Care Management for Long Term Covid

Care management involves all the collective health services a patient with a chronic illness receives from a healthcare center or a hospital. Understandably, a patient can grow overwhelmed with hospital visits, thus needing a more manageable and practical way of receiving care and treatment.

Care management has been administered to many covid-19 patients who continue receiving symptoms after their first diagnosis of Covid and need extra care towards recovery.

Since the eruption of the dreaded SARs-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19 infection, many discussions have been ongoing concerning the nature of the virus. Most cases of ‘normal’ Covid-19 infections are expected to exhibit fading symptoms a few days after treatment.

However, that’s not always the case with long-term Covid or Long Covid patients. Though not an official name, Long Covid is a common term used to describe the continuing symptomatic Covid-19 and the post-Covid syndrome.

During this stage, you’re likely to experience the occurrence, disappearance, and recurrence of symptoms over time, extending to weeks or even months. At such moments, you or your loved ones need to be with someone who cares.

That’s why at Rehabilitation Care Coordination (RCC), we pride ourselves on offering the best care management services for all types of acute illnesses in San Diego and beyond.

Understanding Long-Term Covid: What is it?

Majority of those who’ve been diagnosed with Covid experience fading symptoms after 2-3 weeks of exposure to the virus. These symptoms (coughing, tiredness, headache, body aches, etc) are expected to last for a few days to up to 12 weeks. However, when these symptoms bypass 12+ weeks, the patient is probably undergoing a long-term covid effect.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51048366

A patient is only said to be having long-term Covid if they continue experiencing the same or worse symptoms of the virus after recovering from the initial infection. In fact, according to the guidelines for UK health workers, a patient should only worry they have long Covid if the symptoms persist for more than 12 weeks after infection.

The Main Long Covid Symptoms

After a Covid infection, you can expect various symptoms, which can occur, fade and re-occur during the period. Additionally, some people report having symptoms which were completely separate from their initial exposure to the virus. 

These symptoms vary from one person to another, but the most common long haul symptoms include:

• Fatigue
• Shortness of breath
• Experiencing tightness in the chest or chest pains
• Insomnia – finding it challenging to fall asleep
• Concentration and memory problems (Memory lapse)
• Joint pains
• Rashes
• Dizziness
• Loss of appetite and stomach problems
• A fever characterized by cough, headache, and sore throat
• Anxiety and depression
• Changes to taste and smell

The severity of these symptoms will vary depending on various factors like the patient’s underlying health conditions.

Is Long Covid Common in a Specific Group of People?

Since research and data about Covid-19 are still emerging, it is challenging to pin down some facts.

However, some available data suggest that older people might be more affected by long Covid than the younger generation. This is probably true because of the many health complications prevalent in older people.

Up to 2% of the younger generation of around 20-year-olds is estimated to record symptoms of long covid after treatment. This is 3% lower than what’s estimated for the older generation of 60-year-olds and above.

Children might be safer as they’re generally less likely to catch Covid and therefore don’t have long Covid to worry about. However, it’s still essential to keep up with the health guidelines on Covid protocols to keep everyone safe.

Why Choose our Care Management Services for Long-Term Covid

No one is ever adequately prepared for an illness. There’s always a need for help with the disease situation until there’s relief. This is true because many diseases come unannounced, and after the regular treatment, you’re left wondering what to do next after getting discharged from the hospital.

We know that all these can happen and that people need help with their sick relatives at home, especially during these pandemic days.Hospitals also need to release patients from their facilities as fast as it’s medically possible to help reduce congestions.

All these can be overwhelming to everyone caught in-between the mix, but it is worse for families with sick loved ones. We have what it takes to make everything easier for you and your family at such moments.

With over 30 years of experience in case management, we boast of the best hands-on case management services.

We don’t stop caring for patients at the hospital level. Once you or your loved one is discharged, we’ll make sure you have the necessary medical supplies to your home so you can seamlessly travel your journey to recovery.

If the patient needs special care and attention, we can still organize attendant care options that work well for the patient and their families. Care management for long covid can prove challenging, especially with the fluctuating restrictions imposed in different states.

For this reason, we have optimized utilizing software like Zoom, Facetime, or Skype to schedule appointments with immediate caregivers and patients. This software also makes it easier for our care managers to follow up with the patients’ families and ensure everything is going on well.

Image source: https://www.pacehospital.com/post-covid-complications-long-term-effects-of-coronavirus-after-recovery

Long Covid FAQs

There are so many questions asked about covid and its effects. Some of these include:

What are doctors working on to help fight Long Covid?
Doctors around the globe are doing all they can to help long covid patients recover and regain their full health.

One of the most used techniques by medics globally is coordinated care management, where they offer specialized care to long covid patients at home or in health facilities.

Care management services may defer depending on each patients’ case and the medical team’s availability.

Can you get Covid twice?
Reinfection of Covid remains less common, but scientists say it could occur in rare cases.

Initial reports of repeat cases of Covid infection were concluded to have been an error of testing and testing reports among patients.

Patients who’d been tested positive would get inaccurate tests after a few weeks stating they were now free from the virus while they were not.

Should Long Haulers get vaccinated?
If you have long-term Covid, getting the vaccine can help ease the symptoms and probably make you feel better faster.

Although the majority of long haulers haven’t had an entirely positive turn of events after the vaccine, some have recorded the easing of the symptoms, which is something to hold on to.

RCC will walk With You the Journey to Recovery

Everyone wishes a quick and seamless journey to recovery for themselves or their relatives upon catching Covid. However, with long-term Covid in the picture, this might not be the case for some people.

At RCC, we’ll help them apply for any and all benefits they are eligible for, and we’ll always be there to help take care of your loved ones during this long recovery journey. Our care management for long-term Covid employs the best policies that will help your loved one get to their feet sooner.

Contact us today and talk to us about your situation for fast and reliable help.