“People with comorbidities should get COVID test done, not ignore cough and cold” says Dr Rajesh Chawla

New Delhi [India]: The JN.1 sub-variant of COVID has emerged all over the world, the virus which started in the US and other countries spread in India from Kerala and now there are more than 63 proven JN.1 variants in India, said a doctor from one of the leading Hospital groups on Tuesday.

Senior Consultant of Respiratory Medicine at Apollo Hospital, Dr Rajesh Chawla, said, “It spreads very fast.

This is a variant of omicron, so it is likely to spread very fast. And gradually it is going to replace the other variants and become the predominant variant. JN.1 is a mild COVID virus and just like in Omicron, you did not see many patients of severe variety and only a few patients had severe disease, in the same way JN.1 is of mild variety. The symptoms in this include runny nose, cough, fatigue, pain in the throat and voice becoming hoarse while some people may suffer from diarrhoea.”

He further said that as in the other variants, the symptoms are of the upper respiratory tract–nose and throat only–and that too are very mild with fever being an integral part of it.

“The biggest precaution against it is that if you have symptoms, especially if you have comorbidities, then you can get yourself tested. The RT-PCR test is still the best for this and most of the cases can be detected through it as 70 to 80 per cent of people who have COVID will be shown positive with this test. I would not recommend people with very mild symptoms to get this test, but people with comorbidities must get their test done,” he added.

Dr Chawla further said, “The second one is the common treatment which we have been taught earlier also and that is to take rest. Rest is the biggest cure, whether it be COVID or any other viral infection. Also, drink more water and if you are living in a cold area then you can take hot soups and liquids so that you keep yourself hydrated. The treatment for this is absolutely symptomatic. You can take medicines after consulting your doctor which can include antihistamines or Paracetamol depending upon the symptoms you have. Almost all the patients can be cured just by rest, fluids and symptomatic treatment.”

The Senior Consultant of Respiratory Medicine further advised that if a person is positive, he should isolate himself for five days and the people around him should follow previous measures like washing hands, wearing a mask and social distancing should also be maintained.

He further mentioned that COVID testing has not stopped in any hospital and all major hospitals and labs are doing the tests but people have become accustomed to it so if a cold or cough occurs, they think it is mild and do not get it tested but if someone has more symptoms or comorbidities, it would still be better to get tested.