2020 will be remembered as the year of lockdown in the recent future. A newly discovered corona virus, provisionally named as the novel(meaning ‘new’) corona virus, first detected in Wuhan, China, has caused a pandemic rocketing in communities worldwide, causing the world to go on a lockdown. However, life as we know, goes on; therefore, soon the lockdowns will be relaxed and gradually the course will have to pick up its pace. Researches are being carried on vigorously to develop a vaccine and medicine against the virus. Until then, here is everything we should know about the virus and the precautionary measures to prevent it from affecting us.
The coronavirus disease is highly infectious and affects the lungs. However, most people affected by the disease will experience mild or moderate symptoms. These symptoms could be coughing, sneezing, fever, exhaustion, headache, sore throat, and on rarer occasions, conjunctivitis, pains and aches, diarrhoea, loss of taste and smell, or skin rashes. Affected people with mild or moderate symptoms often recover without requiring any special medical treatment. However, older people and people with underlying medical issues as chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer are more susceptible to develop serious illnesses due to the coronavirus. The serious symptoms would be shortness of breath, inability to speak or move, or chest pain. Medical help should be looked for, immediately in such cases.
The coronavirus usually takes about 5-6 days to show in an infected person, but could also take up to 15 days. The coronavirus primarily spreads through droplets of saliva or nose discharges when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
In order to protect ourselves and our fellow human beings from getting affected, we must take the following precautionary measures –
- Wash our hands at regular intervals with soap and water or clean our hands with an alcohol-based rub as it kills the viruses that might be present on our hands.
- We must take care to not touch our faces, as our hands touch many surfaces and might transmit the virus to our nose, mouth or eyes.
- We must keep practising social distancing by avoiding crowded places or gatherings, and keeping at least one meter of distance between ourselves and others.
- Refraining from smoking and other activities that weaken our lungs will help our body to fight better against the virus.
- We must always wear masks and gloves when we step out our doors.
- We must always cover our nose and mouth before sneezing and coughing. Good respiratory hygiene should always be followed to prevent transmitting the infection to ourselves or others.
- We should throw tissues into closed dustbins immediately after use.
- There is no food item that acts as a medicine against the coronavirus, but it is important to have a healthy protein-rich and vitamin-rich diet in order to promote a healthy immune system function. One should not follow any extreme diet during this state of an ongoing pandemic, and it is advisory not to undergo high-intensity physical trainings, as they sometimes affect our immune system in a negative manner.
- Lastly, but importantly, we should stay updated regarding our knowledge on the coronavirus disease so as to prevent being duped or misled, and to combat better against the disease.
We shouldn’t discriminate against the infected people. We must also pay heed to our mental health as the pandemic has given rise to anxiety and depression. These are tough times and we must support each other and stay informed. Remember, this pandemic is a war, and humanity has to emerge victorious.
