Treatment for COVID-19 can result in side effects including nausea, diarrhea, constipation, high blood pressure, water retention, weakened immunity, problems with kidney function and allergic reactions. If medications are administered by infusion into a vein, there may be bruising, pain, swelling and inflammation at the puncture site.

It is hard to predict which side effects are likely to occur in an individual case because different patients can react differently to the same treatment. What’s more, patients with severe COVID-19 are usually given several medications at the same time.

It is also worth remembering that medication used to treat COVID-19 could interact with other medications. It should therefore be established beforehand what pre-existing conditions the patient has and what medications they are already taking. These may mean that certain COVID-19 medications should not be used - in medical language they are “contraindicated” - in his or her individual case. Not all COVID-19 medications can be given to all patients.

If you experience side effects during your treatment it is important that you inform your doctor as soon as you become aware of them. Many side effects can be relieved by taking additional medications or using other procedures.

An overview of the COVID-19 medications that have been authorized, or for which authorization is pending, is given by vfa (the association of researching pharmaceutical companies).

It is important to take and use medicines in the way the doctor has prescribed.

If several medicines are prescribed at the same time it’s easy to lose track. So ask your doctor for a medication plan. Anyone taking three or more prescribed medications for at least four weeks is entitled to one. The medication plan lists all the medications clearly. This enables you to keep track and allows you to check at any time and see which medication you need to take when.

Further information is available from the initiative “Medikationsplan schafft Überblick”.

Various different medications are available to treat COVID-19:

Antiviral medications

Antiviral medications act to prevent the coronavirus from spreading within the body. They can be used at different times in the course of the illness. Used at an early stage, antivirals can reduce the risk of hospitalization and can prevent the illness from becoming severe. Used at an advanced stage, antivirals can stabilize the patient’s condition, reduce the risk of death and shorten recovery time.

Antiinflammatory medications

In severe cases of COVID-19 there is often an overactive immune response which can be very harmful to the patient. Antiinflammatory agents can be used to combat the overactive immune response. This treatment is recommended primarily for intensive care patients on ventilation.

Anticoagulant medications

Infection with SARS-CoV-2 can increase the risk of blood clot formation (thrombosis). Anticoagulant medications can be used to counteract this.

Monoclonal antibodies

Antibody treatments are used to prevent the illness from becoming severe. Various antibodies are available and can be given individually or as a mixture (an “antibody cocktail”). They are commonly used for the early treatment of patients who are at increased risk of becoming severely ill.

Other medications

Infection with SARS-CoV-2 can lead to bacterial infections such as pneumonia and it can also cause organ damage. These need to be treated appropriately, for example with antibiotics. When deciding which medications might be suitable and which ones can be used, it is necessary to consider not only how the illness is expressed - for example, inhalation sprays may be helpful to treat the symptoms – but also to take account of factors such as the patient’s age and general physical state.

Further information about treatment is available at the Federal Health Ministry’s website gesund.bund.de. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) provides an overview of the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 which is updated regularly.

An overview of the COVID-19 medications that have been authorized, or for which authorization is pending, is given by vfa (the association of researching pharmaceutical companies).

Treatment guidelines are intended to help doctors with diagnosis and treatment. They represent the current state of medical knowledge, drawing on information from clinical studies to make recommendations about the diagnostic procedures and treatments that are helpful for a specific illness. Unlike legal rulings (Richtlinien), guidelines are not obligatory and their recommendations should always be applied as appropriate in the individual case.

Patient guidelines are available for a variety of illnesses and are of particular interest to patients and their loved ones because they present current medical knowledge in normal language.

Various guidelines on dealing with COVID-19 are accessible on the AWMF (Association of the Scientific Medical Societies) website:

• information and practical help regarding SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 for community-based physicians
• patient guideline “Informationen zur Coronavirus-Pandemie”
• recommendations for in-patient treatment of patients with COVID-19
• treatment of patients with COVID-19 from a palliative perspective
• COVID-19 in patients with blood disorders and cancer
• post COVID syndrome / long COVID

In children, a COVID-19 infection usually causes mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. The most frequent symptoms are cough, fever and runny nose. Diarrhea and problems with the senses of smell and taste are also possible. Depending on the individual symptoms and their severity, it can be helpful to give medicines to lower the temperature and/or relieve the cough, blocked nose and diarrhea.

Serious illness is very rare in children but can happen, affecting mainly infants, small children and children with pre-existing conditions. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) provides a list of relevant pre-existing conditions (the list is to be found below the question “What does the STIKO recommend for children and adolescents aged 6 months to 17 years inclusive?”)

With regard to treatment, you should remember that not all the medications available to treat COVID-19 in adults are also authorized for use in children. Depending on the severity and the individual symptoms in each case, it is necessary to check which medications can be used to treat children and young people.

Further information about the illness in children and young people, and a wealth of helpful tips for parents, can be found at the website infektionsschutz.de run by BZgA, the Federal Centre for Health Education.

COVID-19 can cause a variety of symptoms such as fever, cough and problems with the senses of taste and smell. When the illness is severe, it can lead to pneumonia and affect other organs such as the heart, blood vessels, nervous system or kidneys. COVID-19 can also be a danger to mental health.

How the illness is treated depends on how it is expressed in each individual case. If the illness is mild, it is usually sufficient to rest and treat the individual symptoms, cough and fever for instance, as necessary. For patients who are at increased risk of becoming severely ill, antiviral treatment early on in the illness can also be helpful.

If you become infected, it’s important that you isolate at home to avoid infecting anyone else if at all possible.

When the illness is more serious, in-patient treatment in hospital is necessary. Many of the hospitalized patients need oxygen and some need mechanical ventilation.

A number of different medications are available to prevent and treat serious illness. Some are given as tablets while others are administered in the form of infusions into a vein.

Further information about treatment is available at the Federal Health Ministry’s website gesund.bund.de.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) provides an overview of the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 which is updated regularly.

Sick children should always be allowed to speak for themselves, regardless of their age. The older they are, of course, the more important it is to listen to what the young patients have to say and take it into account. This is especially true for older children and young people.

Around the crossover between pediatrics and adult medicine – the so-called “transition phase” – it is especially important to include the experience and knowledge of the young patients and to give them a feeling that they are in control so that subsequent treatment can be planned successfully.

There are several things you can do to make sure you communicate effectively with the medical staff.

Beforehand, regardless of whether the conversation happens at the doctor’s practice, on the phone or on a video call, you should take some time to prepare what you want to say.

The following tips can help you:

1. Don’t forget to take along, or have ready, all your medical reports (your “medical file"), sorted chronologically if possible.
2. In a structured way, tell the doctor precisely what symptoms you have. Start with the ones that are most important from your point of view.
3. Before the appointment, you should write down any questions you want to ask the doctor.
4. During the consultation, you should mention all the points that are important to you.
5. If you don't understand something, you should ask about it.
6. It’s a good idea to make notes during the consultation. They can help you to remember everything later on.

Here are some more tips for your conversation with the doctor and for preparing for a video consultation.

A short film by cartoonist Werner Tiki Küstenmacher summarizes the main points.

A brochure produced by the patient safety alliance APS provides further information and tips on preparing to see the doctor.

Rapid antigen tests and PCR tests are usually carried out in a doctor’s practice or at a special testing site.

Blood and urine samples are usually taken in a doctor’s practice - often that of the family doctor. Imaging procedures such as X-rays and ultrasound scans can also be performed at a doctor’s practice.

To have a CT scan you usually need to go to a radiology practice or a hospital. In most cases you will be able to leave the practice or hospital on the day when the examination is carried out.

Further information about diagnostic procedures is available from the Robert Koch Institute.

Whether further examinations are carried out after a positive coronavirus test result depends on how the illness progresses.

In mild cases with minimal symptoms it is often sufficient to stay at home, rest and avoid all social contact. No further examinations are necessary.

If the illness is moderate or severe, respiratory distress and fever can occur. In that case, additional blood and urine samples are taken so that other illnesses, e.g. flu or bacterial infections, can be excluded.

As the illness proceeds, further blood samples may need to be taken to check on kidney and liver function, for example.

Imaging procedures may also be used, such as X-rays of the chest and abdominal cavity and CT (computer tomography) scans of the lungs. 

Further information about diagnostic procedures is available from the Robert Koch Institute.