All through the pandemic there have been several long term effects from COVID-19 infection. There have been reports of long standing breathing problems, long term muscle aches, and a brain fog.
Although we are still continuing to learn about these effects from a medical and scientific aspect, as therapists we might have to deal with these lingering effects in our residents.
COVID brain fog
There have been quite a few reports of persons having a difficult time with concentration and focus after infection. There have been documented cases of this spanning all ages.
When we are younger we have the elasticity of the brain to hopefully overcome our shortage of concentration and focus.
This becomes more prevalent in the elderly. It is even more devastating when there was a previous decline in cognition before getting sick.
This does not only involve those with the diagnosis of dementia, but also some that only had some early short term memory loss.
Significant impact to those with dementia
Unfortunately I have seen multiple instances of a complete change in the mental well-being and cognitive level of some residents over the past couple of years. Some went from being functional with only slight short term memory loss to suddenly not remembering the nurses and therapists that had worked with them for years.
It is very tough to see such a drastic change that seemed overnight with some long term residents. They come out from isolation protocol as they recover and are a complete different person.
This has also been seen in some more advanced dementia residents where the whole demeanor can seem to change over night. They go from having certain “normal” behaviors to just sitting and staring off into space with little to no interaction left.
Where do we go from here?
Unfortunately the only thing we can do as therapists is to help them physically as much as we can and achieve the highest level of functioning again.
Until there is more research and understanding of what happens to the brain of these individuals after infection, we can only support them as much as possible.
