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Can pets transmit COVID-19?
The answer to that
question is both yes and no.
No, because pets don't
seem to be having symptoms of COVID-19, they're not coughing,
they're not having fevers. So we're
saying that they don't seem to be infected with it.
That being said, if you
go for a walk and you have a very cute puppy, like Bear,
and someone wants to pet
it, and they just sneezed into their hands, and they touch your dog,
and now your dog comes
home, you touch your dog, you could bring that virus
and introduce it into your own body.
So yes, pets can be carriers of this virus as a surface.
So if you're going to be
socially distancing yourself, also get
your pets to socially distance themselves too.
Should I use soap to wash my produce?
Well, I've actually
gotten this question a lot recently because of a viral video of a doctor doing
just that.
And the truth of the
matter is, not only do you not need to do this, you shouldn't.
Most fruits and
vegetables are porous, meaning they can absorb the soap
and that's not great for
your stomach. It can cause all sorts of gastrointestinal symptoms
like nausea, vomiting,
diarrhea. All you have to do to disinfect your fruits and vegetables
is to run them under
cold water. That's gonna get 90 to 95%
of whatever is out there
off of them.
Is it okay if I throw a mini party but we all stay six feet apart?
The answer to this
question is a hard no. Social distancing means physical distancing,
and more than six feet
apart.
The reason why we give
the six foot guidance is in case you have to go out, to do your grocery
shopping,
or you're an essential
employee like a doctor or a nurse, then yeah, six feet makes sense to mitigate
the risk.
It's not 100% foolproof.
Imagine one of your friends comes over, they're asymptomatic, meaning they're
having no symptoms, but they have COVID-19, now they give it to you,
you give it to one of
your family members in your home,
and they have serious
consequences. Not something you want.
Should I be taking an immune boosting supplement?
I get really mad when I
see claims made by marketing companies
saying that they have an
immune boosting shake,or detox drink, or supplement.
They don't exist. There's
no such thing as boosting your immune system.
Your immune system works
because you have vitamins, minerals inside your body
that you get naturally
from foods or they're created within your own body.
You do not need more of
them. The analogy I like to give folks is
like a construction site.
If you want to
construction to be done sooner, you can't just deliver more materials
and think that's going
to speed up the process.
In fact, I can create
more problems. So no, taking a huge amount of vitamin D, and C, and E,
and zinc is not going to
help you protect yourself from COVID-19, it's just never been proven.
Well, if not supplements, how can I boost my immune system?
Well, the answer is,
again, you're not trying to boost your immune system,
you're trying to
optimize it. In fact, a boosted immune system almost makes it sound
like you have an
autoimmune disorder where your own immune system is attacking your body.
You don't want that.
To optimize your immune system, you should focus on the four
pillars of health.
Sleep, getting at least seven to nine hours a
night.Studies has shown that if you get less than six hours,
it drops her natural
killer cells by up to 50% and they're responsible for protecting you from
COVID-19.
Two, eat healthy, get fruits, get vegetables,
make sure you're loading
up on the good stuff.
Three, exercise now is
no better time than ever to exercise.
Do some sit-ups, take a
class on your TV,
on your iPad, iPhone, or
go out for a run like I do.
I've fallen in love with
running because of Nike.
And four, don't engage
in bad habits.
Smoking can increase
your chance of having a severe case of
COVID-19, two to three times.
Overdrinking impairs
your monocytes. It's a type of white blood cell
that protects you from COVID-19.
Is COVID-19 an airborne virus?
The preliminary research
says no.It looks like the main form of transmission for this virus
is through respiratory
droplets. That's what happens when you sneeze or cough,and you see that fine
mist shoot out into the air. Now those germ particles tend to be heavier, so
they don't spend a lot of time in the air, they end up falling to the ground. Now
these germs do have some hang time,and I've seen media already make a huge
spectaclethat this virus can live in the air for up to three hours.
While yes, we've seen
small particles,actually genetic material of this viruslive in the air for a
period of up to three hours.We have no evidence that those particlescan
actually get people sick.
So for now, the main
forms of spread we need to be concerned about is respiratory droplets and
contact.
So you really have to
avoid touching your mouth, nose, or eyes 'cause that's how the virus enters
your system.
As an exception for
medical facilities, when we're doing specific procedures like an intubation,
or we have a patient on
a specific type of breathing machine called BIPAP,
we have seen some
particles of this virus aerosolized, that's why the medical setting,
we have really quality
protection like N95 masks, or PAPA systems, so the medical professionals don't
get sick around them.
What can I do to lower my anxiety and depressive symptoms during
quarantine?
The first issue that
arises during the quarantine is a lack of social connections. We as humans are social beings, we need that
type of interaction. Remember, we're all in the same boat here. There's no FOMO
to be had. So reach out and schedule a date on Face Time. Do a Skype with their
entire family so you could stir up a little trauma. Just keep that interaction
in your life, it's really important.
Second, limit your time
on the internet and checking the news.
My God, all the numbers
being thrown at you,
the outbreak warnings. This
is really anxiety provoking. So check it once a day, or maybe even every other
day.
And three, pick up a new
hobby, painting, reading, exercising, anything,
because as someone wise
once said, an idle mind is a devil's
playground.
Is it true that taking ibuprofen or Advil slash Motrin
can make COVID-19 symptoms worse?
This started when the
French minister came out and made a warning about this.
There has been zero
evidence that shows ibuprofen directly makes COVID-19 symptoms worse.
The WHO even came out
and made a statement about this saying that they did not advise
discontinuing ibuprofen
in COVID-19 patients.
That being said, we're
still doing more research, and we're still figuring out how it can play a role
in COVID-19 symptoms,
but the answer is easy, if you don't have to take ibuprofen
and you have another
option like acetaminophen, a.k.a Tylenol, do it and ease your mind.
Should the general public be wearing masks
to decrease spread of COVID-19?
There are two types of
masks that are being discussed in this conversation.
First, our N95 masks.
These are the professional form-fitting masks
you see doctors and
nurses wear on the front lines to protect themselves.
These masks keep the
virus out. Then you have the loose-fitting, inexpensive surgical masks
that actually prevent
you from putting the virus out.
So basically this is
meant for sick people. If a patient comes into my office,
they're coughing all
over the place, we put one of these masks on .Now with COVID-19, having so many
asymptomatic sick
patients, meaning that we don't even know they're sick,
perhaps there's some
logic in having everyone wear these masks
Why WHO never. has never recommended for the general healthy
public,
to wear these surgical masks?
Well the WHO has never
recommended for the general healthy public,to wear these surgical masks. First,
there's a huge shortage of these masks right now for us as health professionals.
Two, it gives you a false sense of securityto feel like, "Oh maybe I can
go out"cause I'll just wear this inexpensive mask."
Remember, it doesn't
protect you, it protects everyone else.And then three, there's really limited
scientific researchsaying that it truly helps flatten the curve.
Is ordering food delivery safe?
Nothing is 100% safe, but
if you're going to be ordering food delivery,
do it the best way you
can and take some precautions. Make sure that when you order on the app,
you click the no contact
delivery option. Most of the big apps, Postmates, Caviar, they all have them.
Next, when you get the
items, make sure that when you bring them in your home,
you wash your hands
first, then you unpack the items, you wash your hands again, you eat,
and you touch some of
the containers, afterwards, wash your hands again.
It's really about
washing your hands, washing your hands,
washing your hands. And
just know, if someone who had COVID-19
handled your food, it's
a very low likelihood that you will actually get the virus
transmitted to you
through that way.
Good post
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