Even after Omikron you can get Long Covid, warns Jördis Frommhold. In an interview, the expert says how to protect yourself – and what politics is doing wrong.
Heiligendamm – Many people who come to Jördis Frommhold’s clinic are desperate. They suffer from the long-term consequences of Corona – also according to Omikron. Frommhold saw a soldier who can’t get up the stairs. A model whose hair is falling out. And 20-year-olds who can’t get out of bed, can’t go to work or university – not to mention parties.
Long Covid after Omikron: Expert warns – “Even 20-year-olds still get long-term consequences”
The doctor is considered the German long-Covid expert and also advises Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach. For years, she has had the feeling that she is “cleaning up after the politicians”, as she did in an interview with Merkur.de from IPPEN.MEDIA explained. Because if politicians don’t manage to reduce the corona numbers, more and more people will fall ill with Long Covid even after being infected with Omikron. And then they come to Frommhold’s practice. So far she has cared for 5000 patients – out of an estimated one million affected in Germany.
There are currently almost no more corona measures, the Infection Protection Act expires on September 23rd – and all this despite the corona summer wave and increasing incidences. Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) expects a difficult autumn. Why Are So Many People Still Getting Long Covid? Among them are many young people – because “even 20-year-olds get long-term consequences”. How can we prevent this? And how will it continue?
Expert not in the Corona Expert Council: “Long Covid obviously does not play a major role for politicians”
As a long-Covid expert, you advise the federal government, but you are not on the Corona Expert Council. Why not?
Jördis Frommhold: I ask myself that too (laughs).
Weren’t you asked?
no Long Covid obviously does not play such a big role in politicians’ planning – even if, of course, something has already happened in terms of acceptance. But still: There is still too little talk about the long-term consequences of Corona. But in the future we will have many absences from work because of Long Covid. You have to plan for that. Hundreds of thousands of people are affected. And there are more and more.
You also see many young people suffering from Long Covid. Aren’t you angry when you see that the federal government is again failing to make provisions for the fall?
Sometimes I have the feeling that I’m cleaning up behind the politicians. I’ve given up getting excited about it. You only get stomach ulcers yourself.
What do you think of the current easing?
I understand that you can no longer work with many prohibitions. But if you relax rules, you have to educate people about what it means if you get Corona or Long Covid. Otherwise you suggest to people: ‘Now everything is the same as before.’ Under no circumstances should this happen.
What could such an explanation look like?
Sometimes you have to come up with shocking examples to shake people up. Like, ‘This young woman is 22 and can’t get out of bed. She has to change her entire life for the foreseeable future, nothing is the same as before.’ There are many sad examples in Long Covid. Also after omicron. That’s shocking – and maybe people will become more cautious when they find out.
Long Covid: Expert fears long-term consequences even after omicron – young people no longer have any strength
Although the number of deaths from Corona is currently rising again, Omicron is still considered a “milder variant” compared to Delta. Are the long-term effects milder after omicron?
A little milder. Disorders of smell and taste are practically non-existent, and even very serious problems with the lungs are rarer. Word-finding disorders and hair loss are also less common, I would say from everyday practice. In the beginning I had patients who could no longer speak a whole sentence. But the fatigue, i.e. extreme exhaustion and tiredness, is still very pronounced. In everyday life, this is very stressful for those affected.
Do many young people still get Long Covid at Omikron? 20 to 30 year olds?
Yes. They often had a slight course of corona, but are now suffering from the long-term consequences. In young people it is after omicron often like this: they drag themselves to work, somehow it still works. They still manage their duties, but then they sleep at home for the rest of the day. But as a 20-year-old you have other plans than just working.
A recent study from England shows that 10.8 percent of the corona patients at Delta later had long covid – according to Omikron that is only 4.4 percent. Is this good news?
Yes and no. The thing is, the omicron counts are very high right now, and they’re still going up. So in proportion, a lot of people will get Long Covid.
Especially when you think of the new study which says that after a second infection with Corona you are twice as likely to get Long Covid.
Exactly.
Long Covid expert: Take precautions with breathing exercises – and take it easy with sports and at work
In her book “Long Covid – the new widespread disease”, about which we have already conducted an interview, give tips on what you can do during a corona infection to avoid getting a long covid. Which?
During Corona you can inhale to relieve and calm the lungs. Breathing exercises also help. Inhale through your nose for four beats, exhale through your mouth for seven. The exhalation must be longer than the inhalation. This is very important, because all the old air should escape – so that there is room in the lungs for fresh air.
What about sports?
After the infection you should only do sports when you really feel fit. The same goes for work. It’s better to only give 50 percent performance first and see how broken you are the next day. Instead, many say to themselves: ‘It worked before, it has to work now. And if not, I train or work even harder.’ That can be fatal in relation to Long Covid.
Why can’t the Germans sit back and relax. What do you mean?
This is also a problem in our meritocracy. And also a problem of demarcation. Even as a mother you can say to children: ‘Please wait a moment.’ Because if you overdo it again and again, there will be setbacks. And Long Covid really isn’t pretty. So please don’t overload. I myself also planned breaks after my corona infection.
Medicines are missing: “Corona long-term consequences will accompany us for a long time”
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How will Corona and Long Covid continue?
I still get a lot of inquiries and emails. At the moment I can’t do justice to the mass of patients in the clinic. That’s why I’m going to open an institute in Rostock starting in October, where I can also give patients a recommendation by phone or video from afar. Whether they should see a respiratory therapist or how to deal with their fatigue. Patients can already register in advance. The problem at the university clinics is that they do a lot of research, but those affected don’t get any tips on how to get better as quickly as possible in everyday life. They come to me and say: they did a lot of research, but nobody told me what to do.
If you now open an institute for Long Covid, it shows above all that this topic is far from over.
That’s what I’m expecting. I still have patients on the waiting list who have had Long Covid for a year and have not received any counseling. As long as there are no drugs against Long Covid, the long-term consequences of Corona will still accompany us. Unfortunately, that’s the way it is.
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