Long COVID Information & Resources

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Thank you to everyone who participated. This project has now concluded.

A COVID-19 infection can result in long lasting symptoms such as breathing difficulties, headache, loss of smell and taste, brain fog, and fatigue. These long-lasting symptoms have been termed “long COVID” and can have an impact on your physical and mental wellbeing. It can also affect family, friends, and caregivers of people who had COVID-19.

Your recovery and rehabilitation (regaining your strength) after COVID-19 can be challenging, but there are resources available to help manage your symptoms and get help when needed. Please note that these resources are general, and may not be appropriate for everyone. For more personalized information, please contact your family physician or the other options listed below.

Who can you call for help?

Online resources for patients to help manage their own symptoms:

If you are a health care provider, please visit the following sites for more information on managing long COVID:

A COVID-19 infection can result in long lasting symptoms such as breathing difficulties, headache, loss of smell and taste, brain fog, and fatigue. These long-lasting symptoms have been termed “long COVID” and can have an impact on your physical and mental wellbeing. It can also affect family, friends, and caregivers of people who had COVID-19.

Your recovery and rehabilitation (regaining your strength) after COVID-19 can be challenging, but there are resources available to help manage your symptoms and get help when needed. Please note that these resources are general, and may not be appropriate for everyone. For more personalized information, please contact your family physician or the other options listed below.

Who can you call for help?

Online resources for patients to help manage their own symptoms:

If you are a health care provider, please visit the following sites for more information on managing long COVID:

Thank you to everyone who participated. This project has now concluded.

Do you have a question for one of our experts, such as an individual with lived experience with Long COVID, or a doctor, nurse, therapist (physiotherapist, occupational, respiratory), dietician, mental health professional? Please ask your question here and one of our experts will get back to you ASAP.

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    Is Canada doing research into micro clotting of patients with Covid

    Ruth Weis asked 9 months ago

    Hello Ruth,

    There is lots of research happening for long COVID across Canada and the across the world. Google Scholar is an accessible and reliable research hub available to anyone with internet access. By searching the term “microclots and long COVID” many returns show the vast amount of research in this area, and the wide variety of sub-topics for research. You can access those articles here. PubMed is also a reliable search tool to find recent research and is available here.

     

    Research for long COVID will continue to evolve so we encourage you to use credible sources of information to stay on top of the latest research. The results of many studies are available through CADTH, Canada’s drug and health technology agency available here. Additionally, the World Health Organization has curated technical guidance, response information, and research on long COVID available here.

     

    -The Long COVID team

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    How do I receive treatment for long covid

    Deb Bachman asked 9 months ago

    Hello Deb,

    Thank you for your question. Any patient can access the self-management resources available through AHS here. We encourage all patients to use these resources as early as possible. Additionally, there are targeted online videos that are specific for long COVID created by the Alberta Healthy Living Program and are available here.

     

    We encourage you to work with your primary care provider to find the right resources to support you in coping with your symptoms. Your healthcare provider may wish to assess your symptoms through the PCFS Screening Tool. If your provider feels that you need additional support, they may refer you to a specialist or the IPOP clinics found on the provider website for long COVID.

     

    Wishing you all the best in managing your symptoms.

    -The Long COVID team

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    Any recommendations for post covid multi symptoms of inflammation and reaction? Mainly, I am all of a sudden hypersensitive to chemicals in my workplace that never previously bothered me. I take antihistamines and use steroid and antihistamines cream as preventative but still I break out in a red burning rash all over face neck and ears. Anyone else have a way to deal with allergies/ sensitivity that was not present before covid? Also experienced fatigue, brain fog, heart rate issues and menstruation complications but they have improved a bit.

    Skittles82 asked 10 months ago

    Hello Skittles82,

    Thank you for your question. We are sorry to hear that you are struggling with many symptoms of long COVID. There are several options to discuss your symptoms in depth and look into options to help you manage your symptoms. We recommend that you start with your primary care provider or by calling the Rehabilitation Advice Line at 1-833-379-0563 to identify the next best steps. They can support you to be triage for personalized long COVID services with more information available on the provider website. If you do not have a primary care provider, you can access information on how to find a family doctor here.

     

    We hope you are able to find more answers regarding your symptoms.

     

    - The long COVID resources team

     

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    Our 4 year old daughter has developed issues with her breathing since getting covid twice last year. Have had to bring her to the er 3 times with issues reaching and give a puffer every time she gets a cold. How can we figure out if long covid caused this or aome thing else

    Nathan d asked 10 months ago

    Hello Nathan D.,

    Thank you for your question. We are sorry to hear that your young daughter is experiencing concerning symptoms regarding her breathing. There are several factors that may be contributing to her breathing changes such as asthma, allergies, or as you are questioning- possibly post viral complications related to her initial COVID-19 infections. While it is common to want answers about what caused a symptom or condition, sometimes it can be very difficult to determine the instigating factor(s), especially related to long COVID. It may not be possible to find a definitive cause for your daughters symptoms, however we strongly recommend working with your daughter’s primary care provider to determine the best way to manage her symptoms. There may be testing to rule out conditions such as asthma or allergies, or medications to prevent or reduce these symptoms after she gets a cold. If your daughter does not have a primary care provider, you can access information on how to find a family doctor here.

     

    We hope you are able to find more answers regarding your daughters' symptoms.

     

    - The long COVID resources team

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    My 13 year old daughter has been experiencing body tremors whenever her immune system is compromised. She. Describes this as shocks that go through her body. This started 1.5 years ago immediately after her first covid vaccine. I’m wondering if this a symptom that others have reported and whether there is any known treatments?

    KJJ asked 11 months ago

    Thank you very much for your question. Vaccine injuries should be reported following immunization by calling Health Link at 811 or by contacting your health provider. We recommend that you discuss your concerns with your daughters primary care provider to determine if her symptoms meet the criteria for reporting and to determine the next steps for managing her ongoing symptoms. If your daughter does not have a primary care provider, you can access information on how to find a family doctor here.

     

    If you are interested in learning more about reported adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination in Canada, the Canadian Adverse Events Following Immunization Surveillance System (CAEFISS) is a federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) public health post-market vaccine safety surveillance system. CAEFISS is managed by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and is unique in that it includes both passive (spontaneous reports from Federal agencies, Provinces and Territories) and active surveillance.

     

    We hope you are able to find more answers regarding your daughters symptoms. will improve soon.

     

    - The long COVID resources team

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    How do I get help for my post covid symptoms?

    Gayles asked 11 months ago

    Hello Gayles,

    Hello,

    We are sorry to hear that you are struggling with post COVID symptoms. There are multiple resources available on the Getting Healthy After COVID site as well as the After COVID: Information and resources to help you recover (MyHealth.Alberta.ca) sites. There is also a free webinar series offered by the Alberta Health Living Program and a video series to accompany it. Information about many of these symptoms is provided. 

    We also suggest connecting with your family doctor and/or calling the Rehabilitation Advice Line at 1-833-379-0563. You may be eligible for a referral to one of the specialty clinics that can support the management of these symptoms. 

    Hopefully these symptoms will improve for you soon.

    Thank you,

    - The long COVID resources team

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    How do I deal with POTS due to COVID? Is there clinics/ services to support?

    Susana Balzan asked about 1 year ago

    Hello Susana,

    Thank you very much for submitting your question through the portal. With the limited information in your question, we are unclear if you are a patient or a healthcare professional and will do our best to answer your question from both perspectives.

    If you are a patient, please discuss your concerns with your primary care provider or your medical home. They will be able to assess your symptoms and determine the most appropriate treatment plan for you. Additionally, there is some patient information on the MyHealthAlberta.ca website about POTS that you can find by clicking here

    If you are a Physician or Nurse Practitioner, please refer to our long COVID website for Healthcare Professionals available here to access the targeted and personalized resources specific to your zone. Patients who have POTS should initially be referred to Cardiology for assessment, diagnosis, and treatment recommendations, or if your patient is being seen at an IPOP clinic, they will rule out other causes for POTS and consult with Cardiology.

    -The Long COVID resources team

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    Is there any solid, data backed scientific studies, that don't rely on observations and questionnaires that show strong evidence of long covid? Especially in people who were not hospitalized or had severe infections? I'm trying to inform myself and haven't been able to find any quality studies that would come close to numbers of people afflicted with as I see published. I would appreciate any links or information you can provide. Regards

    Ada asked about 1 year ago

    Hello,

    Thank you for your question. Your request looking for strong evidence of long COVID has multiple factors that need to be considered when looking at the literature. Long COVID has over 200 known symptoms which makes it challenging to diagnose (and therefore study) due to the overlap with many other conditions that need to be ruled out prior to establishing a long COVID diagnosis.

    Additionally, the severity of long COVID happens across a spectrum. Some individuals have lingering symptoms that are quite mild, while others are significantly impacted by their symptoms. Global literature indicates that approximately 70% of long COVID patients are able to self-manage on their own. These patients may not seek additional care from their medical home, making it difficult to identify them or include them in research studies.

    While there are still relatively few credible scientific studies on long COVID for non-hospitalized patients, there continues to be new evidence as we learn more about long COVID. We encourage you to work with a librarian that can help you find credible and relevant article to as they become available.

    Thank you,

    -The Long COVID Resource Team

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    What practical supports are available to parent caregivers of kids with long Covid?

    Gemmak76 asked over 1 year ago
    1. Hello,

      Thank you for reaching out. We continue to gather and develop resources for parents and caregivers of kids with long COVID. The resources on the Getting Healthy After COVID-19: Information for patients as well as the After COVID-19: Information and resources to help you recover pages, are both available as well. These resources are designed for adults, so may not all be appropriate for kids, however, some information may be useful to help him manage some symptoms. There is a section towards the bottom of the Getting Healthy page that is specific for parents and educators that you may find helpful. You can also check out https://www.longcovidkids.org/. We strongly encourage you to call the Rehabilitation Advice Line at 1-833-379-0563. Hopefully you are able to find your child the help he/she needs to continue on his/her recovery. Please let us know if you have more questions.

      Thank you,

      - Long COVID Resources Team



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    I am asking about my sister who was in i.c.u in September, 2021 with co vid. She has not been the same since. She can’t get around very well, been on dialysis since right after the co vid. She’s had problems with shortness of breath and coughing. Now she’s having chronic diahrea, not sure if that’s related too. Where can she turn for help? Is there anyone dealing with this?

    Sherri asked over 1 year ago

    Hello,

    We are very sorry to hear that your sister is struggling with so many ongoing challenges, following her initial COVID-19 infection and hospitalization. We are unable to say whether they are related to COVID-19, but can provide you with a variety of options of where to find information and seek help. 

    There are multiple resources available on the Getting Healthy After COVID site as well as the After COVID: Information and resources to help you recover (MyHealth.Alberta.ca) sites that you can use to help support your sister. There is also a YouTube video series created by the Alberta Health Living Program that explains long COVID overall as well as provides information about many specific symptoms and ways a person can self-manage those symptoms.

    We also suggest connecting with her family doctor and/or calling the Rehabilitation Advice Line at 1-833-379-0563. She may be eligible for a referral to one of the specialty clinics that can support the management of these symptoms. If this is an emergency, please call 9-1-1.

    Hopefully this information is helpful and that your sister can get some relief from these symptoms and start to feel more like herself again soon. 

    Thank you,

    - The long COVID resources team