Covid-19: Introduction, Symptoms and Prevention

Coronavirus, aka Covid-19, is on the list of infectious diseases. However, this is a new form of the virus and it has been discovered recently. The majority of people who get this virus suffer from mild or moderately severe symptoms. The good thing is that most of the patients recover from the illness without any treatment. In this article, we are going to talk about the symptoms and preventive measures that can help you stay safe.

According to research studies that have been done so far, older individuals and those who already have underlying medical conditions, such as cancer, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes are more likely to suffer from severe symptoms of the diseases.

As far as prevention is concerned, the best way is to be informed, which means you need to take proper precautions to avoid catching the virus. For this, you need to understand what causes the diseases and how it spreads from one person to another.

The first and most important preventive measure is to wash your hands often using a sanitizer, such as alcohol and avoid touching your nose, hair, lips or other parts of your face.

Now, the million dollar question is, how does this virus spread? According to the most recent research studies, the coronavirus tends to spread when an infected person sneezes or coughs. The tiny droplets of the discharge from the mouse or nose of the person enter another person’s body through their noise or mouth. Therefore, it’s important to follow proper respiratory etiquette.

Currently, we don’t have any treatments or vaccines for coronavirus. But clinical trials are still in progress in order to evaluate potential treatments and their efficacy. You can get updated information from the WHO website.

Prevention

Fortunately, there are some proven ways to prevent infection and slow down the pace it spreads at. Given below are some tips that can help you save yourself from the infection and slow down the spread.

• Make it a habit to wash your hands with soapy water. It’s better to wash your hands for at least 20 seconds as this is the amount of time the soapy water takes to kill the virus.
• If someone’s is sneezing or coughing, make sure you stand at least one meter away from them.
• As much as possible, try to keep from touching your face
• If you have to sneeze or cough, cover your nose and mouth to keep the droplets from infecting others or things in front of you.
• If you think that you are infected with the virus, don’t get out and stay inside your room.
• Don’t smoke or take part in activities that can cause your lungs to get weaker.
• Practice social distancing and don’t travel unless you really have to.

Symptoms

First of all, it’s important to note that the coronavirus doesn’t affect everyone the same way. Since Covid-19 spreads respiratory diseases, most people suffer from mild to moderate symptoms. This means most of sufferers can recover from the illness without getting any special treatment. All they need to do is keep themselves away from everyone and practice the tips given above.

However, people with underlying conditions are at a higher risk of suffering from severe symptoms. Some of them may even die from the virus. Similarly, people over the age of 60 are also at a higher risk of severe symptoms. Therefore, these people should be more careful than others.

Common Symptoms:

Given below are some common symptoms of the virus. They are mild symptoms and can go away between 7 and 14 days.

• Dry cough
• Tiredness
• Fever

Other Symptoms:

• Sore throat
• Pains and aches
• Shortness of breath
• Few people may suffer from a runny nose and diarrhea

If you have mild symptoms or you are observing self-isolation, you may get in touch with your health care provider for advice on how you can get tested for the virus. This is important if you want to save yourself and your family from the infection. Your life and the life of your family are in your hands.

If you have cough, fever or you find it difficult to breathe, you may want to contact your nearby doctor right away without wasting time.

So, this was basic information about the Covid-19 and the steps you can take to save yourself from the infection.

coronavirus symptoms