Most people recover from COVID-19.
As of April 30,
we're looking at more than 1 million survivors globally.
And if we consider people who haven't been tested,
that number is probably much higher.
But the road to recovery isn't always a smooth one.
Here's what it's like to get better
from COVID-19, day by day.
Generally, the sicker a person is,
the longer it takes to recover,
but there's still a lot we don't know about COVID-19.
Because it's not just about how you feel.
We have to talk about transmissibility, too.
Mild cases, which are about 80% of all confirmed cases,
can run the gamut from asymptomatic to more serious.
Asymptomatic cases are important
because even if people don't show symptoms,
they can still transmit the virus.
The CDC estimates that as many as 25% of people
who are infected won't show symptoms.
These people should only break isolation
after seven days have passed
since their first positive test
and no symptoms show up within that time frame.
Mild cases with symptoms usually don't require
a stay in a hospital
and can be managed from home.
Recovery can take about two weeks.
In that time, fatigue, muscle aches,
and chest discomfort should start to ease.
If they have a fever,
it will most likely settle after a week,
though a cough might linger a little longer.
If patients were officially diagnosed
with COVID-19 and sent home,
the CDC recommends they meet three criteria
before breaking self-isolation:
They've been fever-free for 72 hours,
respiratory symptoms like chest pain
or a cough have cleared up,
and at least seven days have passed
since they saw their first symptoms.
Since it's not fully known
how long COVID-19 patients are contagious for,
some experts believe these current CDC guidelines
aren't conservative enough.
Moderate cases are even tougher to categorize.
Some of these will follow a similar timeline as mild ones,
but some might start to look better after about a week
and then suddenly get worse.
This could land them in the hospital for two to three days.
Some patients with high fevers and diarrhea
might get dehydrated and require IV fluids,
and since this virus mainly attacks the respiratory system,
a heightened immune response
can end up flooding the lungs with fluid.
So patients in this category might need supplemental oxygen
for a few days to help them breathe better,
giving the lungs time to clear up the infection
and start working better again.
But when this doesn't work,
then we're looking at severe cases.
Symptoms tend to get much worse around the 10-day mark.
A severe case is usually marked by pneumonia,
and recovery time for these patients
is around three to six weeks,
but pneumonia can sometimes turn into
acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS.
That's when the lungs are flooded with fluid
and the body is severely deprived of oxygen.
ARDS is usually what sends a COVID-19 patient to the ICU,
and the World Health Organization estimates
about 5% of COVID-19 cases will end up there.
These are the people who need to be on ventilators,
machines that move air in and out
of the lungs for a patient.
This provides a greater supply of oxygen to the lungs
while removing carbon dioxide.
Some patients may only spend a couple of weeks ventilated
and then a few days recovering
in a medical or surgical ward,
but ventilation can be an uncomfortable
and traumatic process.
Patients will need medication to relieve the discomfort.
Many get small doses,
but higher ones can sometimes induce delirium,
a change in the brain
that can cause mental or emotional confusion,
and it can have a lasting impact on the recovery process,
even potentially causing PTSD,
so ventilators are oftentimes the last resort.
A patient is taken off a ventilator
after meeting three criteria:
They're able to control their breathing
and swallowing on their own;
their oxygen levels are high enough
that they can be supported by something less invasive,
like a nasal canula;
and their lungs can clear carbon dioxide
effectively enough not to need assistance.
Once off the ventilator,
patients usually fall into one of two camps.
Best cases, they're up and walking.
Some can feel a little weak
and might have some weight loss and mild PTSD.
They might be able to just take it easy
for a week or two to regain their strength.
The worst cases might not be able to get out of bed.
They might be forgetful or confused,
probably from delirium,
but the physical damage
would most likely be seen on the lungs.
After severe respiratory disease and ventilation,
many patients will have pulmonary fibrosis.
That could leave the lungs scarred and less functional.
Patients could require rehabilitation,
which could mean staying a couple of months
in a skilled nursing facility before they can go home,
and it could take upwards of a year
working with psychologists, speech therapists,
and other medical professionals to work through
the effects of a ventilator.
So, in the worst cases,
after the patient finally leaves the hospital,
it could take up to 18 months
before they really feel back to normal.
We're still too early on in this pandemic
to know everything about recovery,
which is part of the reason
the current number of recovered patients is so low.
Many people are still sick, but will eventually get better.
And the more people who recover,
the more we'll learn, and vice versa.
For now, the best thing we can do
is try to lessen the number of people
who get sick in the first place.
So, wash your hands, keep your distance, and be patient.