Have COVID? Look For These Signs For Whether Or Not You Should Go To The Hospital
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The omicron variant continues to surge across the country.
"It's spreading so fast, 95% of COVID cases right now are omicron," said Dr. Geeta Nayyar, a rheumatologist.
"What's going on with omicron in comparison to what happen with delta is about 1/3 less of the people who get positive from omicron end up in the hospital. More than three times as many people getting omicron than delta . So we are absolutely expecting to have more total people in the hospital," said Dr. Aileen Marty, an infectious disease specialist at FIU.
Both Dr. Marty and Dr. Nayyar stressed it does not matter what variant you have. If you have COVID-19, you should have a pulse oximeter at home and you should be monitoring your oxygen levels.
"Your oxygen saturation should be over 95. If it is less than 95 but it's over 90, you should worry a little bit. You want to see if it is a consistent problem or not. If it stays that way call your doctor. If it goes below 90 and it consistently below 90, go to the hospital immediately. That is urgent," said Dr. Marty.
This means your lungs are being affected by the virus.
"What really scares us about omicron and COVID-19 is when individuals lose their breath," said Dr. Nayyar.
There are also red flags in which you should go to the hospital, such as persistent chest pain, trouble breathing and your skin or lips changing color.
"Not being able to stay Awake or staying awake. Prolonged confusion are other signs," said Dr. Nayyar.
"You have to pay attention because you could develop myocarditis, which is not uncommon for COVID," said Dr. Marty.
