The coronavirus outbreak has not just impacted the Indians, but people from all across the globe. Thousands of people have lost their lives while millions of people are infected, being a transmitting agent for the deadly virus. The Coronavirus is explained to directly impact a human’s respiratory system, weakening and demolishing it completely, resulting in people losing their lives due to shortness of breath.

Being a professional and a renowned name in the healthcare industry, Dr. Satya Ranjan Sahu, Pulmonologist, PSRI Hospital understands the seriousness of this pandemic. Furthermore, he recommends people to pay sincere attention to this devastating COVID-19 that has already ruined many people’s homes and lives.

As one of the best Pulmonologist in town, Dr. Satya emphasizes on learning more about the disease, understanding what it does to a human body along with the damage it can cause. There can be a situation where many people with COVID-19 have no or very mild symptoms. While a subset of patients can also develop serious respiratory issues that need to be addressed through intensive care at the earliest.

Dr. Satya, Pulmonologist, PSRI Hospital says, “The COVID-19 gives birth to a dangerous and potentially destructive condition popularly known as Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). It causes great damage to a human’s lung, devastating the entire respiratory system gradually if not treated properly on time.”

How to Know Whether You Are Having ARDS or Not?

The only person probably who can tell you whether you’re having ARDS or not is an experienced and professional Pulmonologist like Dr. Satya. Any human having ARDS is believed to show symptoms like sudden breathlessness, dizziness, rapid breathing, excessive sweating, and rapid heart rate.

But as per Dr. Satya’s experience, a professional doctor/pulmonologist will look for four main things including:

• Symptoms for an acute condition that probably started within one week of what professionals usually terms as a ‘Known Clinical Insult’.
• If your short breathlessness is not caused by fluid overload.
• The level of oxygen in your blood (Severe Hypoxia).
• Comparing appearing lungs (White and Opaque) on chest X-rays.

How Does ARDS Damage the Lungs?

The Coronavirus led ARDS directly impacts, affects, and damages the walls of the air sacs in a human’s lung. These walls are usually the ones that help oxygen pass through into our Red Blood Cells (RBC). In a professional language like Dr. Satya’s, it’s termed as diffuse alveolar damage.

In a healthy human, the oxygen within these air sacs travels through to minute blood vessels. These tiny vessels deliver the oxygen to the Red Blood Cells of a human body.

“The COVID-19 damages both the walls and lining cells of the alveolus along with the capillaries. The damaged walls secrete plasma proteins that result in thickening the walls, blocking the space for air passage. This results in humans to experience breathlessness, eventually blocking the entire pathway for oxygen, resulting in people losing their lives due to shortage of breath,” explains Dr. Satya.

Being an expert Pulmonologist by profession, I’ll personally recommend people not to consider COVID-19 as just another viral infection. Go for taking all sorts of primary precautions that can keep this disease away from your life.