Covid-19 infection OR Corona virus disease
According to World Health Organization (WHO), Corona virus
disease is a recently discovered infectious viral disease caused by the SARS
–CoV-2 virus.
Today after almost two years we all are nicely and
adequately familiar with this viral disease. Even the kids know what is corona
and how to stay away from the virus and prevent the spread of infection.
As it still continues to strike down the health system and
adding a global burden on the health care system and workers, I thought it’s
good to share some information on the topic so that it can reach to the
unreached population and they can gain knowledge about Corona virus disease.
let us start
with its brief description:
Corona virus is a name given to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. There are various mutant strains of this virus. As the epidemic advanced to the higher stages turning into a pandemic, the virus underwent multiple mutations giving birth to more risky and dangerous strains. We have heard of Alpha, beta, delta strains. Recently on the air is the one called Omicron strain. Not going deeper into the strains, let us understand how the virus affects the human health.
The virus gains entry into the body through the droplets or air borne particles that suspend in the air. Whenever a person coughs or sneezes the tiny or micro-sized droplets are spread into the air and gets transmitted to the person next to him. When the nearby person inhales air while breathing, these droplets containing virus enter the respiratory tract and finally infect the person.
It is transmitted from person to person through droplets. The droplets also get contained into the palms and hands of the person who coughs or sneezes and when he uses the same hands it may spread infection through contaminated hands.
Corona virus affects the lungs primarily by attacking the alveolar
system, thus reducing the oxygen perfusion and saturation. The people with
co-morbidities are at higher risk of developing low oxygen saturation problems
due to their underlying major illnesses. Death due to covid were mainly
reported among the elderly or comorbid individuals, and immune-compromised
people.
We all have practised
the SMS model to prevent the spread of corona and it had proved effective in
reducing the cases too. S stands for Social Distancing M stands for using face
Masks, S stands for Sanitizer.
Frequent hand washing, use of sanitizers and keeping safe
distance from the crowd. At least six feet apart distance between two persons
was decided to be a standard precaution measure to avoid contracting the virus
and cut down its spread.
By following the above model, we have beaten corona to a
major extent. Moreover, we all safeguarded health of ourselves and our people. The
Covid times have taught us many lessons and one such was Focusing on the safety
of health/ keeping up good health by strengthening the natural immunity of the
body. We all tried the natural immunity boosters as well as healthy practices
such as aerobics or pranayama and moving into the arena of yoga and meditation.
As for mental health, yoga and meditation played an effective role in
reducing the stress of people. May it be related to family members’ health or
work pressure, or handling economy wisely to keep up the budget of the family,
corona taught us to manage things pretty much systematically and with wisdom.
We all became one in the times of pandemic and through
collaborative efforts of the health care workers, professionals, police and
government strategic approaches, we almost have beaten the virus. The emergence
of the various biotech companies in the production of the corona vaccines
proved yet another milestones saving billions of human population.
What are the signs and symptoms of Covid-19?
As we discussed earlier Covid affects the respiratory system
mainly, the symptoms are also confined mostly to the flu-like scenario.
The people infected with corona virus starts showing
symptoms after the incubation period of fourteen days. Following that the
symptoms start to appear. There may be mild to moderate to severe symptoms.
The most commonly seen symptoms are:
- · Fever
- · Coughing
- · Extreme fatigue
- · Sore throat
- · Loss of smell or taste sensation
- · Muscle aches
Fewer or less common symptoms include:
- · Headaches
- · Dyspnoea or difficulty breathing
- · Diarrhoea
- · Nausea or vomiting
- · Rashes on the body
- · Fainting due to low oxygen levels and severe weakness
- · Corneal dryness or redness
- · Shortness of breath
- · Poor oxygen saturation
- · Chest pain
- · Anorexia or loss of appetite
- · Pneumonia evident on CT scan
Seek immediate medical help in case of trouble breathing or chest pain.
People with heart or circulatory disorders are more susceptible to develop the severe symptoms that increase their risk of complications while been infected with the corona virus.
The symptoms generally subside upon proper precautions such as isolation and medical treatment. The main focus on the treatment lies on preventing the spread of the droplets or aerosols, treating the symptoms to provide relief to the patient and ensuring the immunity levels by increasing the platelet counts.
Mild symptoms often go way on their own by
proper home care including medicines and rest.
Moderate cases involving the lungs or
diagnosed with pneumonia need stronger or broad spectrum antibiotics and the use of
steroids to prevent further complications.
We
also heard of the plasma exchange therapy as a treatment modality for severe
cases of Covid-19 disease. We witnessed many humble donors who were victims of
this disease and they, after successful recovery from the disease, donated their
plasma to save the lives of their fellow countrymen. However it was not
approved later to be an effective treatment option and it was lesser practised
then.
These
symptoms is not the end of the list as there are many cases that report
different or varied symptoms according to the variant strains of the virus. Please do not
take this information to be a final statement as I intend only to share the
most accurate information, that too only for the educational purpose. Do refer
to more reliable or government sources to get better reach of the updated
content on the same topic.
Sharing Personal Experience:
Let me share my story line-up
with Covid-19. I too got infected last year with the virus. After a government
bus travel may be. I assume after a week to ten days, my body starting showing
signs and symptoms. It started with fever and mild chills that lasted for
almost four to five days, I also had dry coughing and sore throat simultaneously.
Headache was a major symptom as I felt active pulsating headache behind the
head, mainly occiput and retro-orbital.
I could not sleep due to the
headache. Moreover, the coughing was so intense I could hardly get any relief
with the anti-tussive medications. I also developed fatigue and weakness in the
next week. This made me feel too much exhausted to carry out my daily routine.
I was already isolated in my room and finally I had trouble breathing so I went
for the CT scan of the chest. It showed more than 50% lung involvement ending
up to pneumonia. This further worsened my condition as I started having chest
pain every time I coughed or tried to breathe. My oxygen levels also dropped
down to 70%. This was not the end of the list, I do not know whether it is a
symptom of covid or not but I experienced something unusual and uncommon thing.
It was the tongue-bite; every time I used to sleep prone as advised by my
physician, within a few minutes I would bite my tongue in sleep and this woke
me up not allowing me to get enough sleep.
Luckily, my knowledge of nursing
and efforts of my little brother who works as an ICU nurse paid off. He treated
me well at home and fortunately I recovered after a battle of nearly a month.
This was just a piece of share to
make you familiar with a real life example of covid. I am sure you might have seen
a lot of people with covid in these past two years, some may be even your near
and dear ones. Many people also lost their relatives who struggled surviving
this viral infection. I have deepest condolences and sympathy towards them. Covid
proved to be the toughest times in the human history that turned the world
simply upside down. It changed the infrastructure of every nation and caused
damaged to highest possible extent. It shook the health care system of almost
every nation in the world. However with time, everyone understood the situation
precisely and through systematic approaches and global unity, we definitely
gave a high blow to the virus.
Diagnosis of Covid-19:
Various tests are performed to diagnose the disease. The most
common and approved test is RT-PCR (reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain
reaction). The nasal swab is taken from the root of the nose and it is then sent to the laboratory to detect the presence of the virus. A positive test confirms
the infection whereas the negative results show the absence of the virus at the
time of the test. The negative test may or may not turn into a positive one
depending upon the person’s status of infection.
Another test type that is used nowadays is the Rapid Antigen
Tests. It uses the quick kit method to detect the presence of the viral
proteins. It contains wells just like the urine pregnancy test. It is
convenient, reliable and easiest method of testing for covid. It may take up to
fifteen to twenty minutes to read the results. It shows accurate results when
the person starts to show the symptoms of the viral infection. It is used
extensively worldwide.
You may feel slight discomfort or minimal bleed while the
swab-stick is inserted into your nose for acquiring the sample. The result may
take up to twenty four hours or more to get hand over to you.
CT scans or computed tomography of the chest shows the
presence of pneumonia and the percentage of the involvement of your lungs with
infection. The technicians who interpret the scan results will generally give
you a score out of 25 depending upon the different lobes of lung involved in
the infection.
Common haematological tests show the increase in the WBC counts and decrease in the platelet counts similar to other infections.
See also other respiratory infections:
Common cold
Treatment of Covid-19:
The covid time has made us include many unfamiliar terms to
those not concerned or related to the medical field. (Note: I am already
familiar with all these terms even before covid outbreak, so don’t doubt dear.
Ha ha!)
These are the following medical terms:
Isolation, Quarantine, Incubation period, Transmission of
infection, Sanitizers, steroids, etc., and many more. Now I know all of you are well aware of them.
The treatment of Covid-19 deals with the major symptomatic
treatment and adequate dietary management along with enough rest.
Let us understand the treatment of the disease:
As such there is no definite or specific treatment or cure of the disease.
The treatment includes:
- · Treating or managing the symptoms. Paracetamol is the drug of choice for mild symptoms such as fever and aches. Steroids and broad spectrum antibiotics are prescribed depending upon the condition and symptoms of the patient.
- · Provide fluid therapy. Intravenous line may be started to nourish the body with electrolytes and vitamins. This helps relieve the fatigue or weakness and maintains the fluid levels in the body.
- · Provide oxygen therapy. Nasal prongs or oxygen masks may be used to give oxygen therapy to maintain the blood oxygen saturation levels.
- · Provide relief by reassurance and positive psychological support
- · Paying attention to any co-morbid diseases such as diabetes, cancer or known heart diseases.
- · Emphasising on prone positioning to allow the expansion of the lungs and relieve the shortness of breath or dyspnoea.
- · Checking the oxygen saturation levels of the blood at periodic intervals to know the patient’s condition. A pulse-oximeter is used to check the SpO2 levels. It is a small device that has a probe in which the finger (nail side up facing the device light) is fitted to check the oxygen levels.
- · Adequate rest and balanced diet. Rest helps relieve the body aches and exhaustion. It also provides relief from stress. Mild sedatives may be prescribed by the doctors to induce sleep.
- · Provide peaceful environment to get relief from headaches.
- · Give nebulization and steam inhalation to remove the sputum or sticky cough out of the airways.
Prevention of Covid-19:
World health organisation has listed the following preventive measures to cut down the spread of the corona virus. These are as follows:Hand washing
It
is the universal standard precaution to prevent the transmission or spread of
not only this virus but almost all contagious infections. Washing hands frequently
for twenty seconds following the six
steps of hand washing ensures the first line
protection from any infection. We all washed hands more than ever during the
covid periods.
After contacting any things or using any commodity, it is
advisable to wash our hands using antiseptic soaps/liquids and running water.
Sanitizer
Sanitizers are alcohol based volatile liquids that are effective in killing the
germs present on our hands and or any surfaces.
Always carry a bottle of sanitizer along with you whenever you go out of
your house. You can use it before and after you touch anything or surface. This
protects us from spreading the infection to ourselves and others.
Ensuring surface cleaning at home and work
Always clean the table tops and surfaces of your offices and homes with a powerful sanitizer capable of destroying germs. Sanitization campaigns were also carried out in many nations to sanitize various localities including buildings and places of residence.
Use of Face masks/ Face shields/Eye shields
Use of good-fit face masks that adequately cover your nose and mouth ending at the chin are advisable to prevent the spread of the droplets containing virus. The face masks also prevents from inhaling the dust particles or smoke or any other pollutants present in the air we breathe. So it is a good option to use it wisely.
Use of protective gowns or personal protective equipment kits (PPE kits)
The health care
professionals were supplied with the PPE kits to safeguard them from
contracting the infection while treating the patients. Even during travels, the
flights also made available such PPE kits to their passengers to ensure safe travel
and prevent the spread of the virus.
Social Distancing
It
was a fancy term used during the covid times for many. It means keeping a safe
distance from other people, may it be indoors or outdoors. Staying at a minimum
six feet apart distance from the next person reduces the spread of virus to the
minimal chances. It also proved to be effective in substantially reducing the
net amount of overall covid cases.
Use of facemasks, sanitizers and practising social distancing
measures can provide safety from the viral infection due to the corona virus.
Quarantine
According to the world health organisation, the quarantine period of fourteen
days is a safety measure to prevent the spread of infection. After any travels,
every nation has devised special guideline protocols for quarantine to be
followed by the travellers who recently have arrived or departed from the country.
Self-isolation
One
of the wisest way to take care of self-health is self-isolation. If you have
any doubt that you have come in contact with a person showing symptoms or
diagnosed with covid, it is always better to self-isolate yourself from other family
members. In this way you are taking care of your family and reducing their
chances of contracting infection from any sources.
Treating mild symptoms at home
Recently the health organisation put an emphasis on home
care and treatment for very mild to mild symptoms of covid.
Consult your doctor from home and initiate the treatment
from health under his or her guidance. This reduces the cost of hospitalisation
as well as prevents further infection. It also helps reduce the burden on the
health care systems and its resources. This way the actually at-risk persons
would get the chance of hospitalization facilities.
Immunity boosters
Immunity
boosting drinks or beverages made using natural spices and herbs have proved effective
in reducing the cases of covid infection by strengthening the immunity levels
of the person. Include fresh fruits and vegetables as they have antioxidants in
them that nourish the body and keep us fit and healthy
Breathing Exercises/prananyama/yoga
One of the most effective and trending practice
nowadays globally is including Yoga and Pranayama in our day to day life. It maintains
good lung health and increases the lungs capacity to expand fully and supply
adequate amount of oxygen to the body.
Covid vaccines
Currently
the vaccination campaigns are being carried out on a broader spectrum and it
has reduced the occurrences of the new Covid cases and deaths due to it. Many companies
have prepared the vaccines to protect us from covid infection. So please go and
get yourself and your family vaccinated to prevent the risk of infection. (I
already have taken both the shots. Thanks to God, I am safe now) Hurry up
and take it if you are yet to take.
Finally follow all the guidelines and covid protocols as set forth by your country government to keep yourself healthy and infection-free.
P.S: Refer to reliable sources for the constant updates associated with Covid -19.
Note: This post is for informational and educational purpose only, It is not a substitute to any medical or professional advice or treatment. See your doctor in any case.
Comments