Health professionals advise on COVID-19 symptoms, treatments
WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - While COVID-19 patients continue to be a significant factor in strains on hospitals, the vast majority of people who test positive for the virus will recover at home. Eyewitness News spoke with health professionals to break down treatment options and when you need to go to the hospital.
As the omicron variant of COVID-19 continues to spread, they symptoms you may experience if you get sick with the virus can vary from past variants and depending on whether you’re vaccinated.
“If you are around people and have any symptoms at all, and it can be as mild as a scratchy throat or an ear giving you trouble or achy, you need to get tested. Some of the omicron symptoms are really mild,” said family physician Dr. Lorraine Alvarado.
Health experts say currently, the most common omicron symptoms are cough, fatigue and tiredness, congestion and runny nose. But unlike previous variants, the loss of taste and smell is more uncommon.
Dr. Alvarado said you should seek medical treatment as soon as you experience any of the following: chest pressure, chest pain, or becoming mentally foggy and/or slurring your speech. She advises patients to take certain precautions while recovering at home.
“Most of my patients, I have been advising to have a home pulse oximeter. And that is the little device that our physician or nurse will put on your finger to check your oxygen,” she explained. “If you are seeing numbers under 90, for sure, you need to get to a clinic or a hospital because things might be getting more serious.”
Dr. Alvarado says to ask your doctor how best to treat your symptoms.
“What I have been telling my patients to do at home is to treat their symptoms,” she said. “If you have a lot of nasal congestion, it is okay to take Dayquil or Nyquil. If you have a headache, take Tylenol. If your throat is sore, take a pain reliever. Those remedies will work at home.”
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