Respiratory scare during COVID-19🦠😷

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You can tell how uncomfortable you will be when you notice someone coughing or sneezing unhygienically beside you. This comes especially after the past COVID-19 era, which affected all nations of the world. A significant amount of caution has thus gripped every person as to respiratory hygiene.

Respiratory infections are easily transmitted from one individual to another and do not necessarily require body contact or fluids. Transmission is usually via aerosols and, less often, body fluids and body contacts.

I was about 15 years old when I had a serious respiratory tract infection. I had come home for the midterm break from faraway Suleja to Ilorin (a seven- to eight-hour journey by road). I vividly remember having a productive cough with thick phlegm that caused me serious chest pain. My mother took me to the hospital, and my sputum was taken. What I remember well is that I had to take several doses of penicillin injections. Those periods were dark days in my life because the pain was excruciating. My mother was a nurse, and for some reason (maybe financial), she administered the injections to me at home. I remember taking them frequently, and at one point, my mom skipped a dose for me due to the pain I was yet to recover from. Eventually, I felt relieved and went back to school. My mom still recalls that incident whenever I clear my throat or cough. It was a dreadful moment for both myself and my mom.

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COVID-19 was a scary respiratory infection for the world at large as it ravaged all races,ages, tribes, and people. I had my share of scares as a health professional. I was the lead doctor in the private hospital, and I worked to ensure safety protocols for both patients and healthcare providers. Some of the protocols included significant distance between doctor and patient, mandatory use of a face mask, limiting hospital visits by the patient's relatives, etc. I remember suspecting a patient for COVID-19 and discreetly documenting it on the folder for the nurses to attend to the patient with caution. I was surprised that all hospital staff, especially the nurses, declined to attend to the patient. It was annoying but understandable, as the news was quite alarming.

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At some point during the heat of the pandemic, I developed symptoms of cough, rhinorrhea, and fever. I stayed in the hospital quarters and hardly visited home since I had elderly parents at home who also had some co-morbidities. Going home was not an option as I feared spreading the symptoms, and by then, two of the six medical officers were already quarantined for COVID-19🦠😷. The tough call was for me to get tested, but the consequences would be tougher as my fear was a contact trace to my parents and a handicapped brother at home. I took some days off at work even though the medical director wasn't too comfortable, and I got some regimens of drugs to use. At this point also, we suspected figures for positive COVID-19🦠😷were been fabricated by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) probably to attract grants and interventions or subventions. It was widely known that the psychology behind the disease, without a cure, killed more people than the disease itself.

Gladly, my symptoms abated, and recovery was quick for me. Immediately the COVID-19🦠😷vaccine arrived Nigeria, I was quick to get vaccinated and encouraged as many as possible to do likewise. I am still fond of exercising great caution whenever anybody sneezes or coughs around me. My face mask is equally readily available for quick use, especially in a crowded environment. Prevention is always a better alternative to cure.

Thank you for reading. I would love to have your comment and contributions. 🤗