Member-only story

Does lying on the stomach improve COVID-19 patients?

Amin Shah
2 min readMay 8, 2020

--

My friend Dad has COVID-19, shortness of breath, fever, low oxygen saturation, and a bad chest Xray, so he called me for an opinion.

Doctors are noticing that positioning the sickest Covid-19 patients on their stomach (prone position) helps oxygen to get into their lungs easier. So the advice is to keep the patient in a prone position daily for as much time as you can (12–16 hours), and also other supportive measures would be required as advised by the doctor i.e, encouraging oral intake, more fluids, antibiotics/steroids if recommended by the doctor.

Amazingly, the flip worked and he told me that his Dad is saying that he is feeling much better while lying on his stomach now. I wish he gets well soon, the main point of informing you all is to spread the word and any patient developing shortness of breath or respiratory difficulties should be placed in a prone position, as it is such a simple move with great improvements. Do consult your doctors immediately once you are having symptoms, and I believe a phone advice line tool is available in every country for possible COVID-19 patients.

May God protect us all and grants a speedy recovery to the ones suffering from any illnesses out there.

Forbes article on Proning: Lying Coronavirus Patients On Their Stomachs Might Reduce Need For Ventilation

--

--

Amin Shah
Amin Shah

Written by Amin Shah

Emergency Doctor , MBA in Strategic Management @ Pace University NY

No responses yet