As North Carolina continues to see a rise in confirmed COVID-19 cases, the number of people recovering from the illness also continues to increase.The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said most people who contract COVID-19 will recover on their own. There are others who will require hospitalizations and face a steeper hill of recovery based potentially on their own medical history.How do the state and medical providers determine if someone recovers from the disease?The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said it is still working on a technical definition of COVID-19 recovery, but it does provide these benchmarks to guide patients to know if they can leave a hospital, recover at home or resume normal activities:A person is fever free, without the help of fever-reducing medications, for at least 72 hours or three full days.A person’s other symptoms like coughing or trouble breathing improveAt least 10 days have passed since a person first experienced COVID-19-like symptoms Combining all three of these variables can provide a patient and provider with insight if recovery is happening. NCDHHS said it usually uses these criteria to gauge a person’s recovery instead of having to issue another COVID-19 test to see if the results come back negative.Still, there are others who spend days or weeks on a ventilator in addition to fighting the virus. Novant Health Chief Clinical Officer for the greater Winston-Salem area Dr. Lawrence Nycum said COVID-19 can “take a beating” to a person, but said recovery varies from person to person.“It really takes a lot out of you if you’re to be smitten with COVID-19. It just takes a while,” Dr. Nycum said. “It’s sort of like your body has taken an insult. Trauma has been inflicted, and it just takes a while to recover. If you cut your hand, and put a Band-Aid on it, you’re not cut anymore but it’s recovering, take a while to recovery.”Depending on the severity of someone’s symptoms and medical treatment, Dr. Nycum said some patients will need therapy or rehabilitation due to the body becoming “deconditioned.” This additional intervention is to help improve lung function, stomach function and overall bodily strength and restoration.Dr. Nycum said while some patients can show symptoms of recovery, there can still be some “shedding” of the virus happening internally that could take longer than 10 days.Dr. Nycum said Novant Health is celebrating around 1,200 COVID-19 recoveries in its system.To prevent the spread of COVID-19, Dr. Nycum stressed the importance of social distancing, wearing a face covering and washing your hands.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. —
As North Carolina continues to see a rise in confirmed COVID-19 cases, the number of people recovering from the illness also continues to increase.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said most people who contract COVID-19 will recover on their own. There are others who will require hospitalizations and face a steeper hill of recovery based potentially on their own medical history.
How do the state and medical providers determine if someone recovers from the disease?
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said it is still working on a technical definition of COVID-19 recovery, but it does provide these benchmarks to guide patients to know if they can leave a hospital, recover at home or resume normal activities:
- A person is fever free, without the help of fever-reducing medications, for at least 72 hours or three full days.
- A person’s other symptoms like coughing or trouble breathing improve
- At least 10 days have passed since a person first experienced COVID-19-like symptoms
Combining all three of these variables can provide a patient and provider with insight if recovery is happening. NCDHHS said it usually uses these criteria to gauge a person’s recovery instead of having to issue another COVID-19 test to see if the results come back negative.
Still, there are others who spend days or weeks on a ventilator in addition to fighting the virus.
Novant Health Chief Clinical Officer for the greater Winston-Salem area Dr. Lawrence Nycum said COVID-19 can “take a beating” to a person, but said recovery varies from person to person.
“It really takes a lot out of you if you’re to be smitten with COVID-19. It just takes a while,” Dr. Nycum said. “It’s sort of like your body has taken an insult. Trauma has been inflicted, and it just takes a while to recover. If you cut your hand, and put a Band-Aid on it, you’re not cut anymore but it’s recovering, take a while to recovery.”
Depending on the severity of someone’s symptoms and medical treatment, Dr. Nycum said some patients will need therapy or rehabilitation due to the body becoming “deconditioned.”
This additional intervention is to help improve lung function, stomach function and overall bodily strength and restoration.
Dr. Nycum said while some patients can show symptoms of recovery, there can still be some “shedding” of the virus happening internally that could take longer than 10 days.
Dr. Nycum said Novant Health is celebrating around 1,200 COVID-19 recoveries in its system.
To prevent the spread of COVID-19, Dr. Nycum stressed the importance of social distancing, wearing a face covering and washing your hands.
