Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsCausesSymptomsRecoveryDiagnosis
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Causes
Symptoms
Recovery
Diagnosis
Post-viral syndrome, or post-viral fatigue, describes enduring fatigue and other flu-like symptoms that can occur after fighting a viral infection. Although post-viral syndrome isn’t a new condition, it has recently become more well-known in association with post-COVID-19 syndrome, also known aslong COVID.
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One meta-analysis from 2020 suggests people with COVID-19 infection are at higher risk of experiencing post-viral fatigue syndrome than those who have had other common viral infections.
Nearly any viral infection can cause post-viral syndrome. Other conditions associated with post-viral fatigue syndrome include:
The most common post-viral fatigue syndrome symptom is chronicfatiguewhich lasts no matter how well you sleep.
Post-viral syndrome is also associated with the following symptoms:
There’s no clear timeline for recovery from post-viral syndrome. Your prognosis will depend on factors, including the viral infection that triggered your post-viral fatigue and otherhealth considerations that may impact your recovery. Generally, recovery could take several weeks to a year or longer.
It’s important to include abundant rest and relaxing activities within your routine and to keep activity levels low during your recovery.Maintain a healthy diet and add gentle stretching and exercise when you feel up to it.
How Long Does Long COVID Last?It’s still too early to determine what the prognosis is for people experiencing long COVID.Many people with COVID recover within weeks while others live with disabling fatigue and general feelings of sickness for months afterwards.
How Long Does Long COVID Last?
It’s still too early to determine what the prognosis is for people experiencing long COVID.Many people with COVID recover within weeks while others live with disabling fatigue and general feelings of sickness for months afterwards.
It’s still too early to determine what the prognosis is for people experiencing long COVID.
Many people with COVID recover within weeks while others live with disabling fatigue and general feelings of sickness for months afterwards.
Depression and Fatigue
Studies have shown a connection between chronic fatigue and severe depression.Coping with depression from post-viral syndrome can include taking steps to increase mindfulness.
The premise behind mindfulness for post-viral syndrome is that strengthening your ability to cope with perpetual exhaustion and unpleasant sensations and feelings will reduce negative reactivity and emotional suffering.
Ways of practicing mindfulness include:
Pacing is also key for dealing with fatigue issues. Individuals must find their limits and work not to push themselves too hard to avoid worsening symptoms.
If possible, it may be helpful to have someone in your household help with keeping track of symptoms and bringing up timelines for medical appointments.
You’ll likely be asked some additional questions about mental health. Anxiety and depression can cause fatigue as a symptom, too.Your healthcare provider will determine if routine blood testing would be beneficial to rule out other underlying conditions.
Summary
Post-viral syndrome or post-viral fatigue syndrome is when someone experiences persistent fatigue and other flu-like symptoms after fighting a viral infection. Symptoms can contribute to depression. While temporary, post-viral syndrome can be debilitating, and there’s no clear timeline for recovery.
Coping can be made a little easier with mindfulness practices, including solo activities like yoga or more formal coping strategies like talking with a mental health professional can help fight off depression. Having a strong support network also helps in recovering from post-viral fatigue syndrome.
12 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Townsend L, Dyer AH, Jones K.Persistent fatigue following SARS-CoV-2 infection is common and independent of severity of initial infection.PLoS One. 2020;15(11):e0240784. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0240784Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Long COVID or post-covid conditions.Celepkolu T, Gamze Erten Bucaktepe P, Yilmaz A, Pervane VD, Batmaz I, Sariyildiz MA.Assessment of quality of life, anxiety, depression, and sleep quality in women with fibromyalgia and their spouses.Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2021;25(13):4506-4513. doi:10.26355/eurrev_202107_26242Ceban F, Ling S, MW Lui L, et al.Fatigue and cognitive impairment in post-COVID-19 syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. 2022;101:93-135. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2021.12.020HSE.How to manage post-viral fatigue after COVID-19.Greenhalgh T, Knight M, A’Court C, Buxton M, Husain L.Management of post-acute covid-19 in primary care.BMJ. 2020;370:m3026. doi:10.1136/bmj.m3026Lee CH, Giuliani F.The Role of Inflammation in Depression and Fatigue.Front Immunol. 2019;10:1696. Published 2019 Jul 19. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2019.01696Hofmann SG, Gómez AF.Mindfulness-based interventions for anxiety and depression.The psychiatric clinics of North America. 2017;40(4):739–749. doi:10.1016/j.psc.2017.08.008American Psychological Association.Overcoming depression.The Harvard Gazette.With mindfulness, life’s in the moment.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Treatment of ME/CFS.Ceban F, Ling S, MW Lui L, et al.Fatigue and cognitive impairment in post-COVID-19 syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. 2022;101:93-135. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2021.12.020
12 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Townsend L, Dyer AH, Jones K.Persistent fatigue following SARS-CoV-2 infection is common and independent of severity of initial infection.PLoS One. 2020;15(11):e0240784. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0240784Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Long COVID or post-covid conditions.Celepkolu T, Gamze Erten Bucaktepe P, Yilmaz A, Pervane VD, Batmaz I, Sariyildiz MA.Assessment of quality of life, anxiety, depression, and sleep quality in women with fibromyalgia and their spouses.Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2021;25(13):4506-4513. doi:10.26355/eurrev_202107_26242Ceban F, Ling S, MW Lui L, et al.Fatigue and cognitive impairment in post-COVID-19 syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. 2022;101:93-135. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2021.12.020HSE.How to manage post-viral fatigue after COVID-19.Greenhalgh T, Knight M, A’Court C, Buxton M, Husain L.Management of post-acute covid-19 in primary care.BMJ. 2020;370:m3026. doi:10.1136/bmj.m3026Lee CH, Giuliani F.The Role of Inflammation in Depression and Fatigue.Front Immunol. 2019;10:1696. Published 2019 Jul 19. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2019.01696Hofmann SG, Gómez AF.Mindfulness-based interventions for anxiety and depression.The psychiatric clinics of North America. 2017;40(4):739–749. doi:10.1016/j.psc.2017.08.008American Psychological Association.Overcoming depression.The Harvard Gazette.With mindfulness, life’s in the moment.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Treatment of ME/CFS.Ceban F, Ling S, MW Lui L, et al.Fatigue and cognitive impairment in post-COVID-19 syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. 2022;101:93-135. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2021.12.020
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Townsend L, Dyer AH, Jones K.Persistent fatigue following SARS-CoV-2 infection is common and independent of severity of initial infection.PLoS One. 2020;15(11):e0240784. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0240784Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Long COVID or post-covid conditions.Celepkolu T, Gamze Erten Bucaktepe P, Yilmaz A, Pervane VD, Batmaz I, Sariyildiz MA.Assessment of quality of life, anxiety, depression, and sleep quality in women with fibromyalgia and their spouses.Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2021;25(13):4506-4513. doi:10.26355/eurrev_202107_26242Ceban F, Ling S, MW Lui L, et al.Fatigue and cognitive impairment in post-COVID-19 syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. 2022;101:93-135. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2021.12.020HSE.How to manage post-viral fatigue after COVID-19.Greenhalgh T, Knight M, A’Court C, Buxton M, Husain L.Management of post-acute covid-19 in primary care.BMJ. 2020;370:m3026. doi:10.1136/bmj.m3026Lee CH, Giuliani F.The Role of Inflammation in Depression and Fatigue.Front Immunol. 2019;10:1696. Published 2019 Jul 19. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2019.01696Hofmann SG, Gómez AF.Mindfulness-based interventions for anxiety and depression.The psychiatric clinics of North America. 2017;40(4):739–749. doi:10.1016/j.psc.2017.08.008American Psychological Association.Overcoming depression.The Harvard Gazette.With mindfulness, life’s in the moment.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Treatment of ME/CFS.Ceban F, Ling S, MW Lui L, et al.Fatigue and cognitive impairment in post-COVID-19 syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. 2022;101:93-135. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2021.12.020
Townsend L, Dyer AH, Jones K.Persistent fatigue following SARS-CoV-2 infection is common and independent of severity of initial infection.PLoS One. 2020;15(11):e0240784. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0240784
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Long COVID or post-covid conditions.
Celepkolu T, Gamze Erten Bucaktepe P, Yilmaz A, Pervane VD, Batmaz I, Sariyildiz MA.Assessment of quality of life, anxiety, depression, and sleep quality in women with fibromyalgia and their spouses.Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2021;25(13):4506-4513. doi:10.26355/eurrev_202107_26242
Ceban F, Ling S, MW Lui L, et al.Fatigue and cognitive impairment in post-COVID-19 syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. 2022;101:93-135. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2021.12.020
HSE.How to manage post-viral fatigue after COVID-19.
Greenhalgh T, Knight M, A’Court C, Buxton M, Husain L.Management of post-acute covid-19 in primary care.BMJ. 2020;370:m3026. doi:10.1136/bmj.m3026
Lee CH, Giuliani F.The Role of Inflammation in Depression and Fatigue.Front Immunol. 2019;10:1696. Published 2019 Jul 19. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2019.01696
Hofmann SG, Gómez AF.Mindfulness-based interventions for anxiety and depression.The psychiatric clinics of North America. 2017;40(4):739–749. doi:10.1016/j.psc.2017.08.008
American Psychological Association.Overcoming depression.
The Harvard Gazette.With mindfulness, life’s in the moment.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Treatment of ME/CFS.
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