Coronavirus has now become a pandemic that baffles most experts in finding for a coronavirus cure. 2020 has just begun yet the world already faced a lot of adversities and the top one of them is the coronavirus outbreak. Covid 19, according to most experts, is almost the same as the past viruses such as MARS and SARS. The only difference is that covid-19 is a lot worse than the two. With its ability to spread quickly and rapidly, scientists may need ample time in finding its cure.






Cause and symptoms os Covid-19Coronavirus cure: First step is knowing symptoms

What are the causes of coronavirus?

According to many, this virus originated from Wuhan seafood market where wild animals including snakes, birds, marmots, rabbits, etc are sold illegally. According to the nature of coronaviruses (based on the reports of the last 120 years), they originate from animals and then jump to humans and spread from one human to another.

Once a person is infected with coronavirus, he may pass it on to the next person through its droplets from sneezing and coughing. If the other person catches the droplets, he or she is likely to get infected.

Although the coronavirus infecting humans cant infect pets or vice versa. Although companion animals such as cats and dogs may have coronavirus, this virus is a different strand compared to humans. Canine coronavirus is very much curable, but the cure for coronavirus infecting humans is yet to be examined and created.

What are the symptoms of coronavirus?

Every day is a day of discovery for most medical experts. They keep discovering new things about these deadly diseases that have claimed so many lives. However, here are the most common symptoms of covid-19:

  • Cough
  • Fever
  • Shortness of breathing

If you happen to have any or all of those, it is a necessity that you seek immediate medical help.






Who are at increased risk of getting infected with covid-19?

Covid-19: Older people are at increased risk
Source: healthline

 

Those who were in contact with a covid-19 infected person are at high risk. This is very true, most especially, if the person had contact and exposure to an infected person’s saliva or droplets.

Apart from those highly exposed, the old people, most especially aged 60 above are at high risk of getting an infection from coronavirus. The reason for this is the weakening of the immune system among old people. They may already have existing medical problems in the past because of old age.

What is the process of coronavirus diagnosis?

Covid 19 diagonosis

The process is through getting a sample of blood, tissue, or saliva samples from the infected person. This will then be taken to a laboratory for testing. They have a testing kit that analyzes the presence of the coronavirus.

Once you notice you got the symptoms, you should see your doctor immediately to seek medical help. Also, inform your office about your situation so that they can also gather information with possible infection in the area. In most cases, your medical doctors will advise you to do self-quarantine to avoid further spread of the disease.

What type of treatment is available for the novel coronavirus?

Available treatment for coronavirus

As of the moment, there is no coronavirus cure against the deadly coronavirus, yet. Unfortunately, many forms of antibiotics are of no effects since it does not work for the virus. Viral infection has more intense effects than a bacterial infection.

If a covid-positive patient shows more severe symptoms, the medical experts simply assist and give medical treatments to alleviate the symptoms. Some of the medical assistance given to alleviate the symptoms are:

  • Respirator for those who have a hard time breathing
  • Oral medications to lower down body temperature
  • Fluids to improve bodily hydration

What companies are doing to invent a coronavirus vaccine?

What companies are doing to invent a coronavirus vaccine

Since there is no approved and definite cure for coronavirus, the only thing medical experts can do is to stop the symptoms shown by the patient. However, the pharmaceutical companies have been constantly trying to come up with a coronavirus vacines or find out if any existing medicine can cure coronavirus. The following section will give you a good idea of what existing medicines can help to cure covid-19 (not fully though) and or what companies are doing to come up with new vaccines:

  • Gilead’s Remdesivir

    Gilead’s discovered this antiviral drug to defeat Ebola. During the series of tests, this antiviral drug showed high effectivity in eliminating the coronavirus. However, this is not an approved treatment yet. But in China, there was an approval of 2 clinical trials in its implementation. In the USA, 1 clinical trial was FDA approved. Once approved, this could be a good coronavirus cure.

  • Chloroquine

    The use of this drug is to combat autoimmune diseases such as malaria. Its existence for 70 years proves its safety and effectiveness. Recent discoveries are probing that this drug is effective in eliminating coronavirus. 10 approved clinical trials support the effectiveness of this drug.

  • Lopinavir and ritonavir

    The production of these antiviral drugs is to fight HIV and it is sold with the name Kaletra. There was a  sample in South Korea where a 54-year-old patient had a good effect after having the exposure to the combination of the two drugs. World Health Organization mentioned that these drugs could help to cure coronavirus.

  • APN01

    China will soon start with the clinical trial with this antiviral drug. The discovery of this drug was in early 2000. A discovery was made that ACE2 is part of the infection of SARS. Another discovery linked ACE2 to be part of the coronavirus infection. Soon, there will be a random test in China. 12 patients will have an administration or exposure with APN01 and another 12 will have exposure with a placebo. If the results show good and positive signs, there shall be massive clinical trials to be conducted afterward. Once approved, this could be a potential coronavirus cure.

  • Favilavir

    China conducted a clinical trial using this drug to 70 people. However, China did not reveal the results to the public yet. On the other hand, this antiviral drug had the purpose of curing oral and nasal inflammation. If results show great positive effects, this drug may have a bright contribution to the world’s health. This may be a good coronavirus cure if proven and tested.



What should you do in case you have covid-19 symptoms?

Covid-19 does not give symptoms to all infected. Others are symptomatic which means they have the infection yet they have no symptoms such as headache, flu, and fever. On the other hand,  if you are experiencing the covid 19 symptoms, here are a few things you should do:

  • Assess your symptoms

    Trace yourself if you have been in contact with covid-19 positive person. If not, assess if your city has the contagion or if you have traveled to a place with the coronavirus outbreak.

  • Seek medical help

    Call your doctor immediately if you are feeling sick. Some medical experts will call you to check on your health status. They prefer the calls because if you go directly to the clinics or hospitals, you may be the cause of contagion in the area.

  • Stay at home

    It is better if you stay at home if you think you have the symptoms. Make sure to get enough sleep, eat healthy food, and take plenty of rest. You should also not be in contact with any person as a preventive measure to avoid the spread of the virus. You are also not allowed to share utensils and drinks to avoid the contagion.

When do you need medical care?

Covid-19 cure: When do you need medical care?






Contrary to what people think, if you get a positive result with coronavirus, you will not be admitted to a hospital immediately. Studies revealed that 80% of them recovered by simply medicating at home. This only means that if the person who got positive with the coronavirus is healthy and is young with very mild symptoms of coronavirus, you are most likely to recover. All they need to do is to quarantine themselves to avoid the spread of the virus to others.

Most doctors would advise you to take a lot of rest, take medicines and vitamins, eat healthy food, and avoid close contact with other people. However, if your symptoms worsen while medicating at home, you need to seek medical help. Upon leaving the isolation at home, you have to wear a mask to avoid spreading the contagion.

On the other hand, if you are an adult with some medical problems, your health may be at risk. Home and self-medication may not work for you because of your underlying health issues. Therefore, you need to be in the hospital so that you can have the best medical assistance until your recovery.

How to avoid infections from the coronavirus?

Coronavirus protection: How to avoid infections from Covid-19?

Since covid-19 has transmission from one person to another, it is of great necessity that we avoid close contact with another. There are things that the CDC advises people to do to avoid the infection. These are the following:

  • Washing of hands with soap and water while singing the Birthday song for 20 seconds would be enough to kill the virus;
  • Sanitize your hands. If in case there are no soap and water nearby, you can always sanitize your hands with a 70% alcohol-based sanitizer. Bringing a pocket-sized sanitizer and/or alcohol always with you is a great idea.
  • Do not touch your face. Touching your face opens the possibility of allowing the virus to enter your system. Studies showed that an average person touches his/her face 26 times in an hour. So this one can be a challenge. You have to make sure that you have washed and sanitized your hands before touching your face.
  • Observe coughing and sneezing etiquette. When you sneeze or cough, make sure that you cover your mouth to stop the virus from spreading to people around you. Also, the CDC advises that in communicating with other people, you have to make sure that you have the 6-feet distance apart. This secures both of you from spreading and contaminating the disease.
  • Stay away from the crowd. Do not be in a crowded place such as the shops, markets, clubs. These are places with people who might have an infection. The lesser you go to these places, the lower is your chance of having the infection.

What are the possible complications of coronavirus?

Possible health complications of coronavirus

Coronavirus targets one’s immune system so if a patient has a very weak immune system, they are most likely to suffer from this deadly disease.

In China, 35 people were in the intensive care unit due to their severe cases. This number is 26% of the 138 patients who were positive with the coronavirus who had NCIP or novel coronavirus-infected pneumonia. NCIP is the worst and most serious possible complications with coronavirus.

4.3% of the 35 patients in ICU died with NCIP which is, so far, the worst complications of covid-19. To add, scientists and medical experts saw the following complications with covid-19 patients:

  • Abnormal heart rate
  • Acute respiratory distress syndrome
  • Cardiovascular shock
  • Pains in the different muscular areas
  • Heart attack
  • Overfatigue





Some other frequently asked questions about Covid-19

Are there other types of coronaviruses?

Coronavirus got its name because when you take a look at it from a microscope, it looks like a “corona” which means a crown. The crown-like structure of the virus is the peplomers which are proteins that are sticking out from center outwards. The peplomers are indicators of the possibility of infecting their host.

What is the difference between SARS and Coronavirus?

In the early 2000s, SARS or severe acute respiratory syndrome shocked the world with its contamination. It was also a contagion that claimed the lives of many, especially in China. However, they discovered a cure to treat SARS.

In 2019, a discovery of SARS  on animals and its transmission to humans happened. With the transmission of SARS to people, the contagion spread quickly and we currently have no coronavirus cure for now.

How do I tell the difference between the coronavirus and flu?

Difference between the coronavirus and flu
Source: uab

There is a very thin line difference in telling a coronavirus from the regular flu. The typical flu comes with symptoms such as fever, headaches, pains in muscular areas, runny nose, and diarrhea and overfatigue.

As of the moment, medical experts are still studying the entire differences set between the two. However, patients in China came in with fever and cough which are the symptoms by the majority of the covid patients. Only  5% of the covid patients had a runny nose and sore throat, making the two minor symptoms of coronavirus.

Having the covid-19 laboratory test is the only and best confirmation to know the difference between the two.

Finally, the outbreak of coronavirus is, indeed, very alarming for many. However, we all have to make sure that we do not panic. Panicking will do you no good and will only put your health at risk. Know your information about the virus. Wearing a mask is not necessarily a requirement for all unless you have a fever, cough, and other symptoms of coronavirus. Having proper hygiene and washing and sanitizing hands is of great necessity to avoid the spread of the virus. All you need to do is to stay calm and consult your doctor if you show any covid-related signs.






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