
Even if you’re asymptomatic, the coronavirus can do damage - simonebrunozzi
https://elemental.medium.com/even-if-youre-asymptomatic-the-coronavirus-can-do-damage-4ab22451161a
======
lujim
I wouldn't be too cocky if you're healthy. I got hit with a nasty flu in the
early 2000's and never recovered. It was like someone flicked a switch and I
went from young perfectly healthy to a low grade off an on flu since then.
This happened with SARs in 2003 and is well documented. For the first year you
think you are just run down, but then it never improves for decades and you
just sort of miss out on your whole life.

[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3071317/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3071317/)

~~~
wnevets
Doesn't lyme disease have similar long term issues? Do we know why certain
disease cause these long term debilitating symptoms?

~~~
abnry
Another similar example is EBV, commonly known as mono, which is often
associated with chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. Viral infection
occurs, followed by a prolonged period (sometime years and years) of flu
symptoms.

I would guess there is nothing special about the virus aside from it being
"high intensity". My best hypothesis is that the symptoms are the result of a
maladaptive "freeze response" which results in the symptoms. Viruses don't
actually cause pain, it is your body's response to it.

If you want to avoid this scenario with COVID, probably the best thing you can
do is to reduce your stress level as much as possible, as I think that is a
key risk factor. Exercise is good, but overdoing it is a form of stress!

~~~
beebmam
Viruses can absolutely damage and destroy human cells. That alone can trigger
a pain response.

~~~
rurban
But not influenza viri. They are harmless. What is problematic is the
immunosystem overreaction, the T-cells destroying everything around. Called
cykotine storm.

Also the bacterial infections caused by such rampage. Like pneumonia.

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chrismorgan
I’m sure there used to be this idea that content should be, or at least
solidly _start_ , above the fold. In this case, I observe _two whole
screenfuls of meaninglessness_ before the content begins. And on a 1920×1080
display with typical OS/UA chrome, it’ll be about 2½ screenfuls. This is
grossly excessive.

~~~
dmart
The idea that every news article and blog post needs a cover image is one of
the worst things to happen to the Web in terms of information density and
bandwidth usage.

~~~
sneak
It is my understanding that posts with images generate longer time on page and
more engagement. People like pictures, and are afraid of “walls of text”.

I haven’t seen the data, but this is what I have been told, and it’s quite
plausible. I don’t use header images on posts on my own site because I agree
with you, but unfortunately oftentimes things that seem bad or ugly are such a
way for a good reason.

It’s the same thing about big ugly pancake buttons and people’s close up faces
on landing pages.

~~~
chrismorgan
Yep. I hate stock imagery, because it’s 100% overhead and conveys nothing of
value, and by dint of its uselessness and irrelevance, cases where imagery
_is_ relevant are less likely to be heeded; but because of human psychology,
_stock imagery works_.

~~~
sneak
I guess that’s my point: if it works, it’s not irrelevant.

~~~
chrismorgan
By “irrelevant” I mean irrelevant to the content, which is entirely accurate.
It’s psychological trickery in the presentation of the article, not part of
the content.

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hartator
> In one of the studies included in the review, these lung abnormalities were
> present in 54% of asymptomatic people with Covid-19.

Do we know what the usual rates for GGOs in regular people?

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HideousKojima
That's by definition _not_ "asymptomatic." It's extremely mild/unnoticeable
symptoms, but it's still not asymptomatic

~~~
deweller
The author is using the term in the way that most laymen use it. In this
context, asymptomatic means not showing any noticeable symptoms and/or being
completely unaware that one has contracted the virus.

The author is not oblivious to this as he puts the word asymptomatic in quotes
in the article.

~~~
roywiggins
As used in medicine, a symptom is by definition something that the patient
notices and can report. If they don't notice, it's not a symptom, it's a
"sign".

[https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/341611](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/341611)

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isthispermanent
Not that this isn't important but it's certainly not robust research by any
stretch of the term.

This type of panic selling--which this article is a light variation of--have
forced me to be less and less willing to believe it when I read it. The boy
who cried wolf is in full effect when it comes to covid.

 _“Ground-glass opacities are very common — we see it all the time and there
are many things that can cause it,” says Adam Bernheim, MD, a cardiothoracic
radiologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City_

But go ahead and throw a scary headline on it to drive clicks.

~~~
city41
Why did you leave out the remainder of that paragraph?

"But while GGO’s are common, the ones that are turning up among Covid-19
patients are distinctive. “If we see this very round shape and peripheral
distribution, that’s atypical of other types of infections but it’s something
we frequently see with [Covid-19],” he explains."

~~~
isthispermanent
If it's something that's common and "there are many things that can cause it",
what exactly do I need to be worried about? Serious question, give me some
context writer. For all I know GGO's are extremely common, come and go, and
could be caused by something as routine as sitting around a campfire.

 _" We’ve seen patients with mild GGOs that heal completely, whereas others
develop scar tissue almost like a skin injury, which is permanent"_

Awesome. Zero help. But thanks for planting that seed of fear.

Calling fire when there is no fire is as bad as not calling fire if there is a
fire.

~~~
enraged_camel
>>Awesome. Zero help. But thanks for planting that seed of fear.

It is a pandemic. We absolutely need to be fearful, because it will encourage
us to take extra precautionary or avoidance measures we otherwise would not
have taken.

This is why "they are just trying to scare people!" is not a valid criticism
in this context. The entire reason the pandemic is re-surging is because
people are _not_ scared.

~~~
dvt
> This is why "they are just trying to scare people!" is not a valid criticism
> in this context.

It absolutely is.

Fear is not conducive to prudent decision-making. Fear is what brought us the
inane toilet paper shortage a few months ago. No news outlet is being level-
headed with its reporting -- whether on the left or on the right. This,
combined with zero accountability for needless flame-fanning by pieces like
the one linked, creates an environment where it's hard to discern what's true
and what's not.

~~~
Kye
A rapid shift from a toilet paper supply chain optimized for workplaces and
retail to a sudden spike in demand on the home-focused supply chain caused the
shortage. People actually needed that toilet paper because what they normally
used was locked up at their workplace and they didn't have enough supply at
home.

~~~
dvt
This is categorically untrue. It's well documented that people were
hoarding[1] due to (and I quote) the "influence of perceived threat."

[1]
[https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal...](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0234232)

~~~
Kye
Two things can be true:

1: People were hoarding because of the media hype

2: The supply chain was strained from a sudden and completely reasonable shift
given the circumstances

Does your link address 2 or compare the impact?

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japhyr
For those of us in the US, the range of symptoms of Covid infection combined
with the very real possibility of having insurance denied because of pre-
existing conditions sounds like a really bad combination.

If insurers are allowed to not cover anything related to a pre-existing
condition, it seems natural they would screen for Covid antibodies as part of
any routine work. Then any condition that's been correlated to Covid infection
would be denied.

Universal health care can't come fast enough to the US.

~~~
gvhst
Because of the ACA insurance providers cannot deny people based off of pre-
existing conditions [0]. There have been several challenges to this point
coming from the right centering around how the individual mandate may make the
entire law unsonstitutional [1]. But as far as I know this hasn't been decided
yet in the court system.

[0] - [https://www.hhs.gov/answers/affordable-care-act/can-i-get-
co...](https://www.hhs.gov/answers/affordable-care-act/can-i-get-coverage-if-
i-have-a-pre-existing-condition/index.html)

[1] - [https://www.npr.org/sections/health-
shots/2020/01/08/7940809...](https://www.npr.org/sections/health-
shots/2020/01/08/794080996/stakes-high-for-democrats-and-republicans-in-bid-
to-rush-aca-to-supreme-court)

~~~
nutjob2
The SCOTUS is about to hear a case brought by the administration and some
states to strike down the ACA in its entirety, which would also remove that
provision, so the parent has a point.

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beamatronic
I am curious to know the number and demographics of people who survive Covid
and have no apparent after effects. Haven’t really seen this data anywhere.

~~~
tinix
Without widespread antibody testing, we'll never know.

~~~
henron
There are enough people who were PCR positive that antibody tests aren't
necessary for this kind of study.

~~~
abathur
Not that I have any knowledge of whether anyone is running PCR tests on valid
random population samples, but I suspect the concern is that this isn't
happening, and that any followup study you could do on these positives will
have biases that are hard to correct for?

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hatchnyc
I love how Medium is bragging here about making a blog article available to
read "for free" on the Internet.

~~~
orthecreedence
"We act as a needlessly centralized hub for information on a medium which is
traditionally decentralized, and we do it without charging you!!"

Wow, thanks so much...

