Here is a question that might be nagging some readers — what steps should we take if someone in the house gets infected and is not hospitalized? What if a family member is suspected of catching the infection but exhibits no symptoms? How do we prevent other members from getting infected?
Here is a useful article on the topic written by health experts that provides some important tips on the subject.
Before I summarize their recommendations, let’s look at a few other obvious things we should do for the “patient”, before other household members exercise the steps listed in the article. Here is a short list of tips for the patient; please feel free to add your insights and wisdom to it —
- Restrict outdoor activities of the patient, make him/her stay at home as much as possible.
- Preferably, assign them a separate room and a separate bathroom. Keep the room door closed.
- Use home remedies to keep the patient comfortable and to suppress cough - fluids, soups, tea, Tylenol, …
- Keep an eye on the temperature.
- Pay attention to food, nutrition, hydration and vitamins
- Provide plenty of tissues for use with coughing and sniffling; dispose into a closed trash bag.
- Provide the patient with a scarf or face mask
- Visit a doctor and get the patient tested, if feasible
- If symptoms deteriorate, go to the ER
Next, we have a few important tips from the article for family caretakers -
- Isolate the patient. Keep an extra pair of clothes for yourself at the door where the isolated person is staying. Put them on when you enter, and take them off when you leave. (This is what health care workers do in hospitals.)
- Open your windows (at least periodically). Improve circulation of the room and the house; it helps disperse any airborne droplets.
- Increase air filtration. Use portable air purifiers in the room and other rooms in the house. Use a HEPA filter is possible.
- Humidify. Avoid letting the air get too dry, since that dries out the mucus in the nose, making it less effective in slowing down the virus.
- Clean and disinfect surfaces. Doorknobs, faucets, phones, iPads, TV remotes, .. anything you touch or the patient touches, keep disinfecting them.
- Run exhaust fans in the bathroom. Get those aerosol particles out of the house.
- Instruct the patient to close the toilet lid before flushing. Even feces (and flatulence?) are known to shed virus particles into the air.
- Ask patient to clean and disinfect the bathroom, especially when using a shared bathroom.
- Wash your hands frequently.
A few more things I would add —
- Wear a face mask or cover your face with a scarf around the house.
- Wash patient clothes separately
- Add bleach in all washings
- Avoid going out. If you absolutely need to go to the store or run an important errand, wear a mask or a scarf, since you also might be infected and you do not want to spread it to others. When you get home, change and immediately take a shower.
- Wear disposable gloves if you have them while in the room
- Avoid contact with the patient or getting too close
- If I had an elderly person in the house, I would isolate him/her too and take similar precautions.
- Stock up on some of the items listed here. Preferably, order them online, if available. Or get them from neighbors and friends, when the need arises.
- Pay attention to your own nutrition, hydration, sleep, vitamins, etc.
- Stay strong, keep in touch with friends and family. Look for information and support on this site.
Here is another article on the subject —
Here is a slightly related topic, which you might find useful — how to disinfect and reuse N95 masks (not everyone has these, but some of you with dust or pollen allergies may have a few in the closet). Ideally, they should not be reused, but if you need to, here are some suggested ways. The recommended method is to heat in a (special) oven at 158oF (70oC) or to treat it with steam, but not use cleaners.
The article cautions that heating should not be done in a home oven.
The tests were done on E. Coli, not SARS-CoV-2.
This info. is probably more relevant for hospitals that run out of N95 masks rather than home users.
Does anyone know if medical (non-N95) face masks could be treated similarly? Obviously, cloth masks and scarves can be washed, preferably with bleach.
Hopefully, you do not have to deal with the situation outlined in the diary. To reduce the probability of getting into that situation, let’s make sure everyone in the family follows the guidelines about staying home, social distancing, washing hands, getting tested if you notice any symptoms, etc.
Stay strong and give strength to others around you.
The less people get infected, the better it is for them (obviously) and others and for our healthcare workers, who are already overloaded taking care of the seriously ill.
Please add your insights and wisdom to these simple guidelines.
And while you are home, don’t forget to remind friends and family of the depraved nature of this despicable party called the GOP, members of which is still more concerned about their stock portfolios than the health of the People.
Remember, the cure for the disease is to expunge the real virus from the White House and Congress.
Other Resources
- Home care for patients with COVID-19 presenting with mild symptoms and management of their contacts — www.who.int/...
P.S.
For those who want to explore more science-based information about Coronavirus, check out diary “Coronavirus - Myths, Realities and Uncertainties” for some more info.