Grand Island doctor discusses lingering COVID-19 symptoms

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (KSNB) - Nebraskans are still in a tight battle with the coronavirus as different variants continue to pop up.

In addition to the many developments of COVID, the symptoms and duration of their effects on the body are also changing.

“Usually what we see is that COVID symptoms or post and prolonged COVID symptoms are not specific. The most common is fatigue, non-explained fatigue,” Dr. Carlos Nasr, Internal Medicine Provider at CHI Health Clinic- St. Francis said.

Some Nebraskans have found themselves battling coronavirus symptoms long past the two-week quarantine period.

“They can have a cough, usually for three or four months, sometimes 10 months. Three to four months is the usual time. Sometimes people have dyspnea, difficulty breathing,” Dr. Carlos Nasr said.

Fatigue is often accompanied by energy loss and a lack of desire to be active. A person not feeling at full strength will be discouraged to be constantly active because they feel the drop off in energy from when the virus was in their body.

“For patients with post-COVID symptoms, we encourage them to increase their physical activity until they achieve their baseline,” Dr. Nasr said.

Nasr also stated that most people who encountered severe COVID symptoms won’t be able to run for 30 minutes, but encourages people to try to get back to their pre-COVID fitness level.

“The best way to avoid severe post-COVID symptoms is to avoid severe COVID. How can we avoid that? Vaccination, social distancing when possible, and hand hygiene.”

Dr. Carlos Nasr believes those three ways are still our best chances to prevent the spread of COVID in our communities.

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