While researchers are still learning about the new coronavirus, most people sickened by it appear to not get all that ill.
"The one thing we really don't need is mass hysteria," said Dr. Robert Murphy, executive director of the Institute for Global Health at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and an infectious diseases professor. "Eighty percent of people have such minor symptoms, they don't actually require any medical care at all. The 20 percent who do feel quite ill need to be evaluated, and some of them will require hospitalization and some of them will require intensive care."
Those most at-risk for severe symptoms include senior citizens and/or people with underlying medical conditions, such as cardiovascular or lung disease, cancer or diabetes, he said.
So far, there have been more than 100 confirmed cases across the United States. Six people have died from the illness; at least five of those patients had underlying medical conditions.
Before you do anything else, call your health care provider.
If you are worried you might have the coronavirus, pick up the phone before you seek medical treatment. The reason for this is twofold: In very mild cases, your doctor might be able to give you advice on how to treat your symptoms at home without needing to see you in person, which would reduce the number of other people you expose.
"The vast majority of cases are going to be mild, and people are going to recover just like they do from a cold or flu-like illness," said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and an infectious diseases doctor.
In more serious cases, where medical treatment might be necessary to assist with breathing issues or other problems, an urgent care center or a hospital emergency department will benefit from advance notice of your arrival. They may have a special entrance they want you to come in through so you don't expose other patients on your way in, or a mask they want you to put on, Adalja said.
Not everyone needs to be tested, experts say. If you have been in close contact with someone diagnosed with the coronavirus or have recently traveled to an area where the virus is spreading, and you develop a fever, a cough or difficulty breathing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends you call a health care professional for guidance on whether to be tested.
Originally Posted by Boston Babe 73
Lets pretend this was a real thing (it's not), do people not realize they can boil water? When we lived in Pakistan all water had to be boiled before being consumed. This was before the day of bottled water too, so this was a thing people did daily, and then they put it in the fridge overnight and then it was drinkable the next day.
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