COVID-19 virus has been spreading at an alarming rate throughout the world. Although our country is now unlocked, people are still in a state of panic even if they experience any similar symptoms to the virus and some don’t know how and where to approach if they are infected with the virus. Therefore, we asked Dr. Rajesh Vukkala, MD (General Medicine), Consultant Physician at VINN Hospital, Hyderabad and he says, “The virus can spread anywhere in the body and therefore, we are witnessing various symptoms throughout the body”.
Symptoms to look for!
Here are some symptoms to look at apart from fever and cough as suggested by Dr. Rajesh:
- Loss of smell
- Loss of taste
- Profound weakness
- Significant muscle pain
- Fatigability
- Inability to carry out day-to-day activities
- Breathlessness
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Presentation of diarrhoea without any fever
- Abdominal pain
- Leg pain
“There are certain presentations that have not been really spoken about like brain attack, heart attack, meningitis, spinal cord involvement. They are rare but well documented.”
What to do if you experience symptoms?
Dr. Rajesh Vukkala says, “Although the novel virus has been spreading very rapidly, unlike any other viruses, it is seen that 80% of the people are either asymptomatic or show very mild symptoms. 20% have a serious effect of the virus, out of which only 5% are critically ill, requiring hospital admission.”
- Isolate yourself from the first onset of the symptoms, especially if you are suspicious about coming in contact with an infected person.
- If any of the aforementioned symptoms last for 3 days continuously, consult a doctor.
- The tests are conducted only with a doctor’s prescription. It will be either a swab test or a blood test. Results of tests conducted on the fifth day of experiencing symptoms will be more yielding.
- If there are severe symptoms, the tests may also be conducted for the area that is showing symptoms, like stomach, heart, lungs, etc. Therefore, depending on the area of involvement, the tests will be conducted.
- People experiencing mild or no symptoms don’t require hospital admission. They can self-isolate themselves at home and contact a doctor in case of any requirement or health emergencies.
- They must consume an adequate amount of water daily
- They can take vitamin supplements that will help boost their immunity, namely vitamin C and D. Both these vitamins are present in various food items, which can be considered.
- Stay isolated for 10 days while continuously monitoring your symptoms.
- If you are amongst the 20%, experiencing severe symptoms or your symptoms are worsening, contact a doctor. You may need to be admitted to the hospital and a series of tests will be conducted and treatment will be done accordingly.
You don’t need to panic, since most of the people are recovering well, even if they have to go to the hospital. Taking care, isolating yourself, and helping minimize the spread by not meeting people is the best you can do as a responsible citizen of India.
