INFECTED
Whether it is Covid19, a cold or some other virus, taking care of someone who is infectious calls for special care. You want them to get well and at the same time want to protect yourself and others in your household.
Primarily, your own immune system is the best defense for you. That is a subject for future discussion, but for now See what Dr. Berg has to say. Second, good hygiene and sanitation supports health for both you and the ill one.
Depending on the logistics of your household, if the person with the contagious disease can have a room of their own it is the easiest to manage. Not everyone has that luxury, and it is still possible to keep others from getting the bug using these strategies.
Handwashing
This is the hallmark means to decrease spread of disease. This is a learned behavior for healthcare workers and something that we must teach each new generation. It is especially important when taking care of someone with an infectious disease to protect yourself and help them recover.
- Wash your hands before eating; before touching your face; before brushing your teeth or wiping your nose.
- Wash your hands after eating; after touching your face; after brushing your teeth or wiping your nose.
- Wash your hands before handling dishes, linen, papers, any items that the sick person will use.
- Wash your hands after handling dishes, linen, papers, any items that the sick person has used.
- Wash your hands any time you leave their room.
- Make it possible for the patient to wash their hands, whether it is at a sink or a basin or a washcloth.
Coughing
These type of viruses travel and spread mostly in the air. This is known as “droplet transmission”. Viruses live in moisture and mucous. And that is the way they travel. It comes on a cough, a sneeze or breath from someone infected. You see how a cough or sneeze would propel the moisture drops from the lungs out to the surrounding air. And because the person has to cough to clear their lungs and hopefully avoid pneumonia, it is good to know ways to cough that limit exposing others. Here are some ways to cough or sneeze that limits the travel of moisture from mouth and nose for both the sick and the well to practice.
- Cover both your mouth and nose when you cough with something more than your hand. (A fist over your mouth only redirects the moisture and the germs! It doesn’t stop them.)
- Use your elbow/arm if you can bend enough to make firm contact.
- Lift the neckline of your tee shirt and cough into it.
- Hold a tissue or two firmly in place (over nose and mouth) to sneeze, then wipe your nose and throw away the tissue.
- A neck scarf will also work. All the clothing items can be washed to kill the virus. (see Laundry below)
- Be aware of how close you are standing to others. If you can feel their breath, you are sharing air with them.
- If someone is coughing near you, you can cover your nose and mouth to avoid breathing in their droplets.
Masks
Once cloth or paper gets wet, it is no longer an effective barrier to germs. That is why tissue is best thrown away after use and cloth should be washed and dried.
It is also why facial masks are of limited use. The moisture from breath renders them useless in about 20 minutes.
That being said, if there is a place a paper mask can hang to dry safely, it could be reused by the same person again for a day or so. This does not mean hanging around one’s neck. There is some debate though about how long the COVID19 virus remains active on porous surfaces. A cloth mask can work also, with the same time limitation. It however, can be washed and dried for use again.
Laundry
Change bed linens frequently especially if the sick one is staying mostly in bed. If the couch is their bed, cover it with sheets or a washable blanket. The linens gather moisture from their body and from their breathing. Treat the sheets and pajamas as contagious, putting them into a cleanable dirty linen hamper or directly into the washer. Wash you hands. Wash the linen as usual. Dry on high heat in a dryer or hang out in the sun to dry. (The heat from the dryer and UV light from the sun kill germs.)
The patient should not share washcloths or towels as long as they are ill. These items can be laundered and be used again later by anyone. But for the time they are ill, no sharing without first laundering.
Meals
Probably the ill one will eat separately from the household, just to limit exposure and because their energy will probably be low. Serve their meal on a tray, like a cookie sheet that can be washed. Handle their used dishes as contagious – putting them in a dishwasher is the best way to sanitize and make them ready for general use again. Be sure to wash your hands after handling those dishes. If there is no dishwasher, wash in hot soapy water. Then rinse in hot water and allow to air dry in a drainer. In some illnesses it is recommended to wash, then rinse in a dilute bleach solution, before the final rinse in hot water.
What the ill person will eat has so many variables. Often when someone is sick they don’t digest the same way as when they are well, and therefore they might want or need different food than they are used to. Generally, light eating supports healing best. Fluids are important. Warm comfort foods might be most welcome.
General Considerations
Allow sunlight into the room every day. It helps purify the air.
For good ventilation, air out the room daily with fresh outside air or use an air purifier. If they have their own room, open the window rather than the door that leads to the rest of the house so that the “sick” air will exchange for fresh.
Try for a moderate room temperature. The patient’s feeling of warmth or cold will depend on the level of their fever. Keeping the room moderate (whatever they are used to, 68 to 75 F) gives a good basis and they can cover up or remove covering for comfort. Be prepared that they will have many fluctuations during a day.
Consider your home’s atmosphere. Quiet and peace can decrease anxiety or worry for the sick one. Yet for some, music, noise or activity around them is more restful.
With some planning and extra precautions, you can help your family member get well and keep yourself well at the same time.