The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has reached more than 200 million cases causing the death of more than 4 million. However, it’s safe to say that around 80% of covid-19 patients recover without being hospitalized. On the other hand, 15% needs oxygen and 5% have the obligation for intensive care due to severity. In fact, Covid-19 was labelled a pandemic by the WHO on 2020, march 11. Consequently, the virus has kept us in quarantine for a long time since its outbreak, leaving our mental and physical health in disorder.
Symptoms of Covid-19:
| MOST COMMON SYMPTOMS | •Fever •Fatigue and body aches •Dry cough |
| LESS COMMON SYMPTOMS | •Headache •Nausea and vomiting • Having no smell or taste •Blockage of the nose • Throat soreness •Sinuses burn and dizziness •Red teary eyes or “Conjunctivitis” •Joint or muscle pain •skin rashes •Diarrhea •Chills Severe symptoms: •Short breath •Chest pain or pressure •Loss of appetite •Confusion and high body temperature |
| SEVERE SYMPTOMS | •Short breath •Chest pain or pressure •Loss of appetite •Confusion and high body temperature |
| OTHER LESS COMMON SYMPTOMS | •Loss of consciousness •Sleep problems •Depression or anxiety •Rare neurological complications such as nerve damage, brain inflammation, strokes and delirium. |
When to seek medication:
By all means, If you have the following symptoms, do not hesitate to contact a doctor, or visit the right health clinic:
•Fever
•Cough leading to shortness of breath or difficult breathing.
•Chest pain or pressure
•Speech or movement loss
How long does it take for symptoms to show?
Certainly, 5-6 days or 1-14 days on average are the days required for covid-19 to show.
Which complications of covid-19 lead to death?
Health complications associated with death while having covid-19:
•Respiratory failure, where the oxygen in the blood is sparse or has high levels of carbon-dioxide or both.
•Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Indeed, ARDS is an injury allows fluids to pass into the lungs leading to difficulty in breathing.
•sepsis/septic shock; the body response to an infection result in tissue damage.
•Thromboembolism; the blood clot (thrombus) break from one blood vessel goes to another by bloodstream.
•Multiorgan failure such as heart, liver or kidney injury
Treatment:
The most important treatment we can seek currently is early diagnosis of corona virus infection. In addition to, antiviral inhibitors of SARS and MERS spike proteins, neuraminidase inhibitors, anti-inflammatory drugs, EK1 peptide and chloroquine (used for malarial and autoimmune disease). Even though scientists are still working on an absolute treatment for covid_19, there exist ways to minimize the symptoms. Besides, these ways are characterized by pain killers and vitamins such as vitamin C and vitamin D helps us overcome the infection.
Does antibiotics treat covid-19?
Notably, its important to know that antibiotics only apply to bacterial infections and not viral infections. Above all, if your doctor prescribes an antibiotic, it’s because covid-19 severe illness might cause complications like acquiring bacterial infections. Furthermore, in case of hypoxaemia, antibiotics can diminish the symptoms. Particularly, these antibiotics are alpha-interferon, lopinavir, along with mechanical ventilation.
References:
-World Health Organization. (2021, May 13). Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Retrieved from https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/question-and-answers-hub/q-a-detail/coronavirus-disease-covid-19
-Seyed Hosseini E, Riahi Kashani N, Nikzad H, Azadbakht J, Hassani Bafrani H, Haddad Kashani H. The novel coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19): Mechanism of action, detection and recent therapeutic strategies. Virology. 2020 Dec;551:1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2020.08.011. Epub 2020 Sep 24. PMID: 33010669; PMCID: PMC7513802.
