By now, you probably know most of the early signs of COVID-19 — a fever, dry cough, chills, fatigue.
These are the symptoms you’ll experience if you have a mild to moderate case of the virus, which is what most people who catch it will have. But you may still be wondering…
How do you know when a moderate case of COVID-19 turns serious? What signs can you watch for?
Shortness of breath is the first serious symptom to watch out for. This symptom can pop up in people with moderate cases of the virus. However, it could also be a sign that your case is becoming more serious. So, always contact your doctor if you start experiencing this symptom.
But shortness of breath isn’t the only sign that a case of COVID-19 has turned more serious…
According to a registered nurse at the Life Care Center in Kirkland, Washington where the first major U.S. COVID-19 outbreak occurred, there’s another symptom she noticed in all the most seriously ill patients she treated — red eyes.
Red eyes are a symptom of serious COVID-19 infections
Chelsey Earnest, a registered nurse who works at the Washington nursing home that was the center of the COVID-19 crisis in early March, said in an interview with CNN that all the sickest patients she treated for the virus had unusually red eyes.
She compared it to how someone’s eyes look when they have allergies. She also clarified that the white part of their eyes wasn’t red. The skin around their eyes was red like they’d applied red eye shadow.
Now, you may be wondering why a respiratory virus would have that effect on the eyes. Here’s one potential reason…
The American Academy of Ophthalmology just announced that there is evidence the virus can cause conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye. This would obviously cause eyes to become red. But it’s too early to say if this is the only (or primary) reason people seriously sick with COVID-19 develop red eyes.
Related: Mild, moderate and severe symptoms of COVID-19: How to tell the difference
The scariest fact Chelsey mentioned in her interview is that red eyes alone were the main symptom for some people before they became seriously sick and had to be hospitalized. She and her colleagues began looking for that symptom to gauge whether someone was (or was about to become) seriously ill.
In fact, Chelsey said that the disaster medical control physicians she worked with asked her whether patients had red eyes to help determine who needed hospitalization.
Red eyes alone aren’t a reason to panic
It’s allergy season, so if you have red eyes, but feel fine otherwise, don’t freak out.
But if you’re sick with other COVID-19 symptoms (or you know you’ve been exposed to someone with the virus) and your eyes become red and irritated, you’ll want to seek medical attention.
There’s still a lot we don’t know about this virus. And red eyes aren’t an official symptom you’ll find on the CDC’s or WHO’s websites yet.
But we have to pay attention to what the medical professionals on the frontlines are telling us if we want to make it through this crazy time.
Editor’s Note: If your blood pressure is high and you have blocked arteries, your heart is already working harder than normal compromising lung capacity. That’s how the coronavirus can become a catalyst to a heart attack. Dr. Michael Cutler, M.D. has written the most informative book on hushed up natural heart cures you likely won’t ever hear from your own doctor. There’s no time like now to read his FREE report…
Source:
- Care home nurse tells of terrifying and sudden ways coronavirus struck her patients — CNN
