Very recently the Beobachter published a book called “LONG COVID – Hilfe für Betroffene und Angehörige” [Long COVID – Help for patients and relatives]. The purpose of the book is to help people deal with the daily challenges caused by the Long COVID syndrome. It addresses three main themes: Medicine, Psychology and Legal aspects.
The book is addressed to people affected by Long COVID either directly, as patients, or indirectly, as family members or caregivers. Indeed, since this is a new situation and there is a lot of uncertainty, Long COVID is a challenge not only for people suffering from Long COVID symptoms, but also for those who are close to and take care of them (see this blog).
The book is divided into four main chapters, focusing on different aspects related to Long COVID: Medicine, Psychology, Employment Law, and Social Security Law. Apart from data, and guidelines, quotes from different experts are also provided. For example, Prof. De Quervain, Dr.med. Diem and Dr.med. Fretz are cited in the first chapter. Here follows a short summary of each chapter. The table of contents can be found in the following Infobox.
Chapter 1: Medicine
The first chapter presents two subchapters: in the first one, the question “What does Long COVID mean from a medical view?” is addressed. A short background as well as some data from studies about Long COVID are provided. In the second one, an overview of the main symptoms is presented, together with advice on treatment and prognosis. Among the symptoms, the following are mentioned: Fatigue, Depression, Sleep disorders, Breathing problems, Cardiovascular issues, Pain, and Taste and Smell disorders. The last part of the chapter is dedicated to the possible mechanisms of Long COVID (what does trigger Long COVID) and the possible treatment options.
The focus is on the emotion-focused coping strategy: accepting and actively do something for the own well-being.
Chapter 2: Psychology
The following roughly sixty pages are focused on the psychological aspects of Long COVID. The objective is to describe the connections between body, mind, and soul, and provide tips to improve the well-being. The emphasis is on the emotion-focused coping strategy that is, accepting the situation and do something for the well-being. Topics as Pacing and crashes, Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR), meditation, breathing exercises are discussed, as well as the importance of a positive attitude and the role of the social environment.
Note: It is important to distinguish between psychology and psychiatry. Indeed, as clearly stated by the authors, Long COVID is not a psychiatric disease, and should not be treated as such (page 17).
Many patients must deal with not being able to work and need support with the legal frameworks.
Chapter 3: Employment law
The next and final chapters of the book clarify the current legal situation. First, the topic of “work” is considered. In fact, many patients must deal with not being able to (fully) work and need support with the legal frameworks in terms of work, salary, and allowances. When do you need a medical certificate? Does the employer have to continue paying your wage? What should you pay attention to, when re-entering the job? And what to do in case you get fired? These are some of the questions addressed in this chapter.
Chapter 4: Social Security Law
The final chapter is devoted to the different types of insurances, and helps the reader understand which insurance should be involved. In fact, for daily allowances and medical treatment (short and medium-term benefits) there are emerging trends in practice, but considering long-term benefits, that is the AI/IV, there are currently no court nor insurance companies’ decisions, making the situation even more difficult. Relying on other similar cases and previous experience, the authors provide their advice.
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