Stay Safe in this Pandemic by following PDII

The second wave of deadly COVID-19 pandemic is ravaging the country with lakhs of citizens getting affected every other day and resulting in thousands of causalities. The mutating coronavirus presents with highly infectious variants that cause community spread. The tremendous increase in the number of patients has taken a toll on the healthcare system and infrastructure. The shortage of oxygen, ICU facilities, beds for the patients, and other healthcare facilities has resulted due to massive increase in the number of patients. In such circumstances, it becomes quintessential to follow all safety and preventive measures daily to stay safe and healthy and regulate the spread of the infection. The simple steps of PDII can be a blessing to many people throughout India. You might be wondering what PDII is and how it can help minimize the spread of COVID-19 and ensure our safety, aren’t you? Keep reading to learn all about it.

What is PDII?

PDII stands for Prevention, Detection, Isolation, and Intervention. Following each aspect of PDII at the earliest can ensure good health and safety of you and your beloved family. Let’s have a look at it in detail.

1. PREVENTION – Preventing Being Infected with Coronavirus

With 80% to 85% infected individuals being asymptomatic, it is better to follow preventive measures to avoid falling prey to the infectious virus and minimize its spread. Here are some prevention tips to follow.

1. Wear a Mask: Make sure your mask covers your mouth and nose. It’s the prime step to avoid the entry of virus in your body.
2. Follow Social Distancing: The novel coronavirus transmits from human to human. When you go outdoors, ensure that you maintain a minimum distance of 6 feet or 2 meters from any other individual out there. Strictly avoid getting close to the people who are coughing and sneezing.
3. Wash your Hands with Soap: Soap or hand sanitizer breaks the outer layer of the deadly coronavirus and kills it. So, washing your hands frequently with a soap or using a hand sanitizer can help prevent you being infected with the virus.
4. Sanitize Frequently Touched Surfaces at Home and Office: To minimize the risk of transmission through frequently touched surfaces, clean and sanitize them by using a good disinfectant. These surfaces include chairs, tables, doorknobs, and similar others.
5. Get Vaccinated: Vaccines, such as Covishield and Covaxin, are the biggest achievements of the medical science. Getting vaccinated prevents you from severe complications due to COVID-19. Vaccine helps prevent severe illness, hospitalization, and death.
6. Avoid Touching Your Mouth, Eyes, and Nose: Nose, mouth, and eyes are the entry points for coronavirus. While your hands may come in contact with surfaces having the deadly virus, you can prevent it from entering your body by keeping your hand off these entry points on your face. Do not touch your face unnecessarily.
7. Follow Safe Respiratory Hygiene: While coughing or sneezing, use a disposable tissue to cover your nose and mouth. Or else, you can cough or sneeze on your bent elbow. Dispose the used tissue immediately in the trash bin.
8. Do Not Share Personal Belongings: If you or any of your family members happen to be infected with novel coronavirus, make sure that you do not share the personal belongings to ensure the safety of the rest of the family. Avoid sharing spoons, teacups, glasses, and other belongings of or with the infected family member.
9. Avoid Smoking and Drinking: Smoking damages your lungs and drinking alcohol affect your immunity adversely. So, quit smoking and stay away from alcohol.

2. DETECTION – Detecting being infected with novel coronavirus

Detecting coronavirus infection at the earliest increases your chances of recovery. With a large number of people being asymptomatic, the infection can spread rapidly. You need to keep an eye for the discomforting symptoms and consult a certified doctor to detect the condition. For this, you need to know the symptoms of coronavirus infections. Here are symptoms of coronavirus that you should be aware of.

• Common Symptoms of COVID-19: Dry cough, Fever, Sore throat, Loss of smell, Loss of taste and Fatigue
• Less Common Symptoms of COVID-19: Nasal congestion, Headache, Diarrhoea, Conjunctivitis, Abdominal pain, and Skin rash
• Severe Symptoms of COVID-19: Difficulty in breathing, Pressure or pain in the chest, Loss of movement or speech, a Drop in the oxygen saturation in the blood

If you happen to experience any of these symptoms, it is advisable to see your doctor and get tested for coronavirus infection.

3. ISOLATION – Isolating the infected patient to curb the spread

Isolation is the key to curb the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus infection. If a family member is found to be positive with the virus, isolating him from the rest of the family and society can prevent the entire family and community getting infected with the virus. With plethora of people getting infected, home isolation is recommended to many mild cases. While you are in isolation, following the doctor’s guidance and having plenty of rest can prove beneficial in achieving smooth recovery. Medical intervention plays a crucial role in treating isolated patients.

Vital Monitoring: A sudden drop in the oxygen saturation is the most common concern and critical condition of numerous COVID-19 patients. Using a pulse oximeter and monitoring your oxygen saturation after every four hours can be quite helpful in the early detection and treatment for the coronavirus patients. In addition to blood oxygen saturation, check your temperature, respiratory rate, blood pressure, pulse rate, and, if required, blood sugar regularly. A sudden fluctuation in any of the vital parameters can be a sign of the viral infection. Check with your doctor for the same.

4. INTERVENTION – Significance of medical intervention in treating the infected or isolated patients.

You Need Urgent Medical Attention If:

• You experience breathing difficulties
• Your oxygen saturation drops below 90%
• You get high grade fever consistently
• You suffer from severe cough

Here are some aspects of medical intervention in COVID positive cases.

1. Tele Consultation with Doctors: Tele consultation with doctors is quite helpful in monitoring your health and receiving healthcare guidance to recover from the infection. The doctors study and examine the severity of your health condition. Even though there is no specific medicine that can cure COVID, the treating doctors may prescribe certain medications depending on your condition.
2. Antipyretics are prescribed to the patients suffering from fever.
3. Anti-tussives (cough syrups) or cough lozenges are prescribed to alleviate the discomfort resulting due to the cough.
4. Mineral and vitamin supplements: These include multivitamins, zinc supplements, vitamin C and vitamin D supplements.

The doctor may recommend home isolation or shifting you to hospital depending on the severity of the infection.

• Daily Monitoring by Nurses: Daily monitoring plays an important role in noting the fluctuations and progress in the patient’s condition. Nurses note your vital parameters and inform the concerned doctor for the better management of the patient’s condition.

• Nutritionist Consultation and Diet: Consultation of a certified nutritionist can prove to be beneficial in promoting the recovery of the infected individual in quarantine. Here are some health diet tips that you can follow when quarantined or infected.
• Have a good intake of vitamins and minerals, particularly vitamin C and vitamin D.
• Add high biological value proteins and moderate carbohydrates and fats to your diet.
• Consume foods that are abundant in iron, zinc, and vitamin A.
• Drink plenty of water and stay hydrated.
• Restrict the intake of processed foods, salt, and sugar.

• Physiotherapy Consultation and Exercise: Physiotherapy consultation can help in improving your respiratory muscle function and managing muscle pain and fatigue. Here are some effective exercises that can help improve your lung health and overall well-being.
• Regular breathing exercises: Practice regular breathing exercises and physical activities as per your tolerance. Consulting a qualified physiotherapist can be quite helpful.
• Chest mobility exercises: Include chest mobility exercises in your regime. They helps make the chest muscles strong and flexible to facilitate smooth breathing.
• Deep diaphragmatic breathing exercises: They help restore your lung function.
• Pursed lip breathing exercises: They helps in strengthening your lungs.
• Proning: Do proning for 15 minutes every 3 to 4 hours, if advised by the treating Doctor
• Back extension exercises, if necessary
• Rest of your regular exercises you can continue 2 weeks after recovering from COVID-19.

• Psychologist Consultation: While infected and isolated, you may feel alone and depressed. Stress can take a toll on your health. In such circumstances, psychologist consultation can prove helpful. It promotes positive approach towards life, reduces stress and depression, and supports recovery.

Now that you know each and every aspect of the PDII framework, be sure that you and your beloved family members follow it to stay safe and healthy. If you or any of your family members happen to experience any symptoms of COVID-19 and need medical guidance, get in touch with us at Nightingales on 1800 103 4530 or https://www.nightingales.in. Our qualified doctors and clinical professionals will be glad to attend and treat you to enjoy good health. Stay safe and healthy.