Queensburgh doctor shines spotlight on Covid-19 treatment
Jay Matthew is a medical doctor who lives in Hillary and usually works on cruise liners but has been helping out in emergency departments in local hospitals to help where he can.
A Queensburgh medical doctor, who usually works on ships, has shared some of his knowledge about Covid-19 gleaned from his work in emergency departments since the pandemic put an end to shipping for leisure last year.
ALSO READ: Fiancé loses Queensburgh bride-to-be and future in-laws to Covid-19
The Queensburgh News approached Dr Jay Matthew after reading his response to a viral voice message being shared in many WhatsApp groups and on other social media advising the use of self medication with aspirin and other over the counter medications.
“As a medical doctor, I have a bit of concern about this advice. I know it is well intentioned and the situation is dire and there are minimal to no resources available, but giving advice about drugs and dosing like this is wrong… aspirin and viral infections in children for example can cause Reye’s syndrome. Using prednisone indiscriminately can have potential problems in all patient demographics,” he said.
“ACC is N-acetyl cysteine which is the antidote for paracetamol so if you use ACC in excess it could potentially counteract the effects of paracetamol.”
“This pandemic is fraught with misinformation and misdirected information which seems to be largely based on the perceived lacklustre approach by governments and other institutions,” he said.
ALSO READ: KZN, Durban named as Covid-19 hotspots
Overcoming denialism
“If we can overcome Covid-19 denialism, this would be the first big step we take as a community to playing our role in fighting this disease. There are people, just like you or me who have not asked to be there, but who are now fighting for their lives against this microscopic enemy,” he said.
Three pandemics
“What people need to understand is that as learned people we are doing the best we can and despite these efforts, we seem to be combatting three pandemics here, the viral one, the public health one, and the misinformation one,” he explained.
“The most important message for people is that this is a respiratory virus at the end of the day. Respiratory barriers or interventions that have been proven to work are advocated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and are the ones that will make a big difference,” he said.
“This cannot be challenged as there is scientific evidence for this.”
“Sanitizing regularly and wearing an appropriate face-covering in an appropriate way, as advised by the WHO, will also go a long way to help decrease your risk. You would need to practice all of them together to improve your chances of not contracting the virus,” said the doctor.
ALSO READ: UKZN virologist dispels 5 Covid-19 vaccine myths
Social distancing
“Keeping as far away from others, who could be asymptomatic or presymptomatic would be of extreme benefit. We have come to the stage, certainly in Durban and in the greater KZN, that even if you have the financial resources yourself to afford private health care, resources are thinned on the ground and people have been known to wait for hours to even get into an emergency department for medical attention.
What if you are sick?
Matthew said the best thing for people who have mild symptoms and are self-isolating is to ensure they remain hydrated and keep their energy up by eating regular balanced meals.
“If you have symptoms of nausea or vomiting, then it might help having smaller regular high-energy meals,” he suggested.
ALSO READ: VIDEO: Cousins of Queensburgh woman who died of Covid-19 share memories
When it comes to medication Matthew said basic paracetamol for pain and fever control were the best to take and any further medicine, even if only for for symptomatic relief should only be used on the individualised advice of a healthcare worker.
“People at high-risk are the elderly, those with heart and lung conditions, obesity, people with diabetes mellitus, and those living with HIV and AIDS. We believe that the incubation period is about 4 to 5 days before you present with symptoms. You could be infective from about 2 to 3 days before symptoms actually develop in yourself,” he warned.
Steam inhalations
“I have found simple steam inhalations and lying on your stomach to be beneficial to people isolating at home. Bear in mind that if you start to get worse, especially with worsening difficulty in breathing, you have to seek medical attention. While health care services are inundated, it does not help thinking that you will get better, because if you continue to get worse, you may need more serious interventions that are not immediately available or accessible.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
