Like other respiratory illnesses, COVID-19 can cause lasting lung damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Panagis Galiatsatos, M.D., M.H.S., is an expert on lung disease at\u00a0Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs we continue to learn about COVID-19, we\u2019re understanding more regarding how it affects the lungs during acute illness and afterward. And this is especially true with the virus\u2019 ongoing variants, as well,\u201d Galiatsatos says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n COVID-19 can cause lung complications such as pneumonia<\/a> and, in the most severe cases, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS. Sepsis<\/a>, another possible complication of COVID-19, can also cause lasting harm to the lungs and other organs. Newer coronavirus variants<\/a> may also cause more airway disease, such as bronchitis, that may be severe enough to warrant hospitalization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs we have learned more about SARS-CoV-2 and resulting COVID-19, we have discovered that in severe COVID-19, a significant pro-inflammatory condition can result in several critical diseases, complications and syndromes,\u201d Galiatsatos says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In pneumonia, the lungs become filled with fluid and inflamed, leading to breathing difficulties. For some people, breathing problems can become severe enough to require treatment at the hospital with oxygen or even a ventilator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The pneumonia that COVID-19 causes tends to take hold in both lungs. Air sacs in the lungs fill with fluid, limiting their ability to take in oxygen and causing shortness of breath, cough and other symptoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While most people recover from pneumonia without any lasting lung damage, the pneumonia associated with COVID-19 can be severe. Even after the disease has passed, lung injury may result in breathing difficulties that might take months to improve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn COVID-19-related bronchitis, this is an issue of an excessive amount of sputum produced in the airways, resulting in coughing and chest congestion. The sputum also narrows the airways, making breathing more difficult,\u201d Galiatsatos explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs for the bronchitis, patients may experience a cough that stays with them for months after the initial infection,\u201d he notes. \u201cThis frequent cough and ongoing chest congestion may have an impact on one\u2019s quality of life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n If COVID-19 pneumonia progresses, more of the air sacs can become filled with fluid leaking from the tiny blood vessels in the lungs. Eventually, shortness of breath sets in, and can lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a form of lung failure. Patients with ARDS are often unable to breath on their own and may require ventilator support to help circulate oxygen in the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether it occurs at home or at the hospital, ARDS can be fatal. People who survive ARDS and recover from COVID-19 may have lasting pulmonary scarring.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat does COVID do to lungs?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
COVID-19 Pneumonia<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
COVID Bronchitis<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Sepsis<\/h3>\n\n\n\n