BENGALURU: The Karnataka Government will constitute a committee to monitor the health of those who have recovered from Covid-19. The state has 571 recovered patients so far and there are many who need follow-up medical attention for chronic health issues or those that may have cropped up later.
“Some patients who were moderately or severely ill have shown continued symptoms like longer periods of loss of taste and smell, shaky hands, difficulty in breathing and fatigue along with mental health issues,” pointed out Dr C Nagaraja, Director, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases.
The committee will consist of physicians, psychologists, orthopedicians and pulmonologists and other experts. “They will not only collate data on the recovered patients but also monitor them for symptoms,” Health and Family Welfare Department Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey said. Speaking to TNIE, one of the recovered patients, who is also the first plasma donor, said, “Thankfully, other than feeling fatigued, I didn’t experience much of any other symptoms.
I am being watchful, though.” Dr Nagaraja explained, “We have seen that the lungs take longer time to recuperate in people who are patients of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Others with diabetes and hypertension will also have to constantly monitor their vitals. Mental health issues like anxiety, fear of the disease relapsing, infecting their families again, etc., are commonly seen in all patients.” A senior psychiatrist associated with Victoria Hospital in counselling Covid-19 patients said, “Most of the symptoms are psychological too.
They need repeated counselling during isolation/quarantine and during treatment for at least six months post recovery.” Also, doctors suggest that patients who are senior citizens, smokers, consume alcohol, and those with other comorbitidies should strictly take care of their dietary habits, monitor vitals regularly, and get their lungs screened repeatedly.