Local doctors give health tips amid rising Covid cases

BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) – As summer festivities end, doctors across the country are seeing an increase in infections.

Dr. Roman Nation is a board-certified family physician at Nation’s Best Family Health Care in Panama City.

“Last summer was significantly different compared to this summer,” Nation said. “And we’re seeing a resurgence of COVID this year.”

He said the number of COVID patients coming to him has doubled since last year.

The facility offers a test that detects COVID, flu and respiratory syncytial virus simultaneously, with results available in less than an hour.

Nation reports that the number of RSV infections among older adults has increased

“This is usually a childhood disease that young children get, but because of the variety of things that are coming back into the medical landscape, there are more people who are having RSV infection as adults, which can present like pneumonia,” Nation said.

Dr. Sushma Banda is the chief medical officer at HCA Florida Gulf Coast Hospital. She said the number of people visiting the hospital’s emergency room for COVID-related illnesses has increased.

Banda said that a person infected with the coronavirus may exhibit several symptoms.

“A headache that doesn’t go away, a runny nose, a sore throat,” Banda said. “With the new variant of COVID, we’ve also found diarrhea as one of the symptoms.”

Banda said at a time when so many people are getting sick, it is important to protect ourselves and also get flu shots when they become available.

Banda recommends the following to people:

• Make sure you eat a healthy diet
• Ensure adequate fluid intake
• Take vitamin C for its antioxidant properties
• Wear a mask and get tested if you have symptoms of illness.

Doctors recommend that you seek medical attention if symptoms occur.

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