Dr AP Singh talks about how it is important to keep a track on COVID symptoms and not fall prey to myths
It has been more than a year now since we were introduced to the COVID-19 virus, and since then, we have come a long way in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of the virus and infected persons. Presently, even though the infections seem to have lowered down, we are still in the pandemic stage. It might be another month before we can shift into a relatively comfortable endemic stage of the disease.
During the first wave, we had established guidelines and the cases were easier to handle because of access to resources and relatively low rates of infection. However, the sudden spike in cases has posed multiple difficulties for patients and doctors alike. People are visibly panicked and afraid. They need to steer clear of all misinformation and consult their doctors on every new information they come across before believing it.
The new COVID-19 strain is different not in the treatment it requires but in how it shows itself and creeps up on the patients. Patients whose symptoms initially look like a case of mild infection go on to develop serious complications on the fifth -seventh day of disease.
The symptoms range from sore throat, cough, fever, vomiting, and pain-abdomen to atypical symptoms like simple muscle pain and body ache, indigestion, and reddening of eyes. Persistent fever and cough in the second week of illness, shortness of breath, fall in oxygen saturation (< 94%) are all indicators of the patient requiring the need of supervised care in a health facility to avoid the development of any complications. It is, thus, important for people to stay in touch with doctors regularly and report any discomfort instead of opting for self-treatment and home remedies.
Most patients who get tested and contact us in the early stages of infection, when the symptoms are just beginning to show, pass through the disease rather comfortably with fewer complications. The problem arises where the patients refuse to get tested and continue to believe it isn’t COVID-19 but seasonal cold. They then approach doctors after the complications have arisen. In this meantime, not only do such patients harm their health but pass the infection onto others.
The writer is Senior Physician and Covid Care Specialist Yashoda Super Speciality Hospital, Ghaziabad