There is a lot of false news being circulated about the coronavirus. We recently read an article from a retired respiratory therapist who had some interesting recommendations for home COVID-19 care. We hope these at-home suggestions keep you safe if you happen to fall ill. If you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, always consult your doctor first.
Wisdom From A Respiratory Therapist:
“Since they are calling on respiratory therapists to help fight the coronavirus, and I am a retired one, I’m going to share some common-sense wisdom with those who have the virus and are staying home. This applies to the otherwise generally healthy population, so use discretion.
- Only high temperatures kill a virus, so let your fever run. Tylenol 💊 will bring your fever down, which allows the virus to live longer. Doctors are saying that ibuprofen, Advil, Aleve, Motrin, etc. will actually exacerbate the virus. But use common sense and don’t let a fever go over 103 or 104 degrees. If it gets higher than that, take your Tylenol, not ibuprofen or Advil (or any type of anti-inflammatory drugs) to keep it regulated. It helps to keep your house warm and cover up with blankets so your body does not have to work so hard to generate heat. It usually takes about three days of this to break a fever.
- Your body is going to dehydrate 💧 with the elevated temperature, so you must rehydrate yourself regularly, whether you like it or not. Gatorade or Pedialyte with real sugar works well. Why the sugar? Sugar will give your body back the energy it is using to create the fever. The electrolytes and fluid you are losing will also be replenished by the Gatorade. If you don’t do this and end up in the hospital, they will start an IV and give you D5W (sugar water) and normal saline to replenish electrolytes. Gatorade is much cheaper, pain-free and comes in an assortment of flavors.
- You must keep your lungs moist. This is best done by taking long steamy showers on a regular basis. If you’re wheezing or congested, use a real minty toothpaste and brush your teeth while taking the steamy shower and deep breaths through your mouth. This will provide some bronchial dilation and help loosen the phlegm. Force yourself to cough into a wet washcloth pressed firmly over your mouth and nose. This will cause greater pressure in your lungs and force them to expand more and break loose more of the congestion.
- Eat healthily and regularly. You’ve got to keep your strength up.
- Once the fever breaks, start moving 🚶♀️ around to get your body back in shape and your blood circulating.
- Breathe deep on a regular basis, even when it hurts. If you don’t, it becomes easy to develop pneumonia. Pursed lip breathing really helps. That’s breathing in deep and slow, then exhaling through tight lips as if you’re blowing out a candle 🕯️. Blow until you have completely emptied your lungs and you will be able to breathe even deeper. This helps keep your lungs expanded as well as increase your oxygen level.
- Remember that every medication you take is merely relieving the symptoms, not making you well.
- If you’re still not improving, then go to the ER.
I’ve been doing these things for myself and my family for over 40 years, and it has kept us out of the hospital. All are healthy and still living today.”
We understand the importance of passing along this helpful info and being there for one another by staying home and practicing social distancing. We are hoping your families are all staying healthy and safe. 💙
Once more, if you are experiencing COVID-19, call your doctor immediately.