PROTECT, CALM & EMPOWER YOUR FAMILY: COVID-19 EXPERT’S 4 RULES

31 Mar PROTECT, CALM & EMPOWER YOUR FAMILY: COVID-19 EXPERT’S 4 RULES

Posted at 23:41h in Health & Wellness by Dr. Christina Hibbert 0 Comments

You're not alone. In this time of uncertainty, emotions run high and feelings like anxiety, worry, fear, and panic are the everyday norm for most.

I, too, have felt the surge of intense emotions in the world around me and in my own body as I've just finished my 6th breast cancer surgery in 8 months and am finally starting to heal from months of double mastectomy, reconstruction surgeries, chemotherapy, and all kinds of complications.

It's a scary time for all.

My "job" (when I'm not going through breast cancer) is to help people cope with scary times.

It's to show people new ways to deal with powerful emotions, teach new coping strategies to manage and overcome trauma, loss, and grief, and to set the example for all these things by first learning and living them myself.

Our 8th attempt to get a good vein for chemo, Dec 2019. Trust me, I understand health-related fear, anxiety, & being stuck at home for months, trying to still be "mom."

That's why...

I was so grateful this past Saturday when my trusted, leading breast cancer surgeon and friend, Dr. Beth Dupree, passed along the following video she received through the American College of Surgeons.

With so much information floating around, it's tough to know which is from a credible source. It's important to me to ensure the information I receive and pass along is accurate and research-based, and TRUST ME...

This video is.

Originally filmed for his family and friends, the video below features Dr. Dave Price, an attending ICU physician in a 1200 bed NYC hospital that has been completely converted to a "COVID-19" hospital. He's working with this disease Every. Single. Day.

More so, Dr. Price immediately points out his purpose in this video is to CALM and bring relief to families by sharing the simple steps he's learned first hand to PREVENT the spread of COVID-19.

That's why I'm sharing this here...

Because, not only is this video INFORMATIVE; it's CALMING. It's EMPOWERING.

Watching this calmed and reduced mine and my family's anxiety, and it can do the same for YOU.

Dr. Price definitively asserts that if we do these 4 things faithfully, we WILL NOT get this disease!

How is that for empowering, protective, and calming?

I encourage you to...

Take 30 minutes now to watch the main presentation or take 57 minutes and watch the entire video with Q&A (see below). It is WELL WORTH YOUR TIME, because Dr. Price's manner and knowledge will show you EXACTLY what you need to know and quickly put you at ease.

If you don't feel up to watching the video...

I've taken notes of the main points for you to read and follow, below.

So, at the very least, scroll down and take a look.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING...

Above all, PLEASE take a few minutes to learn the main "4 Rules" Dr. Price outlines in his video or I've outlined for you, below.

Then, PASS THEM ON.

Tell everyone you know to watch his video or read this post. Share the link directly to the video freely.

Write down the "rules" and share them with your loved ones and friends or share the image I created, below.

Knowledge is truly power, especially when it comes to saving lives by learning and doing these 4 simple, completely DOABLE things.

Watch "COVID-19, Protecting Your Family, Dr. Dave Price by Clicking Image Below

"Protecting your Family during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Dr. Dave Price

Summary Notes...

How is COVID-19 spread?

The only way to get COVID-19, Dr. Price says, is "sustained contact with someone who has it" or "with someone who is about to get it."

He continues that almost exclusively, this virus is passed from the hand to the face--eyes, nose, or mouth. If, therefore, we can protect our hands and faces, we can stop the spread of disease in most cases.

"COVID-19 IS in your community," Dr. Price says, "so take steps and don't be scared."

If we follow the simple rules below, Dr. Price assures that we will keep ourselves and our families safe.

4 "RULES" to Protect Your Family from COVID-19

1) "Become a hand nazi."

Wash your hands constantly. Know they are clean AT ALL TIMES
If you leave your home for work or to go to the store, take a hand sanitizer with you and use it after every interaction and every time you must touch something.
"If you keep your hands clean, you won't get it," Dr. Price reassures.

2) "Work on breaking the psychological connection between your hands and your face."

Specifically, "don't touch your face."
Start by becoming aware of how often you DO touch your face--eyes, nose, and mouth
Start wearing a simple mask at home to remind you NOT to touch your face
If you don't touch your face, it "will prevent disease in 99% of cases," Dr. Price says.

3) "Wear a mask.."

Dr. Price assures that you do not need a "medical-grade mask." Only those in direct, sustained contact with the actively infected (like Dr. Price) need a medical-grade mask, and even he says he doesn't wear it all the time but only when he's in sustained close contact with a COVID patient.
While you might also wear a mask to "practice" not touching your face at home, Dr. Price states that it's not necessary to wear masks at home to prevent the illness, UNLESS a person in your home is showing signs of being sick (fever, body aches, not feeling well, cough), in which case the infected person should wear a mask around others.
Wear a mask in public. Wearing it in public will ensure you do not touch your face while out and more exposed.
Dr. Price stated that the mask doesn't prevent the disease from spreading to you in the air; rather, it prevents you from touching your face if you come in contact with a sick person and touch them.

4) "Keep your distance" and "stay home."

Dr. Price states "3-6 feet from others at all times" when you're out of your home--at the store, picking up food, when deliveries arrive at your home, etc.
Otherwise, if you're able, stay home as much as possible. The fewer people we're in contact with each day, the smaller the reach of this disease becomes in our own homes and in our cities.

If we do these 4 things faithfully, Dr. Price encourages that we will not contract COVID-19.

This, he says, is why he became emotional talking in this video--because he knows these simple practices WORK.

What to do if you Get it...

Throughout the world, Dr. Price says, "this is mostly transmitted family member to family member."
Most people (80%), he says, "just don't feel good" and have a mild cough/headache or fever for 5-8 days or so.
If you develop a fever but are otherwise fine, Dr. Price says, "Stay home and isolate from your family."
- Have your own bathroom, if possible.
- Wear a mask if you're sick (the rest of the family then doesn't need to wear a mask)
- Keep away from the family as much as possible, especially from immune compromised and older family members
- Wash anything the sick person touches.
- As you feel better, if your fever is gone, still wash your hands but begin to resume normal activities.
- If you're feeling better, you can go out with a mask and make sure you wash your hands.
If you feel like you can't breathe, go to the ER, Dr. Price advises. "Of all who get COVID, only 10% need hospital attention for shortness of breath. Of these, about 10% will be put on ventilators. The vast majority come off ventilators 7-10 days later," he says.

If you have a vulnerable person at home (older, chronic illness, recent chemo patient, etc.) and someone in the home gets sick...

Find an alternate living situation for the sick person, if possible.
If not possible, completely isolate the vulnerable person from the sick person.
In most cases, COVID-19 lasts 7-14 days, per Dr. Dave Price.

Other Advice from Dr. Dave Price:

"You don't have to be scared of the outside world" and neighbors. "They're not enemies. They're heroes." We're all in this together, and those out there caring for the sick, making deliveries and doing their jobs so we can stay home and do ours are not to be feared.
"You DO have to shrink your social circle." Again, shrinking social circles limits the reach of COVID-19. Dr. Price recommends keeping your social circle to only your family or 3-4 people.
"There's almost NO COVID-19 disease in the population from ages zero to 14," Dr. Price says. Excellent news for parents! (He does mention there is still debate about whether or not children can pass on the disease, however, so wash hands!)
If you develop a fever or body aches, DO NOT take Motrin/Ibuprofin/Aleve. DO take acetaminophen.
If opening delivery boxes, wear gloves and wash hands immediately following.