| Translations Angeline Vil, CHW, Haitian Kreyol
Messages for the entire community,
I am honored that Angeline Vil has requested my knowledge and understanding on a very controversial topic like Covid-19. There has been a lot of discussion about this disease and how it has changed the landscape of Medicine and all of our daily lives. As an emergency physician, I have been on the front lines with all of the ancillary staff that support the care that we provide to all patients. I will discuss 5 points that we all should know.
1. Naming this virus and the disease : The original name of this new type of Coronavirus was called the Novel (New) Coronavirus then it was later named SARS CoV2. S – severe A – acute R – respiratory S – syndrome Co – corona V – virus 2–2
Then the disease that SARS CoV2 causes was named Covid19. Co – corona Vi – virus D – disease 19 – the year in which the outbreak began
2. Health care providers during the Pandemic: We as health care providers that are practicing during this time have never seen any like this before. We are reminded of the Spanish Flu devastation, but that was 100 years ago and I personally have never heard of it until Covid started to cause widespread death here in the United States. There are physicians, nurses, technicians, paramedics, EMTs who have decided to retire early or leave medicine altogether. The main reasons they are leaving is because this disease put them all in a very difficult predicament as they can’t risk the exposure to themselves or their elderly/immune compromised love ones at home. The amount of death alone during the first wave is nothing like we have ever seen. There will be future anxiety, depression, PTSD and other collateral damage to some us who decide to stay and provide care for patients. Support and pray for your health care friends.
3. The best treatment is prevention: We must all be vigilant with prevention. The masks, hand washing and physical distancing (aka social distancing) are the first line of defense. The very next line of defense is immunizations. This has been proven over and over again to decrease hospitalizations and death as the various waves of Covid variants have come to our communities. Places around the country with high immunization rates and Boosters have done significantly better with rates of hospitalization and death compared to those with very low rates of vaccination.
4. Symptoms and Testing You can have any variety of these symptoms below typically appearing day 4-5 post exposure. Some may experience symptoms sooner and others later.
Fever or chills Cough Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing Fatigue Muscle or body aches Headache New loss of taste or smell Sore throat Congestion or runny nose Nausea or vomiting Diarrhea Just not feeling right…
If you’re experiencing a single or a combination of the above symptoms than you should be tested immediately.
Testing is widely available in most areas by two common platforms either a rapid antigen or PCR test.
5. Treatment and medications We have all heard of many treatments from a variety of sources. Among those that are popular include, Zithromax, Hydroxychloquine, Ivermectin, convalescent plasma, Zinc and Vitamin C. Unfortunately, none of these treatments have been proven to work and at best provide no change and at worse cause side effects that maybe life threatening and/or detrimental to your health. There are a lot of groups and individuals that prey on the anxiety and fear caused by Covid19. Many research articles have been retracted secondary to poor research, false information and in appropriate conclusions. We should only believe those articles that have really gone through some of highest level of criticisms.
Please seek the advice of your UP to Date Medical Providers for treatments and medications that may benefit you or your loved one. In conclusion, we should all protect ourselves and our families. Get vaccinated and boosted as soon as you qualify. If you start to have symptoms get tested, isolate if your positive and speak to provider about treatment options for you or your family members.
Thank you for reading and I hope you found this helpful.
Schubert Perotte, MD, FACEP
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