Are pockets of Covid in the gut causing long-term symptoms?

[helvella]

I'm not posting this primarily about Covid or long Covid. Rather the very concept of pockets of viruses affecting health for, potentially, very long periods. Could that be behind other issues - obviously considering thyroid disease?

Are pockets of Covid in the gut causing long-term symptoms?

Scientists are investigating whether reservoirs of virus ‘hiding’ in the body are contributing to long Covid

Linda Geddes Science correspondent

Tue 28 Jun 2022 18.09 BST

theguardian.com/society/202...

[humanbean]

If I've understood the Guardian article correctly they are only investigating the idea that reservoirs of virus may be found in the gut.

I wonder if they've considered that such reservoirs might be found in the brain, the heart, the lungs etc...

I still have lingering symptoms from having Covid last November. In my case it is mostly my lungs which haven't recovered back to the state they were pre-Covid, but also my sense of smell and taste are still badly affected, and are a shadow of their former state.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to humanbean]

I think the relative ease of collecting samples is a significant part of that decision. (And maybe any virus tucked away elsewhere might also be detectable in some cases?)

And in the nervous system!

(As anyone who has had shingles will attest!)

[janeroar]

It is as likely for these viruses to remain in parts of the body less accessible to the immune system eg brain and eyes because viruses ordinarily infect but cells in these parts don’t. So it much easier for the viruses to hang out there including things like toxoplasmosis which is what I have as well as Hashis

[Hypopotamus]

It's long been known that some viruses 'hide' in the body long after symptoms have gone. It used to be the rule that after a serious illness, people convalesced, but these days that doesn't seem to happen. The body can't get rid of viruses etc if it is expending all its resources on the rigours of daily life.

If the gut is a primary receptacle for viruses, then fasting should be beneficial. I suspect that probiotics would be beneficial too, but not the sort from H&B etc.

[TSH110 in reply to Hypopotamus]

I agree, the current idea you should rush back to normal after being very poorly is plain daft.

[crimple]

thank you for posting helvella, this has got me thinking. I had Covid about 4 weeks ago and it was mild. A bit of a headache, some fatigue, loss of smell and taste. I am now pretty much back to normal, sense of smell returned, energy returned but having mild nausea and some bloating on and off. So maybe residual virus in my gut is the reason,

[Localhero]

Thanks for posting this, helvella Really interesting.

I’ve had COVID but it doesn’t seem to have affected me as badly as Epstein Barr, which I had as a child and which reactivated a few years ago. I’ve definitely had gut issues (largely addressed as a result of a lot of work I’ve done with diet and supplements) in tandem with that, which I have always thought to be down to my thyroid problem. Maybe a combination. I’ve never been sure if untreated hypothyroidism triggered EBV or the other way round.

[bookish in reply to Localhero]

Same with me. Some are saying that covid is reactivating their EBV and Dr Peatfield certainly said in his book that EBV may lodge in the colloid cells of the thyroid and cause slow progressive damage. EBV is linked to so many autoimmune conditions.

[TSH110 in reply to bookish]

And non Hodgkins lymphoma

[bookish]

Thank you. Looks like a good reason to try a more natural antiviral such as monolaurin, as some have been suggesting since early on. I use coconut oil fairly enthusiastically. nature.com/articles/s41598-...

[Popeye44 in reply to bookish]

Thanks for posting that link. Very interesting! I believed I had Covid in March 2020 before tests were available. I had a painful throat, a bad cough for 5 weeks and the worst fatigue since EBV in my teens and late 20s, but it didn't affect me any more than that. I have a decaf coffee with MCT (coconut oil) blended in most days and I only cook with coconut oil too. Perhaps I was well protected 🤔

[bookish in reply to Popeye44]

You're welcome. I was luckier than you and escaped until March/April 2022, with a most unpleasant head and return of some neuro symptoms like vertigo, balance off, brain fog, postural hypotension, but given that they had said I was high risk, could have been much worse! I cook with it and oil pull with it and as I react to the chemical on the lateral flow swabs I also shove it up my nose and gargle with it as needed! Glad you are doing ok (love your dog).

[Katurajo1]

I currently have covid and started taking Paxlovid yesterday morning, it’s like taking several laxatives twice a day. You could not leave the house while taking this medicine. Makes me wonder if that’s part of the method, emptying everything out several times a day. I am taking it because I’m a healthcare worker and also have autoimmune illness, not because I thought I would be hospitalized. I’m hoping it prevents long covid, my doc said she has seen good results with it.