Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
National
Dayna McAlpine

Four key symptoms of long Covid people are reporting as 1 in 50 affected

As the UK hits record-breaking numbers of coronavirus cases as Omicron continues to wreck havoc across the globe, approximately 1.3 million Brits are now suffering from 'long Covid'.

The NHS website describes long Covid as "symptoms that last weeks or months after the infection has gone".

READ MORE - Queen 'surprised' when Kate and William made hurried life-changing announcement

While many people who catch the virus normally recover from their symptoms in a few days or weeks with a full recovery within 12 weeks, others can experience symptoms of Covid-19, such as fatigue, for a much longer time.

In the four weeks approaching December 6, responses were collected by the ONS - this means the data excludes the surge in cases coming from the spread of the Omicron variant because it came afterwards.

Among the 1.3 million people with long Covid, 70 per cent (892,000) first had or suspected they had Covid-19 at least 12 weeks previously.

Around 809,000 people are estimated to have their day-to-day activities severely affected by long Covid - this is close to two-thirds of people with self-reported long Covid.

But what are the most commonly reported symptoms of long Covid?

Among those that reported issues with long Covid, 247,000 stated that their ability to carry out day-to-day activities has been "limited a lot", according to the ONS.

The most common symptom of those suffering from long Covid are:

  • Fatigue (51 per cent)
  • Loss of smell (37 per cent)
  • Shortness of breath (36 per cent)
  • Difficulty concentrating (28 per cent)

While these are the most common symptoms of long Covid according to the ONS, other common symptoms include:

  • Chest pain or tightness
  • Difficulty sleeping (insomnia)
  • Heart palpitations
  • Dizzinesss
  • Pins and needles
  • Join pain
  • Depression and anxiety
  • Tinnitus or earaches
  • Feeling sick, diarrhoea, stomach aches, loss of appetite
  • A high temperature, cough, headaches, sore throat, changes to sense of smell or taste
  • Rashes

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.