About 80% of COVID-19 patients have mild symptoms which can be managed at home, however, patients older than 60 and those with preexisting medical conditions are at a higher risk of severe disease and death. These medical conditions include chronic respiratory disease such as asthma, diabetes and heart disease.
If you are in one of these vulnerable groups, you need to take extra precautions to avoid getting sick. Let’s discuss what you can do to protect yourself.
Asthma
Having asthma does not increase your risk of contracting COVID-19, but initial reports from the CDC stated that people with moderate to severe asthma may be at higher risk of getting extremely sick from COVID-19 and could have pneumonia and acute respiratory disease. Viral infections can cause asthma symptoms to “flare up.” In addition to this, patients with asthma already have compromised lung function which could worsen if they are infected with COVID-19.
However, preliminary studies have not confirmed this increased risk. Recent data released by the New York Department of Health did not include asthma on the list of the most secondary health conditions in patients with coronavirus.
Keep your asthma under control
In any event, having your asthma under control is better than having an asthma flare and COVID-19 infection at the same time. You should therefore follow your asthma action plan.