n the latest development to the Covid onslaught, the task force has been urging physicians to suspect Covid even in cases where the hallmark signs of cough, sore throat, shortness of breath are absent after reduced hearing, headache, etc emerge as newer Covid symptoms.
Dr. Rahul Pandit, a member of the Covid taskforce while talking to TOI listed out a few of the newer emerging symptoms of Covid-19.
He said the difficulty in hearing, conjunctivitis, extreme weakness, dry mouth, and reduced saliva secretion, long-lasting headache, and skin rashes could be signs of Covid-19 too.
In a virtual meeting chaired by CM Uddhav Thackeray, he also cautioned against Covid and said that though the disease has been around for 17 months, yet newer symptoms are evolving and one needs to keep a close eye on it.
Dr. Samir Bhargava, head of ENT at RN Cooper Hospital however said that the occurrence of hearing damage caused due to Covid is rare. Inflammation of the auditory nerve or a clot caused by the infection could affect hearing just like it affects the sense of smell, however, India has not witnessed any exponential jump in case of sudden hearing loss, said Dr. Bhargava adding that in those rare cases of hearing loss, the patients are treated with steroids.
Dr. Sanjay Oak, chairman of the task force spoke in detail regarding the varying degrees of Covid symptoms. He said that during the second Covid wave driven by the Delta variant, many victims suffered from gastrointestinal symptoms, including diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, although the extent of fever varied from person to person. Some did not get any fever, some got it in sudden bursts, some in intervals of two-three days, while in many it completely subsided only to return with severity.
