The Golden Rule When Dealing With A Covid-19 Patient Or Family Member

Glaring as the consequence of the impact of the spread of COVID-19 is, the subjugation of our thoughts to holding caution with keen interest becomes critical for everyone. The tendency to live with a patient or family member infected with the SARS-COV-2 virus brushes up the intuition that formulating approaches, processes, or mechanisms through which such a situation can be sensibly managed becomes imperative. The world health organization (WHO), in co-operation with other relevant medical/health experts or companies across the globe, has been able to establish necessary rules that are vital to be applied in such a scenario.

Aptly as the made rules regarded as the “golden rules” have been defined, they hold fundamental relevance in the appropriate management of dealing with a COVID-19 patient or family member. If someone in your home who is not at high risk for a severe disease, who tests positive of COVID-19 disease and was confirmed by a health expert that it is safe to care for the person at home, the golden rule recommendation given by the WHO are compendiously discussed in the succeeding paragraphs.

THE GOLDEN RULES

• Protect the health of others

         One of the viable processes of the golden rule for dealing with a patient infected with the virus is the good act of protecting the health of others in the household. This boils down to isolating such individuals in a separated room away from other members in the home. It is vital to ensure that contact with the COVID-19 patience is very much restricted. As the possibility might be, the patient also should be allocated a personal bathroom to be used during caregiving. Should the need to share space with the patient arise, one should make sure the room is well ventilated for good airflow as improving ventilation helps remove respiratory droplets from the air. As a complementary, the distance between the patient should not be less than 1 meter.

• Protecting the health of the caregiver

Accordingly, it would be ideal for only one caregiver for the covid patient. This person should be healthy with no underlying medical conditions; since the spread of the virus occurs most often when an infected person is in close or direct contact with another person. The caregiver should always wash their hands before and after any interaction with the sick person to tame the tendency of spreading the virus within the home where the patient is being attended to; this also indicates that the caregiver should often be in quarantine to determine through observation if there has been a contract of the virus.

• Monitor the health status of others

         We cannot scale down the fact that the likelihood of the virus spread within the home even with the precautionary actions being followed cautiously, this could undoubtedly result when there exists a slight error from any party in the house which could lead to its spread; on that note, the need to monitor closely how every other person in the home feel. Practical and concise efforts should be made to understand the health condition of other house members, including the caregiver. As established, it takes on average 5 – 6 days from when someone is infected for symptoms to come to the obvious; however, it could take up to 14 days for the symptoms to show. It would become of the essence for anyone with the symptoms: chest pain, difficult breathing, loss of speech or mobility, confusion, dry cough, fatigue, fever, etc., to get tested or seek medical care.

• Take observation of warning signs

Over time, the covid infected patient or member being given home care could likely start transiting in condition, which could be noticed through the advancement of symptoms they start developing. These apparent changes could culminate in a state in which the patient could need more urgent medical care as there could be a case in which the patient’s situation is being aggravated. The caregiver would need to pay detailed attention to the patient’s state often for a timely observation should in case the patient’s infection state is becoming advanced. Conditional to the patient’s age range, symptoms may vary or look different. Adults may look dehydrated, have shortness of breath or chest pains. They may also complain of light-headiness. While children on their path may suddenly appear confused or refuse to eat, their face or lips may turn blue while babies may be unable to breastfeed; all these symptoms serve as a warning that the patient urgently requires advanced care.

• Clean and disinfect surfaces and items often.

         As established, COVID-19 can spread from an infected person’s mouth or nose in small liquid particles when they cough, sneeze, sing, speak, or breath, and these particles range from large respiratory droplets to smaller aerosols. This then calls for the consistent cleaning of things (i.e., household items) and surfaces, most especially those the patient had contact with; the act of cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and household items should be done at least once a day. It is necessary for disinfection of surfaces and objects in the house since others might become infected when they contact the item or surfaces the patient had touched, transferring the virus while touching their eyes, nose, or mouth without cleaning or cleaning use of sanitizer on their hands. The frequent disinfection of items and surfaces in the home would go a long way in bringing a reasonable degree of control to the likelihood of the spread of the covid-19 virus.

• Continuous practice of prevention measures

Mask Up

         Continuous practice of prevention measures as known is also vital for dealing or managing a patient, and these measures could never go obsolete in the management of virus/disease impact; they include keeping a distance of at least 1 meter from others at every place of social interaction as well as at home, ventilating the house by having windows well opened, cleaning of the hand frequently, especially for the caregiver of the Covid-19 patient, cough or sneeze into a bent elbow, wearing a well-fitted clean mask over your mouth and nose to hinder the absorption of liquid particles suspended in the air and getting vaccinated when the time is right for an individual.