Why do I have faster heartbeat, back pain, sore throat, itchiness, diarrhea, and tears after becoming impotent?

After becoming positive, many people wonder: Why does the heart beat faster? Why does the waist hurt? Why does a "razor throat" appear? Why does the cough get worse after the fever subsides? Why do some people still have "strange" symptoms such as itching, diarrhea, and tears?

Answers to 7 frequently asked questions are here!

After Yang

Why does my heart beat faster?

"I'm impotent and my heart rate is a little fast, over 140. Do I need to go to the hospital?" According to Chengdu Business Daily, Xu Yuanning, deputy chief physician of the Department of Cardiology at West China Hospital of Sichuan University, has received similar inquiries from many friends every day recently.

In order to help answer everyone's questions, on December 17, Xu Yuanning posted an article on "Explanation of tachycardia and myocarditis" on WeChat Moments, which attracted attention. Xu Yuanning summarized 8 reasons:

(1) Fever

For every degree increase in body temperature, the heart rate increases by about 10 beats per minute. If accompanied by chills, the heart rate increase may be even higher. After the body temperature drops, the heartbeat will slowly return to normal.

(2) Types of medications taken

Some ingredients in the drugs you take to relieve symptoms may cause your heart rate to increase. For example, caffeine and aminophylline in cough medicines, antiasthmatics, and certain nebulized inhalation drugs. These drugs can relieve symptoms, but they cannot kill the virus. So only take the medicine when you have obvious symptoms, otherwise it will not help much.

(3) Physical reactions to hypovolemia

After infection, insufficient food intake, diarrhea, vomiting, infection or drug-induced gastrointestinal reactions may cause a certain degree of blood volume deficiency, and the heart rate will increase to compensate. Therefore, during the infection period, you should increase your water intake, eat small meals frequently, and even drink oral rehydration salts. If you feel thirsty or have less urine, be alert to the harm caused by dehydration and seek medical attention in time.

(4) Various types of pain may also cause an increase in heart rate

Many people have experienced various pains after being infected with the new coronavirus, such as "skull opening, leg sawing, waist cutting, laparotomy, and throat cutting". These pains are enough to stimulate an increase in heart rate.

(5) The body’s stress response to viral infection

After being infected with the virus, the human immune system is activated, and the immune activation itself may be accompanied by an increase in basal heart rate.

(6) Severe hypoxia

This is a more serious cause of increased heart rate, usually accompanied by shortness of breath, severe cough, lung imaging changes, etc., commonly known as severe infection. According to national diagnosis and treatment standards, if the respiratory rate exceeds 30 times/minute and the oxygen saturation is continuously below 93%, you should be careful of severe infection.

(7) Aggravation of underlying diseases leading to rapid heart rate

For example, patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (commonly known as emphysema) and patients with underlying heart disease (especially chronic heart failure) should pay attention if they have a persistent increase in heart rate. The more obvious the increase in heart rate, the more dangerous the condition may be, and they should go to the hospital for examination and evaluation as soon as possible.

(8) Myocarditis

Like other viral infections, there is a certain probability that Omicron infection will induce myocarditis. However, myocarditis usually occurs in the late stage of viral infection or 1-2 weeks after infection, and is related to the virus-related immune response. In addition to the increased heart rate, the electrocardiogram will change, and myocardial markers will increase significantly.

According to Xu Yuanning, the above factors may occur alone or in combination to affect the heartbeat; they may also speed up the heartbeat in the short or long term, or over a period of time.

Xu Yuanning reminded that a faster heartbeat is only part of the symptoms of myocarditis. Myocarditis also has other manifestations, such as severe bradycardia, premature beats, and dyspnea. Therefore, if the heartbeat is simply faster without other symptoms, there is no need to be so nervous.

After Yang

Why does my lower back hurt?

Sun Haolin, chief physician of orthopedics at Peking University First Hospital, recently received a phone consultation from a 58-year-old female patient who developed severe back pain 4 days after testing positive for COVID-19 and asked what to do.

On December 19, Sun Haolin posted a video on his personal public account to answer the questions.

He explained that a study published in the journal Nature Medicine in 2021 showed that spinal joint pain is the third most common symptom after COVID-19 infection, second only to fatigue and respiratory symptoms, with an incidence rate of 27.3%. Analysis of the cause may be that the new coronavirus attacks the ACE2 receptors in tissues. This receptor exists in the upper respiratory tract and can cause symptoms such as coughing and breath holding. It also exists in the nervous system, so it can cause pain symptoms.

For patients who experience low back pain after COVID-19 infection, Sun Haolin recommends:

First, if you do not experience lower limb symptoms such as leg pain, numbness, and weakness during the infection, you can observe the symptoms and do not need to rush to the hospital; if the pain is mild, you can take no medication or apply some external ointments; if the pain is moderate to severe, you can take ibuprofen or acetaminophen to relieve the pain.

Second, if the symptoms of COVID-19 disappear and the lower back pain improves, no further treatment is needed; if there is no improvement or there are residual symptoms, you can go to the hospital for further examination to determine whether there are any problems with the lumbar spine itself.

After Yang

Why does “razor throat” occur?

"After infection, why does swallowing saliva feel like swallowing a razor blade?" This is a deep experience for many people.

According to Jimu News, Wang Linghang, director of the emergency department of Beijing Ditan Hospital, explained in an interview that **this condition is mainly caused by congestion and edema of the mucous membrane around the glottis and vocal cords, which usually manifests itself after 3-5 days of illness. **When the acute phase of respiratory viral infection ends, the virus is cleared, inflammation is reduced, edema disappears and improves, and the voice can be restored.

So how to relieve razor throat? In addition to medication, experts from Hubei Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital also prescribed health prescriptions. In terms of daily care, you can pay attention to the following:

(1) Increase the amount of water you drink, drink small amounts frequently, to moisten the oral and throat mucosa and relieve discomfort.

(2) Use warm, light salt water to gargle to enhance the resistance of the oropharyngeal mucosa. Spray physiological sea salt water into the nose to clean and moisten the nasal cavity.

(3) Diet therapy: warm Tremella and pear soup, pear soup stewed with rock sugar, honey water, and fruits and vegetables rich in water and vitamin C, such as oranges, pears, apples, cabbage, etc. Avoid spicy and greasy foods during the onset of the disease.

After Yang

Why is my cough getting worse?

"My cough is getting worse. Is my condition getting worse?" As more and more people infected with the new coronavirus enter the later stages of their illness, many people report that their coughs become more and more severe after their fever subsides.

Lin Minggui, director of the infectious disease department at Beijing Tsinghua Chang Gung Hospital, told a reporter from the People's Daily Health Client on December 18 that patients with COVID-19 will have secondary inflammation of the trachea and bronchus, which will cause coughing. At the same time, the respiratory mucosa is damaged by the virus in the early stage, and the human body excretes secretions from the throat, trachea, and bronchus through coughing and expectoration.

Generally speaking, dry cough is the most common symptom of novel coronavirus infection. A small number of patients may cough up white mucus or sputum that is difficult to cough up. They usually do not cough up yellow purulent sputum unless there is a bacterial infection.

Lin Minggui suggested that ordinary coughs can be treated at home, drinking water to moisten the throat, not talking too much, resting more, and taking some cough suppressants to relieve symptoms. Once hemoptysis or mixed bacterial infection occurs, the cough becomes more severe, and purulent sputum is coughed up, it should be taken seriously and go to the hospital as soon as possible to check blood routine and chest CT.

After Yang

Why does my body itch?

"Recently, many of my friends have developed allergies. One friend said that when he was first diagnosed, his body was very itchy. He thought it was due to the dry air and frequent bathing in winter, but it was actually due to allergies." On December 17, Gao Wei, an emergency doctor at Miyun Hospital of Peking University First Hospital, told the People's Daily Health Client that because anti-allergic ingredients are added to the medicine to relieve runny nose, the runny nose caused by allergies is not very obvious, but itching will still occur.

Gao Wei said that he has been receiving similar feedback recently. Today, someone told him that large rashes suddenly appeared on his body. The cause is still unclear. It may be that people took multiple medicines such as antipyretics and Chinese patent medicines, and there was a reaction between the medicines, resulting in allergic symptoms.

"This is a problem that many people may encounter, but it is often ignored." Gao Wei reminded that once you experience itching, rashes, mild breathlessness, and palpitations, you must be careful that you may have systemic allergic symptoms. At this time, you need to take anti-allergic drugs or seek medical attention in time to prevent suffocation caused by throat edema due to acute allergies, which requires widespread attention.

After Yang

Why does diarrhea occur?

He Yuqi, a gastroenterologist at Beijing Chest Hospital, said in the hospital's People's Daily Health account on December 19 that the gastrointestinal tract is a potential transmission route and target organ for the virus. In early patients infected with the new coronavirus, diarrhea was a common clinical manifestation of the digestive system. Now the virulence of the Omicron variant has been greatly reduced, and the degree of damage to the lungs and gastrointestinal mucosa has been significantly reduced compared with the early strains.

Considering that patients infected with the Omicron virus often have fever, as the body temperature rises, the activity of the patient's digestive enzymes decreases, so some people will experience gastrointestinal symptoms such as loss of appetite, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and anorexia.

In addition to the gastrointestinal symptoms caused by the virus, symptomatic treatment drugs such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, broad-spectrum antibiotics, and Chinese patent medicines taken by patients after fever can also cause adverse gastrointestinal reactions.

So, what should I do if I have diarrhea after having an erection? He Yuqi suggests:

You can use montmorillonite powder, berberine, and probiotics appropriately to improve intestinal flora, which can relieve diarrhea symptoms in the short term. As the body temperature returns to normal, the diarrhea symptoms will improve on their own.

For patients with diarrhea, while using antidiarrhea and flora regulation treatment, attention should be paid to replenishing water and electrolytes to prevent the occurrence of electrolyte disorders. Especially in the process of treating new coronavirus infection, attention should also be paid to a reasonable diet. The reasonable combination of vitamins, folic acid, and trace elements can improve the body's immunity, thereby helping patients recover as soon as possible.

After Yang

Why do some people cry?

On December 16, a man in Qinhuangdao, Hebei, claimed that he had no other symptoms after being infected, except that his eyes were swollen and painful, and he kept crying. In this regard, Professor Li Jun, chief physician of the infectious disease department of Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital, told the reporter of the People's Daily Health Client that individual situations are different, and specific analysis should be conducted based on one's own situation.

"Take eye swelling as an example. The causes of this symptom may include: staying up late or overusing the eyes, eye diseases or underlying diseases such as kidneys, or side effects of medications. Without a doctor's diagnosis, it is impossible to determine the specific cause of the symptom."

Li Jun said that recently many people have been infected with the novel coronavirus, and the symptoms they showed were mainly fever, dry throat and sore throat, cough and sputum. Among them, some netizens reflected that the symptoms were relatively rare, which may be related to their personal constitution or their own conditions. The reasons behind it are relatively complicated and should be analyzed specifically. Especially for this group of people who already have underlying diseases, infection with the novel coronavirus will not make other diseases disappear. While paying attention to the symptoms of the novel coronavirus, we should also consider issues such as underlying diseases.

Li Jun reminded that if the body shows some manifestations other than the common symptoms of COVID-19 and the situation continues to worsen, you should seek medical help in time to avoid delaying treatment due to personal misjudgment.

Source: Health Times WeChat Official Account