‘Long colds’ just as common as long Covid, say researchers

“Long colds” may exist and are just as common as long Covid, a study suggests.

During the pandemic, doctors saw that a small percentage of people infected with Covid-19 went on to suffer prolonged issues for several months, often after the virus had been cleared.

Fatigue, brain fog, loss of smell and taste, coughs and other symptoms are still reported by more than a million people in the UK after having Covid.

A study has now found that a person can also suffer with ”long colds” from infection with other viruses.

Researchers at Queen Mary University of London found people experience long-term symptoms – or long colds – after respiratory infections that test negative for Covid.

Some of the most common symptoms of long colds were coughing, stomach pain and diarrhoea lasting for more than four weeks after infection.

“Our findings suggest that there may be long-lasting health impacts from other respiratory infections that are going unrecognised,” the researchers said.

Experts looked at data from 10,203 people taking part in the Covidence UK study into coronavirus in the population and found 1,343 had suffered a Covid infection and 472 a respiratory infection that tested negative for Covid.

The results showed that 22 per cent of people with Covid suffered prolonged symptoms after infection, as did 22 per cent of those who had an infection that was not Covid.

Prof Adrian Martineau, the study author, said there was a “similar risk of prolonged symptoms” from Covid or other infections.

Data show Covid infections were more likely to cause taste and smell problems, light-headedness, dizziness, sweating and hair loss than those with a “long cold”.

However, long colds were more likely to manifest as a cough or a hoarse voice. Both groups suffered breathlessness and fatigue.

The study also suggested that a person was more likely to suffer a long-term health decline if the initial bout of infection was more severe.

However, the experts said more studies were needed on why some people suffer while others do not.

“Our findings shine a light not only on the impact of long Covid on people’s lives, but also other respiratory infections,” Giulia Vivaldi, the lead author, said.

“A lack of awareness – or even the lack of a common term – prevents both reporting and diagnosis of these conditions.

“As research into long Covid continues, we need to take the opportunity to investigate and consider the lasting effects of other acute respiratory infections.”

Some still sick months later

The study looked at people’s symptoms after their initial infection using standardised questionnaires and found people were still sick several months later. One non-Covid long cold case reported having symptoms one year and three months after infection.

Prof Martineau added: “Our findings may chime with the experience of people who have struggled with prolonged symptoms after having a respiratory infection despite testing negative for Covid.

“Ongoing research into the long-term effects of Covid and other acute respiratory infections is important because it can help us to get to the root of why some people experience more prolonged symptoms than others.

“Ultimately, this could help us to identify the most appropriate form of treatment and care for affected people.”

Dr David Strain, clinical senior lecturer and honorary consultant at the University of Exeter, welcomed the study, adding the researchers had “demonstrated, at least in the short term, persistence of symptoms can be troubling not just after Covid but after many other infections”.

He said this was not a new phenomenon, citing the Spanish flu epidemic in 1918-20 as leaving many people with post-viral illness.

He said the research would bring into focus the “urgent need for further research into post-viral syndromes”, what causes them and the need for treatments.

The study is published in The Lancet’s eClinicalMedicine journal.