Seniors With COVID-19 Show Unusual Symptoms, Doctors Say

Doctors say older adults with COVID-19 exhibit "atypical" symptoms that can impede efforts to ensure timely and appropriate treatment, reports Kaiser Health News . Usual symptoms include fever, insistent cough, and shortness of breath, but seniors may have none of these ailments. Rather, older adults may appear "off" — not behaving like themselves — shortly after infection, sleeping more than usual or not eating. They also may seem unusually apathetic or confused, experiencing vertigo and falls, ceasing to talk, or collapsing. With advanced age, "someone's immune response may be blunted and their ability to regulate temperature may be altered," notes Professor Joseph Ouslander at Florida Atlantic University's Schmidt College of Medicine. "Underlying chronic illnesses can mask or interfere with signs of infection," while "others with cognitive impairment may not be able to communicate their symptoms." The University of Lausanne Hospital Center's Sylvain Nguyen has compiled a list of typical and atypical symptoms in older COVID-19 patients for publication in the Revue Médicale Suisse . Atypical symptoms include changes in usual status, delirium, falls, fatigue, lethargy, low blood pressure, painful swallowing, fainting, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and loss of smell and taste.