What should I do during the Pandemic?

• First and foremost: Do not panic
• Follow Covid behaviors, which has been told repeatedly, i.e.
  • Social Distancing
  • Avoid unnecessary outings
  • Wear a mask
  • Frequent hand wash with soap and water

Am I suffering from Corona?

• Body ache, weakness + mild fever are the earliest symptoms
• However, a mild body ache, lasting for 2-3 hours disappearing by itself is likely due to fatigue
• Other symptoms are cough, cold, and some also have diarrhoea
• If these persist beyond 2 days and/or associated with fever > 100°F get RT PCR covid test done
• It is imporant to wait 2 days, because if you test very early it may not come positive despite having the disease

I am Covid positive! What now?

• Contact a physician and start medication, per their advice
• Isolate at home
• Get a pulse oximeter and thermometer to monitor your condition at home (per your doctor’s advice)

During home isolation

• Rest
• Eat well and stay hydrated
• Monitor and record Pulse/Temperature/Oxygen level every 4 hours

Monitoring is very important because in some people, especially young people, oxygen level could be dropping even if the patient feels comfortable

Contact a doctor if:

• Fever persists >100 degree F
• Breathing difficulty
• Oxygen level (SPO2) falls below 94%

If someone is Covid positive in the house

• Keep them well isolated
• Do not share his/her toilet
• If only toilet in the house do not use for 20 minutes after the positive person uses it
• Always wear a mask
• Other members of household should be watchful about symptoms in themself, and follow protocol as above
• Even if no symptoms appear for 7-8 days, stay away from others till then

Avoid extreme Covid behavior

Avoid the following:

• Panic with minimum symptoms
• Collecting and hoarding medicines
• Getting admitted in hospital because I can afford
• “I am young my symptoms are mild, I don’t need treatment”
• “My parents/beloved will worry, so I shouldn’t tell them about my symptoms”

Don’t take the disease lightly, but don’t panic either. More than 90% of patients recover well with timely treatment

If I get Covid infection during pregnancy

• Unlike last year this second wave this second wave is affecting many pregnant women
• Treatment for Covid is same as that of a non-pregnant patient, except that certain medicines are not advisable during pregnancy
• Ivermectin and Doxycycline should be avoided during pregnancy
• Aspirin, heparin should be stopped at least one week before delivery. Therefore stop these 3 to 4 week before EDD
• CT scan can be done if essential
• Antiviral drugs should be given when absolutely essential for patients recovery
• It is better that a physician treats a pregnant Covid patient then a obstetrician

A word of advice

If unfortunately something goes wrong in the family, do not blame the doctor, system, government, your country, or yourself. Do not try to convince yourself that this mishap was preventable, and it occurred because someone did something wrong.

Most of medicines reduce severity of disease reduce hospital stay but not mortality by a significant extent. Early diagnosis and early treatment is key to get well.

Tsunami of second wave! What I can do to minimize further damage?

Although anticipated to some extent, all of us collectively failed to anticipate the severity of the second wave. We behaved well during first year and gradual unlock was done after Diwali. Beyond a small spike in November surprisingly the number of affected cases kept on falling till February this year. So we thought we won and removed our guard.

A virus is very weak and vulnerable without a host. But it propogates very fast inside a host, and it can mutate and exhibit new characteristics. In a gathering it finds a new host and spreads.

We are fortunate that vaccination of healthcare workers and other frontline workers was complete before the second wave struck. At least we have people working in hospitals. This in turn proves that the vaccine works. So keep in mind that the vaccine is an important weapon in our hand to fight corona.

Why do people try to avoid vaccination?

• Some think they will get Covid after vaccination. Immunity, in fact, develops 3 weeks after the second dose. If someone gets the disease before, it isn’t because of the vaccine but despite the vaccine.
• Some are worried about side effects. Every medicine has some or other side effects, but with the vaccine it is very low and risk of Covid is far more than risk of side effect of vaccine.
• Some worry about missing important work e.g. examinations, interviews, etc. if they get the vaccine now. Side effects like body ache and mild fever, if they occur at all, are not likely to make you miss your work. Again, risk of the disease is far greater, and more likely to make you miss your important work.

Some other aspect of vaccine

Q :- If I am positive when should I get vaccine?
A:- After 8 to 12 week of positive report

Q:- Should I get vaccine during periods?
A:- Yes

Q:- Can I get vaccine if I am pregnant or breast feeding baby?
A:- International society of Obstetricians recommend that it can be done during pregnancy and lactation. In India vaccination is not recommended for pregnant woman, there is no clear guideline regarding lactation. We all are learning, I would recommend avoid vaccine for 6 to 8 weeks after delivery, till you are fully active

Author:
Dr. Vaijayanti Bhoraskar