Angela Hammond, a nurse practitioner with University Medical Center’s Faculty-Staff Clinic, answered questions about COVID-19 during an April 10 webinar offered by The University of Alabama Wellness and Worklife Division. The webinar was the second of a five-part series on coping techniques for dealing with personal, professional and even national crises. The series is open to the public with a focus on The University of Alabama faculty and staff.
Patients interested in joining the webinars will need to register at the UA Wellness and Worlife website. There is no charge.
Handwashing
The most important thing to remember to try and avoid COVID-19 is to wash your hands, before you eat or drink, and after you go to the restroom, touch door handles and cabinet knobs and grocery store buggies – anything that is touched by a lot of people. Wash your hands especially before you eat or drink. Friction is important in handwashing, so rub the areas between your fingers and other areas that are easy to miss.
Hand Sanitizer
Rub your hands until the sanitizer is completely dry in between your fingers and all over your hands.
Masks
I went to the grocery store wearing my mask and I felt kind of silly, but for practical purposes we need to think about doing this. It’s easy to make a mask. It can protect you from giving COVID-19 or getting COVID-10 so we need to do it. Encourage your family and friends (to wear masks when they are out). And when you get home, wash your mask.
Disinfecting
Bleach and alcohol solutions need to stay on surfaces for about one minute to disinfect. Think about those surfaces touched all day long – door handles, the refrigerator, sink faucets – and disinfect them. Use one-third bleach to a gallon of water and use it by itself; don’t mix with other cleaning solutions. Check with manufacturer recommendations for the best way to clean computers.
Social Distancing
This is super important because people who have COVID-19 might not have symptoms or might have mild symptoms. Staying six feet away from another person is sometimes difficult, especially in grocery stores with narrow aisles. Try and go (to the grocery store) at a time when it won’t be crowded, and you may have to shop at a different place than you are accustomed to. It’s important to avoid the social closeness we love in order to protect ourselves and those around us. We want to use hospitals and ventilators to the best of our ability. If we start to run out, then decisions have to be made about who gets them. Fewer patients, hopefully, means better access to care.
Stay-at-home orders
Large crowds have been shown to spread COVID-19, so stay-at-home orders are one of the most important things we can do to flatten this COVID-19 curve and to help stop the spread of the virus.
Treatment
There’s no specified treatment currently available for COVID-19. There is supportive care, and at home that includes rest, staying hydrated and keeping your respiratory track clear, with humidifiers or steam showers. Humidifiers make the air more humid and easier to breathe.