‘How Do We Face COVID-19?’- Dr Srinivas Kakkilya MD-Consultant Physician in City
Mangaluru: Fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, sudden loss of smell and taste and diarrhea are the symptoms of COVID-19. Anyone who develops these symptoms must stay at home. Call and inform the Help Line 14410.
There is no need at all to go here and there seeking tests and treatment. COVID-19 is a self limiting infection, meaning, it gets cured by one’s own immune system, in more than 99% cases. There is no need for any tablets, or Kashaya, or AYUSH or the so called immunity boosters. All over the world, of the 1.25 crore cases reported, more than 75 lakhs, and in India, of the 8.5 lakhs, more than 5.5 lakhs, have already recovered without any Kashaya or AYUSH, and most of the remaining will recover too.
The risk of COVID-19 worsening is higher in those aged 60 or above, and those who are suffering from severe diabetes, hypertension, coronary or cerebrovascular diseases (heart attack, stroke), chronic diseases of the lungs, kidneys and liver, and severe obesity. Such people must protect themselves from the infection and if they get the infection and start showing the symptoms, must keenly observe the status of their body and report to the hospitals at the earliest signs or symptoms of worsening.
More than 99% cases of COVID-19 recover within 3-4 days. Continuing or worsening symptoms may indicate development of severe COVID-19. Continuing or increasing fever, worsening cough, onset of difficulty in breathing, that is worse on walking or lying down, are indicators of severe COVID 19. Anyone with these symptoms must immediately report to a hospital.
COVID-19 affects the lungs and disturbs oxygenation of blood. If the infection worsens, the oxygen saturation in the blood starts dropping. By monitoring the oxygen saturation, one can identify worsening infection at an early stage. A simple device called pulse oximeter (cost Rs. 2000-4000), when clipped to a finger, shows, within a minute, the oxygen saturation and pulse rate. In a normal individual, the oxygen saturation (SpO2) is 97-100% and pulse rate (PR) is 60-100 per minute. SpO2 below 95% and the PR above 100 may indicate severe COVID-19. Patients of chronic lung disease may have a lower SpO2 even otherwise and in such patients, a drop in saturation by 4% or more after walking for 6 minutes may suggest worsening COVID-19. Such patients must immediately go to a hospital.
SUMMARY:
In more than 99% cases, COVID-19 gets cured by the body itself, there is no need for any tests, or any medications. Therefore, anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 must stay at home, isolate from others to prevent its spread. Inform the Help Line 14410.
Those who have risks for severe COVID-19 must take precautions. If such patients develop symptoms, they must keenly watch for worsening illness, usually after 6-7 days of the onset. They can monitor the blood oxygen saturation with the help of pulse oximeter and if SpO2 drops below 95%, they must go to a hospital immediately.
ABOUT AUTHOR:
Dr. Bevinje Srinivas Kakkilaya, consultant in internal medicine, practicing in Mangaluru. He along with his wife,Dr. Balasaraswathy, a Dermatologist practicing at Mangaluru, have developed a unique diet and lifestyle programme for the management of metabolic syndrome related disorders, being offered at Spandana Centre for Metabolic Medicine in Mangaluru.
Dr Srinivas has been writing fortnightly column on health related issues, titled Arogya Prabha, and Arogya Ashaya, in leading Kannada newspapers. He has been awarded the Best Writer (Medical) Award by the Karnataka Science and Technology Academy and the Bisaleri Jayanna and Bisaleri Brothers Endowment Award for Medical literature by the Kannada Sahitya Parishat. He is also a co-investigator in the project titled Malaria Research Training in South India being conducted by the Kuvempu University Consortium, Shimoga, Karnataka, in collaboration with the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, USA, and funded by the Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA.
He was the founder editor of Medilore, the bi-monthly newsletter of the Dakshina Kannada Chapter of Indian Medical Association. He has organised several Continuing Medical Education (CME) Programmes under the auspices of two renowned hospitals. He has also collaborated with the researchers at the ID-FISH, Inc., Palo Alto, California, USA in developing a novel FISH assay for the diagnosis of malaria on thin smears. He ahs developed a comprehensive website on malaria, first such from India, that provides detailed information on the aetiology, clinical features, diagnosis, treatment, complications, control measures and prophylaxis of malaria, malaria in children and pregnancy and malaria in Mangalooru. The site can be accessed at http://www.malariasite.com
