How To Treat COVID-19 at Home

       

     

The most common symptoms of COVID-19 include a fever, coughing, and breathing problems. Unless you have severe symptoms, you are most likely able to treat them at home, the way you would for a cold or  flu. Most people recover from COVID-19 without the assistance of any medical practitioner. C You can call your doctor to ask about whether you should stay home or get medical care in person.

Scientists are trying to make new medicines and test some existing drugs to determine whether they can treat COVID-19. In the meantime, there are numerous practices that can relieve symptoms, both at home and at the hospital.

Treatment At Home

If your symptoms are mild enough that you can recover at home, you have to:

• Rest. It may make you feel better and speed your recovery.
• Stay indoors. Don't go to work, school, or public places.
• Drink fluids. You lose more water when you're ill. Dehydration may make symptoms worse and cause other health complications.
• Check. If your symptoms get worse, call your doctor right away. Don't move to their office without calling first. They might tell whether to stay home, or they may need to take extra steps to protect staff and other patients.
• Ask your doctor about over-the-counter medicines that may be helpful, like acetaminophen to lower your fever

The most important thing to do is to avoid infecting other people, especially those who are above 65 or who have other health problems.

       

That means:

• Try to stay in one place in your home. Use a separate bedroom and bathroom if possible.
• Tell others you're sick and encourage them to keep the social distancing.
• Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue or your elbow.
• Wear a mask over your nose and mouth when necessary.
• Wash regularly, particularly your hands.
• Don't share dishes, cups, eating utensils, towels, or bedding with any other person.
• Clean and disinfect common surfaces including doorknobs, counters, and tabletops.

What to expect

Symptoms begin 2 to 14 days after you come into touch with the virus. Early studies show that many people who have mild infections can recover within 2 weeks. More severe cases can last 3 to 6 weeks

Talk to your doctor about how long you should isolate yourself in case you have symptoms. CDC guidelines say you can leave isolation when all of these are effective:

• You haven’t had a fever for 3 days.
• Your respiratory symptoms, like coughing or shortness of breath, are better.
• It’s been at least 10 days since your symptoms started OR you have two negative COVID-19 tests 24 hours apart.

How do you know if your symptoms are getting worse?

Get medical care right away if you begin to experience:

• Trouble breathing
• Pain or pressure in your chest
• Confusion or severe drowsiness
• A blue tint to your lips or face

Coronavirus Treatment in a Hospital

      

You don't need to go to the hospital or ER if you have  just basic COVID-19 symptoms, such as a mild fever or cough. If you do, many hospitals will send you back home.

If your case is severe, members of the medical staff will look for signs that the illness is causing more serious problems. They might:

• Check the levels of oxygen in your blood with a clip-on finger monitor
• Listen to your lungs
• Get you a COVID-19 test. This involves putting a 6-inch cotton swab up both sides of your nose for about 15 seconds.

You may get extra oxygen through two small tubes that go just inside your nostrils. In very serious cases, doctors may connect you to a machine that can breathe for you, called a ventilator.

You can also get fluids through a tube, or IV, in your arm to protect you from getting dehydrated. Doctors might also closely monitor your breathing. The goal is for your infection to run its course and for your lungs to heal enough that they could breathe on their own again.

Your doctor might give you medication so as to thin your blood and prevent clots.

     

If you take drugs like angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), or statins for other health problems, your doctor will advise whether to continue with them as usual.

Many clinical trials are underway to explore treatments used for other conditions that could  help fight COVID-19 and to develop new ones.

People who are in the hospital with severe COVID-19 can get an antiviral medicine called remdesivir. Research shows that some patients recover faster after taking it. Remdesivir was created to fight Ebola, but the FDA has issued an emergency use ruling so doctors could use it against COVID-19.

The FDA is also allowing clinical trials and hospital use of blood plasma from people who've recovered from COVID-19 in order to aid patients with severe or life-threatening cases. this is  called convalescent plasma.

Clinical trials are under way for other medications, including tocilizumab, which has been used to treat autoimmune conditions and an inflammatory condition known as cytokine release syndrome.

         

The FDA had released an emergency ruling which doctors could use hydroxychlor -oquine and chloroquine to treat people who are hospitalized with COVID-19. But the agency revoked the ruling amid serious concerns about their safety. The World Health Organization stopped trials of hydroxychloroquine, and France banned its use against COVID-19. The medications are approved to treat malaria and autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

One study showed that dexamethasone, a common steroid medication, can be helpful to people who are hospitalized with severe COVID-19 complications. But the findings are preliminary, and the researchers haven’t published the full study.