A number of patients with symptoms of mild fever, cough, cold and sore throat have been thronging clinics in Dakshina Kannada for the past few days now.
A case in point is a clinic of a well-known physician at Chilimbi in the city where the doctor has been attending to a number of patients from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
Physician Srinivas Kakkilaya said that the symptoms he has been attending to are of the upper respiratory track viral infection caused when the air is cold and dry. In most cases, it will be influenza and in some, they can be of coronavirus. “These are self- limiting infection and they go off in a week’s time. People can take paracetamol if fever goes up to 102 degrees Fahrenheit and beyond during this period,” the doctor said.
Advising patients not to yield to indiscriminate use of antibiotics such as azithromycin for viral infection, Dr. Kakkilaya said that people should take care of their general health and opt for one or two steam inhalations during this period and also, do gargling with warm water.
Family physician and Public Relations Officer of the Mangaluru chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) Annayya Kulal said that the condition of patients with high risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension and asthma may start deteriorating after seven days. Such patients then need to get admitted in hospitals and undergo necessary tests.
Another family physician G.K. Bhat Sankabithilu, who is the secretary of IMA, Mangaluru, said that unlike in the first two waves of COVID-19, the symptoms for the infection now are very mild in nature and they are being treated by keeping patients under home isolation for a period of one week.
These symptoms are also noticed even among those who have taken two doses of vaccine. Urging people not to panic if faced with the infection, Dr. Sankabithilu advised them to isolate themselves and follow other COVID-19 norms while taking medicine as prescribed by their doctors.
District COVID Nodal Officer H. Ashok said that most of the students and others who tested positive for COVID-19 recently, have recovered after one week in isolation.
Those with cold, cough and other symptoms can get themselves tested at a primary health centre and follow the treatment protocol, he said.
