According to a recent study, as many as 5.8 million young people are experiencing long COVID. Parents like Amanda Goodhart are seeking answers as they navigate this challenging situation.
Amanda shared that her 6-year-old son Logan contracted COVID multiple times. However, even after several months, his symptoms persisted without improvement.
"Watching him struggle to stay awake, or hearing him cry and express that he's not feeling well, is heart-wrenching and demoralizing because treatment options are limited," Amanda told CBS News.
Dr. Rachel Gross, the author of the study from NYU's Grossman School of Medicine, highlighted a significant challenge in understanding the illness - the diverse range of symptoms children may experience.
"Long COVID manifests differently in each child. Not all children exhibit the same symptoms, and the presentation can vary based on when the symptoms first appear," Dr. Gross explained.
Common long COVID symptoms in children include:
- Headache
- Loss of taste and smell
- Brain fog
- Pain
In addition to these symptoms, Logan has been grappling with circulatory and gastrointestinal issues, and even simple tasks like standing in line leave him feeling exhausted.
- Study reveals 12 symptoms adults with long COVID may experience
While most children with long COVID eventually recover over several months, approximately one-third continue to experience symptoms even a year later.
Goodhart expresses her frustration, mentioning that they have attempted various treatments with only moderate success.
"It's a terrible situation, witnessing your child go through something that you can't easily fix," she laments.
Furthermore, research indicates that long COVID can increase the likelihood of a child developing type 1 diabetes. In severe cases, it can even lead to multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines this syndrome as a "rare but serious condition associated with COVID-19 in which different body parts become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs."
"The urgency of this study was driven by the numerous unanswered questions surrounding pediatric long COVID," Gross explains.
The Goodhart family advocates for increased focus on researching long COVID to discover more effective treatments.
- "Every day, getting up is a fight": Long COVID remains an uphill battle for many Americans
