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Every year, 7 April is celebrated as World Health Day. This year, the theme is to celebrate the work of nurses and midwives. Worldwide, as of today, about 70,000 lives have already been lost and about 1.3 million are affected in the current COVID-19 pandemic. The health workers are at the forefront, managing critically ill patients despite all odds in every part of the world. However, each and every individual will play an important role in preventing the spread of the pandemic. In the coming days, we have to be well prepared to face the present conditions with changes in our lifestyle.
Corona Virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is defined as an illness caused by a novel coronavirus, now called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
People may be sick with the virus for 1 to 14 days before developing symptoms. The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, tiredness, and dry cough.If you are having any of the symptoms, you must visit the Internal medicine hospital in Bangalore. Most people (about 80%) recover from the disease without needing special treatment. More rarely, the disease can be serious and even fatal. Older people, and people with other medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease, immune-compromised states), maybe more vulnerable to becoming severely ill and require intensive care.
You can protect yourself and help prevent spreading the virus to others if you:
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Wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds, with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub.
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Cover your nose and mouth with a disposable tissue or flexed elbow when you cough or sneeze.
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Avoid close contact (1 meter or 3 feet) with people who are unwell
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Stay home and self-isolate from others in the household if you feel unwell.
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Don't touch your eyes, nose, or mouth if your hands are not clean.
If you have mild symptoms, stay at home until you’ve recovered. If you develop a fever, cough, and have difficulty breathing, promptly seek medical care and consult with the best internal medicine doctor in Bangalore. There is no specific medicine to prevent or treat coronavirus disease. However, in severe cases, drugs such as Hydroxychloroquine, Azithromycin and antiretroviral drugs are being used. There’s currently no vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease.
Getting your workplace ready for COVID-19
When someone who has COVID-19 coughs or exhales, they release droplets of infected fluid. Most of these droplets fall on nearby surfaces and objects - such as desks, tables or telephones. People could catch COVID-19 by touching contaminated surfaces or objects – and then touching their eyes, nose or mouth. The Risk of serious illness rises with age: people over 40 seem to be more vulnerable than those under 40.
Simple ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in your workplace
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Make sure your workplaces are clean and hygienic. Surfaces (e.g. desks and tables) and objects (e.g. telephones, keyboards) need to be wiped with disinfectant regularly.
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Promote regular and thorough hand-washing.
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Put sanitizing hand rub dispensers in prominent places around the workplace.
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Ensure that face masks and /or paper tissues are available at your workplaces, for those who develop a runny nose or cough at work.
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Advise employees and contractors to consult national travel advice before going on business trips.
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Anyone with even a mild cough or low-grade fever (37.3 C or more) needs to stay at home. They should also stay at home (or work from home).
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Try to have a teleconference or online meetings.
Myth Busters
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Exposing yourself to the sun or to temperatures higher than 25C degrees DOES NOT prevent the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
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You can recover from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Catching the new coronavirus DOES NOT mean you will have it for life.
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Being able to hold your breath for 10 seconds or more without coughing or feeling discomfort DOES NOT mean you are free from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) or any other lung disease.
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COVID-19 virus can be transmitted in areas with hot and humid climates
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Cold weather and snow CANNOT kill the new coronavirus.
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Taking a hot bath does not prevent the new coronavirus disease
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The new coronavirus CANNOT be transmitted through mosquito bites.
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Hand dryers are NOT effective in killing the new coronavirus.
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Ultraviolet disinfection lamp can NOT kill the new coronavirus.
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Thermal scanners can be detecting people having fever only, DO NOT detect coronavirus.
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Spraying alcohol or chlorine all over your body will not kill the new coronavirus.
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Vaccines against pneumonia cannot protect you against the new coronavirus.
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Rinsing your nose with saline will not help prevent infection.
Consultant - Internal Medicine
Dept. Of Internal Medicine
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