Do I have symptoms of the coronavirus? Many of us ask this question. Coronavirus infection produces characteristic symptoms - the most common of which are fever followed by coughing and shortness of breath, as well as muscle pain. Other symptoms such as fatigue, loss of smell and taste, and even rash may also be associated with the disease. Symptoms alone are not enough to say you are infected: to find out if you have COVID-19, you need to do a coronavirus test.

The symptoms of the coronavirus are similar to other, including seasonal, infections. But scientists keep discovering more COVID-19 symptoms. That is whyeach infection should be carefully monitored and consulted with a doctor , because even an apparently ordinary cold may turn out to be a coronavirus that is dangerous to he alth and life.

The latest estimates of epidemiologists show that the incubation period for SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is up to 14 days (usually around 5 days, however). After this time, symptoms of coronavirus infection appear.

Symptoms of Coronavirus

The most common symptoms of coronavirus infection - in the order of their occurrence - are:

  • fever
  • cough
  • fatigue
  • muscle pain

People infected with the coronavirus may also include:

  • sore throat
  • diarrhea
  • headache
  • conjunctivitis
  • loss of taste and smell
  • rash
  • discoloration on fingers and feet

The serious symptoms of coronavirus infection include:

  • shortness of breath or trouble breathing
  • chest pain
  • problems with speaking and moving

It is estimated thatnearly 80% of patients experience mild symptoms of SARS-CoV-2coronavirus infection, some do not. Almost 20 percent. the infection is severe,the elderly and chronically ill are at risk .

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For whom is the coronavirus most dangerous?

People with comorbidities such as:

are more at risk of severe COVID-19
  • diabetes;
  • hypertension;
  • COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease);
  • coronary artery disease;
  • bronchial asthma.

People with reduced immunity are also particularly vulnerable:

  • cancer patients,
  • taking immunosuppressants (reducing immunity), e.g. transplant patients suffering from autoimmune diseases,
  • patients with AIDS.

In these patients, the virus often leads to complications, in particular to the development of severe pneumonia, all kinds of bacterial superinfections, it can also irreversibly damage the respiratory tract and alveoli (as proved by Chinese doctors after dissecting people who died from infection coronavirus), as well as the heart, liver, kidneys and brain.

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Who gets COVID-19 the most?

According to statistics, the coronavirus attacks men and women equally, but inmen it more often ends in death . In Italy, for example, this proportion was 30% to 70% (deaths of men and women), in Poland it is slightly lower: 40 to 60%.

People over 70 years of ageare among the most at risk, but this does not mean that young people, and even children, are not infected either. They also have COVID-19 that can be severe and even fatal. This is believed to be due to the young organism's overreaction to the coronavirus infection. In this case, the body turns itself against its own tissues, destroying them.

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Coronavirus similar symptoms to flu and colds. How to tell them apart?

It is impossible to diagnose yourself with COVID-19, an infection caused by the coronavirus. Moreover, even a doctor cannot confirm this infection. Whether someone is infected with the coronavirus or not can only be assessed in a specialized laboratory, with the help of coronavirus diagnostic tests.

However, you can often find information that the symptoms of the coronavirus are very similar to the flu, some also compare them with the symptoms of a cold.

Therefore, it is also worth knowing what symptoms these two infections give.

What are the symptoms of flu and colds?

You can check it on the graphic below

Coronavirus treatment

In the case of the coronavirus, it is only possiblesymptomatic treatment, because so far we do not have an effective cure for this disease. There is hope, however, as scientists are in the process of testing a potential drug for COVID-19.

It is known that antibiotics are not effective in the treatment of coronavirus - he warns against their use, among others WHO on its website, reminding you that antibiotics do not work against viruses, but only against bacterial infections.

People suffering from COVID-19 are treated in hospitals on infectious diseases wards. The good news, however, is that 80 percent. cases of the disease are mild - patients are treated symptomatically: they are given antipyretics, cough medications, they must also rest and drink plenty of fluids. If the body is fighting the disease properly, it is possible to recover from COVID-19. In Poland, the number of convalescents exceeds the number of deaths several times.

People who have respiratory problems due to COVID-19 are treated with oxygen therapy, and in severe cases - a respirator. As experts emphasize, treatment in such cases consists in the use of methods and drugs that support the functions of organs.

Can healers' plasma help treat coronavirus?Michał Sutkowski, specialist in family medicine and internal diseases, President of Warsaw Family Physicians

This is a convalescent plasma method (CP method) that inactivates the virus. It has been used for many years. It was used, inter alia, a century ago, during the Spanish flu that killed at least 50 million people, then during the SARS and MERS epidemic, but not always to great effect. The body of a sick person undergoing COVID-19 produces antibodies in their plasma, which remain in them. Thanks to them, a recovery is achieved, but at the same time they protect the patient against another such infection. However, plasma can contain different amounts of these antibodies - some have very few and some have a lot - it is not known why.

Today we have a lot of recovered, negative people and we encourage you to contact the nearest blood donation station to help us all. Not everyone will be able to donate blood. One person can save 2 or even 3 people this way, as long as he has enough antibodies and is in good he alth.

This method is not ideal, however, its effectiveness depends not only on the number of antibodies, but also on the recipient: his age, he alth condition, but it has been proven successful in China, South Korea and Singapore. This is one of the recommended methods.

Is it possible to catch the coronavirus again?

Until recently, it was thought that they would be reopeninggetting COVID-19 is impossible, because we are protected against it by antibodies produced by the immune system. It is now known, however, that repeated cases of the disease are possible, which is confirmed by reports both in Asia and in European countries. So far, these are very rare cases. However, very often people who have had COVID-19 return to the hospital not because of the disease itself, but because of the complications that follow.

Fever, fatigue, muscle and headache - it doesn't have to be COVID

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COVID 19