Patient/caregiver was educated on signs and symptoms of COVID-19 as follows:
- COVID-19 virus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or nasal discharges, as an infected person coughs or sneezes.
- Symptoms of COVID-19 could appear 2-14 days after exposure to virus causing the infection.
- Many people infected with the virus experienced mild to moderate respiratory illness and recovered without needing to be hospitalized and undergoing any special treatments.
- Some infected people experienced severe acute respiratory illness and consequent complications, necessitating hospitalization, oxygen supplementation, IV antibiotics, and other needed specialized treatments.
- Overall, individuals infected with COVID-19 could present with wide ranging symptoms, mild to severe of the following:
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Chest pain or discomfort
- Congestion or runny nose
- Sneezing
- Sore throat
- Fever and/or chills
- Body aches
- Headache
- Joint pains
- Fatigue
- Confusion and dizziness
- Nausea and vomiting
- Poor sense of taste in the mouth
- Compromised ability to smell
- Loose stools or diarrhea
- Older people, especially individuals with compromised immunity, and individuals with underlying poorly managed serious health conditions, such as, heart disease, diabetes, COPD, oxygen dependency seem to be at higher risk for developing life-threatening complications due to COVID-19 infection.
