Coronavirus as it is called in the medical circles, is also known as COVID-19. The dreaded disease has killed more than 90000 people globally and has infected hundreds of thousands of people across almost all countries in the world.
There have been a huge number of casualties notable among them being artists and other celebrities from Hollywood. Transferred from animals to humans, the disease traces its origins to Wuhan in China.
What causes Coronavirus?
Well, Coronavirus as such is not a new virus. It belongs to the same family of other viruses that causes the ailments such as flu, common cold, and other minor respiratory diseases. However, this has been identified as a member of the coronavirus family that was NOT detected or encountered before.
Just like other Coronavirus varieties, the disease is transmitted from animals to humans. The World Health Organisation has declared it as a pandemic and has identified it as COVID-19, an acronym for Coronavirus Diseases 2019, as it first emerged in 2019.
What are the common Coronavirus Symptoms?
As per the information shared by WHO, the common symptoms of Coronavirus disease include fever, dry cough, and tiredness. Some of the infected persons are likely to experience a few other symptoms such as diarrhea, runny nose, sore throat, and slight nasal congestion.
There have been reports of some people experiencing symptoms such as losing their sense of smell, and taste. It should be noted that Coronavirus infects lungs and thus you would ideally experience the issues such as high fever, a newly acquired cough, and of course, a sort of breathing difficulty.
Do note that it may take anywhere between 5 to 10 days to begin showing the symptoms of the disease. The World Health Organization has indicated an incubation period of 14 days for the virus to manifest the symptoms of the deadly viral disease.
If you are coughing, you should ideally look for a newly acquired continuous cough. This would include coughing for over an hour. Three or more longer coughing sessions within a span of 24 hours may be a reason to worry.
Do you need to be worried?
Well, of course. If you have the above symptoms, it would be a wiser decision to get yourself tested and go into quarantine. You may not necessarily be infected with the disease. But, visiting the medical facility would ensure that you are trying to be safe, or more importantly – not spreading the disease to someone else.
80 percent of the cases affected by COVID-19 are minor in nature and can be cured with minimal care. WHO claims that they would be as serious as a minor cod in many cases. But, a case in point is to avoid the case from going out of hand. While these 80 percent of the cases can be cured without the need for any special treatment, they run the risk of contracting the disease to others.
Around 5 percent of the total infected persons are expected to develop complications and thus would need a higher degree of treatment options. In fact, mortality is likely to be higher in those people who have any underlying health condition or are of old age.
In any case, if you have any of the symptoms that we have mentioned here, or if you have returned from any areas that have been infected with the outbreak (including foreign and inland areas), it would be a wiser idea to get yourself tested and go into quarantine.
Who needs to be worried?
WHO says one in every six people are expected to run into complications. The risk groups would include people above the age of 60, as they tend to have a lower level of immunity. Another risk group would be the people who already have an underlying health condition. These conditions would include diabetes, high blood pressure, any sort of heart ailments, and kidney diseases.
The specific symptoms that you need to be much careful about should include the following –
- The very high temperature. If you feel it hot to touch back and chest
- Continuous cough. If you have started coughing regularly, you may need to consult the doctor.
Do note that Coronavirus or COVID-19 is a disease that comes under the category of Viral Pneumonia. That would make antibiotics out of the question to be used to contain the disease. The viral antidotes that we currently have been using are found to be not working in containing the new strain of the Coronavirus. You have no vaccine developed as yet to contain the epidemic.
Should you Consult a Doctor if you have a temperature or cough?
That may not be necessary as such, but if you have any other underlying conditions concerning your health conditions, it may be a good idea to consult a doctor just to be on the safer side.
The best option would be to stay in quarantine for a minimum of seven days. If you are living with anyone else with these symptoms, they should ideally go into quarantine for at least 14 days. This should apply to those among you who have traveled abroad.
Do note that only 6 percent of the total cases fall into the extreme category. If a patient reaches this stage, the immunity may be at peril. The blood pressure of the body would reduce consistently. This further causes multiple organ failures. This stage is indicated by an acute respiratory complication. Severe breathing problems would finally cause the body to give up, and the patient is no longer alive.
Well, the Coronavirus pandemic is the most deadly disease ever. The only protection against it is to stay in isolation and stay in protection. Ensure that you are staying safe and keeping the people around you safer. We are not aware of how contagious the disease is and working towards achieving the best standards of staying safe is the only hope against the dangerous epidemic.