Covid19 update May 11,2020
for our patients who are calling Peel health and cannot get a test or advice. Trillium Health partners has put together a virtual assesment center.
You can access it at this link: trilliumhealthpartners.ca/assessment
If the lockdown is causing anxiety and depression please visit: https://bouncebackontario.ca/
A daily walk in the fresh air has always been advocated for health, and I continue to stand by this advice. Keep your immune system healthy with fresh vegetables, fruits and meat. No juice or pop. Supplement with Vit C, and Vit D, since you are not in the sun. Avoid sugar and reduce carbohydrates. Most importantly, a lockdown is a situation where rights are restricted. In these situations the effect on other aspects of our mental and physical health is enormous.
TIP OF THE WEEK: Besides hiding and washing your hands, an obvious ommission has been made by our leaders. It seems that most Canadians now come with cell phones fused to their hands. Just try and remove one from a teenager, and you will see my point. My message to Canadians would be to CLEAN YOUR CELL PHONE AND DO IT OFTEN. I was amused to watch a colleague fully gown up, meticulously wash and scrub, and then make a cell phone call followied by tucking the device in a back pocket. People seem to have cell phones glued to their hands these days, so a lot more attention needs to be paid to this.
It seems that no one thought this through and set up a protocol for the next step after lockdown. How do you emerg from a situation when there is no science to guide the way. Some will simply cook the numbers to support their actions, others will admit to the difficulty and futility. New patterns established in months of isolation do not reverse easily. How does a society come out of a lockdown that has devastated our economy. I am often at a loss of what to tell family members who have been in isolation for months without any sign of disease, that they cannot touch or hug one another. When you do emerge from hiding, the streets will be full of a mix of covid survivors, an occasional sick person, those with natural or acquired immunity and everyone else. The fear will be immense. It will be natural and almost expected that people will try to avoid buildings that perform close examinations of sick people. We will spend a great deal of time making accusatory glances at all strangers, since all microbes are virtually invisible to us. There will be covid vigilantism emerging as already happened in some rural towns. Stay calm, use common sense and try to enjoy the beautiful days when you can.
Wearing a mask when going out amongst other humans, is an effective and good way to carry on. You have many levels of protection that you may not be aware of. Our skin is designed to be an effective protective barrier. Virus and bacteria can’t penetrate it, unless it is damaged. Even though you may not of heard this message, it is possible to overwash your hands, particularly if using strong soaps or any bleach type cleaner. Strong chemicals can breech the integrity of a well functioning skin layer.