COVID-19 Signs and Symptoms

9. Shortness of Breath and Other Respiratory Issues

Shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing, is a serious symptom of COVID-19.  It is just as serious as when it occurs due to any other disease.  COVID-19 can cause shortness of breath, but so can other diseases.

One of the first challenges that the medical community encountered in detecting the SARS-CoV-2 is that it manifested itself in many symptoms that were similar with those of other diseases.  Coronaviruses that affect humans, as already mentioned earlier, all generally affect the upper respiratory tract.  That being said, many of the respiratory issues that were due to COVID-19 were misdiagnosed as being that of other diseases.

Just the same, it is now established that shortness of breath and/ or respiratory issues are some of the symptoms that will result from COVID-19.  SARS-CoV-2 being the dominant spreader at this time, and therefore currently being the most cause for concern, patients with respiratory issues are being tested for COVID-19, although thankfully some are turning out to be infected with less serious pathogens.  Because of the similarities with other diseases, respiratory issues are being used as an indicator of a possibility, not a confirmation, of having COVID-19.  The confirmation of the disease can be done only with laboratory testing of the patient’s provided samples.