Hokiebird wrote:
Hi Flek, (and any MDs out there) Do you think the 3 days of intense activity primed your wife to be more susceptible to a more severe infection? Can a person be at an apparent peak in overall racing shape, but have an immune system that is somehow not in prime condition to resist and respond to a viral infection? There is literature on overtraining syndrome and upper respiratory infections, but I didn't see anything specifically covid-related. Can the inflammation response to high intensity exercise add to the infection response?
None of these questions have definitive answers. Every case can be different. I am just speculating here, and wondering what future studies will reveal.
I suspect that intense efforts during the incubation phase or early days of an infection can put some people at higher risk for long covid (my guess is viral persistence). I was in a TR build phase and hammering some pretty good workouts around the time I was likely exposed. It wasn't unusual for me to feel a bit ragged after a harder TR effort, and sometimes I would sub out a recovery ride in place of a planned ride or even move up a recovery week if I was starting to feel a bit run down. First two symptomatic days of covid, which I didn't initially recognize as such, were on the weekend -- Saturday long run and Sunday longer trainer session. Both days I felt unusual fatigue after workouts and took an uncharacteristically long daytime nap (2 hours). Initial symptom other than that was Sunday night and the weird covid "puff" cough. Monday I awakened to intense burning lungs and a dry cough and stopped exercise at that point. Although my acute infection was on the mild side, I did experience at least a half dozen different symptoms over the next couple weeks and have never been well again (28+ months now).