Amid more deaths and new infections, an 88-year-old woman is on the way to total recovery from the novel coronavirus, after receiving treatment in a Saudi hospital, giving some hope to those who are worried about their parents and loved ones, and proving that recovery was possible.
Based on figures published by the Saudi Ministry of Health, the elderly constitute between 3 and 9 percent of the total daily infections.
Dr. Sami Al-Yami, assistant professor of internal and pulmonary medicine, said the elderly are the ones who are most affected by the complications of COVID-19, especially if they were suffering from heart and lung disease or diabetes.
The doctor, who supervises the intensive care unit dedicated to the coronavirus patients at the King Abdulaziz Medical City, added that the elderly may not show the typical symptoms of the virus, such as fever, cough and shortness of breath, especially in the first days of infection, but instead their energy decreases, along with long hours of sleep, confusion and loss of appetite.
“In the next stages, nausea, delirium and later loss of consciousness occur, due to the physiological and immunity changes they have, especially if they suffer from chronic diseases which make their immune response differ from young people,” he said.
Al-Yami continued: “These atypical symptoms may delay the diagnosis of the disease even by doctors, which affects the patients’ chances of recovery. Therefore, it is necessary for the first-line doctors to evaluate the elderly very carefully to detect the disease and help them recover faster.”
