Welcome to the Karas Health Care Edition of COVID-19 Update. I’m sure you’ve heard from everyone you’ve ever met or called or done business with on their take on the virus, but we wanted to officially weigh in.
First off, the COVID-19 virus will present with upper respiratory symptoms for most healthy individuals; particularly cough, fever and shortness of breath. For most people, these symptoms will be mild to moderate.
The big concern is for those who are at higher risk: older adults, and those with pre-existing conditions such as heart disease, diabetes or lung disease. This at-risk population could develop more severe symptoms that may require hospitalization.
So…. 1. Wash your hands. Soap and water is best, as it breaks down the virus more effectively. Hand sanitizer works too, just not as well as good ol’ soap.
2. Try to touch your face less. You’ll find that you unconsciously touch your face frequently through the day – try to reduce the number of times you do this.
3. Stay away from people who are sick.
4. STAY HOME IF YOU’RE SICK. It may not be so bad for you, but it could be a lot worse for other people.
5. Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze. Use a tissue, your elbow, a hankie….whatever. Just cover it up! And wash your hands (again) after.
6. Wear a face mask if you are sick. This helps you keep your germs to yourself. Wearing a mask when you are not sick doesn’t really help, so save the masks for the sick people, as they are in short supply at the moment.
7. Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces daily (if not more often).
8. Avoid crowds. The whole point of all these cancellations (schools, sporting events, etc) is to slow the spread of the virus. It will still spread, but if it does so more slowly, that really helps reduce the load on our healthcare resources.
We at Karas Health Care have implemented some precautions in clinic, so that you can feel confident coming in to our clinic for your urgent care needs as well as routine family practice care.
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We will provide a mask for you if you are having respiratory symptoms.
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We are asking that all non-essential family stay at home or wait in the vehicle during your visit to reduce the number of visitors in our office.
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All patients at high risk with non-urgent visits (over 65 or with pre-existing health conditions) can call the clinic so that we can develop a plan to best care for you.
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We will continue our normal practice of following universal precautions, as we always have. This means after every patient, the room is disinfected, and our team will wear protective equipment as appropriate. We are also adding measures to sanitize the reception and check-out areas throughout the day. Hand sanitizer and hand soap will be available for all to use while in our offices.
Keep in mind that this situation (and all its craziness) continues to develop, and we are keeping up to date with all the recommendations from the CDC. We are striving to take care of all our patients and keep them healthy and out of the ER during this season. Please feel free to call or email with any questions.
