The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the world to a halt and has made people confine themselves in their home. Coronavirus is from a family of viruses that can cause infection in both animals and humans. A new coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2 emerged in China in late 2019 and has caused a severe respiratory illness COVID-19.
If you want to protect yourself from this deadly disease, it’s important for you to know the common signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and how it differs from other conditions.
What Are Common Signs And Symptoms of COVID-19?
According to the CDC, the incubation period for coronavirus is 4 to 5 days; however, it can also range between 2 to 14 days. You will be amazed to know that not everyone with coronavirus infection will feel unwell as you may have the virus, but you don’t develop the symptom. The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are:
- A Gradually Worsening Cough And Fever
- Fatigue
- Shortness Of Breath
Reports even tell that some people even experience additional symptoms of COVID-19 like:
- Sore Throat
- Runny Or Stuffy Nose
- Loss Of Taste Or Smell
- Muscle Aches And Pains
- Headache
- Diarrhoea And Vomiting
- Chills
- Pink Eye
- Discoloration Of The Fingers And Toes
According to WHO, 1 in every five people become seriously ill with COVID-19 and can develop pneumonia or respiratory failure.
Read related- COVID-19 Prevention – Tips and Strategies
Emergency Symptoms of COVID-19
Symptoms that need you to visit the hospital immediately are:
- difficulty in breathing
- persistent chest pain
- difficulty waking up or staying awake
- confusion
- cyanosis that causes blue lips or a blue face
How Are Symptoms of COVID-19 Different From Cold Symptoms?
Coronaviruses are the type of viruses that causes the common cold. Symptoms of the common cold includes:
- Sore throat
- runny or stuffy nose
- Body aches
- Cough
- Headache
If we include fever in the symptoms of common cold, then it’s COVID-19.
How Is Symptoms Of COVID-19 Different From Flu Symptoms?
You might have heard that people are comparing COVID-19 with seasonal respiratory illness flu. Now the question arises how you can tell COVID-19 symptoms if different from flu?
Simple flu symptoms often come suddenly, while COVID-19 symptoms develop more gradually. Some of the common symptoms of the flu are:
- Chills and fever
- Cough
- Runny or stuffy nose
- Body pains
- Sore Throat
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Diarrhoea or Vomiting
There is a lot of similarity between flu and COVID-19; however, most of the common flu symptoms are often there in COVID-19 cases. See the below points to know how COVID-19 is different from flu:
- COVID-19 is more transmissible than flu and spreads more quickly
- Flu is known to have a shorter incubation period than COVID-19
- A higher percentage of older adults tend to develop more severe symptoms for COVID-19 than that for flu.
- The frequency of affecting children is higher with flu than that of COVID-19.
How Is COVID-19 Symptoms Different From Flu Symptoms?
Allergic Rhinitis or hay fever is a medical condition that causes respiratory symptoms and is caused due to exposure to allergens like mold, pollen, pet dander and dust in the environment. Hay Fever symptoms include:
- Sneezing
- Cough
- Stuffy or Runny Nose
- Swollen or Puffy Eyelids
- Itchiness in the nose, eyes or throat
Itching symptoms of hay fever aren’t observed in the COVID-19. Even shortness of breath and fever are few COVID-19 symptoms that are not there in hay fever.
What to Do If You Have COVID-19 Symptoms?
If you experience COVID-19 symptoms, then you need to do get yourself tested as soon as possible, and in the meantime, follow these quick tips:
- It’s not necessary that everyone with COVID-19 symptoms needs hospitalization. But keeping track of the COVID-19 symptoms is necessary as these symptoms can worsen during the second week of the illness.
- You must contact the doctor even if the COVID-19 symptoms are mild for consultation.
- Get yourself tested by booking an RT-PCR Test from Meddo to know whether you have COVID-19 or not.
- Stay isolated at your home until you are infected with the coronavirus. You must live separated from other people in your family so that they might not get infected.
- If your symptoms of COVID-19 has worsened, then you need to seek immediate medical care
- Try to wear a mask while going outside.
- Wash your hands with soap and water at regular intervals. You can even use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not present.
Risk Factor Associated with COVID-19
You may be at increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 if you are:
- In close contact with someone who is COVID-19 positive
- Travelling or living in the area where community transmission of COVI-19 is occurring
Adults who are 65 years or more at higher risk for severe illness with COVID-19. Moreover, people who have the following health conditions are also at high risk:
- Chronic Kidney disease
- Cancer
- Obesity
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Severe heart conditions like cardiomyopathies, CAD and heart failure
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- Sickle Cell anaemia
- Weekend immune system due to organ transplant
- Pregnant women
How to Protect Yourself from Coronavirus?
- Wear a mask to cover your nose and mouth while going in public where it is difficult to maintain a physical distance of 6-foot.
- Be sure to wash your hand with soap and water frequently. In the absence of these, use alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- You should avoid touching your face when you haven’t washed your hands as the virus might transfer to these areas and make you sick.
- Try to maintain a distance of 6-foot around someone who is ill or sneezing or coughing.
- Avoid sharing your personal items like drinking glasses and utensils as you can potentially transfer the coronavirus.
- Stay at home and go out if you are not well or ill until you have recovered.
- Use the household cleaning spray or wipes for cleaning frequently touched surfaces like keyboards, countertops, doorknobs and switchboards.
- Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze with the crook of your elbow or tissue.
- You should get vaccinated whenever it is available in your area.
Key Takeaway
The main signs and symptoms of COVID-19 are cough, fever, shortness of breath and fatigue. If you think you have COVID-19 symptoms, you need to self-isolate yourself and then book the COVID-19 test from Meddo. If you are positive, then you should isolate yourself until recovery.
