Home Care Tips For Mild COVID-19 Cases

In this blog, I will try to explain several strategies that can be used to help manage symptoms of Covid-19 now first off I just like to review the typical early presentation of disease as well as some of the basic symptoms so we know what symptoms we are going to be treating so in other words what does a patient with Covid-19 look like so generally patients develop coffin fever they develop these symptoms somewhere between 2 and 14 days after exposure to the virus um some will have sore throat some have gradually worsening chest congestion some feel achy some feel tired up to 80% of patients just describe it generalized malaise in addition many individuals complain of just general body aches headaches nausea diarrhea dehydration in the most severe cases is when patients start to complain of things such as shortness of breath chest pain even confusion and some become disoriented now most patients again are sick for about five to seven days a certain subset do tend to worsen may be up to 10% maybe may begin to experience worsening symptoms after that seven-day time period and I like to just go over that one more time because when someone does develop worsening shortness of breath chest pain or pressure bluish discoloration around the lips or face after that seven-day timeframe that would certainly be a point at which we would like those patients to be evaluated in the hospital setting and to no longer manage those symptoms at home before I discuss over-the-counter medicines it's important to mention that individuals who do become sick with Covid-19 that should continue to take their usual medicines this might include medications for high blood pressure for diabetes for heart disease many other disorders by keeping these conditions under control it certainly helps individual to recover from a Covid-19 infection it is important to be in close communication with your healthcare provider during the course of illness such that they can oversee any necessary changes in your medication regimen that might become necessary now there are a lot of widely available over-the-counter medicines which can help with cough over-the-counter coffin cold medicines you certainly might help with coffin congestion symptoms and they might include cough suppressants cough drops soups even teas or hot beverages in general some individuals even promote new beverages with a little bit of honey perhaps gargling some saltwater for you know some aspects of coffee or sore throat sometimes encouraging the patient just to have a hot shower to breathe steam from a shower may help relieve some of the congestion help to open up their lungs and allow them to breathe a bit easier you know humidifiers can be used but caregivers should be aware that this might increase the risk of spreading the disease simply by allowing the formation of air particles so that may be something that a patient could do but would not be advised when the caregiver is in the room symptoms such as nausea and diarrhea certainly can occur there are some over-the-counter medicines for nausea and diarrhea that can help relieve some of these symptoms there are also prescription medications that may be available from your caregiver for these disorders caregivers should really be aware of possible dehydration in order to combat this it's important to make sure they have adequate water or other electrolyte-containing beverages Pedialyte is certainly something that may be used.

If a patient cannot hold down any fluids it's important that they try to just sip small amounts of water or Pedialyte every 5 to 10 minutes in this way even if someone is actively having nausea or vomiting they frequently are able to keep themselves adequately hydrated now if they were to develop serious signs of dehydration this might include confusion altered Mental Status it might include the inability to urinate reduce urination if any of that were to happen it would certainly be advisable to seek out additional care a lot of doctors and our prescribing people to stay at home and take care of Covid-19 at home now it is important to understand that not everybody needs hospitalization if you have Covid-19 a lot of treatment and good treatment can happen at home so we thought let's bring you some good home care tips for Covid-19 if you've contracted the virus if you have somebody in the family who's contacted the virus what are the few quick things that you can keep in mind and that is essential to follow the number one isolate that is absolutely necessary in your house if you have anybody who has tested positive in fact, even if the result is not out even if you have tested covet negative if you are showing symptoms you have to isolate so if you have symptoms like fever you have a cough you have a sore throat you have muscle pain nausea diarrhea loss of smell and taste and even if you have discoloration in your nails and hands then this is a good indicator that you have contracted the virus for Covid-19 if you've contracted the virus if you have somebody in the family who's contacted the virus what are the few quick things that you can keep in mind and that are essential to follow number one isolate that is absolutely necessary for your house if you have anybody who has tested positive in fact even if the result is not out even if you have tested covet negative if you are showing symptoms you have to isolate so if you have symptoms like a fever you have a cough you have a sore throat you have muscle pain nausea diarrhea loss of smell and taste and even if you have discoloration in your nails and hands then this is a good indicator that you have contracted the virus best thing to do is make a chart for yourself take your temperature and your oximeter readings at least twice a day tabulate that put that on a piece of paper and share that with your the doctor you need to have a physician looking into all your symptoms even if you are at home share those details with him he will obviously put you on a medication follow that up but there are a couple of other tips that a lot of times doctors forget to tell so we thought we'll bring that for you some tips like drinking lots of fluids absolutely necessary.

If you are Covid-19 positive steam inhalation extremely important warm gargles have proved to be very good also washing your hands with soap or sanitizer frequently the thing to remember is that if you are covered positive at home or say you have a family member who's positive and he's isolated he or she is isolated in one particular room ensure that there is only one person in the family who's the caregiver meaning one a designated person who double masks and is the one giving him food all the time the thing to remember here is that your linens your utensils should not be exchanged the ones the everything that is there inside the room of the isolated a person should not be mixing up with the rest of the family members it will lead to further spread so these are the things that you need to keep in mind but very importantly there are some red flags as well-meaning if you report the following things that I'm going to tell you now you must immediately tell your doctor like the minute you notice a dip in your oxygen levels if your oximeter says that your oxygen concentration is below 92 percent then contact the doctor immediately if you have slurred speech tell your doctor if you have weakness in your limbs which is beyond what you were experiencing earlier if you have acute pain like a headache if you have difficulty in breathing and if you feel chest pain as well if you feel this pressure on your chest mostly on your heart is where you're feeling the pain and if you have sort of bluish discoloration on your lips and on your face immediately contact your doctor he'll tell you what to do a lot of people also are asking us that should we then just rush for a city scan no ct scan is something that is to be required at different stages with different people let your doctor decide when you need a CT scan in fact what you need to get done before rushing in for a ct scan is some simple blood test reports like a d diameter etc again we've done a video on this earlier that you can go to and get more tips on those blood tests are a good giveaway to your doctor on whether or not there is inflammation in your body and that should tell them how to follow the line of treatment the thing to remember is do not panic if you get covered yes we are in the middle of a massive health care crisis hospital beds are running out of oxygen is running out the medical infrastructure is completely overburdened the onus is on you to keep yourself safe that's number one and even despite that if you get the virus start by following some of these symptoms following some these tips over here get in touch with the doctor don't be in a sudden rush to get to a hospital one more thing before I forget a lot of people ask us that people who have co-morbidities or pregnant women do they need to rush to the hospital immediately the answer to that is no mostly no if you have comorbidities like you have diabetes you have heart issue you are a pregnant woman and you contract the virus tell your doctor he will tell you even these patients can recover if you don't have a very severe form of infection at home hope these tips are handy and helpful keep this in mind keep yourself safe.