It just occurred to me that we are many months into this pandemic, but I’ve never discussed here what to do if you or someone in your household actually gets suspected of having COVID-19. I think I’ve avoided covering this because I’ve had to deal with these procedures twice so far, and they were so cumbersome and annoying that I’ve been eager to stop thinking about them afterward. If any hard-won wisdom can help others, though, I’m willing to help. Here goes:
1. Know the signs. Unfortunately, the virus mimics many other, less serious ailments, but the ones worth paying attention to are: severe fatigue, shortness of breath, fever, cough, and loss of taste or smell. If your health insurance has a nurse hotline, that can help you sort through your symptoms to see if you have cause for concern. 2. Get tested right away. The vast majority of test sites are designed to reduce your exposure while testing, frequently involving staying in your car. Most urgent cares (not to be confused with ERs, which are way more expensive) have testing procedures. 3. Cancel your face-to-face appointments for at least the next two days. Unless your healthcare provider is truly exceptional, you will not get your results back for at least two or three days. In my experience, the turnaround time has been more like three or four. If you have any work or personal appointments that require your physical presence, be courteous enough to cancel or move them right away. It’s up to you, of course, if you want to keep working remotely; even if you actually have coronavirus, you can attend meetings with the camera off. Generally speaking, camera work is more demanding than non-camera work, so consider that as you consider your schedule for the next few days. 4. Notify your closest contacts. Don’t tell social media that you’re suspected of having coronavirus, but if you’ve spent extensive or maskless face-to-face time with anyone over the last 14 days, do let them know what’s going on. This is a long pandemic, and everyone, no matter how risk-averse, breaks social distancing every once in a while. Telling your closest contacts what’s up gives them a chance to be more careful, although they don’t need to practice the onerous procedures found in the next few steps. 5. Establish an isolated sickroom. If you share a room with someone, one of you has to move if there is anywhere the sick/suspected person can be alone. This is probably the most annoying feature of being a married person during this pandemic; one of you gets to leave the nice, comfy bed you’ve grown accustomed to and sleep someplace alien. Generally speaking, it’s courteous to give the sick person the room with the more comfortable bed. Try to make this room pleasant; the sick person is going to be stuck here. Make sure that they have a means of communication in there with them, like a cell phone, as well as an abundant supply of water and entertainment (which may include what they need to telecommute to work.) 6. Keep everything separate. Until you get the test results back, you have to treat the suspected coronavirus person as though they actually have it. On a practical level, this means using separate restrooms where possible and keeping that person out of the kitchen. If the sick/suspected person really needs to be able to cook for themselves, have them mask up every time they leave the sick room. On a similar note, whoever’s doing the cooking needs to mask up when serving food or medication to the sick person. One family I know actually used Zoom for checking vitals--the sick person had to check his own and relay it to his wife for charting. This is an exceptional level of care (the charting actually does help your doctor if they can’t figure out what’s wrong with you), but not always necessary. 7. Drink plenty of fluids. No matter what actually ails you--coronavirus or one of its many imposters--you need lots of fluids for your body to flush it out and fight it off, especially if a fever is involved. If you’re feeling queasy, take it in small sips. An anti-nausea medication from your doctor or urgent care can be immensely valuable here. If you’re struggling to keep food down, you may find that herbal tea, yogurt, broth, and other nice, bland, soft things like that help you stay hydrated and happy. You’ll know you’re starting to get better when you feel like eating the world. 8. Keep your mind occupied. This whole set of procedures is a pain for every member of the household, and it does your immune system no favors to dwell on it. If you’re really, really sick, of course, your mind has one job--to sleep. If you’re in that frustrating zone where you’re just well enough to be antsy, it is crucial that you find yourself a pleasant occupation. Whether it’s working through a TV series, a book, a game, or whatever, you need to have something for your mind to do while your body is healing. Don’t make it too demanding, though--you don’t want to frustrate yourself and exhaust your energy. Fortunately, both of the times I’ve had to enact these procedures, negative test results have come back, leading to a wonderful feeling of relief and general rightness with the world. Hopefully, that will be the case for you, too, and even if you get a positive result, my sincerest hope is that your version of the virus will be easily managed at home. Meanwhile, life goes on.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorJillian Lutes is the youth pastor at West Covina Hills Seventh-day Adventist Church. Archives
May 2020
Categories |