How can we bring down the severity of COVID-19?

 Introduction

Generally, people tend to disregard the flue-like symptoms as they want to visit neither hospital nor the doctor and take either home remedies or self-prescribed medicines. Sometimes, this side-stepping the warning symptoms may lead to serious complications if the appeared symptoms are those arising out of COVID-19. If the people have contracted the coronavirus, the time is ticking away for them as it may lead to serious complications after 4 or 5 days. The physicians who have studied this pandemic say that people need to be extra vigilant regarding the types of symptoms that appear and their timeline. In this article, let us see what the course of the virus is during an infection in the human body.

Viral Life Cycle

Like any other virus, the viral infection in the human body subsides after 11-14 days in people with milder symptoms. However, the situation turns worse in some patients after 5 days. Over the period of 5 days, the virus makes enough copies to infect the lungs. By this time, the body would have started making the antibodies to stall the progress of the virus. Typically, it is after the second day of infection the body starts making the antibodies and generating symptoms such as cold, nasal block, throat aches, chills, fever, body ache, etc. All the patients may not get all the symptoms listed. Some may get a subset of them. The severity of the symptoms produced by the body depends on the viral load and the extent of immunity built in the body. The period of viral multiplication in the body is called the viraemic phase.

Viral Infection Stages

According to health experts, the whole viral infection can be divided into two phases. They are viraemic and non-viraemic phases. They are described below for the benefit of the readers.

1.     Viraemic Phase: Typically, the viraemic phase lasts for 4-5 days.  During the course of this phase, the body starts making antibodies and generate different symptoms. The symptoms subside after 5 days in most patients (80%). However, the situation spins out of control in few patients (20%) after 5 days due to excessive immune response of the body. Therefore, the patients should look for the worsening of symptoms after the initial five-day period or viraemic period. By this time, the virus would have made sufficient copies of itself in the human organs, especially the lungs. In this phase, doctors prescribe medicines to control fever, inflammations, and pain symptomatically.

2.     Non-viraemic Phase: The worsening of the condition in this phase is mainly due to the overreaction of the immune cells of the human body, not because of the virus per se. The human immune system generally produces cytokines to arrest the progress of the viruses in the body. Generally, cytokine concentration is a measure of the viral load in the body. If the patients’ immunity is compromised due to some underlying condition, the viral load in their body would be exceedingly high, triggering a cytokine storm to arrest the viral progression. This results in severe inflammation in different parts of the body, especially those affected by the virus.

 Symptoms Management

 In the non-viraemic stage, the doctors generally prescribe steroids and blood thinners to manage the situation. The steroids are prescribed to mellow down the immune response, which in turn would keep the cytokine concentration in the blood under control. Generally, the COVID-19 generates blood clots in the body, which may precipitate serious problems depending on the region where the clots have clogged the blood supply. Hence, the physicians prescribe the blood thinner to manage the symptoms. Due to the administration of the steroids, the body immunity will be compromised, providing other microorganisms an opportunity to attack the human body. Typically, the opportunists present in our body start invading it after 7 or 8 days. Mostly, the lungs start getting affected due to the opportunistic infection, resulting in pneumonia. There is a misconception in the minds of people that pneumonia mainly occurs due to the coronavirus. Pneumonia occurs after 7 or 8 days due to the bacterial infection, not due to the virus. In the non-viraemic phase, the aggravation of symptoms is mainly due to the body’s immune response and bacterial infection. Hence, the doctors prescribe the antibiotics also in the anticipation of the bacterial infection.

 Timeline for the Symptoms Management

 So, the effective management of the COVID-19 can easily be achieved by timely prescription of medicines for the symptoms in the first and second phases. In the first phase, the medicines for the symptomatic treatment will be given to see whether the symptoms subside or not. The symptoms subside after 5 days in 80% of cases. Effective management in the second phase can be achieved by a combination of steroids, blood thinners, and antibiotics. Therefore, the precise onset time of the symptoms has to be determined by the patients and their relatives for effective disease management. At the time of the visit, the physicians ask this timeline to gauge the progress of the disease and prescribe the medicine accordingly.  Thus,  the determination of the milestones passed by the patients during the course of the disease largely helps them to avoid hospitalization with complications.­­­­­­­­­

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Known and Unknown Facts You Should Know About COVID 19

Introduction

The new #coronavirus is the disease-causing agent of the viral disease that has become a global pandemic, and it has induced the global economic recession. Known as #COVID-19, this disease has threatened public health on a large scale and forced the authorities worldwide to go for the long-term lockdown to break its chain of progression. According to the UN Secretary-General, the situation due to the COVID-19 is reminding of the crises that had occurred during World War II. Globally, more than 16 lakhs people have been infected by this disease and it has caused over 82,000 deaths worldwide. 

 Origin of COVID-19

The COVID-19 had its origin in the Chinese city of Wuhan in the last month of 2019 when the local health workers stated that this viral disease was passed from animals to humans. Since then, it has spread to different countries across the world. At present, the disease is prevalent in over 100 countries across the world. Being a new virus, there is no specific vaccine or medicine available over the board to prevent this viral disease. Since December last year, there have been many attempts to understand the novel coronavirus. Despite the availability of a plethora of data available, it is not known much about this newly mutated coronavirus. In this article, we are going to walk you through some unknown things and facts about the virus. 

 Known Facts about Novel Corona Virus

1. This newly muted virus was first spotted in the Chinese city of Wuhan where the people got this virus from the products derived from cattle.
2. Corona Virus is scientifically called #SARS-CoV-2.
3. Since the disease was discovered in the year 2019, World Health Organization (WHO) has christened it as COVID-19.
4. Only a few days back, WHO has decided to call this COVID-19 ‘Pandemic’.
5. This virus belongs to a family of viruses that cause diseases ranging from mild cold to severe diseases. Some of the severe diseases caused by this family of viruses include Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).
6. The common paths of transmission of viruses include physical contact of or through the coughed or sneezed droplets coming from the infected person. 
7. This viral disease is highly contagious. 
8. The symptoms are mild in the beginning for an infected person and the infections pick up over a period of time. The symptoms associated with COVID-19 include dry cough, fever, sore throat, nasal congestion, tiredness, diarrhea, or running nose.
9. About 80% of people with COVID-19 recover without much medical intervention. However, ever one person out of six infected people becomes seriously ill and requires serious medical intervention as they develop breathlessness. 
10. Ordinary people can avoid getting this disease by observing social distancing, washing their hands with hand sanitizers or soaps at regular intervals, stopping the touching of their face, nose, and eyes, avoid traveling, and stopping the practice of hugging and handshaking. 

Unknown Facts About Coronavirus

 After having gone through the known facts, let us now look at some unknown facts about this disease.

1. Since there is no prescribed cure for the treatment of COVID-19, all the patients will get is a supportive treatment based on symptoms produced by them. 
2. The vaccines for the Coronavirus are being developed in the countries like the U.S. and China. However, they are undergoing clinical trials in these countries, which is a mandatory step before getting approval from the local government agencies. 
3. The COVID-19-infected person on average may pass on the virus to two or more people.
4. Mainly old people, children below 10 years, and those persons who have weak immune systems and pre-existing medical conditions may develop serious illnesses. According to the doctors, people with heart problems, diabetes, high blood pressure, or previous lung infections might turn serious due to exposure to this virus.
5. When the affected person sneezes or coughs, the droplets that come out contain this virus. The virus particles present in air-suspended droplets remain virulent for about 3 hours in the airborne drop suspensions. 
6. Though wearing face masks does not guarantee 100% protection from the COVID-19 transmission, it is advisable for the persons infected with the virus to wear them to stop the spreading of cough or sneeze droplets in the air. Even people with common cold and cough are advised to wear a face mask to avoid spreading the cough or sneeze droplets. The healthy people need not wear the mask. 
7. Though there is no data available to substantiate the re-occurrence of COVID-19 infection, there have been instances of people getting the infection after recovering completely from it once. For example, a Japanese woman was reported to have got the re-infection after recovering from it once. 
8. Despite the previously held beliefs that COVID-19 infection tends to slow down during summer seasons, there have been increased infections in all climate areas. That is why, the WHO has made it clear that the transmission of this disease is not climate-dependent. 
9. There is no information to suggest when the COVID-19 infection is likely to subside and life across the world would return to normal. 
10. Though there is no evidence to suggest the spread of Corona Virus from pet cats or dogs, there has been a case involving a tiger at a zoo getting the COVID-19 infection. More data is required to substantiate this claim.

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Can Insulin Therapy Best Combat Against Diabetes Mellitus?

Introduction

According to recent studies, seasoned diabetics need to go to full-fledged insulin therapy soon or later. Ideally, they are expected to move to insulin therapy about 6-10 years from the date of diagnosis. This is especially true for the type 2 diabetes. When the consulting diabetologists say that their patients need to shift to insulin for the efficient diabetes management, most of them think that it is the end of the road their lives.  This is because the insulin therapy is fraught with its own challenges. The wrong dose might push a person into a coma due to the lack of availability of glucose. Despite this risk, physicians always advise the patients to strictly follow the insulin therapy to get rid of the side effects associated with the medicines that insulin.

Why Patients Fear Insulin Therapy?

There are many causes to turn away from insulin therapy. For some people, the pain of injection is the major cause of worry.  For the majority of others, the intermittent episode of hypoglycaemia that may arise out of an overdose of insulin in the body is the source of worry. Another group thinks that the shifting to insulin therapy as the growing sign of the body intolerance to treatment. They believe that the insulin therapy is advised only in the late stage of disease.  On shifting to the insulin therapy, there should be a better coordination of doctor and patient on a regular basis.  This again causes a fear in the minds of people who suffer from this systemic disease.

Insulin Therapy

According to physicians, the reliance on insulin therapy can bring more benefits than the conventional use of medicines that replace insulin in the body. They say that the conventional medicines are basically organic compounds that are quite difficult to get digested in the body, leading to the formation of bye products that interfere with other biological processes. They say people on alternative medication would have to shift to the insulin therapy soon or later to lead a near normal life. The only catch is that the patients need to constantly interact with doctor to adjust the dose that needs to be given for efficient diabetes management. The patients should not go for self adjustment of doses to avoid unwanted hiccups with glucose level in blood. Apart from this medical intervention, the patients need to eat moderately at regular intervals to maintain glucose level at optimal value. Overdoses can lead to life-threatening complications due to a condition called hypoglycaemia. At any cost, the glucose level should not go below 35 mg/dl in blood.

Type 2 Diabetes

It is a progressive, chronic systemic disease characterized by the worsening control over the level of glucose in blood due to insufficient or no production of insulin. This condition can arise also when there is an insufficient number of insulin receptor on the cells in the body. The experts say that more than 50% of beta cell production of insulin would have lost by the time the diabetes was diagnosed. With the passage of every year, about 4% reduction in the beta cell can be expected in type 2 diabetes patients. That is the reason why the treatment methodology also varies with time. Proper drug or insulin administration and suitable lifestyle changes help the patients lead near normal life in the remaining years of their lives.

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Green Tea Ingredient may Help Kill Oral Cancer Cells

Introduction

A recent study could pave the way for a new and novel treatment for oral cancer and other neo-plastic disorders that afflict the mankind. This was disclosed by a group of food scientists from Pennsylvania State University. They have found out that green tea content may activate a natural procedure that kills oral cancer cells. This procedure is so specific that it leaves other normal cells intact.

Green Tea Ingredient

In the past, many studies were conducted on the green tea properties that make the beverage so popular among the health-conscious people across the world. Such studies revealed that a compound known as epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is found in the green tea. This active ingredient was found to carry a property to destroy oral cancer cells, leaving alone the healthy oral cells. The new study worked along the same path to find the underlying process that causes the death of cancer cells selectively.  After a period of research, they were able to find the process that causes cell death.

Mechanism of Action

EGCG seems to damage the mitochondria of the cancer cells by some unknown action.  This mitochondrial damage in turn sets up a vicious cycle causing more damage to the cell interiors, affecting other organelles in it. This triggers the cell to undergo programmed cell death. This mechanism of action was described by Joshua Lambert who is an associate professor of food science and co-director of Penn State’s Centre for Plant and Mushroom Foods for Health. The researchers have been able to peek into the causative agents for the damage. From whatever technical data they could lay hands on, they speculate that the said compound EGCG might be generating oxygen free radicals in cancer cells, which in turn damages the lipid bi-layers of mitochondria. When the lipid undergoes change, it generates more reactive oxygen species, giving more fodder for the intra-cellular damage. With this continual mitochondrial death, the cancer cell also decreases the expression of anti-oxidant genes, thus lowering its defences.

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Healthcare Costs are Getting Dearer

Introduction

With the opening of the healthcare to the private sector, the costs of treatment for various ailments have been increasing steadily. There is no respite in sight. The private hospitals try to monetize the belief of the patients in doctors to the hilt. This has been a growing trend, leading aside the health repercussions. Moreover, the common man does not have time to look at what is ailing in the sector. Unless something happens that start affecting his daily life, he is bound to keep quiet. Understanding the risks involved, the hospital authorities never let the patients have a look at the treatment history, fearing a backlash from them in the event of something going wrong.

Costly Treatments for Patients

Everything in the medical industry is commercialized. Be it the generic medicine or the room stays during the treatment at the hospital, everything is on the higher side, pushing the common man to the brink of nervous breakdown. If the treatment involves a disease of a serious nature, the costs for treatment, stay at hospital and diagnostic procedure prove prohibitively high. This is the reason why the patients are now being seen as two classes of people. One that can take up any cost and the other belongs to the lower or middle class of people. The former gets better attention and the best of treatment and the latter gets a treatment that is within his budget range. In the private sector, the highly specialized doctors have only time to see the affluent class of patients, leaving the rest of the patients to their juniors. When the experience of the doctor counts in treatment, people from the middle or lower middle class are devoid of the kind of treatment they expect due to the lack of adequate cash. This differentiation has become a norm in the present day world. Anyhow, the patients have to see the doctors to get proper treatment at some cost. This does come in between the doctors and the patients.

Unscrupulous Tests and Medicines

In the name of the treatment, the patients are made to undergo a battery of tests and the charges of those tests are levied on them. The fact of the matter is that many of these tests are not required. Since the hospital authorities have purchased the equipments, they want to make full use of that at the patients’ cost. Similar is the case of medicines dispensed across the counter at our pharmacies. One brand of medicine might have a different formulation and dosage when compared to those available in the market. Yet, only type is dispensed to all types of people because the doctors have got compensations from the pharmaceutical companies.

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