Common flu or Covid-19? Get your facts right
DOCTOR EXPLAINS WHAT TO DO IF A RUNNY NOSE IS GETTING UNDER YOUR SKIN
Given that the common flu is so common, how can you be sure it’s not a coronavirus infection? More importantly, given the chances of it being a coronavirus infection, is there a protocol for home care?
Dr Jacques Malan, consultant emergency physician and head of department at Mediclinic City Hospital in Dubai answers these questions.
Who is at risk?
Malan said: “At present, people who have been in close contact with a person who has confirmed Covid-19 infection or has travelled to China is at risk. The DHA is updating the criteria on a daily basis. There are currently seven coronavirus strains. All of them manifest respiratory symptoms and are spread through infected droplets from human to human.
How to read symptoms
About the similarity of symptoms with the common flu, Dr Malan said: “Yes, like any of the viruses in this family, the Covid-19 symptoms are ‘flu-like’, comprising fever, cough, runny nose, body ache and breathing complaints. People are at higher risk for developing severe symptoms if are elderly and have other respiratory or immune diseases.”
When do you see a doctor?
“If you develop respiratory symptoms and have travelled to the affected areas in the past 14 days, or have had contact with a confirmed case, you must be tested,” Dr Malan said. “The incubation period for most coronaviruses, including Covid-19, is 2-14 days, with the peak onset of symptoms being 5-7 days.”
Protocol for home care
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), a patient must be kept in a well-ventilated single room. Movement should be limited and shared space minimised. Shared spaces such as the kitchen and bathrooms should also be well-ventilated.
Household members should stay in a different room or, if that is not possible, maintain a distance of at least a metre from the ill person. The number of caregivers should also be limited. “Ideally, assign one person who is in a good health without underlying chronic conditions or immunocompromised conditions,” WHO recommends.
Keep your hands clean
Hand hygiene following any type of contact with patients or their immediate environment is an absolute must. “Hand hygiene should also be performed before and after preparing food, before eating, after using the toilet and whenever they look dirty. If they are not visibly soiled, an alcohol-based hand rub can be used; otherwise use soap and water, WHO says.
It is desirable to use disposable paper towels to dry hands. If not available, use clean cloth towels and replace them when they become wet.
Respiratory hygiene
Patients must wear medical masks as much as possible. “For individuals who cannot tolerate a medical mask, he/she should cover mouth and nose
when coughing or sneezing with disposable paper tissue. Discard or appropriately clean materials used to cover the mouth and nose after use (wash handkerchiefs using regular soap or detergent and water), WHO recommends.
What caregivers should do
H/he should wear a tightly fitted medical mask that covers the mouth and nose when in the same room with the patient. Masks should not be touched or handled during use. If the mask gets wet or dirty with secretions, it must be replaced immediately with a new,
Dedicated linen
clean, dry mask. Remove the mask correctly (do not touch the front, but remove the lace from behind) and discard it immediately, WHO says.
Direct contact with body fluids must be avoided. Disposable gloves and masks should be used to provide oral or respiratory care and when handling stool, urine and waste. Hand hygiene before and after removing gloves and mask is a must again. The masks or gloves cannot be reused.
WHO recommends the use of dedicated linen and eating utensils for the patient. These items should be cleaned with soap and water after use and may be re-used instead of being discarded.
“Clean and disinfect daily the frequently touched surfaces throughout the patient’s care area such as bedside tables, bedframes and other bedroom furniture. Regular household soap or detergent should be used for cleaning first and then, after rinsing, regular household disinfectant containing 0.5 per cent sodium should be applied,” says WHO.
Cleaning guidelines
Bathroom and toilet surfaces used by the patient must be cleaned at least once daily. The patient’s clothes should be cleaned using regular laundry soap and water or machine wash at 60–90 degrees Celsius with common household detergent and dried thoroughly.
Utility gloves should be cleaned with soap and water and decontaminated with 0.5 per cent of sodium hypochlorite.