Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Could a glass of wine diagnose long COVID?

Georgia Lea, MD
Conditions
March 12, 2021
742 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

Acute COVID-19 infection ranges from no symptoms (asymptomatic) to life-threatening.  What about long COVID (the symptoms occurring more than three weeks after infection, also known as post-acute COVID syndrome)?  Could there be thousands of people with “mild” long COVID who don’t know it? Could there be legions of people with new low-energy levels being misdiagnosed as depressed, stressed, having a sleep disorder, or being labeled “lazy”?  The inability to tolerate a glass of wine or a bottle of beer could be an important clue to their true diagnosis.

The term “long COVID” represents at least four different syndromes, including those that result from organ damage or an ICU stay.  Of these syndromes, post-viral fatigue syndrome (PVFS) is the only one that causes alcohol intolerance without organ damage.  When I refer to long COVID in this article, I am referring to the PVFS type only.

Alcohol intolerance (not to be confused with alcohol allergy) refers to the inability to process alcohol, thus leading to any combination of the following reactions:  nausea, low blood pressure, fatigue, and dizziness.  The alcohol intolerance of long COVID is sudden onset and fairly unique to the syndrome (liver disease and medication reactions must be ruled out, and sufferers of chronic fatigue syndrome also share this intolerance).  Before getting COVID, I routinely had a beer or glass of wine at dinner but starting with my first beer during quarantine (I was alone with our beer fridge!) I couldn’t tolerate more than 2 to 3 sips.  Yes, you read that correctly.  By the second or third sip of alcohol, I feel a not-so-great “buzz” of lightheadedness, sluggishness, and queasiness.

My personal experience with long COVID has been straightforward.  The onset of fatigue, muscle aches, muscle twitches, headaches, and problems thinking followed a documented case of COVID-19, and my ongoing symptoms are severe enough to be undeniable.  My energy level averages about 50 percent of my prior normal, nine months after the initial infection.  But I wonder about the thousands of people who have long COVID that may not even recognize it.  10 to 30 percent of all COVID-19 infections result in fatigue lasting longer than three weeks.  There is no test for long COVID, and though it is gaining recognition, few American medical providers know how to screen for it.

How many people are wondering what is happening to their energy?

Take my husband, for example.  When I tested positive, I self-isolated, and he became the single parent of our two school-age children for the following two weeks.  We will never know if he got the infection, but our suspicions were raised when he had a night of shaking chills four days after my first symptoms.  At the time (June) in New Orleans, he did not meet the criteria to be tested, and he did not have any further signs of infection.

For weeks after my quarantine ended, my husband complained that he still hadn’t “caught up” on the energy spent being a “single” dad.  He felt drained and never able to “catch up,” but we attributed this to the demands on him from the pandemic, social isolation, and my health.  We didn’t make the connection to long COVID until a few things became clear:  He was still feeling drained despite what should have been enough time for recovery; he intermittently had muscle aches in his legs; he felt ill after half a bottle of low alcohol-content beer.

We estimate that hubby’s energy level averages about 80 percent of his prior normal.  He is not disabled by the syndrome, but recognizing the presence of it helps keep expectations reasonable.  We are more careful about what he can accomplish in a week.  I am less judgmental, knowing that he cannot give 100 percent.

The emotional and financial stressors of the pandemic are pushing everyone beyond their energy reserves, but for those that suspect an additional medical cause, the presence of alcohol intolerance may help identify the culprit.  Identifying long COVID will ensure sufferers get appropriate treatment, avoid misdiagnosis and ask others for help.  For many, identifying long COVID will allow them to demand less of themselves.  The unique symptom of intolerance to alcohol offers clinicians and researchers clues into the etiology of long COVID (PVFS type) and will hopefully, one day, also lead to effective treatments.

Georgia Lea is a neurologist.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Loved ones are hospitalized and alone during COVID

March 12, 2021 Kevin 0
…
Next

What this physician says to vaccine-doubters [PODCAST]

March 12, 2021 Kevin 1
…

Tagged as: COVID, Infectious Disease

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Loved ones are hospitalized and alone during COVID
Next Post >
What this physician says to vaccine-doubters [PODCAST]

Related Posts

  • COVID-19 becomes a magnifying glass for health disparities

    Ni-Cheng Liang, MD
  • How COVID-19 will close pediatric practices

    Nidhi Kukreja, MD
  • Finding happiness in the time of COVID

    Anonymous
  • Birthing in the era of COVID

    Jennifer Roelands, MD
  • How to get patients vaccinated against COVID-19 [PODCAST]

    The Podcast by KevinMD
  • COVID-19 divides and conquers

    Michele Luckenbaugh

More in Conditions

  • Addressing dual diagnosis needs in addiction treatment

    Susan Hertz Berrick, EdD
  • Communication, power dynamics, and organizational culture in health care

    Beth Boynton, RN, MS, CP
  • Everyday dangers unknowingly impacting our health

    Tami Burdick
  • A shop teacher’s daughter on transforming patient safety

    Barbara L. Olson, RN
  • What happened to the chemical pathologist?

    Martin C. Young, MD
  • Second chances and simple beauty in thrift stores

    Debbie Moore-Black, RN
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Challenging the diagnosis: dehydration or bias?

      Sydney Lou Bonnick, MD | Physician
    • A teenager’s perspective: the pressing need for mental health days in schools

      Ruhi Saldanha | Conditions
    • Understanding reproductive rights: complex considerations

      Anonymous | Physician
    • COVID-19 unleashed an ongoing crisis of delirium in hospitals

      Christina Reppas-Rindlisbacher, MD, Nathan Stall, MD, and Paula Rochon, MD | Conditions
    • Air quality alert: Reducing our carbon footprint in health care

      Shreya Aggarwal, MD | Conditions
    • When physicians are disrespected [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • Unveiling excessive medical billing and greed

      Amol Saxena, DPM, MPH | Policy
    • The erosion of patient care

      Laura de la Torre, MD | Physician
    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • When physicians are disrespected [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Addressing dual diagnosis needs in addiction treatment

      Susan Hertz Berrick, EdD | Conditions
    • The essence of health narratives, including poetry

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Discover the power of patience

      Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH | Physician
    • Doctors rediscover joy in practicing medicine, on their own terms

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • End-of-life ethics and antibiotic use [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 4 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Novavax's Updated COVID Shot Authorized by FDA
  • SBRT Noninferior to Conventional RT for Intermediate-Risk Prostate Cancer
  • Mixed Bag for Early Metformin in Gestational Diabetes
  • FDA Advisors to Consider DFMO Maintenance for High-Risk Neuroblastoma in Kids
  • Adding Tirzepatide to Basal Insulin Cuts HbA1c in Poorly Controlled T2D

Meeting Coverage

  • SBRT Noninferior to Conventional RT for Intermediate-Risk Prostate Cancer
  • Mixed Bag for Early Metformin in Gestational Diabetes
  • Adding Tirzepatide to Basal Insulin Cuts HbA1c in Poorly Controlled T2D
  • Low Relapse Rates With Twice-Yearly Schizophrenia Treatment
  • Menopause Can Negatively Affect Women's Careers
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Challenging the diagnosis: dehydration or bias?

      Sydney Lou Bonnick, MD | Physician
    • A teenager’s perspective: the pressing need for mental health days in schools

      Ruhi Saldanha | Conditions
    • Understanding reproductive rights: complex considerations

      Anonymous | Physician
    • COVID-19 unleashed an ongoing crisis of delirium in hospitals

      Christina Reppas-Rindlisbacher, MD, Nathan Stall, MD, and Paula Rochon, MD | Conditions
    • Air quality alert: Reducing our carbon footprint in health care

      Shreya Aggarwal, MD | Conditions
    • When physicians are disrespected [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • Unveiling excessive medical billing and greed

      Amol Saxena, DPM, MPH | Policy
    • The erosion of patient care

      Laura de la Torre, MD | Physician
    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • When physicians are disrespected [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Addressing dual diagnosis needs in addiction treatment

      Susan Hertz Berrick, EdD | Conditions
    • The essence of health narratives, including poetry

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Discover the power of patience

      Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH | Physician
    • Doctors rediscover joy in practicing medicine, on their own terms

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • End-of-life ethics and antibiotic use [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Could a glass of wine diagnose long COVID?
4 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...