“People with post-Covid conditions can have a wide range of symptoms that can last more than four weeks or even months after infection,” the CDC highlights.
Among these patients with long COVID, the most common symptoms would be: fatigue, shortness of breath and cough.
Cough, one of the consequences of long COVID
A dry cough is usually due to the lungs remaining irritated after suffering from a respiratory infection, detailed the UK’s National Health Service (NHS, for its acronym in English).
According to the study “Prevalence of post-COVID-19 cough one year after SARS-CoV-2 infection: a multicenter study”, details that about 2.5% of people continue to cough a year after being infected with COVID .
Cough is one of ways the body gets rid of unwanted irritants such as viruses, dust and mucus. When something “foreign” is detected in the respiratory tract, a reflex is activated to cause a cough, which should eliminate the irritant.
Inflammation is a defensive process that our immune system uses to fight COVID. The inflamed tissues swell and produce fluid. This can go on for a long time, even after the virus has disappeared.