First step: call the doctor and stay in solitary confinement. Each patient is evaluated based on his or her medical history. You can only visit the hospital if your condition is serious. Similarly, a doctor will visit you at home, only if he deems it necessary.
If I have a fever and a cough, do I have coronavirus for sure?
Since the flu season is now at its end as winter is ending, those who in these days have a fever, cough, and breathing difficulties, even light ones, have a higher chance of getting Covid, however, this can only be determined by conducting a Covid test.
What should I do then if I have at least one of these symptoms?
Anyone who has a cough or fever over 37.5 degrees should contact their GP by phone without going to the office. It is precisely the family doctor who knows better about their patients, their personal history, and the risk factors that are somehow related to a worsening of coronavirus disease. The first thing to do is to go into home isolation, avoiding contact with the rest of the family as much as possible.
The next step would be to get tested, that is if your doctor advises you to do so. You can book Covid tests online through patient portal aegislabs.
Will the doctor come to visit me at home?
Generally not. In most cases, triage is by telephone. Doctors ask questions on a card to evaluate signs and symptoms. However, in more complex cases, some doctors make home visits.
The doctor prescribed me tachipirina, okay?
Yes, the treatment generally uses antipyretics, essentially paracetamol, one gram, no more than three times a day which, in addition to lowering the fever, is a pain reliever. In some cases, therapy is supplemented with antibiotics if superinfection is suspected. In some cases, the doctor may decide to prescribe chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine, drugs known to treat malaria, arthritis, and lupus used for off-label Covid 19.
Is it true that my doctor cannot do swabs?
Absolutely yes. Swabs are performed by healthcare professionals only in the hospitalization phase on severely symptomatic patients, Or else if you book a test through a private lab like patient portal aegislabs com. In both cases, it is not the doctor but other healthcare professionals who do the swabs and conduct the tests.
Who checks if I’m getting better or worse?
It is the family doctor who deals, almost always by telephone, with how the disease is evolving. The patient has the task of monitoring three parameters: breathing rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation in the blood. For the first, it is enough to count the breaths in one minute (up to 20 is normal); for blood pressure, you need the device, which can be easily purchased at the pharmacy. Oxygen saturation can be assessed with the oximeter, a low-cost instrument that, placed on the finger, detects respiratory insufficiency in the initial phase.
What is the symptom I need to pay attention to the most?
If oxygenation drops too much (below 95% for young people, below 92% for elderly people with illnesses) and you suffer from shortness of breath, the doctor who starts the procedure for hospitalization must be called immediately.
How long will it take me to get fully cured?
For mild cases of Covid, 10 days to 2 weeks of quarantine is sufficient enough for a person to get fully cured. However, if the symptoms are serious and hospitalization is required then it is dependent on the patient’s condition as to how fast they will get better and only the doctor will determine if the patient is fit enough to leave.