Question

Imagine that you are on the front line (also known as triage) in a hospital and are receiving patients presenting with possible Coronavirus symptoms. What would you be looking for in terms of symptoms for these patients? How would you differentiate them from people who may be coming in for different reasons? Your role is to investigate what symptoms these patients arrive with that makes you suspicious for this disease. Also provide a reason why this virus has a special affinity for the lungs. As with all medical staff who work together to care for a patient, you will be working together in groups of 3 to 5 people (your choice) to provide answers to this question.

Answer 1

The main symptoms of patient presenting with corona :

1.Most common symptoms:

fever

dry cough

tiredness

2.Less common symptoms:

aches and pains

sore throat

diarrhoea

conjunctivitis

headache

loss of taste or smell

a rash on skin, or discolouration of fingers or toes

3.Serious symptoms:

difficulty breathing or shortness of breath

chest pain or pressure

loss of speech or movement.

Generally the patient may come from similar symptoms but are of other infections such as flu and common cold

Differences :  

1.  The flu has symptoms similar to the novel coronavirus, such as fever and body aches, but influenza usually doesn’t cause shortness of breath.

2. Allergies have more chronic symptoms and include sneezing, wheezing, and coughing.

3.  There are many symptoms of cold, flu, and COVID that are similar, and it may be difficult to distinguish

4.  However, one key difference between the three is a symptom of coronavirus is shortness of breath,” Yacoub told Healthline.Shortness of breath is a common sign of COVID-19 which occurs prior to the development of pneumonia. Generally, the flu or a cold does not cause shortness of breath unless it has progressed to pneumonia,

  Inside the body, the coronavirus attacks the cells in the back of the infected person’s nose, replicating and spreading downward, and infecting healthy cells along the way.

The coronavirus packs a vicious double punch: It can infect the entire respiratory system, all the way down to millions of tiny air sacs in the lungs called alveoli.

  When the virus particles enter the alveoli, they continue to replicate, injuring the lungs.Fluid rushes from the blood vessels into the alveoli, filling them up and blocking the exchange of gases. When this happens, we can’t excrete enough carbon dioxide, nor absorb enough oxygen. It becomes much more difficult to breathe.