COVID-19: You should know about the prone positioning

By Ashika Rajan, Trainee Reporter
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Prone Position
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We’ve been fighting COVID-19 for above a year. Now that the second wave of COVID-19 infections has been recorded around the world, it is more important than ever to protect our body.

To treat COVID-19 symptoms at home, doctors suggest keeping a few hacks in mind. Proning is one of the simplest ways to keep your oxygen levels in check and your lungs safe.

What exactly is proning?

If a person is experiencing respiratory distress, they should be turned with precise, safe motions from their back onto their abdomen, so that they are lying face down. It has been the practice in the US for decades. Since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been widely used.

What are the requirements for proning?

If a person’s oxygen level falls below 94 percent when waiting for medical assistance or in-home isolation, all they have to do is lie down on their stomach. For the method of proning, a person may need four to five pillows. One pillow should be placed below the neck, one or two placed below the chest through the upper thighs, and two more pillows should be placed below the shins.

Every 30 minutes, the person must move from lying on their stomach to lying on either side, then sitting up before returning to the original position of lying face down.

Benefit of proning

Owing to the virus’s disruption to the red blood cells in their bodies, as this virus can damage the heart, lungs, and muscles, many patients experience shortness of breath. Proning improves ventilation and keeps the alveolar units open, reducing the need for ventilator assistance.

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