Why can I get infected even if I don’t go out? How many days will it take for the sense of taste and smell to return?

When should cold medicines, antitussives, and antiviral medicines be used?

After COVID-19 infection, how to use medication rationally to avoid severe illness? Chen Erzhen, deputy director of Ruijin Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, gave relevant answers.

Do not use cold medicines and antipyretics together

Chen Erzhen said that there is currently no evidence to support that medicines can prevent new coronavirus infection, so there is no need to take preventive measures in advance. Take medications.

■For asymptomatic infections, mild patients and ordinary patients without high-risk factors, home health observation can currently be adopted, and generally no drug intervention is required.

■However, for patients with symptoms such as fever, dry and sore throat, dry cough without phlegm, runny nose, nausea and vomiting, etc., symptomatic treatment can be given to relieve symptoms and should be used as appropriate.

■General and severe patients with high-risk factors for severe disease need to go to designated hospitals for treatment.

“If home health observers lack relevant clinical and pharmaceutical professional knowledge and background, and cannot obtain timely guidance from professional clinical physicians or pharmacists, they will often make some medication misunderstandings and even lead to serious adverse reactions. occur and develop, and even induce severe The occurrence of the disease deserves everyone’s attention.”

Chen Erzhen said that for upper respiratory tract and other symptoms caused by the new coronavirus, cold medicines and antipyretics need to be used rationally at home to avoid repeated use of medicines or drug overdose. Adverse drug reactions may cause damage to organ function. Commonly used cold medicines and antipyretics often contain the same ingredients. For example, medicines such as Sanli Pain, Tylenol, Tylenol, Day and Night Baifu, etc. all contain acetaminophen. If these medicines are used repeatedly, they may cause a fever-reducing effect. The effect is not ideal, and multiple administrations in a short period of time may cause excessive intake of acetaminophen, leading to nausea, vomiting, gastrointestinal discomfort and other symptoms, and even induce acute liver damage and increase the risk of severe disease. \”For safety reasons, the daily dose of acetaminophen should generally be controlled below 2 grams, and the frequency of use should be strictly controlled according to the instructions.\” He emphasized that symptomatic treatment does not mean that the more types of drugs, the better the effect. It must be remembered that \”it is \”Medicines are three parts poisonous\”. The toxicity caused by the superimposed effects of drugs, which can lead to serious symptoms, needs to be carefully prevented.

Treat it calmly and do not use antiviral drugs arbitrarily

Infants, young children, elderly patients with underlying diseases and other key groups have different physiological functions. Tolerance to drugs varies significantly.

■For infants and young children, pediatric dosage forms must be used, and the dose is calculated based on body weight. If adult dosage forms or dosages are used, it can easily lead to drug overdose or even poisoning and serious illness;

■Elderly People often suffer from a variety of chronic diseases and usually take a lot of medicines. If they choose antipyretics inappropriately, it may cause drug interactions.

Chen Erzhen said that at least it will reduce the efficacy of the medicines taken, and at worst it will cause adverse reactions., causing the body to suffer unnecessary damage. If excessive, it will damage the liver and kidney functions, and even cause the body temperature of some frail and sick elderly people with chronic wasting diseases to drop too fast or too low due to excessive sweating, leading to collapse and severe illness. Therefore, it is best for the elderly to take medication after being infected with COVID-19 under the guidance of a clinician or pharmacist.

Chen Erzhen said that cough is one of the common symptoms of new coronavirus infection, which can be accompanied by phlegm or without phlegm, but coughing requires careful use of medication.

■For coughs with phlegm, it is necessary to take expectorant drugs at the same time as antitussive drugs to promote the dilution of sputum and smooth discharge and avoid poor drainage of sputum.

The action of phlegm can easily cause sputum retention, which can then induce infection and aggravate the condition. Especially the elderly with chronic lung diseases should pay more attention to it; for children, it may cause suffocation, so extra caution is needed.

“So far, there is no specific drug for the treatment of new coronavirus infection. Although nematvir tablets/ritonavir tablets have been approved by the State Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of adults with severe hypertension. Risk factors for mild to moderate novel coronavirus pneumonia (C OVID-19) patients, such as patients with high risk factors for severe illness such as advanced age, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease, etc. However, there is no definite basis for its efficacy in asymptomatic infections or mild patients, so do not abuse it. .\” Chen Erzhen said.

Why do you get infected even if you don’t go out? How many days will it take for the sense of taste and smell to return?

The reporter had an exclusive interview with Wen Danning, director of the Infectious Diseases Department of Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital. Wen Danning is also a member of the provincial and municipal joint expert group on COVID-19. He has been engaged in clinical work on infectious diseases for more than 20 years and participated in the treatment of major epidemics such as SARS, Avian Flu, and COVID-19.

After the 7-10 days of illness, many people still have symptoms such as cough, diarrhea, sore throat, night sweats, etc. Are these symptoms a continuation of the disease or sequelae of the infection? ?

Wen Danning: Since February this year, we have been clinically exposed to Omicron infection, from BA.1, BA.2 to BA.5, to now The dominant virus strain is BF.7. The symptoms of BF.7 infection do vary somewhat. These symptoms that appear during the recovery period are actually a process of recovery after infection. Symptoms such as cough, diarrhea, sore throat, expectoration, and night sweats that appear 7 to 10 days after infection are not called sequelae.

Sequelae in medicine refers to symptoms that still exist after 3 to 6 months after the condition is completely stable. We call it sequelae. The current wave of symptoms such as cough, diarrhea, dry and sore throat, and sputum production (including some people coughing up bloody sputum) among people infected with Omicron will gradually improve and improve as the course of the disease progresses and time goes by. Recovery.

This appearsFor some symptoms, the medication depends on each person\’s specific situation. For example, for diarrhea, antidiarrheal medicine and some dietary adjustments are needed; for cough, expectorant and cough medicine can be used symptomatically. If you cough up a lot of blood, you may also need antidiarrheal medicine. Some medicine to stop bleeding. The principle of medication is symptomatic treatment.

Should we bear the subsequent symptoms of these diseases? This also needs to be based on each person\’s own situation.

■If some people have some chronic diseases in their lungs, they are prone to lung infections in winter and spring. At this time, they cannot just ignore it and must actively treat the symptoms.

■If you have a cough with thick phlegm, it may be due to other infections. At this time, you may need to take antibiotics for 3 to 5 days. After two or three days, the amount of phlegm will obviously decrease and the color of the phlegm will change. Light, thick phlegm has turned into white bubbly phlegm, which shows that the anti-inflammatory is effective.

Many infected people have lost their sense of taste and smell. Is this because the virus has damaged the relevant nerves? Can it be restored?

Wen Danning: We encounter quite a few patients with loss of taste and smell in clinical practice, about 10%. Especially this time, there are so many patients infected with BF.7, it seems There are more such patients. But what I saw clinically was one-off, and they gradually recovered after 3 to 5 days.

I don’t think this is because the central nervous system is affected. It may be that the peripheral neurons that sense taste and smell are temporarily damaged. That’s why clinically we see patients who lose their sense of taste and smell between 3 and 3 years old. Recovery gradually began in 5 days. There are basically no patients who continue to not recover, so the damage should not be permanent.

Many infected elderly people have never been out, so why are they still infected?

Wen Danning: If you ask carefully, many elderly people do not go out at all. He was probably downstairs, but not far from home.

Some elderly people do not go out, but they always have visitors at home, such as children and relatives who come to visit, and nursing staff who take care of them.

Elderly people who don’t go out will also accept outside items, such as bought food and daily necessities. These are possible sources of infection.

How to deal with aerosol-borne viruses?

Wen Danning: Not only Omicron, but also many respiratory viruses are spread by aerosols. Aerosols are best thought of like smoke from smoking. A person smokes in a room, and people who come in after he leaves can smell the smoke. In fact, this is a kind of aerosol, which can float in the air for a long time without settling. When you encounter it, you inhale it.

But if you open the windows for ventilation in time, you will soon no longer smell the smoke, which means that the smoke has diffused. This is why we need to keep offices, homes and other places well ventilated. Compared with the smell of cigarette smoke, the aerosols that spread the virus are colorless and odorless, and are more concealed.For some, keeping windows open for ventilation should become a good living habit.

I have become negative, but my family or colleagues have become positive again. Will I be infected again?

Wen Danning: Everyone is asking this question. There is no such cross-infection between family members and colleagues.

In a family or a certain area, the virus strains that people are infected with are basically the same strain, and there will be no repeated infections with the same strain in the short term. Because after infection, the body\’s immune function will produce antibodies against this strain, and these antibodies can last for 3 to 6 months.

Editor/Zong Zhelin

Source/Labor Daily