3 Ways to Prepare for Coronavirus.

Do this now before a big outbreak occurs.

First a little background. Coronaviruses are named for their unusual shape that features spikey protrusions that make them look like they are covered in crowns. They are commonly found in animals with this latest outbreak believed to have derived from bats or snakes. Some of the previous Coronavirus types have been transferrable to humans where they mainly cause mild upper respiratory infections that we associate with the common cold.

Over the last decade, new coronaviruses have emerged that result in potentially lethal diseases. The latest worldwide outbreak is a novel coronavirus that health authorities first identified in the city of Wuhan, China. Since it has recently jumped species hosts from animals to us, humans have not been exposed and are therefore more at risk.

It has been labeled SARS-CoV-2 which stands for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Two. The associated disease it causes has become known as COVID-19 or Coronavirus Disease 2019. Medical authorities believe it has a long incubation period of up to two weeks where no symptoms may be present but then appears as a fever, a cough and flu-like symptoms, progressing rapidly to fulminant pneumonia and death in 2-3% of those affected.

To combat it’s outbreak, there is a protocol that will help.

1) Wash your hands. Watch your hands.

Our hands become our own worst enemy.

Keep your hands clean and start becoming more aware of how, where and what you touch. Think about it. The chance you’d happen to inhale a virus sneezed, coughed or otherwise suspended into the air is much less likely than touching a railing or door knob or handling a salt shaker or opening a mailbox or using a gas pump or typing on a keyboard or signing a store’s credit card slip with the pen they hand you. Any object that has been touched by countless, unseen hands is a potential hotbed for the virus. All it takes is for one person unknowingly carrying the virus to sneeze on something or dab their nose or touch their mouth before placing their hands on anything that others commonly touch and they can expose or infect dozens following behind.

Wash your hands much more than you think you need to wash them.

Wash your hands before eating. Wash them after you’ve been in public areas. And count to twenty. That’s how long you’ll want to keep soaping them up with lots of bubbles. The CDC advises us, “wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing.” Hand sanitizer, with at least 60% alcohol content, is also an option when soap and water are not available. That’s if you can find it. Hand sanitizers have been flying off store shelves.

Make a conscious effort to avoid touching your face.

Particularly avoid your mouth and nose. This particular virus infects the lungs, but it has to get to them first. The virus doesn’t attach to your hands and somehow get internalized. We touch our face on average more than 90 times a day. You’re the carrier actually transporting it from random infected surfaces into your body via your fingertips. Even rubbing your eyes can be a problem. This protocol seems simplistic but it’s of utmost importance. Scientists, doctors and public health specialists insist that washing our hands and watching where we put them is the very best and most sound action to take during this pandemic. It helps protect ourselves, our families and our immediate community.

2) Rethink our habits and rituals.

I watched this yesterday and cringed.

My son and his sports team finished a match against another squad. Each team gathered together in a circle and gave the opposing team a cheer. Good sportsmanship and sanitary! But it wasn’t enough bonhomie. The coaches then lined up each team in single file, facing each other with one hand up and they proceeded to snake past each other slapping hands with every single one of the 40 players on each team. In other words, each kid had the germs from 79 other kids on his hand. This traditional gesture of good sportsmanship suddenly takes on a different complexion through a pandemic lens. Let’s rethink some of these rituals using common sense going forward and beyond.

Stop shaking hands. Maybe forever.

And then there’s the tradition we are estimated to perform 15,000 times in our life. We’re introduced to someone and we’ve been taught to clasp their hand and shake. The gesture is believed to have originated as a display of peace by demonstrating that you did not carry any weapons. Today, it’s a connection, a greeting and a show of respect, all in one small gesture. For someone who grips and shakes your hand really hard, we’ll say “wow, that guy has a killer handshake.” How ironic. Researchers estimate a firm grip transfers 20 times the amount of bacteria as a light fist bump. So a killer handshake is more likely to pass a killer virus. In Japan, the handshake is replaced with just a bow. No grasping or touching at all, no hugging, or even cheek-to-cheek air kisses. A simple bow, or wave or even “finger guns” the cheesy thumb-up-finger-point could theoretically, in a post pandemic world, save thousands of lives.

How dirty is my cash?

Found on a typical dollar bill, over 3,000 different microbes and 100 separate types of bacteria, traces of drugs, pet DNA and food pathogens. ATM touchscreens and cash dispensers are just as filthy. Researchers can literally tell what neighborhood the ATM is located by the type of food residue is left on keypads and screens. Why expose yourself? The Coronavirus can live on paper bills or coins. There’s hardly even a reason to carry or pay cash anymore. It’s literally been touched by hundreds of people and can now be replaced by a wave of your iPhone or the insertion of a credit card chip. 

3) The prevent defense and preparation equation

It has already leaped to the general population.

Coronavirus containment is no longer an option. There are confirmed cases in scores of countries and counting. The World Health Organization has given it a Red Alert, the highest risk assessment. People have contracted the disease even when there was no travel or obvious person-to-person connection. Health officials, now looking to move from containment to mitigation are stressing caution and calm. It’s time to take responsibility and follow the following steps.

Seriously, get serious about prevention.

If everyone set about boosting their immune system and making themselves less prone to disease, the risk factor for Coronavirus to the general population would fall dramatically.

-That means we become and stay informed on the virus and its reach.

-That means not rushing to the hospital with sniffles and overwhelming the healthcare system.

-That means minimizing exposure and maximizing robust health.

-That means taking preventative care of yourself when you are well.

A good offense is the best defense.

Get sleep. 8 hours a night boosts our ability to fight back, and stockpiles immunity ammunition.

Drink water. A gallon a day. Drink an 8oz glass in the morning before coffee. Water helps rinse the bad stuff from your system and hydrates your cells.

Exercise increases muscles, energizes cells and signals the brain your intention to grow stronger. Your body responds in a myriad of ways to support that.

Eat healthy, balanced, nutritious food. Consolidate the gains made from exercise and help replace fat with muscle while warding off disease.

Fresh air. Take a moment to seek out long, slow, purposeful breaths of fresh oxygen.

Take supplements that boost immune systems (yes With-N definitely qualifies its NAD+ enhancers are big immune boosters).

Some doctors also recommend flu vaccines to prepare your body for the worst and rule out more common and less deadly types of flu bug should you become ill.

About all those masks you’ll see at the airport…

No, they’re not likely to keep you from getting Coronavirus. The Center for Disease Control “does not recommend that people who are well, wear a face mask to protect themselves from respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19. You should only wear a mask if a healthcare professional recommends it.” Doctors are also concerned that the worldwide supply of masks is now so short that infected patients and their health care providers won’t be able to access masks when they are needed most. Prevention also requires we get good information. Visit the CDC website https://www.cdc.gov or The New England Journal of Medicine

https://www.nejm.org

Threat vs Opportunity

The Roman philosopher Seneca was the first to note that when preparation meets opportunity good things happen. That same equation holds true when preparation meets threat (the opposite of opportunity). Good things happen when you are prepared to deal with threats like the Coronavirus.

Is it too paranoid to start stockpiling?

Fast moving and with some conflicting info from media and government agencies, many of us can get stuck on the fence. Do we remain skeptical and aloof and hope this blows over like SARS and Ebola and the Bird Flu? Or do we jump in like some rural survivalist hoarding food and water, guns and power generators? What’s the happy medium, the rational approach?

Don’t panic but do prepare.

Look, this could get worse. And if that does occur in your community, social distancing is one of the first things that gets enacted. Schools close, people stay home from work, large events are cancelled. In China and South Korea people in large affected areas are mandated to remain confined to their homes. If that occurs, how long could you stay safely inside? Do you have a list of must haves? Non-perishable food? What about coffee, pet food, batteries, a month supply of medicines? Think it through. The last thing you want is possible exposure to the virus because you had to make a toilet paper run at Costco. What if you get sick and are sidelined a few weeks? Think what would make you most comfortable and secure and go get those things.

Zeynep Tufekci writes in the Scientific American, “Preparing for the almost inevitable global spread of this virus, is one of the most pro-social, altruistic things you can do in response to potential disruptions of this kind.” Treat this global pandemic like you might for any natural disaster—head on, with a back-up plan if things go south—and even in a worse case scenario, chances are this too will pass. And while it does, you’ll have peace of mind knowing you’ve protected yourself and your family and all the while been a responsible citizen to your community.

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