Disclaimer: I am a healthcare provider, but I am not YOUR healthcare provider. This post is not meant to replace the guidance of your healthcare provider. If you or someone in your family has COVID-19, reaching out to your healthcare provider immediately is the safest action you can take.
Photo by Lisa Fotios from Pexels
So there you are. Sitting on your throne of toilet paper – doing your best to be socially distant. Doing your best to stay away from being exposed to the coronavirus (COVID-19).
But the truth of the matter is – some of us will be using that toilet paper as we self-quarantine for two weeks after being exposed. The truth of the matter is – some of us will get COVID-19.
I don’t mean to add to the fear-mongering and scare tactics. I mean to disarm this panic-causing virus and help you find ways to prepare to take care of yourself if need be. Thankfully COVID-19 isn’t a virus in a Stephen King novel. COVID-19 doesn’t turn you into a zombie and by in large, is not lethal in most of the world’s population.
You’ve prepared to stay at home for a few weeks. You’ve prepared to disinfect. You’ve prepared for explosive diarrhea. But have you prepared for potentially getting COVID-19?
You’ll Most Likely Survive COVID-19 If You Get It
The good news – actually freaking great news – is most people are surviving if they get COVID-19. Yes, many people are getting very sick and have to get specialized care in hospitals. Italy has effectively run out of ventilators to treat people so I’m not trying to downplay the severity of the virus.
Some people are dying – but for the most part – people are surviving COVID-19 and experiencing what is described as mild symptoms. The World Health Organization (WHO) is reporting about one in every five infected people need care in a hospital setting, which means 80% of people who get COVID-19 can be treated at home.
But even mild symptoms of COVID are still considered flu-like. I’m not sure about you, but I’ve never known anyone to feel like the flu was mild. The flu sucks. The flu levels you – and can leave you feeling like crap for up to two weeks. But most people don’t have to be in the hospital to treat the flu. The ones who usually do are elderly, have other health problems, smoke, or have compromised immune systems. And guess which population of people who get COVID-19 eventually need care in a hospital? Those who are elderly, have other health problems, smoke, or have compromised immune systems...
Many people are being evaluated and advised to manage their symptoms at home. So as you sit there with Charmin as lumbar support and an ottoman made of Scott’s – let’s talk about how you can prepare to get COVID-19.
And I promise it isn’t to buy more paper products.
Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
Does Your Insurance Cover Telehealth?
Telehealth keeps you safe by preventing potential exposure to others by going to the clinic, urgent care, or hospital.
Telehealth keeps others safe by not exposing them to you if you have COVID-19.
Telehealth keeps your healthcare providers and workers safe by not exposing them to potential COVID-19 and reducing the number of patients coming in and out of healthcare facilities.
Healthcare professionals have a long road ahead of them and any effort we can do as the public to reduce their fatigue, stress, and potential exposure helps us all.
President Trump just announced more is being done to allow telehealth services to be accessed by Americans. This is great news amidst a global pandemic. But if you’re like most Americans – you’ve probably never used telehealth before.
Telehealth encompasses several digital options to provide healthcare services. Web-based tools, patient portal messaging, video-conferencing, and old-fashioned phone calls are ways healthcare providers can assess and advise patients remotely.
If you’ve never used teleheath services you may not know if your insurance covers them. So you can start by going to your insurance carrier’s website to see if they cover telehealth. If they do – awesome! Now you have to find out if your primary care provider has telehealth services. If they don’t, your healthcare provider may still want to manage your care over the phone.
Many major healthcare systems offer some sort of telehealth which can typically be found by going to their main webpage. Smaller clinics may not have these services in place – but they will most likely have a new protocol in place with COVID-19 spreading.
Bottom line is if you think you have COVID-19, the first thing you need to do is call your healthcare provider or 911 if you have life-threatening symptoms. They will advise you on what to do next. Not everyone can use telehealth due to their risk factors and not all places offer telehealth services. But by calling and talking to someone about your specific symptoms and situation – they can determine if your illness, COVID-19 or otherwise, can be safely managed at home.
Fever Management
Fever is one of the hallmark symptoms of COVID-19. One of the most common over the counter treatments for fevers is acetaminophen, better known as Tylenol. If you have COVID-19, your healthcare provider may advise you take Tylenol to break your fever and reduce body aches.
Do not go buy seven boxes of Tylenol.
There is a daily limit on Tylenol or you will go into liver failure. That limit is 4,000mg for someone with a fully functioning organ system. 4,000mg would be 12 tablets of 500mg Tylenol a day. So (ugh, public math) if you had a fever for a full week, you’d only safely be able to take 84 tablets. I think most bottles of Tylenol are around 100 tablets – so I repeat – do not go buy all the Tylenol. You can’t safely take all of it and you’ll prevent someone else from finding relief.
Respiratory Management
Dry cough is listed as one of the top symptoms of COVID-19. Your healthcare provider may tell you to take certain medications to treat your cough. There are many ways to treat a cough, what is your go-to? Is it Robitussin? Mucinex? Maybe it’s herbal supplements, drinking hot tea with honey, or good ol’ fashioned whiskey to soothe your throat. Essential oils, vitamins, and food are all ways people treat a cough.
Whatever you would normally do to treat a nagging, hacking, cough – try and have some of that on hand. Create your own adventure by talking to your healthcare provider. Again, don’t buy all the Robitussin like you’re preparing for a Lil Wayne concert. You don’t need all of it. You just need enough to treat a 10-14 day respiratory illness – which is what COVID-19 is.
If you have asthma or COPD you want to make sure your inhalers and nebulizer treatments are up to date. If not, call your healthcare provider and ask them to call in a refill. You most likely don’t need to go into the office for the refill and use the drive-through pharmacy pick up. If you have sleep apnea and require distilled water for your machine – make sure you have enough at home.
Using a humidifier can also help reduce a nagging cough, so pull yours out of the closet and make sure it’s clean. If you don’t have one, just take a long hot shower and allow the steam to soothe.
Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate
Staying well-hydrated is really important when you’re sick. Your body is working overtime and literally sweatin’ to fight COVID-19. When a fever breaks, you sweat and you may sweat a lot. And that water loss adds up.
Whether it’s water, Smart Water, Gatorade, or some other hydrating fluid (not booze, ahem) – grab some of your favorite hydrating tools as you’ll probably be advised to ‘increase fluids’. I won’t tell you to drink a certain amount, but most of us are walking around dehydrated. So if you have COVID-19, you’ll probably be advised to increase your fluids to help you feel better and heal faster.
Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay
Supportive Care Measures
Supportive care measures are just as they sound. They support in providing care for you. These are usually highly personal things and comfort means something different for each of us.
Does homemade chicken noodle soup bring you comfort? Maybe it’s matzo ball soup. Perhaps it’s a sleeve (or box) of saltine crackers, fudge brownies, or macaroni and cheese. And what better time to make some homemade comfort foods than when you’re sequestered at home?
You finally have time to make that chicken stock or bone broth from scratch. You can make those homemade noodles or slow-roasted beef stew. Make your favorite comfort foods. Pull out those cookbooks, pull up those pinned recipes you never had the time to make before. If you’ve decided not to go out, or what’s left to get isn’t very much, get creative in your ingredients. Play around with substitutions. Maybe you’ll create something amazing in the midst of COVID-19 chaos.
In addition to food, maybe make some homemade bubble bath or bath bombs (I have no idea how, but I’m sure Pinterest does). If you don’t have a heating pad but you have fabric and some rice – make your own rice heating packs.
Making meals to freeze them and making homemade comfort items will help prepare you to feel a little better if you get COVID-19. It also gives you something to do with all that time at home when you run out of shows on Netflix.
Working Together to Treat COVID-19
Hopefully, social distancing will keep many of us safe. But COIVD-19 is in 49 of 50 states as of this morning so chances are, it will be in our communities if it’s not already.
It’s scary to think some of us will get this brand new disease. It’s scary because we don’t know what COVID-19 looks like when someone we love gets it. But by being prepared for what you may be advised to do can help reduce some anxiety. Utilizing telehealth and having a few things on hand at home can help you start to feel better faster and reduce exposing others.
Remember, most people survive COVID-19. Also remember, most people are surviving by treating themselves at home with the guidance of healthcare providers remotely.
It’s up to us to stay calm and call, text, email, use that portal or webpage to reach your faithful healthcare providers. They’re waiting to help. They’re tirelessly working to keep our country and world safe. The least we can do is take control of what we can to tackle COVID-19 together.
Disclaimer: I am a healthcare provider, but I am not YOUR healthcare provider. This post is not meant to replace the guidance of your healthcare provider. If you or someone in your family has COVID-19, reaching out to your healthcare provider immediately is the safest action you can take.
Additional Resources:
World Health Organization Q&A on COVID-19
CDC - Caring for Yourself At Home
