What to do if you think you have covid?

Hello, I'm Dr Manoj Kuriakose, & I'm back. But this time, I'm back with some good news for you.

The good news is that 80% of the people who are affected by corona are asymptomatic or with very mild symptoms. This means that you might get corona, but you may not even realise that you've got it & it will just go away. Symptomatic or severe cases are about 15% and they come with symptoms of cold, cough, fever, body pains and may be some loss of smell, taste and breathlessness.

Here, let me warn you about breathlessness. There are two types of breathlessness:

One, when you have a congestion in the lungs, you get a lot of wheezing sound in the chest. You cough a lot with a lot of phlegm, you have fever and you may need to go to the hospital.

The second type of breathlessness is emotional. Here, you feel like taking a deep breath, you feel you are not breathing enough, or your lungs are not getting full. You don't feel satisfied breathing. This happens when you are worried or scared. Haven't you experienced this when you were scared or worried the last time? This happens because when you are worried, you breathe shallow and CO2 accumulates in the lungs. If you try to relax and take a few deep breaths, try to breathe out your worries, it will get back to normal.

It's the rainy season now, the season for cold and flu. If you do get a little bit of irritation in the throat, you have a little temperature, chills or slight body pains; don't worry about it. Don't rush and get yourself checked.

There could be two reasons:

• 1. It could be a virus that is bothering you.

• 2. It could be Covid.

Even if it's covid, it's presenting mild symptoms only, like a seasonal cold. It is not going to the severe stage because your immune system is able to take care of it. Be in touch with the doctor, keep telling him the symptoms that you are experiencing. And if the doctor feels that it is going beyond viral, then he will tell you to go and get a test done. Only then get it done.

Don't be anxious to get a test done. Your immunity is doing its job and taking care of it. But, if you are anxious and get a covid test done, then you are going to panic and breathe shallow. Carbon dioxide is going to build up and you're going to make your lungs weak, then you may start a cough, breathlessness, hospitalisation and the rest of it.

I am treating many patients who are positive and are suspects. Trust me, all of them are doing well without any complications. Most of them are getting better while staying home and taking treatment. So, even if you are a suspect, quarantine yourself so that you are not a threat to others.

Take care and stay safe!