Ajax Harwood Clinic
Long COVID: should I be tested?
Post-COVID condition (long COVID)
Long COVID means you still have symptoms weeks or months after a COVID-19 infection. Common ones are feeling very tired, short of breath, or foggy-headed. This is a real condition. There is no blood test or scan that proves you have it. Doctors diagnose it by your history and how your symptoms line up with when you had COVID-19. Testing is still useful. It helps rule out other causes for how you feel, like low iron, thyroid trouble, or a heart or lung problem. Tell your doctor right away about new chest pain, new shortness of breath, or fainting with a racing heart. Those need to be checked first. Your symptoms are real, even without a positive test to point to.
Worth asking
Questions you could bring to your doctor:
- Do my symptoms and their timing fit the pattern doctors use for long COVID?
- What tests would rule out other causes for how I'm feeling?
- Could my symptoms be from something else, like deconditioning or low iron?
- What new symptoms should I tell you about right away?
Next steps
Curious what your doctor is weighing up? The clinical page we use for this is open to anyone — it is detailed and written for clinicians, and you are welcome to read it.
Open the clinician reference →Did a naturopath recommend specific tests? Look each one up — what it measures and whether it is usually needed.
Look up a lab test →Want more? Explore the full AHC health library.
Go to ask.ajaxharwoodclinic.com →This is health information and screening — not a diagnosis. Please discuss results with your doctor. In an emergency call 911.