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Comment by gambiting | Hacker News Reader

Not had covid, but about 2 years ago had a Parvovirus-B19 infection which triggered a reactive arthritis, which means 2 years later I'm still having steroid injections and my joints are more or less in pain. The medical summary is basically "sucks to be you I guess" but it's a semi-common side effect of a virus infection.

So yeah, all I want to say is that virus infections are not a joke, even if you got through one "fine" it can absolutely have devastating and life long effects on you.

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And some viruses are worse than others. Some will hide out in your spinal cord forever and make an appearance when you're under stress. If you've ever had to watch someone go through an outbreak of shingles... holy crap that looks miserable. I had Mono when I was 15 and still get what I take to be occasional, minor resurgences of that level of total body-wide exhaustion, every five years or so for a couple days. A friend who had mono confirmed that he experienced the same. It's a particular, very identifiable feeling throughout your body - not too different from the feeling after the second and third covid shots.

And some can enter your DNA sixty million years ago and then come back and help cause schizophrenia. (https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/the-insanity-virus)

There have been research developments that show that viruses can create/attach to biofilms just like bacteria, which allows the virus to survive treatment and can explain the intermittent resurgence.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100205115946.h...

https://www.immunology.org/public-information/bitesized-immu...

Yeah, I did not like shingles.

FWIW - there may be a link between other stealthy viral hangers-on and the long-haul covid effect.

https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20210630/could-the-mono-viru...

I had a very bad flu in 2017 or so and could not smell nor taste for at least 4 months after I had it.

If we're sharing anecdotes here, I've been enjoying my chronic tinnitus for close to 20 years. It has developed after a bad flu and then never left. It's not a thing you can get used to, at least I haven't been able to.

There is some newish research that suggests that tinnitus can be treated by lowering chronic inflammation. This worked in my personal experience. Going low carb weakened my admittedly moderate tinnitus to below where I rarely notice it anymore.

https://www.audiology-worldnews.com/research/3554-is-treatab...

As a guy who played very loud music for many years, I can relate. Until you said this I was sitting here in silence out in the country listening to frogs and now all I hear is that high whine. I think like a lot of other shit I just learn to tune it out.

This is so crazy. Now that I have read your comment I can clearly hear a high pitch sound which won't stop.

I have it (played percussion as a kid). I find just relaxing and acknowledging the ringing as if I was meditating, not fighting it and letting it do what it will helps it pass. It will sort of grow really loud like a wave, then as I continue relaxing will fade.

sorry. Yeah, the parent poster did it to me. I didn't mean to pass it on. Don't worry. Put on Fugazi and smoke a joint... you won't remember this in a couple hours.

Oh-oh, I clearly have done my share of bad things for the day. Did not mean to, apologies. Nothing really triggers this thing for me anymore, as it is always there.

Ditto. Damn.

Yes this is very common with a bad cold. The inside of your nose can swell blocking the 'smell nerve' (olfactory nerve). This can even damage the nerve which, if you are lucky, will heal after some time.

Yeah I had about 12-18 months of fatigue and stuff like chills (was blasting my heat the next winter) after a bad influenza in early 2018. Went to the Dr thinking I had low testosterone issues or something. Went away on its own, very similar to some of the minor post-viral syndrome people are reporting with covid. I think a lot of people who haven't caught proper influenza as an adult have a broken measuring stick when it comes to what respiratory viruses can do to you.

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