What’s next if the Coronavirus test comes positive?
In case your test results come out positive, then you may be affected by the coronavirus. Although there are no specific treatments for the coronavirus infection, however, the healthcare professional may suggest some steps that’ll help you to relieve the symptoms.
Some of the steps you can follow to ease the symptoms are:
- Drinking a lot of fluids
- Getting plenty of rest
- Taking over-the-counter medicines
In case your condition gets worse or you show signs of pneumonia, you should get admitted to a hospital. Some of the common symptoms of pneumonia are severe cough, heavy breathing, and high fever.
If you’re diagnosed with coronavirus, you should follow the below steps to prevent any spread of infection:
- Don’t leave home unless to get medical help
- Always wear a face mask in public places or when you’re around other people
- Don’t share any personal items such as drinking cups, eating plates, towels, or any other items with anybody.
- Always wash your hand thoroughly for around 20 seconds. In case soap water is not available, you can use an alcohol-based sanitizer, which at least contains 60% alcohol.
In case your results turned negative, you can check with the healthcare professional whether any further tests are required. It’s better to take precautions to not prevent the infection any further.
On the other hand, you can avoid getting infected by coronavirus by following the below steps:
- Wash your hands thoroughly for 20 seconds and use alcohol-based sanitizers in absence of soap-water
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth a lot
- If possible, avoid being close to people who are sneezing or coughing
- Clean the household items which are frequently handled with a disinfectant spray
What diets should you follow?
According to the East Mediterranean Office of WHO.
Consume fresh and unprocessed foods every day
Eat foods like:-
- fruits, vegetables, legumes (e.g. lentils, beans),
- nuts and whole grains (e.g. unprocessed maize, millet, oats, wheat, brown rice or
- starchy tubers or roots such as potato, yam, taro, or cassava),
- and foods from animal sources (e.g. meat, fish, eggs, and milk).
Daily, eat:
- 2 cups of fruit (4 servings),
- 5 cups of vegetables (5 servings),
- 180 g of grains, and 160 g of meat and beans (red meat can be eaten 1−2 times per week, and poultry 2−3 times per week).
For snacks, choose raw vegetables and fresh fruit rather than foods that are high in sugar, fat or salt.
Do not overcook vegetables and fruit as this can lead to the loss of important vitamins.
When using canned or dried vegetables and fruit, choose varieties without added salt or sugar.
Drink enough water every day
Water is essential for life. It transports nutrients and compounds in blood, regulates your body temperature, gets rid of waste, and lubricates and cushions joints.
- Drink 8–10 cups of water every day.
- You can also consume other drinks, fruits, and vegetables that contain water, for example, lemon juice (diluted in water and unsweetened), tea, and coffee.
- But be careful not to consume too much caffeine, and avoid sweetened fruit juices, syrups, fruit juice concentrates, fizzy and still drinks as they all contain sugar.
Eat moderate amounts of fat and oil
- Consume unsaturated fats (e.g. found in fish, avocado, nuts, olive oil, soy, canola, sunflower, and corn oils) rather than saturated fats (e.g. found in fatty meat, butter, coconut oil, cream, cheese, ghee, and lard).
- Choose white meat (e.g. poultry) and fish, which are generally low in fat, rather than red meat.
- Avoid processed meats because they are high in fat and salt.
- Where possible, opt for low-fat or reduced-fat versions of milk and dairy products.
- Avoid industrially-produced trans fats. These are often found in processed food, fast food, snack food, fried food, frozen pizza, pies, cookies, margarine, and spreads.
Eat less salt and sugar
- When cooking and preparing food, limit the amount of salt and high-sodium condiments (e.g. soy sauce and fish sauce).
- Limit your daily salt intake to less than 5 g (approximately 1 teaspoon), and use iodized salt.
- Avoid foods (e.g. snacks) that are high in salt and sugar.
- Limit your intake of soft drinks or sodas and other drinks that are high in sugar (e.g. fruit juices, fruit juice concentrates and syrups, flavored milk, and yogurt drinks).
- Choose fresh fruits instead of sweet snacks such as cookies, cakes, and chocolate.
We hope you get better soon and start implementing the diet right away!
