| Points: | 5 |
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Dealing with Covid without fear - 3: going to hospital for treatment
Last year, based on personal experience, I had shared general information on how we (me and my family) dealt with Covid-affected relatives. At that time, I had suggested not following the herd and doing the test early. Today's thread may seem unnecessary, especially since now there is more information through research about the virus and how to treat it, not to mention the vaccination drive having started, but the reason why I am raising it is this attitude that it's all over and done with, that the virus has vanished. Far from it. We are not out of the woods yet, mind you, and we absolutely must continue to take all the necessary precautions as I mentioned in this thread.Coming to the topic of this thread, I want to give some information about going to the hospital (naturally, only if this is required, since nowadays some people are allowed to stay in home quarantine if they can safely isolate themselves from other family members). The Covid patient will be taken to the hospital in the ambulance which will have staff wearing the PPE kit. Now, when you call the ambulance, you need to consider the physical state of the patient. Accordingly-
(i) If it is somebody who is very frail and has become too weak to even sit up, ask for an ambulance with a stretcher/bed in it so that the patient can immediately lie down.
(ii) If the patient is unable to walk, ensure there is a wheelchair provided.
(iii) If the patient has clearly shown low oxygen levels, ensure the oxygen facility is there inside the ambulance.
Regarding the treatment - In my relatives' case, they were both in hospital for treatment for 10-12 days, got excellent treatment and by God's grace returned home. They did take a long while to get back fully to their sprightly selves, due to fatigue and weakness lingering for quite a while, but otherwise had no issues later. Since the treatment will vary from one person to another, I will not go into details, but just mention one thing that we were advised to avoid - the tocilizumab injection. If at all this is prescribed, please consult top specialists as it may not at all be necessary and keeping aside the fact that it is very expensive, it has side-effects which may do more harm than good.
Ensure that you do continue to be cautious every day and be responsible instead of endangering others. Stay safe.
