Saturday 24 September 2022 10:20 PM MOIRA PETTY: Did Covid and the boredom of lockdowns wipe out our memories? trends now
Brains 'clogged with cotton wool'. Forgetting colleagues' names. Fearing you've developed dementia. Just three of the distressing experiences described by some Mail on Sunday readers, revealed in scores of their letters to us.
All were responses to comments by our resident GP Dr Ellie Cannon in her column last weekend.
Admitting she had become a sufferer herself, Dr Cannon also noted a rise in patients and friends experiencing memory problems and asked readers if they were familiar with the issue.
We have been inundated with responses. And in nearly all cases, the problem didn't exist before the pandemic.
One 67-year-old woman says her memory lapses mean she regularly accidentally 'incinerates' food by leaving it on the hob.
Another 44-year-old woman is 'struggling to string sentences together'. Others have suffered full-on memory blackouts.
Many fear losing their job, or ruining their relationships. Experts speaking to The Mail on Sunday say readers are far from alone.
One 67-year-old woman says her memory lapses mean she regularly accidentally 'incinerates' food by leaving it on the hob (file photo)
Dr Soumit Singhai, a consultant geriatrician at the privately run One Hatfield Memory Clinic, says he's seen an increasing number of patients complaining of 'brain fog'. In many cases, the individuals are under 60. 'It means they are far less likely to have a degenerative disorder like dementia that is affecting the brain,' he says. 'Something else is going on.'
So why are so many people feeling this way? So-called brain fog is most commonly associated with fatigue-related conditions such as myalgic encephalomyelitis, or chronic fatigue syndrome.
Some women also experience it as a symptom of the menopause, due to hormonal changes.
NHS leaflets describe brain fog as finding it hard to take in information and remember it, feeling overwhelmed by decisions and struggling to find words you want.
It is also a recognised symptom of long Covid – when Covid symptoms continue for more than a few months, thought to affect about two million Britons.
A Cambridge University study of 181 long Covid patients found that nearly 80 per cent reported difficulties concentrating. Two-thirds suffered forgetfulness and struggled to find the right word when talking.
Other studies looking at hospitalised patients with severe Covid have found that, even six months after illness, patients scored ten points lower on an IQ score than pre-Covid.
Researchers at Cambridge and Imperial College London concluded that the brain damage from severe Covid is similar to the affects of 20 years of ageing. Scientists believe this is probably explained by the immune system's extreme reaction to the virus.
Brains 'clogged with cotton wool'. Forgetting colleagues' names. Fearing you've developed dementia. Just three of the distressing experiences described by some Mail on Sunday readers, revealed in scores of their letters to us
In some cases, fighter cells released by the immune system attack healthy blood vessels, causing clots and blockages, which could restrict the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain.
Many of those who wrote to The Mail on Sunday link their symptoms to a previous Covid
