still so frustrating and can be so inconsistent.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Three years later, Scott\u2019s main symptoms are fatigue and brain fog. It wasn\u2019t an overnight process, but he now knows how to manage by listening to his body. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u201cI now know that I must not push my COVID threshold. I need to stay under it. I know if I want to go for a walk or swim, which I do regularly, then I can\u2019t mow the lawn or do anything else physically. I can\u2019t swim and walk on the same day, or I pay the price with fatigue and brain fog. I can\u2019t exercise early in the morning of a workday because it may lead to fatigue and brain fog later in my workday. When I feel fatigue, I take rest and reduce my stimulation, rather than push through it. And I use relaxation techniques to improve the quality of my rest and better manage any fatigue. It\u2019s an ongoing journey but I know what works for me so I can perform at the optimum level for my professional and patient-care commitments. I encourage anyone suffering from long COVID to seek specialist support to develop a plan that works for them.\u201d &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><strong><em>Scott's advice to anyone recently diagnosed with Long COVID:<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:list -->\n<ul><!-- wp:list-item -->\n<li>Listen to your body and don't push through fatigue&nbsp;<\/li>\n<!-- \/wp:list-item -->\n\n<!-- wp:list-item -->\n<li>Rest when you need&nbsp;<\/li>\n<!-- \/wp:list-item -->\n\n<!-- wp:list-item -->\n<li>Learn about your triggers and adapt to your symptoms&nbsp;<\/li>\n<!-- \/wp:list-item -->\n\n<!-- wp:list-item -->\n<li>See a specialist who has expertise in long COVID who can assist in coordinating your care with other medical practitioners as needed&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<!-- \/wp:list-item -->\n\n<!-- wp:list-item -->\n<li>Don't accept it when medical practitioners dismiss your symptoms.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<!-- \/wp:list-item --><\/ul>\n<!-- \/wp:list -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Lung Foundation Australia also offer a peer support group for people living with Long COVID, for more information see our <a href=\"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/services\/covid-recovery-support-group\/\">Covid Recovery Support Group<\/a>. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Lung Foundation Australia have just released a comprehensive long COVID resource for people living with long COVID, for more information see here: <a href=\"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/resources\/understanding-long-covid\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/resources\/understanding-long-covid\/<\/a> &nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:gallery {\"linkTo\":\"none\"} -->\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped\"><\/figure>\n<!-- \/wp:gallery -->","post_title":"Long COVID: a tale of frustration and hope","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"long-covid-a-tale-of-frustration-and-hope","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-08-02 12:08:58","post_modified_gmt":"2023-08-02 02:08:58","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/?post_type=article&#038;p=91360","menu_order":0,"post_type":"article","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}]},{"acf_fc_layout":"cta_inline","copy":"Please visit our COVID section for information about acute COVID-19.","link":{"title":"Learn more","url":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/lung-health\/protecting-your-lungs\/coronavirus-disease-covid-19\/what-you-need-to-know\/","target":"_blank"}}]},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/91079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/482"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91079"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/91079\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93424,"href":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/91079\/revisions\/93424"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/91210"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}