Recent research and clinical information has shown that Covid-19 is impacting patients beyond the course of the virus, often creating neurological symptoms including brain fog, fatigue, poor memory, digestive issues, poor concentration, temperature regulation, trouble sleeping and more.
Clinically, we often see these symptoms associated with dysautonomia, which impacts the balance between our sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (relaxation/digestion) systems. These systems coordinate blood flow throughout the body, and imbalances can especially impact brain function causing symptoms such as brain fog, fatigue, anxiety/emotional changes, headaches, and more.
The theory is that prolonged hypoxia, or low oxygen, is to blame, which is possibly why hyperbaric oxygen therapy is so effective for post-covid long haulers. There is also the impact on the autonomic nervous system as we discussed, which hyperbaric oxygen therapy is highly effective in restoring normal function.
Reference: Robbins T, Gonevski M, Clark C, Baitule S, Sharma K, Magar A, Patel K, Sankar S, Kyrou I, Ali A, Randeva HS. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for the treatment of long COVID: early evaluation of a highly promising intervention. Clin Med (Lond). 2021 Nov;21(6):e629-e632. doi: 10.7861/clinmed.2021-0462. PMID: 34862223; PMCID: PMC8806311.
