NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has alerted the public to new COVID-19 symptoms and warning signs as some patients experience complications.
At first, COVID-19 symptoms included fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Now, several new symptoms have been added to the list including runny nose, sore throat, and congestion.
Dr. David Aronoff, the Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said there’s still a lot to learn regarding how COVID-19 affects the brain, “and sometimes frank behavior in what we call encephalopathy, or even loss of consciousness.”
”COVID-19 differs from other respiratory illnesses because we see signs outside the respiratory tract,” Dr. Aronoff said.
Warning signs include chest pain, confusion, inability to wake up or stay awake, and bluish lips or face. If patients experience any of these, it's recommended they seek medical attention immediately. “They may lose part of their speech or vision, or movement, but we also see changes in just the ability to think normally, so people may feel very foggy.”
While most patients in Tennessee don’t require hospitalization, in rare cases the virus can lead to serious complications.
Dr. Aronoff said, “We also see even young people having strokes as a result of COVID-19, or having problems with blood clots.”
Some who are fighting COVID-19 need amputations. It has to do with blood pressure problems, lack of blood flow, and oxygen issues. “Of those people in the hospital the majority are not needing to be in the intensive care unit, and it’s a significant minority of people who end these disastrous complications that we hear about.”
You can read more here from the CDC about symptoms and warning signs.
