Should you rush to your doctor or nearby hospital on just a sneeze? Are you covid positive with little to mild symptoms and looking to book a hospital bed for yourself? Hold on, you might expose yourself to greater risk.
Although Covid-19 is spreading like a wildfire, a little caution can break the chain. Now more than ever, it is necessary to keep vigilance of one’s health and observe if any covid related symptoms develop.
The government through its various ministries has been releasing guidelines and precautionary measures for people to follow and stay safe. Here are some important things one should know about treating covid-19 infection.
When should you get tested?
Cough, cold, fever are among the symptoms of covid-19. If one develops any symptoms, they must get themselves tested. Getting tested enables proper medication.
What should you do if your results are positive?
The first thing to remember is not to panic. Keeping a cool mind will help one get through this phase easily.
While one awaits their results, they must isolate themselves until any confirmation. In case of a positive result, apart from isolation, good nutrition, yoga, intake of water, and observing covid protocols, one must keep a tab of their fever and oxygen level.
What precautionary measures to take at home?
If you are healthy?
If a person is healthy, has not contacted the infection, or sharing a shelter with a covid positive patient, they must take proper precautionary measures. One must keep washing their hands with mild soap or hand wash, sanitize well, wear a mask at home and maintain social distancing too.
In addition to this, one should also take fruits, vegetables, and herbs that tend to boost immunity.
According to the Ministry of AYUSH guidelines, ‘Ayush Kwath’(Ayurveda), a mixture of four herbal ingredients should be taken for better immunity.
If Covid positive?
However, if the person is covid positive, with mild to moderate symptoms, and in-home isolation, one must always keep observing their symptoms and document if possible.
A covid positive patient must distance themselves from other family members, seek advice from a doctor, complete their course of medicine, and wear a mask at all times.
Several patients have complained of body fever and breathing issues. Thus, it is important that one stays away from cold drinks, water, and takes a proper diet that helps in increasing oxygen in the blood.
Additionally, they should also practice breathing exercises, take steam, gargle as per their doctor’s advice.
When should you visit a doctor or hospital?
Doctors and health experts have been advising patients to not visit the hospital on turning positive. Instead, they say, most patients recover at home and should visit a hospital only when their condition begins to get serious.
To understand when the condition is getting serious, keep checking your oxygen level. A dip below 94 should be taken care of. For immediate help, lying on the sides or stomach can improve oxygen level in the blood.
According to the MyGovIndia Twitter handle, if the oximeter reading shows a baseline saturation less than 94% or when there is a decline in oximeter reading before and after 6 minutes of walk is 4% more than, one must contact the hospital.
According to Dr. Ramdeep Guleria, Director, AIIMS, 85% of the covid patients will recover without any specific treatment. A healthy individual with oxygen saturation in the range of 93-94% does not need to take high-flow oxygen to maintain the optimum saturation level.
Similarly, the patient should also keep a track of fever and body temperature. Telemedicine has advised ‘paracetamol’ for fever. However, the temperature doesn’t fall, connect with your doctor first. In most situations, going to the hospital won’t be required.
Like it’s said, laughter is the best medicine, be happy, and follow the covid protocols to recover in time.
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