At The Urgent Care at Vermont, we offer testing for COVID-19. As we move away from the difficulties of life in a pandemic towards a more manageable situation of endemic COVID-19, we should still be exercising reasonable caution to avoid spreading this disease and to protect ourselves from unnecessary risk. We encourage our patients to get vaccinated if they haven’t already, and to stay informed.
Symptoms and Testing
COVID can manifest in a wide range of symptoms, and some people only experience mild effects while others may need medical attention. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. The main symptoms of COVID-19 are:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste and/or smell
- Sore throat
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
Some may confuse these symptoms for seasonal allergies (mostly characterized by congestion, itchy throat, and sneezing) or the flu (characterized by vomiting, diarrhea, runny nose, coughing, sore throat, aches, and fatigue), but that’s the value of getting tested as soon as you suspect exposure or experience symptoms. Once we know whether your symptoms are due to COVID-19 or something else, we will know how to treat it.
Masking, Vaccination, and Protecting At-Risk Demographics
Coronavirus spreads person-to-person through close contact and when an infected person coughs or sneezes and germs get on their hands. Elderly people and those with respiratory problems or compromised immune systems are especially vulnerable. Some are not able to get the vaccine. We can protect them by getting vaccinated and by wearing a mask when out in public if we suspect we’ve been exposed. It’s also best to stay isolated after a positive test.
Hand-Washing and the Power of Soap
Washing our hands frequently is a great way to slow the spread of this virus and many other types of germs. Thanks to simple chemistry, regular soap is a highly effective weapon against coronavirus. These microscopic germs have a fatty layer that holds them together, and when the fatty layer comes in contact with soap, it breaks apart and the virus is destroyed.
This is why washing our hands is so effective. We should make sure to take at least 20 seconds and get every surface, then dry our hands thoroughly. Hand sanitizer with 60% or more alcohol content is a decent (but less effective) substitute. It’s also important to avoid touching our faces as much as possible.
When to Seek Medical Attention for COVID-19
If you’re experiencing the following symptoms, your case of coronavirus could be severe and you should go to the hospital:
- Trouble breathing
- Persistent pain or pressure in chest
- New confusion
- Difficulty waking or staying awake
- Pale, gray, or bluish lips, skin, or nail beds (depending on your skin tone).
These symptoms indicate low blood oxygen level, which could lead to permanent damage or worse. Anyone with these symptoms, especially if they have other medical conditions like heart or lung disease or diabetes, should get medical help as soon as possible.
COVID-19 is still a potentially deadly disease, and many who survive still struggle with the effects of long COVID, meaning that they are unable to return to their usual routine due to severe fatigue, heart palpitations, brain fog, altered taste or smell, and shortness of breath that persists long after the initial infection.
The good news is that we aren’t in the early stages of the pandemic anymore; there are treatments that work and vaccines that greatly help at preventing the spread and reducing the severity of infections.