Well, now that we have this thread, lets make some common sense out of the panic that the media portrays about covid-19.
If yer essentially a healthy human, and the virus attacks you, yer gonna survive but you WILL be Miserably sick for about 10-14 days. Been there, done that, it ain't fun but recovery is full.
If yer not a healthy person to begin with where yer ailment compromises yer immune system to any degree, and the virus attacks, yer gonna probably be in a survival fight. Common sense sez that if you are this kinda unhealthy person to begin with, smart thinking would be to FULLY quarantine yerself.
According to the CDC ...
"The 1918 influenza pandemic was the most severe pandemic in recent history. It was caused by an H1N1 virus with genes of avian origin. Although there is not universal consensus regarding where the virus originated, it spread worldwide during 1918-1919. In the United States, it was first identified in military personnel in spring 1918. It is estimated that about 500 million people or one-third of the world 2019s population became infected with this virus. The number of deaths was estimated to be at least 50 million worldwide with about 675,000 occurring in the United States."
The 2009 edition of the USA swine flu ...
"From April 12, 2009 to April 10, 2010, CDC estimated there were 60.8 million cases (range: 43.3-89.3 million), 274,304 hospitalizations (range: 195,086-402,719), and 12,469 deaths (range: 8868-18,306) in the United States due to the (H1N1)pdm09 virus."
Think about all this a bit and put covid-19 in perspective with the swine flu, and then with the common yearly winter flu here in the USA.
"CDC estimates that the burden of illness during the 2018-2019 season included an estimated 35.5 million people getting sick with influenza, 16.5 million people going to a health care provider for their illness, 490,600 hospitalizations, and 34,200 deaths from influenza. The number of influenza-associated illnesses that occurred last season was similar to the estimated number of influenza-associated illnesses during the 2012-2013 influenza season when an estimated 34 million people had symptomatic influenza illness."
CDC REPORTS as of March 23, 2020 ... COVID-19: U.S. at a Glance
Total cases: 33,404
Total deaths: 400
Jurisdictions reporting cases: 54 (50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and US Virgin Islands)
Interesting stuff to ponder, eh?
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COVID-19 SYMPTOMS
The main list of acute symptoms at this time is actually quite short and can appear anywhere from two to 14 days after exposure to the virus, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"We're emphasizing fever plus a notable lower respiratory tract symptom -- cough or trouble breathing," said infectious disease expert Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventative medicine and infectious disease at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville.
Being able to identify those symptoms and act upon them when necessary is critical. Here's what you need to know.
Fever
Fever is a key symptom, experts say. Don't fixate on a number, but know it's really not a fever until your temperature reaches at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.7 degrees Celsius) for children and adults.
"There are many misconceptions about fever. Average daily temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius), but we all actually go up and down quite a bit during the day as much as half of a degree or a degree," said Dr. John Williams, chief of the division of pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
"So 99.0 degrees or 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit is not a fever," he stressed.
When you check for fever, don't rely on a temperature taken in the morning. Instead take your temp in the late afternoon and early evening.
"Our temperature is not the same during the day. If you take it at eight o'clock in the morning, it may be normal," Schaffner explained.
"One of the most common presentations of fever is that your temperature goes up in the late afternoon and early evening -- it's a common way that viruses produce fever."
(ADDED: Sore throat is also an indicator along with a feverish feeling.)
Cough
Coughing is another key symptom, but it's not just any cough, said Schaffner. It should be a dry cough that you feel in your chest.
"It's not a tickle in your throat. You're not just clearing your throat. It's not just irritated. You're not putting anything out, you're not coughing anything up," Schaffner said.
"The cough is bothersome, it's coming from your breastbone or sternum. and you can tell that your bronchial tubes are inflamed or irritated," he added.
Difficulty breathing
Shortness of breath can be a third -- and very serious -- manifestation of Covid-19, and it can occur on its own, without a cough. If your chest becomes tight or you begin to feel as if you cannot breathe deeply enough to get a good breath, that's a sign to act, experts say.
"If there's any shortness of breath immediately call your health care provider, a local urgent care or the emergency department," said American Medical Association president Dr. Patrice Harris.
(ADDED: Shortness of breath means GET TO A HOSPITAL ASAP!)
"If the shortness of breath is severe enough, you should call 911," Harris added.
(ADDED: This is how covid-19 kills, via the lungs - pneumonia and fibrosis).
In addition to difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, the CDC lists emergency warning signs for Covid-19 as a "persistent pain or pressure in the chest," "bluish lips or face" -- which indicates a lack of oxygen -- and any sudden mental confusion or lethargy and inability to rouse.
Get medical attention immediately, the CDC says.
Flu and cold symptoms
This trifecta of symptoms -- fever, cough and shortness of breath -- are not the only signs of sickness that have been seen in cases of Covid-19.
Many other symptoms can resemble the flu, including headaches, digestive issues, body aches and fatigue, which can be severe. Still other symptoms can resemble a cold or allergies, such as a runny nose, sore throat and sneezing.
Most likely, experts say, you simply have a cold or the flu -- after all they can cause fever and cough too. One possible sign that you might have Covid-19 is if your symptoms, especially shortness of breath, don't improve after a week or so but actually worsen.
So what should you do?
"At this moment, the current guidance -- and this may change -- is that if you have symptoms that are similar to the cold and the flu and these are mild symptoms to moderate symptoms, stay at home and try to manage them with rest, hydration and the use of Tylenol," Harris said.
That advice does not apply if you are over age 60, since immune systems weaken as we age, or if you are pregnant -- anyone with concerns about coronavirus should call their healthcare provider, according to the CDC.
It's unclear whether pregnant women have a greater chance of getting severely ill from coronavirus, but the CDC has said that women experience changes in their bodies during pregnancy that may increase their risk of some infections.
In general, Covid-19 infections are riskier if you have underlying health conditions such as diabetes, chronic lung disease or asthma, heart failure or heart disease, sickle cell anemia, cancer (or are undergoing chemotherapy), kidney disease with dialysis, a body mass index (BMI) over 40 (extremely obese) or an autoimmune disorder.
"Older patients and individuals who have underlying medical conditions or are immunocompromised should contact their physician early in the course of even mild illness," the CDC advises.
To be clear, you are at higher risk -- even if you are young -- if you have underlying health issues.
"People under 60 with underlying illnesses, with diabetes, heart disease, immunocompromised or have any kind of lung disease previously, those people are more vulnerable despite their younger age," Schaffner said.
A history of travel to an area where the novel coronavirus is widespread (and those parts of the world, including the US, are going up each day) is obviously another key factor in deciding if your symptoms may be Covid-19 or not.
Topic: Can we move on? (Read 4664 times)
