Health experts identify new COVID-19 symptoms
HOUSTON - As more research is conducted on this new strain of coronavirus, we are learning more about the signs and symptoms one could experience if they are infected.
The most important thing we want to let everyone know is that the initial symptoms we discussed such as a fever, cough, and shortness of breath remain the primary symptoms of COVID-19, but we are learning of secondary symptoms associated with the virus.
“There’s actually a recent study from Wuhan China, 212 patients, and they were looking at all these new symptoms, neurological symptoms, and they describe in their epidemic that 5 percent of patients presented with an altered taste or smell, and a lot of the patients had dizziness, headaches, muscle inflammation, and even altered mental status and seizures," Dr. Rodrigo Hasbun Professor of Medicine-Infectious Disease at UT Health tells FOX 26.
Just because new symptoms associated with coronavirus have been discovered, doesn’t mean the virus is mutating.
“I was not surprised because it’s been described in other coronavirus’s. Like SARS, the initial SARS in 2003, there were patients that came in with brain infections, and it’s very well known that coronavirus can go through the plate, and anosmia, abnormal taste. So it’s not completely unexpected, because of the same family of viruses they have done this before,” says Dr. Hasbun.
He also tells FOX 26 that he and the staff at UT Health have seen a few COVID-19 patients with headaches, and experiencing diarrhea. But he says if those are the only symptoms you are experiencing you don’t need to rush and call your doctor just yet.
“So still the primary symptoms are fever, and cough, and shortness of breath, and those patients that develop pneumonia. So anybody that develops pneumonia right now should be tested for COVID-19," he says.
Dr. Hasbun says we need to increase our testing capabilities and test more patients that are coming in so we can understand the extent of this epidemic.