Presently the COVID-19 Coronavirus cases are emerging and there is no end-point in particular right now. But somehow we can treat the patients up-to some extent and prevent them from undergoing death.
We already have certain information about Coronavirus COVID-19 infection regarding its signs, symptoms and spread in our minds, if not refer to our earlier post “A Brief Overview of COVID-19“. Hope everyone comes to know that maintaining social distance and washing hands with soaps and sanitizers don’t treat the Coronavirus infection, it just prevents its spread and transmission.
Now in this post, we will discuss the treatment and management of Coronavirus infection. This entire article is not only useful to Doctors, Nurses, Pharmacists, Medical Staff, but also to the Public.
The treatment that we are going to discuss in this article is symptomatic treatment i.e., not every coronavirus infected patient is treated with every medicine that we discuss here. We have to use the medicines for patients only depending upon the symptoms the patient has.
For those patients who got the results of COVID-19 as negative either by CT (Computerized Tomography) scan of Chest or COVID-19 Swab Test:
- Take (or Swallow) one Multi-Vitamin capsule daily once. There are many branded tablets and capsules available in the market which contains a mixture of multi-vitamins, multi-minerals, and anti-oxidants. Daily consumption of vitamins and minerals helps in boosting your immunity, however, the dose should be within the recommended limit. It helps in the proper functioning of human body parts thereby keeping the person active. Brands that are commonly available in the market are Supradyn, Supra Plus, A to Z, and Becadexamin. Drops and syrups should be considered for infants and children.
- Chew one Vitamin C or Ascorbic Acid tablet daily once. Vitamin C serves as a natural immune booster. Once the immunity gets stronger, no foreign bodies can enter into the body including bacteria and viruses. Multi-vitamins capsule already has Vitamin C in it, however, the dose of Vitamin C present in the capsule is not sufficient for boosting immunity. 500mg to 1000mg of Vitamin C should be chewed within a day. 500mg is more than enough for children.
- Take (or Swallow) 20mg of Zinc tablet once daily. 10mg is sufficient for children. Zinc is available in the form of Zinc Sulfate tablets. Zinc aids in preventing viral replication and also helps in preventing their entry into the cell.
- Take (or Swallow or Chew) one Vitamin D3 (60,000 I.U) tablet or capsule once in a week. If the dose of Vitamin D3 is low or if it is available with other combinations such as Calcium and Vitamin D3, then daily once should be administered.
- Readily available immune-boosting products like Dabur Chywanprash, Kaada, etc., should be administered twice daily as support for immunity.
For those patients who got the results of COVID-19 as ‘Positive’ either by CT scan of Chest or by COVID-19 Swab Test, but didn’t have any signs and symptoms:
- Take (or Prescribe) 12mg of Ivermectin as a single dose once in a day for 6 days. Why Ivermectin should be prescribed? The answer to this question is very long, however, in short, Ivermectin has a potential impact on coronavirus infection. It prevents viral replication and also prevents the entry of coronavirus into the host cell.
- Take (or Prescribe) 100mg Doxycycline capsules twice a day i.e., in the morning and evening for 6 days. One can have Ivermectin and Doxycycline at the same time. There are no possible interactions found between these two drugs. Why Doxycycline should be prescribed? In short, it is an antibiotic with a broad range of activity, most of the bacteria causing pneumonia are sensitive to Doxycycline. Thus Doxycycline is preferred and most suitable antibiotic in almost all cases of pneumonia.
- Now the steps are as usual as we followed earlier i.e., in the case of patients whose COVID-19 results shown negative.
- Having one multi-vitamins, multi-minerals, and antioxidants capsule daily once in a day.
- Chewing 500mg of Vitamin C tablets twice a day in order to build immunity.
- Zinc should be administered followed by Vitamin C. 20mg of Zinc is enough for adults per day and 10mg is sufficient for children.
- Take Vitamin D3 60,000 I.U once in a week. If Vitamin D3 is available along with Calcium i.e., in tablet form then you can have it daily once.
- Consume immune-boosters daily that are readily available in the market.
For those patients who got the results of COVID-19 as ‘Positive’ either by CT Scan of the Chest or by COVID-19 Swab Test and also have the Signs and Symptoms:
To Pause or Stop Viral Replication:
- Ivermectin should be prescribed or given to the patient. Ivermectin is acting as promising drug in reducing viral replication to much extent. Ivermectin should be given as single dose i.e., 12mg once daily and for children 6mg once daily is more than enough. Ivermectin is a antiprotozoal drug with potent antiviral activities. Ivermectin should be continued for 6 to 7 days followed by other medicines.
- Antiviral drugs are used in patients depending on severioty of the disease. Antivirals that are commonly used in coronavirus infection are Favipiravir and Remdesivir. Favipiravir is available in tablet forms whereas Remdesevir is available in injection form. 3.2gm dose of antiviral drugs twice a day is required for stopping viral replication. The dose should be adjusted depending on bodyweight in case of children.
If the infected patient has a High Body Temperature (i.e., Fever) and Body Pains:
- Paracetamol is the preferred choice of drug for reducing body temperature and body pains. Take (or prescribe) 650mg of Paracetamol twice a day for adults and 500mg of Paracetamol for middle-aged people, and for children change the dose of Paracetamol as 125mg, 250mg, or 350mg depending upon the body weight. If the patient is unconscious or not in a condition of swallowing tablet then Paracetamol should be given intramuscularly (IM) or intravenously (IV).
If the infected patient has a Cold, Sore Throat, Throat Pain (Tonsilitis Infection), and Cough:
- Levocetirizine and Montelukast combination helps a lot in providing relief from Cold and Sore Throat during COVID-19 Coronavirus infection. For adults: 5mg of Levocetirizine and 10mg of Montelukast, Twice a day. For children: 2.5mg of Levocetirizine and 5mg of Montelukast, Twice a day. Pediatric syrups are available, the dose should depend on body weight.
- Azithromycin or Amoxycillin with Potassium Clavulanate is the preferred choice of drug for throat infections, however, Doxycycline is used here. Coronavirus infection is always associated with Pneumonia, and Doxycycline has a very wide range of activity against all the types of Community-Acquired Pneumonia. Take (or prescribe) 100mg of Doxycycline thrice a day i.e., One capsule for every 6 hours regular interval. For children, 50mg of Doxycycline is more than enough for each time.
- Dextromethorphan, Chlorpheniramine, and Phenylephrine combination tablets help in reducing cough to much extent. However, Levosalbutamol, Ambroxol, and Guaiphenesin containing syrup should be used along with these tablets. Take Dextromethorphan 10mg, Phenylephrine 5mg, and Chlorpheniramine 2mg containing tablets twice a day and 5ml of Levosalbutamol 1mg, Ambroxol 30mg, and Guaiphenesin 50mg containing syrup along with it. Dextromethorphan syrups are also available for children, the dose should be adjusted depending upon the bodyweight of children.
- Strepsils or Cofsils lozenges should be given or prescribed to the patient so as to reduce the sore throat. One lozenge should be chewed for every 3 hours.
- Dexamethasone or Betamethasone also plays a vital role in reducing cough reflex. However, the use is limited. 0.5mg of Dexamethasone or Betamethasone should be administered twice a day along with Dextromethorphan tablets.
If the patient has a Breathlessness and Suffocation:
- If the condition is serious then Ventilatory Support is completely required and medicines are administered through IV.
- If the condition is not that serious: Theophylline and Ethiophylline combination tablets should be prescribed or given to the patient. Deriphyllin Retard 300 is the brand available and should be given twice a day. Deriphyllin Retard 150 is for children. If the patient is unable to administer through the oral route then give Deriphyllin injection to him or her parenterally through the intravenous route.
- Deflazacort or Methylprednisolone tablets should be prescribed to reduce breathlessness effects and suffocation. 6mg of Deflazacort or 8mg of Methylprednisolone should be given twice a day for adults and the dose should be adjusted to half for children. If the patient is unable to take medicines through the oral route, then Methylprednisolone injections of various doses 40mg, 500mg, 1000mg are available which should be administered through the IV route, the dose of injection should be based on the severity of the health condition.
- Dexamethasone tablets or injections are also used in most of the cases to figure out breathlessness and suffocation.
- Acetylcysteine should be prescribed to loosen the thick mucous inside the lungs so as to reduce breathlessness and suffocation. Thick mucous may obstruct the respiratory airway passage thereby causing suffocation. The thick mucous gets stick to the surfaces of the cells inside the lungs causing an obstruction to the respiratory pathway. Take or Swallow or Disperse the effervescent tablets of Acetylcysteine 600mg into the water and drink that. The dose and frequency should be reduced in the case of children.
- Formoterol and Budesonide containing respules and Levosalbutamol and Budesonide containing respules should be prescribed or given to the patient twice a day. This serves as brochodilators thus helps in reducing the suffocation.
