ing plenty of fluids, and using over-the-counter pain relievers for fever or accompanying discomfort.
When to pursue testing or get professional medical care can be more complicated, and depends on whether you’ve likely been exposed, the severity of your symptoms, and your age and underlying health.
Here is advice on when to reach out for medical care, based on those factors:
- You have no symptoms, don’t think you’ve been exposed, and are at low risk.
People in this group who are younger than 60 and in good health don’t need to get tested, Hochman said. Instead, simply practice basic infection prevention protocols. Wash your hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol if you can’t wash your hands, avoid sick people, and listen to recommendations from your local health department.
- If you are 60 or older, have a weakened immune system or underlying medical conditions such as lung disease, heart disease, or diabetes, experts also recommend that you try to avoid large gatherings and nonessential long flights.
- You have no symptoms but have had contact with someone who has COVID-19.
Currently, the CDC does not recommend that you be tested for COVID-19. But check with your local health department to see whether its guidance differs. Monitor your health carefully and try to avoid public settings – if you can work from home, for instance, do so. It’s especially important to stay alert for symptoms if you are older than 60, immunocompromised or have an underlying medical condition such as asthma.
- You have mild to moderate symptoms but are at low risk and are unsure whether you’ve been exposed.
“If you fit into this group and are younger than 60 with no other medical conditions, you can monitor and treat yourself at home,” Hochman said. Isolate yourself as much as possible, as you would with the flu. You can consider asking your primary care doctor or health department about testing, but it might not be available, depending on where you live. And call your doctor if symptoms worsen.
- You have mild to moderate symptoms and are at high risk.
If you’re older than 60 or have underlying health problems, contact your health department or doctor to see about getting tested, even if you are unsure whether you’ve been exposed to the virus. But note that testing may or may not yet be available in your region.
- You have mild to moderate symptoms and know you have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.
Contact your doctor or local public health department to see about getting tested, Hochman advises. Call by phone; don’t just show up at a doctor’s office or other health care setting, such as a clinic or emergency room, he said – the staff may want you to take special precautions, such as using an alternative entrance and wearing a mask upon arrival. Otherwise, you may expose others to the disease, or may be exposed yourself by other sick people.
- You have severe symptoms.
If you have a high fever, a persistent cough that continues to worsen, or shortness of breath that makes it hard to talk, contact a doctor immediately, no matter what your age or risk level. And if it feels like a medical emergency, with significant difficulty breathing for example, call 911, Hochman said. Tell the dispatcher you may have COVID-19 when you call, and if you have a face mask, put it on before emergency personnel arrive.