COVID-19 (CORONAVIRUS) MEANING, SYMPTOMS, PREVENTION, RECOVERY, AND TREATMENT (13 April 2020)
INTRODUCTION:
What is a coronavirus?
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are known to cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
What are the symptoms of someone infected with a coronavirus?
It depends on the virus, but common signs include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, the infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and even death.
Is there a vaccine for a novel coronavirus?
When a disease is new, there is no vaccine until one is developed. It can take a number of years for a new vaccine to be developed.
Although no vaccine has completed clinical trials, there are multiple attempts in progress to develop such a vaccine.
The first thing to know is there is no specific vaccine recommended to prevent or treat the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV).
However, people infected with the virus should receive the appropriate care, this in most cases is treating the symptoms. While the immune system does the fighting. In severe cases, infected persons should receive optimized supportive care.
Some specific treatments are under investigation and will be tested through clinical trials. WHO is helping to accelerate research and development efforts with a range of partners?
As of today 13 April 2020, Situation update worldwide, there are 1,920,142 Reported Cases, 119,410 Deaths and 443,732 Recovery Cases.
There is strong evidence that as well as practicing good hygiene and social distancing, boosting your immune system will help fight the virus, should you be infected.
Older people and people with pre-existing medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, and heart disease) appear to be more vulnerable to becoming severely ill with the virus. We recommend boosting your immune system.
Allow us(researchwap.com) to become a health-enhancing blog for a moment. Here are five ways to boost your immune system from the comfort of your home;
1. Eat a Healthy Diet
A benefit of Isolation is that you finally get to cook more than you eat out, so this is the time to eat healthier. The nutrients you get from food — in particular, plant-based foods like fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices — are essential to keeping your immune system functioning properly,
2. Keep Stress Under Control
The body relies on hormones like cortisol during short-term bouts of stress (when your body goes into “fight-or-flight” response); cortisol has a beneficial effect of actually preventing the immune system from responding before the stressful event is over (so your body can react to the immediate stressor). But when cortisol levels are constantly high, it essentially blocks the immune system from kicking into gear and doing its job to protect the body against potential threats from germs like viruses and bacteria.
3. Get Plenty of Good Quality Sleep
This one is a no brainer, you’re already at home, you may as well get some more sleep than usual, if you’re like me and you’re working from you, you are most likely on your bed half of the time, so rest your head on that pillow and get some sleep. Your body heals and regenerates while you sleep, making adequate sleep critical for a healthy immune response.
4. Exercise Regularly
Do a couple of push-ups, sit-ups or some other home-based exercises that don’t require equipment. If you have equipment chances are, your immune system is already up and ready, so keep up the good work. Regular exercise lowers your risk of developing chronic diseases (like obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease), as well as viral and bacterial infections.
5. When It Comes to Alcohol, Practice Moderation
While WHO recommends hand sanitizers with high alcohol levels, that doesn’t extend to inside your body. Drinking high amounts of alcohol is associated with a range of negative health effects, including lowered immune function. When you drink high amounts of alcohol, your body is too busy trying to detoxify your system to bother with normal immune system function.
While on the issue of Alcohol, there’s a rumor going around that spraying alcohol or chlorine all over your body kills the new coronavirus.
No. Spraying alcohol or chlorine all over your body will not kill viruses that have already entered your body. Spraying such substances can be harmful to clothes or mucous membranes (i.e. eyes, mouth). Be aware that both alcohol and chlorine can be useful to disinfect surfaces, but they need to be used under appropriate recommendations.
Alright, I believe we have learned a lot now, from knowing what is coronavirus to the understanding of how to boost our immune system. Now, let’s walk away from the health blog post and talk about The Basic Prevention Techniques
What are the symptoms of someone infected with a coronavirus?
It depends on the virus, but common signs include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, the infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and even death.
Can coronaviruses be transmitted from person to person?
Yes, some coronaviruses can be transmitted from person to person, usually after close contact with an infected patient, for example, in a household workplace, or health care center.
What can I do to protect myself?
Standard recommendations to reduce exposure to and transmission of a range of illnesses include maintaining basic hand and respiratory hygiene, and safe food practices and avoiding close contact, when possible, with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing.
1. Stay Updated about Coronavirus
National and local authorities will have the most up to date information on whether COVID-19 is spreading in your area. They are best placed to advise on what people in your area should be doing to protect themselves.
2. Wash your hands frequently
Regularly and thoroughly clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water kills viruses that may be on your hands.
3. Maintain Social Distancing
Maintain at least one meter (3 feet) distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing. When someone coughs or sneezes, they spray small liquid droplets from their nose or mouth which may contain the virus. If you are too close, you can breathe in the droplets, including the COVID-19 virus if the person coughing has the disease.
4. Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth
Hands touch many surfaces and can pick up viruses. Once contaminated, hands can transfer the virus to your eyes, nose or mouth. From there, the virus can enter your body and can make you sick.
If You have been in contact with someone who has been confirmed to have the coronavirus, follow the recommendation above as well as:
- Stay at home if you begin to feel unwell, even with mild symptoms such as headache and a slight runny nose, until you recover. Why? Avoiding contact with others and visits to medical facilities will allow these facilities to operate more effectively and help protect you and others from possible COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and other viruses.
If you develop fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical advice promptly as this may be due to a respiratory infection or other serious condition.
- Call in advance and tell your provider of any recent travel or contact with travelers. Calling in advance will allow your health care provider to quickly direct you to the right health facility. This will also help to prevent the possible spread of COVID-19 and other viruses.
Where Do We Go from Here?
Some Countries like Italy where there are more than 80,000 Confirmed Cases, Complete Lockdowns have taken effect. The U.S. has imposed travel bans for much of Europe and Asia.
As Global Governments and general public attempt to slow the spread, health officials and pharmaceutical companies are working overtime on possible vaccines and cures.
In an ideal world, there be a vaccine ready as soon as next week, but doctors are setting expectations very low.
As health professionals have given a timeline of 12 to 18 months before they believe a vaccine will market it into the market. As governments fast-track clinical trials on drugs that show promise in treating the virus, the public is advised to minimize movement, wash their hands and stay safe.
Let’s Talk About COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
The new Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the recently discovered coronavirus.
In most cases, infected persons experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without any special treatment, it is truly a disease fought out by the body.
Older people and those with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness. WHO advises people of all ages to take steps to protect themselves from the virus, for example by following good hand hygiene and good respiratory hygiene!
The COVID-19 virus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes, so it’s important that you also practice respiratory etiquette (for example, by coughing into a flexed elbow).
Right Now, there’s no vaccine or treatment for COVID-19. But do not lose hope, there are hundreds of clinical trials funded with billions of Dollars working tirelessly to end this pandemic.
For now, the best way to fight the spread of COVID-19 is by being well informed about what causes it, how it spreads, knowing the facts, and keeping your network well informed.
On that note, let’s address a few rumors and facts news going around about the new Coronavirus.
- The African Climate is too hot for the new coronavirus to be transmitted.
COVID-19 can be transmitted in ALL Climates. Hot, humid, cold, warm. It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t discriminate. Regardless of climate, adopt protective measures if you live in, or travel to an area reporting COVID-19. Wash your hands regularly to stop the spread of COVID-19.
- Taking a hot bath/shower will prevent you from catching the new coronavirus
This is completely false, according to WHO taking a hot bath will not prevent you from catching COVID-19. The regular human body temperature stays at 36.5°C to 37°C, regardless of the temperature of your bath or shower.
Taking a hot bath with extremely hot water can be harmful, as it can burn you. Wash your hands regularly to stop the spread of COVID-19.
- Mosquitoes can Spread the new Coronavirus
We understand that it’s easy to point at the ultimate villain every time, but this is one of the times, mosquitoes do not aid in the spread of disease. According to the CDC, there has been no evidence to suggest that the new coronavirus could be transmitted by mosquitoes. The new coronavirus is a respiratory virus which spreads primarily through droplets generated when an infected person coughs or sneezes, or through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose. Wash your hands regularly to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Ok, now that we’ve talked about some misconceptions when it comes to Fake News and Rumors let’s answer a burning question.
Why Do we always bring out the thermal scanners in times of crisis, is it truly the one size fits all virus test?
Well, Yes and NO. Thermal scanners are effective in detecting persons who have a fever. As with most viruses, the primary symptom is a fever. (i.e. have a higher than normal body temperature).
However, they cannot detect people who are infected but are not yet sick with a fever. This is because it takes between 2 and 10 days before people who are infected become sick and develop a fever.
Another Important Issue is When to use a mask
We live in a funny old world when people only take hygiene seriously when the world is ending. In any case, you’re meant to use a face mask if:
- If you are healthy, you only need to wear a mask if you are taking care of a person with the suspected 2019-nCoV infection.
- Wear a mask if you are coughing or sneezing.
- Masks are effective only when used in combination with frequent hand-cleaning with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.
- If you wear a mask, then you must know how to use it and dispose of it properly.
When and how to wear medical face masks to protect against coronavirus
- Before putting on a mask, clean hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.
- Cover mouth and nose with mask and make sure there are no gaps between your face and the mask.
- Avoid touching the mask while using it; if you do, clean your hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.
- Replace the mask with a new one as soon as it is damp and do not re-use single-use masks.
- To remove the mask: remove it from behind (do not touch the front of the face mask); discard immediately in a closed bin; clean hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.
As of today 13 April 2020, Situation update worldwide, there are 1,920,142 Reported Cases, 119,410 Deaths and 443,732 Recovery Cases.
The coronavirus COVID-19 is affecting 210 countries and territories around the world and 2 international conveyances.: The day is reset after midnight GMT+0. The list of countries and territories and their continental regional classification is based on the United Nations geoscheme. Sources are provided under "Latest Updates".
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