'How I was cured at home'

The failure of the BMC to send an ambulance to ferry a patient to a designated COVID19 hospital might have worked in his favour Doctors told the patients brother a doctor to continue treatment and get him to hospital in case of an emergency His brother continued to treat him at home with the help of his friend another doctor and Anjum Shaikh 52 was soon free of pneumonia patches in his lungs and has once tested negative for COVID19His second test for COVID19 is scheduled for todayAnjum used to work as a site supervisor at a construction site Since the lockdown started he would visit underprivileged people staying on footpaths around Haji Ali and Nair Hospital and hand food packets to them The only medicines he took were for blood pressure and for allergic cough due to his workAnjum ShaikhBegan with a coughI cried when I learnt that my COVID19 report came positive I had no clue how the virus entered my body I practiced and maintained regular hygiene said Anjum a resident of Byculla He was treated at home where he had quarantined himselfHe recalled I had mixed water with sodium hypochlorite disinfectant and after spraying it in my locality when I returned home I was coughing I ignored it thinking it might be allergic cough and soon developed breathlessness for which my elder brother Dr Shahid Shaikh 67 a general practitioner prescribed routine medicines and antibioticsInitially I could not sleep at night due to the persistent dry cough and got restless the moment I lay flat on the bed I kept pillows to elevate my head but still could not sleep said Anjum The situation worsened and it was decided to get a chest XRay done It showed patchy pneumonia and by then Anjum developed a further breathing issueAnjum Shaikhs XRay on April 17 after his first test for COVID19 came negative on April 15Dr Shahid Shaikh said When Anjum did not respond to my treatment and his XRay showed patches of pneumonia and his breathlessness aggravated I decided to contact my classmate at Grant Medical College Dr Wiqar Shaikh He started antibiotics and oxygen therapyOn April 11 Anjum tested positive for SARSCoV2 that causes COVID19 and his wife and children were also tested and sent to quarantine The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC was to send an ambulance to shift Anjum to a COVID19designated hospital but it never came and the doctors who contacted us thereafter on phone asked us to continue the treatment and get him to hospital in case of any emergency which we agreed said Dr Shahid Shaikh Anjum was given oxygen therapy at homeAggressive treatmentI immediately advised Dr Shahid to put Anjum on an aggressive support line of treatment and prescribed three different bronchodilators and steroidbased inhalers and two higher antibiotics which were given for 10 days and even his chest XRay done subsequently showed no patch of pneumonia The COVID19 test came negative on April 15 said consultant senior asthma and allergy specialist Dr Wiqar Shaikh He added that Anjum is off all medication and asymptomatic the next test for COVID19 will be will be done this weekDr Wiqar Shaikh is of the belief that aggressive treatment with higher antibiotics and a combination of inhaled medication if given to a home quarantined COVID19 patient with symptoms can work Only if the patient turns serious and needs multiple support systems should she or he be admitted in hospital and this will also bring down the burden on our over stretched hospitalsAfter treatment Anjum is off oxygen therapy and not on medicines His XRay shows pneumonia patches have disappeared after the medication his COVID19 report has come negative and hence he can be called cured Dr Shahid Shaikh said adding he has no symptoms or fever after he underwent 10 days treatmentAnjum has decided not to venture out for any social work until the COVID19 outbreak is fully under control His advice to people Stay at home maintain hygiene have warm water maintain social distance and wear safety masks in case you have to step out or else you will return home infected and spread the virus to your family Without family there is no meaning to lifeApr 11Day when Anjum Shaikhs COVID19 test came positiveCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news