As India continues to struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic with record-breaking number of coronavirus cases on daily basis, the country is also suffering from acute shortage of hospital beds and medical oxygen. Looking at the worsening situation, the Union Health Ministry has listed out some warning signs suggesting when does a COVID-infected patient actually needs hospitalisation.
The ministry stated, if a patient is experiencing a continuous dip in oxygen level or is experiencing extreme fatigue or chest pain, this clearly indicates that the person needs immediate medical attention and should be hospitalised.
In a series of tweets, the Health Ministry explained the warning signs indicating when does a COVID-infected isolated patient needs hospitalisation:
Signs indicating a COVID-19 infected person should get hospitalised:
- Falling oxygen (below 93)
- Excessive fatigue
- Severe chest pain
The above signs and symptoms are the warning sign that a patient in home isolation may need hospitalisation urgently. Apart from this, it is also advised for the patients to continuously stay in touch with their doctors and should take all necessary precautions.
Patients with mild symptoms should self-isolate:
The Health Ministry last week also released the revised guidelines regarding home isolation for patients suffering from mild and asymptomatic cases of coronavirus infection. The ministry had asked the mildly infected patients to confine themselves to self-isolation and to constantly monitor their health and important parameters such as temperature, heart rate, SpO2 percent and breathing.
Apart from this, the Director of AIIMS Delhi, Dr. Randeep Guleria also suggested that patients with mild symptoms need not necessarily go for multiple CT scans as one CT scan is equivalent to almost 300-400 chest x-rays that can increase the risk of getting cancer in young people. He also warned against the use of steroids at the early stage of the infection and suggested that steroids should be only used for moderate COVID cases.