What are the Possible Coronavirus Treatment Available – Covid-19?
Coronavirus has taken a toll on the health of people globally! According to the 1st May’s situation report of the World Health Organization (WHO), around 3259978 people have been infected and 230575 have died due to this deadly pandemic. Medical scientists are taking crucial steps towards making effective and covid-19 treatment but they have not got any success yet. There is no Vaccine right now for coronavirus treatment and the world needs to fight it with other strategies.
Well, this virus particularly takes over on older people and on those as well who have health conditions like high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, heart, and lung problems. But it does not mean who are young and healthy can’t come into its influence. Coronavirus is highly contagious and it spreads like a wildfire. WHO declared it as a pandemic back in January and since then every measure is taken to get rid of this virus.
The worst part is that an individual starts showing the symptoms of covid-19 after 2 weeks. The most common signs are fever, followed by dry cough and tiredness. However, some patients face sore throat, nasal congestion, diarrhea, body aches, and pains.
Patients who become seriously ill develop difficulty in breathing. It is vital to note that people, no matter what their age is, if experiencing fever, difficulty in breathing, and cough should seek the help of a healthcare professional. It is mandatory to take care of ourselves and follows the rules and guidelines that are set for us by the local health agency. Also, WHO advises everyone to follow good hygiene to protect themselves from this virus.
How Corona Infected Patients are Treated since there is no Vaccination?
There is no corona cure yet and you might be wondering then how patients are treated! Those who are found positive for this virus, they are admitted to the hospital. These patients are treated according to their signs and side by side their immune systems make every effort to fight against the virus. Apart from hospitalization, these patients are isolated so as to halt the virus from spreading.
In worst cases, patients get pneumonia and they are put on a ventilator. Whereas in milder cases, intravenous drip is given to those whose blood pressure is not normal. Patients with diarrhea are given fluids and those who have pain issues are given ibuprofen tablets.
According to the data, patients with the severe disease recover in 3 to 6 weeks. And patients with mild cases recover in about 2 weeks.
How Much Time would it take to Develop a Vaccine for Coronavirus Treatment?
There is no doubt that time is passing swiftly but medical scientists are using every second to develop a fast and potent vaccine for coronavirus treatment. Obviously the vaccine would be the most powerful way of eradicating this pandemic. It is not yet known that how long it will take to develop a vaccine for corona.
It is worth noting that numerous groups are working hard but there is no assurance that the vaccine will be developed in 2 months, 3 months, or so on! In fact, one of the groups said they may get an experimental vaccine ready in a month for initial testing. But according to the experts, this timeline may not allow proper analysis and effectiveness of the vaccine. Of course, safety and efficacy are the foremost factors to be considered.
Specialists state testing of a vaccine for the covid-19 will be a lot quicker than for other vaccines. They further said that even if they work swiftly and carefully, still it will take around 12 to 18 months to develop and test the vaccine.
What Happens after Recovery from Corona Virus?
The blood of the patient recovered from coronavirus contains antibodies. These antibodies are produced by the body help patients fight against covid-19 and also make them well. These compounds are found in a component of blood called plasma. Now, doctors are making use of convalescent plasma, which is the plasma they get from recovered patients. These antibodies from the (recovered patient) donor are given to the corona patient by transfusion. This helps the patient to reduce the severity of the disease, and they are able to fight the illness.
There is no denying the fact that convalescent plasma has been used for several years and has some success too. But it is not yet known that how much it is successful when it comes to treating coronavirus. In fact, it is also not confirmed that at what stage it should be given to the patient. This type of treatment is considered to be experimental. Then how come doctors are giving it to the covid-19 patients?
Allowing Convalescent Plasma for the Patients
Well, on 24th March 2020, the Federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, FDA (Food and Drug Administration) started allowing convalescent plasma for coronavirus treatment for the patients with severe stage. It is given only to those corona patients who are very serious or have life-threatening infections. In China, there have been reports of some success when it comes to giving convalescent plasma to corona patients.
It is vital to note that not all recovered corona patients can donate convalescent plasma. There are some criteria that have to be fulfilled. Those covid-19 patients who are recovered, have zero signs for fourteen days, and tested negative can donate plasma to other patients for coronavirus treatment. Apart from these, recovered patients should have a good amount of levels of antibodies in their plasma and their blood type should match to another corona patient. When this criterion is fulfilled then they are allowed to move forward in donating convalescent plasma to the patient. One donor can give it to 1 to 3 patients. After donation, it is then screened for other types of infectious diseases. It is also taken into consideration that the immune system of the recovered patient (donor) should be strong otherwise he may become susceptible to catching the virus again.
Trials for the Treatment for COVID 19 that Failed!
Clinical trials have been done for coronavirus treatment but they were found to be ineffective. Some years ago, Remdesivir, a drug was developed by American company Gilead Sciences to cure Ebola. Though this drug failed in clinical trials, it was found to be harmless. Moreover, when this drug was researched with MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus), it stopped that virus from propagating itself.
Remdesivir focuses on the progression of genome replicating in viruses that do not have DNA but RNA. Covid-19 has RNA genomes and when experimented with animals, it exhibited a process against the virus which causes MERS and SARS (Severe acute respiratory syndrome). This is the reason there was a hope that it can be used to treat SARS. Later, it was said that this trial got terminated because of no improvement over placebo but it ended in side-effects.
Though five more trials of remdesivir are going on, meanwhile the best solution to taking over this virus is immunization. It is certain that the development and testing of vaccines would take months but immunization can help in the interim.
Possible Treatments and Cure for COVID-19: Selfcare to Prevent Novel Corona
Well, there are no effective coronavirus treatment or covid 19 cure. As mentioned above, patients are treated according to their symptoms. It is said, ‘Stay Home, Stay Safe’. By staying at home you will be helping yourself in keeping this virus away from you. So, you must follow the preventive measures to protect yourself from COVID-19, such as-
- Stay at home only
- Keep at least 2 meters away from each other
- Avoid touching mouth, eyes, and nose
- Often wash your hands with soap or hand wash
- Cover your mouth by bending your elbow or using tissue when you cough
- Use mask and gloves when stepping out for urgent purposes
If everybody takes appropriate precautions then we would be able to fight well with this pandemic. If you experience any symptoms of corona that are mentioned above, then make sure you isolate yourself. Keep yourself away from your family members so that they do not get infected.
If your signs increase, then take no time in seeking medical help. It would be great if you avoid unneeded visits to hospitals as you may catch a virus if your immune system is weak. Just remember that the only way to protect yourself from novel coronavirus is to stay at home and follow the guidelines provided by your local public health agency. Do not panic, stay at home, take care of yourself and your family.
There is urgency and we have no covid-19 treatment till this date. But there is a hope that medical scientists are paving their way to get the best vaccine for this deadly corona.
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