Novel Coronavirus has spread in the whole world. People have to take necessary precautions and preventive measures to save themselves from this deadly virus. The number of affected as well as the recovery cases are increasing now. Basically, COVID-19 originated in China and is now widespread across the globe. The survival with the life threatening symptoms can be very difficult. After observing symptoms of Coronavirus, or upon getting tested positive, it is recommended to stay in isolation for atleast 14 days. Onlymyhealth editorial team spoke to Dr. Sharad Joshi, Principal Consultant - Pulmonology, Max Hospital, Vaishali, about the post recovery tips for COVID-19 patients and what lifestyle habits should be avoided for speedy recovery. Before digging into this, let's take a look at the symptoms and causes of Coronavirus disease. As per Dr. Sharad, Every human body behaves differently. Yhere are 80% patients who will have mild symptoms and they will recover very fast. On the other hand, there are patients who have landed up in the ICU or who had serious illness so the recovery period is long. It can be two months and even extend upto six months.
Symptoms of Coronavirus
Pre-symptomatic or pateints having mild symptoms can choose home isolation to avoid coming in contact with other family members. Many people don't even feel any symptoms of this virus even after getting tested positive. Here are the main symptoms of COVID-19:
- Throat pain
- Fever
- Cough
- Soar throat
- Cold
- Body ache
- Shortness of breath
- Chronic headaches
- Loss of taste
- Loss of smell
- Nausea
What to do if you experience these symptoms?
This virus causes an infection in the nasal area, sinuses and upper throat. Some people have confusion on what step to take next, if they experience the signs of COVID-19. Therefore, here are some tips on what to do if you have it:
- Get a COVID-19 test
- Isolate yourself from family members and friends
- Call the doctor and report all the symptoms
- Do not go out under any circumstances
- Follow your doctor's advice for medications and other measures
Recovery Tips For COVID-19 Patients
The pandemic started around eight months ago and people are still recovering now. Talking about the patients who have faced this virus, some still think that they are absolutely fine after experiencing no symptoms. But, not just during the 14 initial days, COVID-19 patients require attention and care even after recovery. As per Dr. Sharad, here are 7 post recovery tips for COVID-19 patients:
1. Once the test has come up negative and the patient has recovered, still the quarantine period will always be 14 days since the onset of the symptoms. So, whether you are negative after 5 days of the symptoms or 8 days, you still have to complete the 14 days of quarantine.
2. As there is also a chance of getting repeated infections, so people who have recovered should continue the precautions and this is an advise to everyone. Precautions like wearing masks, sanitizing and social distancing should not be stopped.
3. There are patients who develop clots in the body after recovering. So, once you are infected with the Coronavirus, hypercoagulability or thickness of the blood increases. Therefore, clot formation becomes very easy and happens inside the body. Typically, the clot formation is only after there is an injury or a bleed. But, in post COVID-19 patients, there's a tendency of formation of clots. That can cause sudden death because of pulmonary embolism, stroke or lead to heart attack.
4. When discharged, a major advice to the patients is to continue their blood thinning agents for almost two to three months. Blood thinning agents can prevent the formation of clots. These clots can be life threatening within seconds. So, by the time patient reaches the emergency, they're already in arrest or their heart has almost stopped.
5. The patients definitely have to maintain their nutrition, hydration, intake of juices and water and certainly are not supposed to discontinue their medication whatever they have been advised by the doctor. This will help in a better and speedy recovery.
6. Also, symptoms that come after COVID-19, like bodyaches, weakness, certain level of breathlessness can cause the body to decline the nutrients. Therefore, all patients have to continue their multivitamin supplementation for a few months as advised by the doctor.
Also read: Following Certain Ayurvedic Diet Rules At Home Can Keep COVID-19 Out Of Your Homes, Vouch Experts
7. One should try to save the energy and invest it on the tasks that are of utmost importance. Energy saving can help you with a speedy recovery. But, you have to try and be active with the important things of the day.
What should be avoided during or post recovery period?
Along with some measures and precautions to be taken, there are some things that the doctors advice to avoid too. As per Dr. Joshi, here are some lifestyle habits to avoid during or post COVID-19 recovery period:
1. Smoking should surely be avoided. Because smoking is another factor that will increase thickenss of the blood. Also, this virus attacks the lungs 80% of times. And, smoking is another injury to the lungs only.
2. The patient should not go into highly polluted environments even during post recovery period. The harmful air pollutants can lead to long term illness and even a more bad impact on the lungs. It can be a trigger for the symptoms to come back.
3. Alcohol is also a big no during this period. A patient should prefer drinking hot drinks and decoctions instead. Consuming alcohol can have a deep negative impact on your body and can be even more dangerous for COVID-19 patients.
4. Sedentary lifestyle thinking that the patient is recovering, should be avoided. They might have weakness and can be lying around 80% of the time. This can be very dangerous for the patient. They should continue with their regular activities.
Talking about the patient's immunity to COVID-19 if he gets it once, Dr. Sharad Joshi said, "This has to be interpreted very cautiously because coincidentally and unfortunately in the last 15 days, I have seen 3 patients who developed re-infection within a span of one or two months. These are the patients who had the infection in July and in the end of July they recovered. They were declared negative in the RT-PCR test. And in November, they have come positive again. Although, they come with mild symptoms like fever or loss of sense of smell. But, these patients are having repeat or second infection of COVID-19. So, everyone who has been infected and recovered should not feel that they are immune and they don't need precautions like mask, sanitizers and social distancing. This needs to be followed even for patients who have been recovered."
Also read: Mental Health in the COVID-19 Era, Coping The Natural Way!
These were the post recovery tips for COVID-19 patients and some things that should be avoided during this period. Dr. Sharad Joshi said, "Theoretically, there have been patients who might have restrictive lung disorder or respiratory limitations all through their life. Practically, if you see patients who have recovered from very serious illness, they were on ventilator for a certain period of time, then they recover and go home on oxygen. But fortunately, they recover within a span of three months. Their lung function improves. Certainly, in a very small number of patients, these changes can last for a life time. They can leave any person a crippled or with respiratory limitations all through their life."
Read more articles on Miscellaneous
