Things I Can and MUST DO

As recommended by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and expanded upon by me

1. Practice social distancing: Critical
• Try to maintain a distance of 6 feet (2 meters) from all persons in your vicinity
• If someone appears ill avoid contact with them
• Stay at home unless it is absolutely necessary to go outside:
• Exercise caution when outside shopping or visiting places that may be crowded.
• Unless you are a healthcare worker, picking up medicine, restocking food items or seeking critical medical attention should be the only things that should necessitate you leaving the safety your home.
• Limit congregating with more than those persons in your immediate family, and more than 5-10 persons in your social circles.
• You will contract and spread the infection the more you are in contact with others.
• Plan on hunkering down and enjoying the company of yourself and family for the next few weeks.
• Limit airplane travel.
• You don’t know the status of your fellow passengers

2. Isolate yourself if you are having respiratory symptoms. Critical
• Remember about 80% of those infected will have mild symptoms and do recover.
• Stay at home if you are ill with respiratory symptoms.
• If you feel you need to be seen, please contact the care facility first.
• Many times with an accurate description of symptoms treatment can be rendered over the phone.
• If prescribed medication, it is wise if able, to have a person without symptoms or one who have had symptoms and recovered pick up the medication for you.
• We are still unsure if people can be re-infected, so be cautious.
• If you must be out and are experiencing respiratory symptoms, please wear a mask and change it every 1-2 hours.
• If you suspect that you have a COVID -19 infection:
• Please contact the care facility before going into the office, ER or Urgent care.
• Hospitals are over loaded and are near capacity so they may not be able to accommodate you in a timely manner.
• Please document your symptoms before calling or presenting:
1. Measure your temperature with a thermometer a few times.
2. If you are having difficulty breathing, it is helpful to know what you are no longer able to do without tiring or becoming short of breath:
• E.g. climb a flight of stairs, get out of bed, and walk to the mailbox.
• Please be forthcoming about your travel history or personal contacts as this may be helpful in determining you likelihood of having the virus.
• Airplane travel, especially long flights commonly cause mild respiratory symptoms.
• Alert your doctor if you develop any respiratory symptoms after recent travel especially if it does not resolve in 48 hours or if you feel poorly.
• Please have a legible list of your medications and chronic medical conditions.
1. If you have seasonal allergies, tree pollen counts are high at this time, so please use your prescribed medications before suspecting and concluding that you have contracted the COVID-19 viral infection.
• Seasonal allergy symptoms include:
• Itchy, red watery eyes (conjunctivitis)
• Nasal congestion( allergic rhinitis)
• Possible wheezing, throat irritation causing a cough, chest tightness and difficulty breathing in severe cases.
• Forget about getting tested
• It will be a hazardous to your health and fruitless pursuit at this juncture.

3. Hand-washing: Critical
• Frequent hand washing is important.
• It is recommended that you wash your hands multiple times during the day for about 20 seconds each time.
• Lather and scrub all surfaces of the front and back of the hands and in-between the fingers up to the wrist, then rinse with warm water. Dry with clean linen or paper towels.
• For inspiration: Personal fave – Iran!
• The Best
• Hand sanitizer with 60-70% alcohol can be used but should be augmented by hand washing.
• Find a list of agents meeting this criteria here

4. Avoid touching the face – especially the nose, mouth and eyes.
• If your hands are contaminated with the virus you can infect yourself by introducing it into your body via the mucous membranes present in the nose, mouth and eyes.
• i. Some reports indicate that the virus can survive on the hands for about 6 hours.
• It is likely that the virus can survive for about 3 days (72 hours) on a contaminated surface.
• Avoid contact with surfaces in public spaces including those made of steel surfaces, cardboard, glass in buses, trains, taxis, elevators, restaurants; on fences, hand rails, door knobs, pens, credit cards, money, cell phones, etc.
• Clean and disinfect surfaces your family, coworkers, etc, touch frequently during the day.
• Including door knobs, furniture, counters, phones, keyboards, faucets, hand rails, carts, handles, etc.
• Use a paper towel, disposable glove or even a plastic bag to open doors, press buttons, traverse stairs using the rails, etc, rather than your sleeve.
• If you are using the end of your shirt sleeve to open doors, rethink how you are using the inside of your elbows to cover your sneezes and coughs, as you are likely putting the sleeve end against the side of your face close to your eyes!

5. Cover your nose and mouth when sneezing and coughing and maintain your distance when speaking:
• Use the inside of your elbow to sneeze and cough into (see caution above)
• Use a tissue and wash your hands afterwards.
• Wear a mask if you tend to spray when you speak.

Other things that may be helpful:
1. Supplement with vitamin C and D which help support the immune system:
• Sunshine, if available, is the best source of vitamin D.
• Citrus fruit and bell peppers are good sources of vitamin C.
2. Keep well hydrated
• Consistently drink half your body weight in ounces of water daily.
• Helps to sooth the throat and rinse the mouth of viral particles if present.
• These particles will then go the stomach and potentially get destroyed by the stomach acid.
3. Exercise your lungs - Practice deep breathing exercises
• Since this virus severely affects the lungs and causes consolidation of the lung tissue, that makes it difficult to breathe
• New findings suggest that despite recovery, about 20-30% of lung function is lost
• Practice taking deep breaths and holding it for up to 30 seconds.
• If you are able to hold your breath without difficulty for 10-15 seconds you are unlikely to be having lung issues.
• Box breathing may also be helpful
• Start at 4 seconds and increase up to 10 seconds per leg if able:
• See how to do this here.
4. Get adequate rest
• Usually > 7 hours is recommended and will significantly aid recovery.
• Learn more here:
• https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/how-sleep-affects-your-immunity
• https://www.healthline.com/health-news/how-sleep-bolsters-your-immune-system
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5768894/
5. Eat Well and Just enough:
• I am sure that you have noticed that a natural response to illness, especially infectious ones, is that you no longer have an appetite and can only eat very little. This is a defense strategy that the body uses to decrease food available to the invading pathogen.
• Also, there is this well supported idea that promotes intermittent fasting to improve a variety of chronic disease health parameters.
• So eat less frequently or increase the duration between main meals.
• Consider two nutritionally as opposed to calorie dense meals per day
• Many of you will remember me saying that immunity starts in the gut, and it facilitated by the composition of your diet.
• Eating a diet rich in fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes, garlic, onions, cilantro to obtain the most immune boosting nutrients.
• Limit meats and dairy products as they are thought to increase congestion and inflammation in the body, especially the lungs.
• Limit your intake of sugars since they provide ready fuel for the bugs and cause inflammation in the body overall.
• Garlic, although being parodied, is an excellent way to improve the gut bacteria that help to develop, manage and enhance you immune system.
• Take a clove a day and note the difference.
• Learn more here:
• https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/garlic-fights-colds-and-flu
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4417560/
6. Practice Better all around Hygiene:
• Preliminary reports are showing that viral particles are shed in feces during the early stages of the infection and persist after respiratory symptoms abate.
• Apparently, the first patient diagnosed in the United States with COVID-19 reported having 2 days of nausea and vomiting, with viral RNA detected in fecal and respiratory specimens
• Shower and wash you clothing items more frequently
7. Manage you Mental Health Stress and anxiety:
• In situations such as we are experiencing, it is absolutely normal to feel afraid and anxious and even panicked.
• This stress will diminish your immune system and at this time, you need your immune system functioning in top form.
• Here are some ideas to constructively use your energy:
• Practice the box breathing mentioned before to help calm your nerves and exercise your lungs.
• Engage in daily exercise.
• Mandatory movement even walking up and down your stairs or around the inside perimeter of the house will help.
• If you are working from home, use the time that you would have been commuting to get more rest daily.
• Make improvements to your diet – cook more nutritious meals.
• Do some meal prep:
• Stock up on food just in case there is a shortage later.
• You will have healthy meals on hand for when you go back out to work
• Increase family time – spend time laughing and playing.
• Maintain your sense of humor. This too shall past.
• Complete long neglected projects – garage cleanup
• Spend time developing ideas that will benefit your career when you get back to work.
• Read books. The library has an extensive online/e-book catalog.
• Watch movies and documentaries.
• Minimize news consumption
• In this case the less you know day to day is better.
• Use trusted sites – CDC, State health agencies, scientific websites.
• Investigate a new hobby
• Plan and plant a garden
• You will get some much needed, energy boosting Vitamin D
• Pride of ownership and creation and possibly food to share.