New findings—COVID-19 aftereffects may be due to membranous inflammation?

The following article is nothing more than an impression of one practitioner in Japan, and there is no scientific basis yet. However, I have experienced with 52 confirmed cases and 189 suspicious cases of COVID-19 aftereffects.

There are wide-ranging symptoms of COVID-19 aftereffects. Common symptoms include slight fever, headache, malaise, coldness, numbness, muscular pain, joint pain, eczema, diarrhea, loss of appetite, palpitation, respiratory distress, taste and olfactory dysfunctions, and sleeplessness. Recently, hair loss has also been reported.

I have been thinking that COVID-19 tends to cause inflammation of the diaphragm, pleura, and pericardium, which can eventually lead to respiratory distress, palpitation, and loss of appetite. Headaches, coldness, and poor thermoregulation may also be caused by inflammation of the dura mater and pia mater. Furthermore, I have diagnosed relatively many cases of olfactory dysfunctions as parosmia, which were possibly due to inflammation of the brain membrane. It seems that the sense of smell is more susceptible to damage because of the large area of contact between the brain membrane and the olfactory bulb. It also makes sense when considering diarrhea and muscle pain as inflammation of the mesentery and fascia.

Given all these factors, I conclude at this time that COVID-19 aftereffects are the systemic membranous inflammation. I am treating this with Japanese Kampo medicine.

Postscript

Some people may feel it odd to include the diaphragm because it is an only muscle. However, the diaphragm has relatively large fascia to muscle mass and is in contact with various fasciae, pleura, and pericardium, so I think this could cause the same that inflammation as in other membranous structures.

以下、日本語訳です。

新しい見方～コロナ後遺症は膜の炎症？

以下に記すのは日本の一人の開業医の感想であり、科学的根拠はまだありません。でも私は52例の感染確認例と189例の感染疑い例の経験をもっています。

コロナ後遺症の症状は多岐にわたります。通常みられる症状は、微熱、頭痛、倦怠感、冷え、しびれ、筋肉痛、関節痛、湿疹、下痢、食欲不振、動悸、呼吸苦、感冒症状、味覚嗅覚障害、不眠、といったところ。最近は脱毛も指摘されるようになりました。

以前から、横隔膜と胸膜、心膜に炎症が生じるので、呼吸苦と動悸、食欲不振が起こりやすいと思っていました。頭痛や冷え、体温調節不良も脳硬膜や脳軟膜の炎症かもしれません。嗅覚障害も異嗅症が多いのですが、これも脳膜が原因かもしれません。嗅覚が障害を受けやすいのは、嗅球と脳膜との接触が大きいからのように思えてきます。下痢や筋肉痛も腸間膜や筋膜の炎症と考えると矛盾がないです。

コロナウイルス感染後遺症は全身性の膜の炎症である、これが現時点での私の結論です。私はこの炎症を漢方薬で治療しています。

追記

横隔膜だけは筋肉なので、違和感をもつ人もいるかもしれません。しかし、横隔膜の筋膜は筋肉の割に多く、各種筋膜や胸膜や心膜と接しているので他の膜性構造物と同様の炎症が生じるのだと考えます。

2021年02月03日