Maharashtra: Dry cough, scratchy throat linger after Omicron cure - Times of India

PUNE: Persistent cough lasting for up to two weeks, scratchy throat, back ache and in some cases tachycardia are some of the lingering symptoms in the Covid-Omicron wave even after recovery, top health experts and Maharashtra task force members have observed.
"Most patients get back to their normal selves after seven days following an Omicron infection. But in some patients, dry cough and throat pain seem to persist for some time after recovery. It starts on the third day of the infection and persists till sometime for up to 7-10 days after recovery. Fatigue is also being reported by some recovered patients," said Dr Kapil Zirpe, member of the Pune Covid-19 task force and head of the neurotrauma unit of Ruby Hall Clinic.
Dr Vasant Nagvekar, consultant, infectious diseases, and member of Maharashtra's Covid-19 task force, said following a Delta infection, there were an array of symptoms, including persistent fatigue, body ache, breathlessness, tachycardia and joint pain. "Cough was not much of a problem after recovery in the second wave. The lingering symptoms after cure from Omicron are much milder and fewer than Delta. Among the symptoms are prolonged cough, back ache and sometimes tachycardia. Cough in some may prolong as people continue with (cough) syrups, instead of taking bronchodilators and decongestants."
Dr Om Srivastav, infectious diseases expert from Mumbai and member of the state's Covid task force, said, "Exhaustion, body ache and weakness are the most common and lingering symptoms post-recovery in the current wave. Some people can be very restless for a long tim eafter cure. This symptom was common in the second wave also. A dry lingering cough where people are awake for the better part of the night is another prolonged effect after infection in the current wave."
Dr Srivastav said nobody could say for certain which variant might be responsible for these symptoms after recovery now, unless RT-PCR tests were performed to gauge the S gene drop to detect Omicron or find through genome sequencing which sub-variant may have caused the infection.
Infectious diseases expert Dr Parikshit Prayag from the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital said some Covid patients were complaining of prolonged upper respiratory symptoms such as cough, throat itching and nasal congestion after the recovery period of 7-10 days. He said, "It is only after the first week of January when we started seeing predominantly Omicron infections in Pune. These patients are still at about two-three weeks after Covid. More time and data will be needed to estimate the kind of symptoms that persist for long after recovery from Omicron,"