Why is the second wave of Covid-19 claiming the lives of youth?

Covid-19 cases are surging at an alarming rate and lately, it has been observed that while the first wave of the pandemic was taking the lives of aged people, the second wave is claiming the lives of the younger generation.

People frantically search for hospital beds in every nook and corner but all their efforts go in vain. The reason is that they only rush to seek medical assistance when the situation becomes grave.

The younger generation is always considered to be the lively and healthy ones. But little do they know that Covid-19, being a multi-systemic illness, can affect almost all the organs of our body regardless of age and physique. This is exactly where it goes wrong. The youth tend to take the disease very lightly and become unaware of the problems that inhabit their bodies. They do not consider it necessary to do check-ups which prove to help determine one’s health status.Doctors from across the country have given three main causes of the rising death of young people and also the ways to prevent it.

Carelessness, The first mistake.

They do not take care of their bodies even if they are Covid positive. Often, the younger generation neglects the complications of the virus. When the body starts a battle against the virus, it begins to show some warning signals so that the patient can seek medical help. But, people either do not look for these warning signs or overlook them even after being aware of them. Negligence and misdiagnosis of such signals are precisely the cause of deaths. The general public takes it as ‘sudden deaths’ heedless of the indications manifested by the body. There are instances where a person becomes Covid positive initially, after which he/ she is tested negative within five days. But eventually, the person faints and it is followed by death. In this case, what goes unnoticed is that one can be Covid negative if a certain portion of the swab does not contain the virus while collecting the sample or if the technique of collection goes wrong. This is a common misconception among the masses.

WHO states that the first 21-28 days plays a crucial role as it is an average time for a Covid patient to heal by himself/herself. Thus, it becomes important for an individual to monitor his/her body and find the warning signals instead of frantically rushing to the hospitals.

Negligence of warning signals, The second cause

People often become so overconfident that they do not reach out for body indications. One can check their health by monitoring their breaths. They can either lie down on the bed and observe their breathing or can even place a palm on their abdomen and observe the number of times it expands during inhalation. The usual number is 20, however, it can go up to 30-32 if the person has anxiety. This is one of the signals that people fail to consider very often.

A Covid patient should check the pulse rate which usually is 100. But, if it goes up to 125, then he/she should immediately rush to the hospital.Another such method is that the individual can press the thumb and forefinger together so that the end of both the fingers becomes white in colour. On releases, if the fingers retain red colour at a slow pace, then it is a warning signal.A change in colour of the nails of hands and feet, difficulty in breathing and persistent chest pain are also common indicators.

Delay in seeking medical assistance, The third cause

One of the foremost methods to keep a track of your health is to check the SpO2 level of the body. This can be done with the help of a pulse oximeter. One can either use the index finger or the middle finger to insert into the device and take the highest reading within 30 seconds. The SpO2 level in a healthy individual is 96. However, there are some cases when Covid positive patients can have 76 to 80 SpO2 level and still be asymptomatic. This condition is called ‘happy hypoxia’. The oxygen level crashes yet the body does not give any indication and functions normally. If the SpO2 level drops below 90, then the immediate need is to seek medical assistance.

What all can we do in 21-28 days?

• Seeking medical assistance
• Avoiding alcohol, smoking, processed food and sweetened beverages
• Consume vitamin A, D and C which should be included in our diet. Vitamin A and C can be obtained through leafy vegetables and fruits respectively. Doctors advise taking 600 International Units (IU) of vitamin D once a month which would be sufficient.
• Covid patients should also consume protein by including eggs and pulses in their diet.
• Get a good sleep of 7-8 hours
• Indulge in light physical activities. Most people who suffer from fever or any illness do not involve in physical exercises. However, doctors advise that one should perform light activities such as walking to and fro, sitting straight instead of lying down constantly and raising hands and legs while sitting or lying down.

Instead of waiting till the end and panicking when the grim reality hits us hard, let us all do our bit to prevent the rising deaths due to the Covid virus and keep ourselves healthy at the right time for a better life.