Observe po muna.

Doc, tagal ko na meron dry cough! COVID ba ‘to?

Okay, ito po yan... pag more than 2 weeks to a month or more na po ang ubo nyo pero wala naman plema, hindi naman kayo nahirapan huminga, wala naman lagnat at hindi naman lumalala ang sintomas at steady lang na ganun ang ubo nyo, malamang sa malamang ay hindi po yan COVID.  There’s a far better chance that it’s allergic cough or acid reflux... or both. Yes, acid reflux can cause allergic symptoms and can even mimic difficulty breathing.

Pero I will be honest, basta po meron respiratory symptoms ang pasyente at nag punta sa clinic o ospital ngayon, we, as doctors, will treat that patient as a COVID patient unless proven na hindi COVID. On our part, Eto naman po ay precautionary measure lang po. Hindi po neto ibig sabihin na meron na po kayong COVID.
We are just protecting other patients and ourselves.

Yung stomach acid, when it refluxes and goes up to your throat, will cause you to cough. Reflex po yan ng ating katawan; and our throats, being not designed to handle acid (unlike the stomach), will react by becoming inflamed (maga). This inflammation will be interpreted by our brains as phlegm that’s struck in our throat, but in reality, is a part of our throat that’s just inflamed from the reaction with the acid from our stomach.

This will cause us to want to cough out that phlegm-like feeling. Sometimes voluntary but oftentimes and madalas mag “ehem ehem” ang pasyente. Frequent throat clearing po ang tawag namin dyan. Minsan pinipilit ilabas ang “plema” na hindi naman talaga plema. Maputing malapot lang ang lumalabas. That’s saliva or laway na nahaluan ng stomach acid kaya’t itoy malapot. Pag pinilit i-ubo pwedeng magkaroon ng bahidng dugo ang plema na lalabas.

Wag po tayong kabahan sa dry cough na matagal na (higit sa dalawang linggo) at hindi naman kayo lumalabas ng bahay netong panahon ng quarantine. Alam ko po it’s difficult kasi Hindi po kayo basta makalabas para magpa check up sa inyong mga doctor, pero kalma lang po tayo. Observe po muna.

Stay safe po tayong lahat. God bless us all.
#StayAtHome