Tag: Medical research

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Industry Talk

How to manage ‘Pandemic Fatigue’?

Pandemic Fatigue

COVID-19 Pandemic has not only taken a toll on the lives of people, but it has also manifested itself adversely into our mental space. It has become difficult for people to cope up with the perpetual news cycle of losses, tragedy, and trauma. ‘Pandemic Fatigue’ refers to the feeling of demotivation and exhaustion that people are experiencing in their daily lives. It is due to intermittent stay-at-home orders, uncertainty, fear of job losses, and falling incomes. One of the detrimental consequences is a decline in people following appropriate behavior and measures to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Prolonged hardships and sudden disruptions in social engagements have caused a rising number of people to experience this silent agony.

According to an online survey conducted under the aegis of the Indian Psychiatry Society, two-fifths of the respondents were suffering from mental distress like anxiety or depression. WHO has pointed out that Pandemic Fatigue is “natural and expected reaction to sustained and unresolved adversity in people’s lives”

Pandemic Fatigue

COVID-19 has posed an unprecedented challenge to humanity. Pandemic Fatigue is a natural reaction to it. Hence. If you are also facing similar mental strain and difficulty coping, you are not alone.

What are the symptoms?

  • A feeling of fear, anger, irritability, and frustration
  • Changes in appetite
  • Reduced interest and motivation
  • Difficulty to sleep
  • Drowsiness and lethargy

 

Measures to manage Pandemic Fatigue

Psychologists have suggested a few measures to manage the stress of ‘Pandemic Fatigue’:

 

  1. Reflect and Accept

It is important to acknowledge that a COVID-19 Pandemic is an unparalleled event in the history of mankind. The helplessness that you might be feeling is natural. Take time and try to care of your mental well-being. Awareness of the problem is a fundamental keystone of the mental health toolkit. “We can’t change what we’re not aware of. It all starts here”, says Dr. Ross, a Psychologist.

 

  1. Filter your News Feed

It is critical to stay updated with current happenings, especially during the times of the COVID-19 Pandemic. But this might drive up your stress levels and negative emotions. Anxiety may build up from constant social media scrolling and “information overload”. Experts have suggested limiting the screen time and relying only on authenticated news. You may consider staying off social media or scheduling limited time for it until you feel better.

 

  1. Take up new Hobbies

Monotonous routines and the inability to meet family or friends might drain your mental energy and cause loneliness. Lockdowns have pushed people inside their homes with only a few options to replenish their energy. Cultivating a new hobby like cooking, gardening, or learning a new musical instrument can help in managing stress. It will keep you engaged and motivated to learn. You can look for more hobbies or habits that can help you relax your nerves and have some mental peace during these times.

 

  1. Keep a Journal

Writing down your feelings can be an effective way to release and express. It will help you analyze a situation and your response to it better. Dr. Radhika Bapat, a clinical psychotherapist has suggested making two columns and writing down things that you can control and things that are not under your control separately. Under your control, things include masking, self-care, getting enough sleep, and taking precautions to avoid contracting COVID-19 infection. What you can’t control is the future so try to worry less and focus on what you can do in the present, she says.

 

  1. Develop a consistent routine.

You need to deliberately craft a consistent routine and stick to it to relax the mind. Pandemic Fatigue has negatively impacted the sleep cycle of most people. Adequate and timely sleep is crucial for your mental health well-being. Developing a consistent routine and remaining active will keep you busy and motivated. Taking a long walk or a run in the morning can also help clear up your mind. 

Please contact a Psychologist or call the government helpline numbers, if your symptoms don’t improve and reach out for help.

 

 

 
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Industry Talk

COVID 19 Mutations and Variants.

The novel Coronavirus has caused havoc throughout the world and impacted every phase of life, disrupting normal day-to-day activities. Covid-19, caused by SARS- Cov-1, is one of the large family of viruses distinctly recognized for having crown-like spikes on its outer layer, which it uses to attach itself with human receptor cells, causing the disease. According to WHO, these viruses can mutate several times in their natural lifecycles resulting in new variants. These variants can be more virulent and even more fatal in most cases. In other cases, the impact of mutations on human health might eventually die down and become harmless to human beings, as the Darwin theory stipulates.

 

 

There are currently multiple virus mutations in circulation, of which two are of particular concern to the medical community. These are primarily the variants that have caused the second wave of infections in several countries, resulting in a massive spike in positivity rates.

 

What is a mutation?

A mutation refers to a change that occurs in our DNA sequence. This may cause a change in its behavior and effectiveness. In current variants, one mutation, in particular, has improved the capability of the virus to bind with proteins in human cells called receptors. This binding affinity seen in current mutants is 40-80% more transmissible during the second wave. The new ‘double mutant’ has been identified in 80-82% of samples collected from India, which is causing immune-escape in the body of an infected individual and chances of increased transmissibility, but it has been said to be less deadly according to studies. It has proven to be at least 15% more virulent in preliminary studies.

 

What are the mutations circulating in India?

WHO has recently classified COVID mutation in India as a “variant of concern”. Indian mutation of COVID 19 has been named B.1.617, which is highly contagious. Epidemiologists suggest that this variant famously called “double mutant” is a result of thirteen mutations. Out of all thirteen mutations, two are of particular concern, hence called a ‘double mutant’. These mutations have caused modifications in the spike protein on the Coronavirus. Mutations are natural in any virus and there can be multiple numbers of them floating in the population. India has detected 24,000 mutations in 7000 variants of the COVID 19 virus. But only a few are the cause of concern.

In some samples in India, a UK-type variant of the COVID 19 virus is detected. B.1.1.7 is it’s name. It has accumulated 23 mutations across 5 genes. 

Experts have also suggested that these mutations might even escape the RT-PCR tests. But such incidences are very rare. 

 

Is the new mutant a cause of worry?

Mutations of the virus in new variants can potentially evade the neutralizing effect of natural bodily immune-response. It means that even if you have recovered from a previous variant, you can still get reinfected with it. However, ICMR notifications say that infected people who have already recovered from a primary infection would be very mild. It points towards the fact that vaccines would shield you from the possibility of severe infection in the future. The good news is that COVAXIN has been confirmed to be effective against this mutant, one of the two vaccines currently available in India, It is the only silver lining of hope people can rely on in current scenarios.

 

How does a vaccine impact virus mutation?

As the virus changes its nature, it is necessary to consider whether already developed vaccines are going to be effective against them or not. Research is going on to understand the modification of their genetic material and how it might affect vaccine development. But, a general medical view holds that even if the vaccine becomes less effective towards any new mutant, there is a possibility to make changes in the vaccine’s component raw material to improve antibody response and vaccine efficacy.

There is no need to worry about the effectiveness of a vaccine as a vaccine can be altered as per the need.  it is necessary to get vaccinated as soon as you can. Vaccination is the last line of defense to protect oneself against infection by the Experts.

 
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Industry Talk

CORONAVIRUS: HOW DOES IT AFFECT OUR BODY?

All around the world, there have been a lot of efforts made to stand up against the novel Coronavirus. The pandemic, which took the world by the storm had put all from patients to healthcare workers in a fix. Yet, gradually, we learned a lot about the coronavirus and how it affects our bodies.

 

During this hard time, one of the first things we all learned was how Covid-19 can affect our Respiratory system. The effect which the virus has on our lungs can be fateful, especially to the people previously experiencing co-morbidities.

How does Covid-19 reach the lungs?

Covid-19 is a lethal disease that is majorly affecting the respiratory system and lungs are a major part of it. Numerous people believed that the novel coronavirus entered the circulatory system and hence affected the lungs. But over time, the real way to the lungs was found. When a person comes in contact with a Covid-19 patient. And afterward touches their face, the virus can enter the body through the nose, mouth, or eyes. It does as such by sticking to the mucous membranes. On entering the body, they increase on a large scale and take over healthy cells.

These recently formed cells then enter the trachea, which is also called the windpipe of the body. As an organ, the trachea is like a hollow tube with a branch-like junction at its end. These junctions are connected to the lungs. The virus cells go down the windpipe and arrive at the junction, and then, the lungs. The junctions towards the end of the trachea have small air sacs. These sacs, known as alveoli are liable for sending oxygen to the rest of the body. The covid cells contaminate the upper and lower part of the trachea and thus, cause problems in sending oxygen to crucial organs, which is what makes it such a deadly affliction.

What to Do When COVID-19 Spreads To The Lungs?

It’s in the second week of being infected with coronavirus, that the infection might spread to your lungs. The extreme complications of the virus seem to appear when the infection spreads to your lungs. It is at this time when the patient’s condition may start deteriorating and may begin to experience symptoms like severe cough and other symptoms like pneumonia.

  • Signs that show coronavirus may have spread to the lungs

Coronavirus is basically a respiratory disease that causes symptoms like breathing trouble, cough, and fever. As referenced above, It’s somewhere around the second week of being infected with COVID-19, that the infection may spread to the patient’s lungs.

If someone has a consistent fever, above 100 for 2-4 days, and if they have inflammatory markers in their blood, most importantly high C-reactive protein (CRP) levels (above 10), and dipping oxygen saturation (less than 94), these are signs that may flag that virus has spread to the lungs,”

  • Symptoms to watch out for

Patients that have tested positive for the virus will have mild to strong symptoms like dry cough,  loss of sense of taste breathlessness, fever, and smell, tiredness, and chest pain.

If the infection has spread to the lungs, the symptoms may be persistent cough and fever, chest discomfort, low oxygen saturation breathlessness on exertion, and blood inflammatory markers. It usually happens after five-six days of the virus.

  • Important to be in touch with the doctor

A person who has already tested positive for COVID-19 is most likely to already be in constant touch with the doctor. But Once you have an infection in the lungs, the doctor will prescribe if you need a CT scan, or if need to be prescribed some steroids, or if you need to get admitted to the hospital for appropriate treatment. So it’s highly required to be in constant touch with your doctor.

Taking care over time

For patients who have been affected by a coronavirus, there needs to be a good amount of care taken. Currently, many medical studies point to the fact that the lungs are mostly affected due to the novel coronavirus. As such may cause fatigue and a lack of immunity even after the virus has gone. In such cases, a recovery regimen set by your doctor needs to be followed thoroughly. And along with that, precautionary measures should also be followed so as to not be re-infected by the disease.

If you have experienced symptoms of Coronavirus, reach out to your doctor immediately or get an RT-PCR test done from Pathkind labs. Given the case that you have already been a coronavirus survivor, it is essential that you get an Antigen test done to see how strong your antibodies are to fight the occurrence of other diseases in the coming future.