Dos, Donts, Precautions & Relapse of Covid-19

Introduction

Coronavirus is a novel sort of virus that was first appeared in Wuhan, China in December 2019. These lead too many cases of unidentified pneumonia in Hubei Province, People’s Republic of China (PRC). Its clinical characteristics are same as that of viral pneumonia. After analysis of respiratory samples, experts declared that the pneumonia, later known as novel coronavirus pneumonia, was caused by novel coronavirus. WHO officially named the disease COVID-19. It infects all age groups but mortality of COVID-19 is high in the elderly, age group more than 65 years of and children. Fatality in pediatrics is less as compared to adults. Most of the cases of COVID-19 in children are mild disease like other viral infections. But it can be fatal in children with heart, liver, kidney diseases, malnutrition and children with immune deficiency. There is no definite treatment or vaccine of COVID-19 available till now. At present, all we can do is to take some measures to reduce or prevent the risk of infection of this deadly virus. This can be done by having ample knowledge on dos, don’ts, and precautions meant to be taken. Many aspects of its relapse are also included in this article.

DOS & DONTS

DOS

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick and are included in more risk zone.
• Every time on cough or sneeze, use a tissue. Dispose the used tissue immediately.
• Disinfect and clean the surfaces of objects frequently, with wipes or solutions that are anti-septic.
• If feel sick, contact doctor or physician soon. Then stay at home.
• DO wash hands for at least 20 seconds, many times a day. Use soap and water or a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
• DO wear a mask properly in places, if you suspect you may have the virus.
• DO consider taking extra precautions and staying out of public places if you’re above 60 years old, or have a condition, as you have a higher risk of developing the disease.
• DO reconsider travel to affected areas of world.
• DO make sure to clean frequently-touched surfaces properly.

• DO open a window or use an air conditioner or fan in shared spaces. This will maintain good airflow, as the virus may be airborne.
• Maintain a six-foot distance.
• Practice social distancing, prefer staying at home.
• Include essential vitamin supplements like vitamin B12, vitamin D3, vitamin C and turmeric in your diet.
• Coconut water, lemon water, water with vitamin C supplements drink as much as possible to flush the toxins and strengthen your immune system.
• Empathize with things around.
• Give proper time to your body to work out. Stick to anything like yoga, meditation etc.
• Spend some quality time with family. Bond over food, books, talks, and play dates.
• Do keep in touch with different helpline numbers.
• Keep watches on the symptoms of coronavirus, which can range from common cough and fever to shortness of breath.
• Stay extra cautious at public places.
• Make sure to clean your hand before eating or cooking.
• Prepare yourself and take proper precautions.

Precautions

• Practice respiratory hygiene.
• Stay informed and alert. Follow advice given by healthcare provider.
• Protect others from being sick.
• Keep in mind the travel advisory set out by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
• As much as possible, keep away from other people and pets in home.
• Do not allow visitors into your home. This includes children and adults.
• Wash the sick person’s clothing, bedding, and towels with detergent on the hottest temperature possible.
• Wear gloves when handling their laundry, if possible.
• Wash your hands well after handling the laundry (even if you wore gloves).[5, 6]

Relapse of Covid

A relapse means that parts of the virus moves to some kind of dormant state for a time, or that some patients may have weak immunity that makes them susceptible to the virus reviving in their system. Those who have been infected with Covid-19 develop a protective antibody - but it is not defined, till when the protection lasts. In certain individuals, the antibody cannot last that long. For many cured patients there is a likelihood of relapse. In children, the virus may cause the development of “at least short-term immunity”. People with mild infections have been reported to test positive for the virus by throat swabs for many days after their illness. Several possible explanations for a small but growing number of recovered coronavirus patients who later test positive are being given. The main possibilities behind relapse are re-infection, relapse, or inconsistency in tests. The tests may also be so sensitive that they are picking up small, potentially harmless levels of the virus, leading to new positive results [7, 8]. The prospect of people being re- infected with the virus is of international concern, as many countries are hoping that infected populations will develop sufficient immunity to prevent a resurgence of the pandemic .As per experts, remnants of the virus could still be in patients’ systems but not be infectious or of danger to the host [9, 10]. The growing number of relapse cases of Covid-19, may be due to lower level of immunity developed in patients who have had mild infections on being exposed to the virus. The reason behind it, may also be that the virus may replicate only on the surface cells of the respiratory tract [11,12.] These antibody tests will be able to measure that level of serology presence, antibodies. Therefore, further refinement of the diagnostic techniques for virus is essential. Thirdly, giving treatment to a patient without a legitimate diagnosis may be inappropriate, especially when the treatment carries substantial adverse effects [13, 14]. “Two studies showed sustainable immunoglobulin (igG) levels one to two years after SARS-CoV infection, but it is uncertain whether this finding can be related to SARS-CoV-2. Whether sustained levels of antibodies will provide full protection against reinfection, is not sure. Researchers at the School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, and Shanghai studied blood samples from patients who had been released after treatment and found that nearly one-third had low levels of antibodies. In some patients, the antibodies detection was nill [15, 16]. In some elderly patients cases, when fever subsided and oxygenation improved, decrease in the amount of corticosteroids lead to the relapse of fever [17, 18, 19, 20]. COVID-19 patients currently remain the primary source of infection. Asymptomatic carriers and those in the incubation period may also be infectious. People with positive SARS- CoV-2 RNA are probably an infectious source of COVID-19 [21, 22, 23, 24]. One of the riskiest elements of the coronavirus is that people have no immunity to it because it’s completely new. Although the body is able to become partly immune to some viruses like flu or almost completely immune to others like chickenpox , reinfections do happen. People cannot build up proper immunity to flu viruses is because they change so often so the body does not recognize them [25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30].

Conclusion

Till date there is no exact medicine or vaccine available against COVID-19. The most important deed we can do is to take precautions, maintain social distancing, taking proper diet and sleep and most importantly, carry a positive vibe that together we can and we will eradicate this virus one day from its roots.