Down To Earth reporter recounts his harrowing experience of dealing with post-COVID illnesses
The author, Vivek Mishra, on the right walking with migrant workers during the first wave of the COVID pandemic. Photo: Vivek Mishra / CSE The panic and outcry of the deadly COVID-19 era are still fresh in our minds. Many who were infected with the novel coronavirus are still battling other illnesses the respiratory disease left behind, whose treatment has now become a part of our everyday life.
I walked with migrant workers to Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, from Delhi in June 2020 during the first wave of COVID-19. After a few days of travelling, I suddenly had high fever of around 104-105 degrees Fahrenheit and pain in my spinal cord. I was also unable to move my legs.
The route taken by the author while walking with migrants to Bahraich, UP from Delhi in June 2020. Source: CSE
Two consecutive antigen tests at a Bahraich government hospital declared me COVID-positive. At the time, reaching a hospital and arranging for a health check-up was one of the most daunting tasks.
No sources of communication were working. Family members left the fear of infection transmission and continued caring for me by continuously checking the oxygen saturation in the blood (SpO2) and body temperatures with thermometers. Even in the June heat, I had to cover myself with blankets.
On the third day of the fever, the pain in my back increased so much that I lost my senses. I felt like I was on my deathbed. A doctor agreed to see me from a distance and prescribed painkillers along with steroids.
On taking the medication, the lower part of the waist started oozing a sticky discharge and there was some relief from the pain. I had been sick for 10 days at the point. The fever had finally subsided, but my body was very weak. The back pain had also reduced, but pus continued to discharge from the lower back.
I consulted doctors in Bahraich, Lucknow and Delhi, but no one had a clear answer for the co-relation of the fever and back pain with COVID-19. A doctor said he was treating on the basis of symptoms as he did not know about the effects of COVID-19 or other diseases caused by it.
The doctors only had six-seven months’ experience with the disease and, thus, I got no clear answers.
Soon I could walk again but remained worried about the wound on my back and the discharge. It was continously monitored with pain medication and antibiotics. The doctors instructed me to clean the wound twice a day with Betadine solution and water — an instruction that I have been following for three years at this point.
The World Health Organization classified COVID as a pandemic three years ago. But scientists and doctors still have much to learn about its long-term effects.
If we talk about personal experiences, I have frequently fallen sick in the last three years, with frequent colds and fevers in the beginning. Then in 2022, a full body check-up gave shocking results. The lipid profile showed triglycerides at 990 mg/l, which should have been below 150 mg/l.
An increase in triglyceride levels meant hardening of the arteries and thickening of the artery walls. My blood sugar levels were also high, even though my diet was the same as before getting COVID.
Even Dr Anoop Misra of Fortis Hospital, a well-known diabetologist, was surprised at my report and treated me like a post-COVID patient.
My life now has added pressures of managing my daily blood sugar, controlling my triglycerides and low back pain. I am under medication for all the conditions now.
However, even high doses of Amoxicillin 625 and 800 medication could not cure the pus leaking from my lower back; the antibiotics just offered immediate relief. In the end, I had to undergo two operations, the side effects of which would be felt for the rest of my life.
Even after three years, I do not know for sure whether these health problems are due to COVID or not. However, the doctors’ prescriptions have called it a post-COVID effect.
The effect of the pandemic may have been blurred, but traces of it still remain with us.
We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.
.png)
Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.