It’s not that the more painful the disease, the more serious the disease. Shanghai critical care medicine expert popularizes the science “Yang” when you need to see a doctor

　　Chinanews.com, Shanghai, December 25th, title: It’s not that the more painful the disease, the more serious the disease. Shanghai critical care medicine experts’ popular science is “yang”

　　Reporter Zheng Yingying

　　It is expected that the peak of the epidemic is coming in many places. At present, the symptoms of patients with "yang" are different, such as "blade throat" and "cement nose"...does the more pain mean the more severe the symptoms?

Who needs to go to the hospital for medical treatment?

How can the elderly protect themselves during the peak period of infection?

Zhong Ming, director of the Department of Critical Care Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, gave relevant scientific answers to the public at the Shanghai Science Popularization Forum on the 25th:

　　Question 1: The more painful the more severe?

　　Do I need to go to the hospital after the "yang"?

Zhong Ming said that Omicron's virulence is already very weak, and most people have mild symptoms after infection, that is, fever and symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection, including the much-talked about "swallowing blades".

　　"Even if the feeling of 'swallowing blades' is very painful, it is still an upper respiratory symptom. It is not a severe manifestation. The more painful it is, the more severe it is. What we mean by severe is that it goes to the lungs, with shortness of breath and oxygen saturation. Falling and other situations." Zhong Ming said.

　　He said that for low-risk groups, it is recommended to treat symptoms at home (such as using antipyretics when the body temperature is high) and take a good rest.

He explained that because most virus treatments do not have specific medicines, if patients with mild symptoms go to the hospital, the hospital will not be able to prescribe specific medicines, and the patients will still be in vain.

　　He reminded that during the home monitoring period, special attention should be paid to whether key populations have high-risk symptoms, such as dyspnea, shortness of breath, chest tightness, confusion, persistent high fever, etc. If these conditions occur, seek medical treatment in time.

　　In general, he introduced that after being infected with the new coronavirus, the relevant symptoms are as follows:

　　Most common symptoms: fever, cough, fatigue, loss of taste and smell;

　　Rare symptoms: sore throat, headache, chest pain, diarrhea, rash, conjunctivitis;

　　Severe symptoms: dyspnea, aphasia, confusion, etc.;

　　Risk factors for severe disease: advanced age (60 years and above), combined underlying diseases.

　　Question 2: What should high-risk groups pay attention to?

　　Zhong Ming introduced that first of all, it is necessary to determine whether the population belongs to the high-risk group, and if so, it must be well monitored.

On the one hand, rely on feelings to see if there is chest tightness, shortness of breath, aggravation of original symptoms, etc.; on the other hand, blood oxygen saturation can be monitored with instruments.

　　He said that several large groups of people are easy to convert to severe cases:

　　Elderly people, especially those with disabilities and dementia;

　　People with diabetes, severe hypertension, and chronic respiratory diseases;

　　Patients with advanced tumors, especially those who need regular radiotherapy and chemotherapy;

　　People with deficient autoimmune system;

　　People with BMI (Body Mass Index) greater than 35 and suffering from obesity.

On December 25, Zhong Ming, director of the Department of Critical Care Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, came to the Shanghai Science Popularization Forum to carry out epidemic prevention science.

Photo courtesy of Shanghai Science and Technology Museum

　　Question 3: How can the elderly protect themselves?

　　During the peak period of infection, how can the elderly with low immunity protect themselves?

Zhong Ming reminded that the elderly with underlying diseases should prepare medicines to treat the underlying diseases, and do not go to the hospital if it is not necessary at this time, because the hospital gathers a lot of patients at this time, but it is a high-risk place for infection.

　　On the whole, he urged the elderly to stay at home as much as possible in the near future, open windows frequently for ventilation, try to avoid going to crowded places, wear masks and wash hands frequently when going out.

In addition, it is necessary to maintain adequate sleep and balanced nutrition to enhance resistance.

　　Question 4: Early "Yang" or late "Yang"?

　　Is early "yang" early recovery?

Zhong Ming said that whether it is infected this week or two weeks later, the physical state (immunity) of the infected person determines that the process is almost the same, so the early "yang" also recovers within a week, and the late "yang" also recovers within a week. , from this point of view there is not much difference.

　　"As for whether different strains have different symptoms? How about finding a mild (syndrome) strain for (infection)? At present, we have not seen that among the several strains circulating in China, different strains lead to significantly different symptoms. report." Zhong Ming said.

　　He said that this is related to individual differences, the same strain, everyone's reaction may be different.

　　He reminded that if everyone is infected within a certain period of time, even if the virus is very weak and the severe disease rate is very low, because we have a very large population base, this will lead to more severe patients in a short period of time , the greater the pressure on the medical system, "From this perspective, we hope that this infection curve can slow down a bit, so that we are more able to use existing medical resources and other resources to deal with severe cases." Happened." (End)