Omicron Itchy Throat, Delta Shortness of Breath: Expert

TheIndonesia.co - Pulmonary Disease Specialist from Persahabatan Hospital Dr.dr. Erlina Burhan, M.Sc, Sp.P(K) said that the most common symptoms experienced by Omicron patients were pain and an itchy throat. At Persahabatan Hospital, as many as 63 percent of Omicron patients had symptoms of a dry cough and 54 percent had a sore throat. While easily tired has a figure of 54 percent.

According to dr. Erlina, this virus mostly develops in the upper respiratory tract, while Delta resides in the lower respiratory tract and lungs. "So about 70 times more replication occurs in the respiratory tract, so the typical symptoms are sore throat, itching in the throat, cough and nasal congestion, rarely shortness of breath," said dr. Erlina in the webinar was quoted on Friday, February 4, 2022.

"It's very different from Delta. Delta has a fever and shortness of breath because it develops a lot in the lungs," she continued.

In addition to dry cough, sore throat, and easy lethargy, common symptoms that can be found in the Omicron variant are runny nose/ stuffy nose (27 percent), headache (36 percent), fever (18 percent), and abdominal pain (5 percent). While patients who are asymptomatic about 35 percent.

This common symptom is said to be mild enough that many ignore it and tend to think of it as the common cold. dr. Erlina appealed to the public to immediately go to the nearest health facility if they have found some of the symptoms above so that they can be identified as positive for COVID-19 or not.

"If people tend to think it's the flu, they will ignore health protocols. If confirmed, they will immediately be on guard and immediately self-isolate. So go to the community health center immediately, we should really know if there are complaints, even if they are just like flu," said dr. Erlina.

Omicron transmission is many times faster than Delta. However, the recovery is also faster than the other variants. However, dr. Erlina advises staying in isolation for 10 days.

"Because the symptoms are mild, the recovery can be faster. So on the fifth to the seventh day, they usually have recovered and have been negative. But from our guidelines, whether it's Delta or Omicron who are asymptomatic, the isolation period is still 10 days," she said.