Children and young people can also suffer from the consequences of a corona infection for months or even years. What exactly does life with the disease look like?
Children and young people often do not notice a corona infection at all or at least only become mildly ill. This was different for Elli, now 14 years old. Since she became infected with SARS-CoV-2 in February 2022, her life and that of her family have changed completely.
Elli was an enthusiastic sportswoman, but today she can hardly leave her bed and is dependent on a wheelchair. Her mother is fighting with other sufferers for more understanding and support for her daughter’s illness.
Long Covid: Nothing is as it was
Elli’s room is always dark, the sunlight is too bright for her, the music too loud. She is in pain and lies down almost all day. She is “very exhausted” and “incredibly tired”. But she still sleeps badly. Everything is “incredibly exhausting,” says Elli.
Twice a week she tries to spend an hour at the special needs school. Because she has trouble concentrating and forgets a lot, she goes to school mainly to meet her friends. For her, it is the only way to “simply see her friends and not just talk on the phone.”
Symptoms of Long Covid in children
Elli is suffering from the most severe form of long-term symptoms. Her exhaustion is caused by a neuroimmunological disease: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, abbreviated to ME/CFS.
Exhaustion, daytime tiredness and lack of energy are the most common long-term consequences of a corona infection, affecting 80 percent of young people. This was the result of a US study published in August. Cohort study5,367 children and young people took part.
The results showed that children aged six to eleven most frequently suffer from headaches (57 percent), difficulty concentrating or memory problems and sleep disorders (44 percent) and stomach aches (43 percent). In adolescents with long or post Covid – the terms are often used synonymously for the long-term consequences of a corona infection – headaches (55 percent) and difficulty concentrating (49 percent) are also very common. Also muscle and limb pain (60 percent).
The difficult path to diagnosing Long Covid
Diagnosing post-Covid in children is not that easy, says Uta Behrend, who heads one of the few special outpatient clinics for young patients at the University Hospital of the Technical University of Munich. “Making the diagnosis post-Covid is such a big challenge because we have to talk in great detail with those affected and their families.”
Cooperation with the treating physicians is the way to go. “And then we simply have to check the symptoms to see whether another illness might be present and cover this with our usual means – blood tests, functional tests and questionnaires,” says the doctor.
Affected parents want to educate
The problem is also that many patients are misdiagnosed due to a lack of knowledge about the disease, says Soleil Völkl. She has a son who also suffers from post-Covid and founded the association together with Lena Riepl, Elli’s mother, and others. “NotRecoveredKids”.
“We can see that most of the families who come to us have actually been in the wrong medical care system for over a year. They are often treated in psychiatric institutions,” she reports. Another reason for the misdiagnoses is that the clinical picture of post-Covid is very complex – it can include around 200 symptoms.
“NichtGenesenKids” wants to help and supports families with children who have not recovered after a corona infection or corona vaccination. The association is also committed to the education of those affected. After all, their ability to learn is often limited due to the illness – some cannot attend face-to-face classes at all.
