I am starting to get somewhat anxious about the coronavirus in relation to the memory care facility my parent is in.
Memory care facilities I think could be hot beds of virus for this sort of thing, due to the low hygiene levels as a result of how the residents themselves are.
I don't want to be a carrier that unknowingly delivers it to the facility and I most definitely don't want to catch it from there.
Any ideas as to how to manage and minimize risk asides from just not visiting?
As of 1:00 PT there’s 2 confirmed in a LTC facility in Washington state in Kirkland, WA. 1 resident & 1 health care worker. It’s going to be quite the challenge for US health care system as no single payor system.
wash your hands and often
try to not touch your face
keep your house clean, especially that bathroom!
limit unnecessary trips
get whatever medications you need refilled now if you can
get a box or 2 or 3 of disposable exam type gloves - if the CVS is out & WalMart too, hit one of the beauty supply places (like Sally); the gloves you put on when you go to the NH, grocery store, etc. & throw them away into a ziplock bag afterwards.
word seems to be no n-95 masks, although I know someone who got a box of masks close to N-95 type at paint supply store yesterday
stay hydrated
wash your hands again!
stay polite & don’t panic
& remember.... wash your hands!
I have no greater fear of the residents contracting this virus than the flu, which has a MUCH higher incidence of death associated with it than corona. Just b/c the media is amping this up does not mean we all have to amp it up.
Here's a list of the viruses that have broken out over the years, in case we've forgotten:
90's: Mad Cow
2004: SARS
2008: Avian (Bird) Flu
2010: Swine Flu (pandemic)
2012: MERS
2014: Ebola
2016: Zika
2018: Ebola
We shall survive the latest in a long line of viruses. Wash your hands & use common sense, that's the best advice ever.
And yes, I will wash my hands and use all of the other precautions. I would hope that we all will.
Not to panic--common sense is the key. I am immunocompromised due to 6 months of chemo last year and I simply stay home when I know there is an outbreak of flu in the neighborhood. People have been good to not try to visit me when they have little ones with colds--which is just being smart.
Probably one of the worst places to go was Costco, as per usual, it was packed. we got in and out as fast as possible.
DH travels all the time for business. He will probably have to shelve that for a few months--IDK, he goes all over the country and is also immunosuppressed due to a liver transplant.
They suggest a 5 step process:
"Follow these five steps every time.
1. Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap.
2. Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
3. Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the 'Happy Birthday' song from beginning to end twice.
4. Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
5. Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them."
We should probably expect to hear of more senior living facilities reporting incidences of the virus, so I would think it's most important to respect what the facility recommends in terms of visiting.
Noro virus, Staph, MRSA, C-dif, Flu, scabies, bed bugs and on and on and on.
Any one of these can be deadly given a population that is immune compromised, frail, and in a large population.
The mortality can be high given any of the contagious conditions going around at any given time.
Your best course of action would be if you are ill obviously stay home but if anyone in the facility where your loved one is is ill stay home. (When I say facility I do not mean the entire building but in the general area if your loved one is in a Memory Care wing if there is illness in that wing of the building, stay home.)
Wash your hands when you arrive, or use sanitizer and when you leave your loved ones room, wash, when you enter the room wash, helping with a meal or snack, wash your hands before and wash after. When you leave the facility wash. These are precautions that should be taken all the time and if you see staff that are not following proper hand washing you should have a discussion with a supervisor.
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2019/09/hand-sanitizer-shown-less-effective-hand-washing-against-flu
Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
Stay home when you are sick.
Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
Follow CDC’s recommendations for using a facemask.
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.
"Can someone spread the virus without being sick?
- People are thought to be most contagious when they are most symptomatic (the sickest).
- Some spread might be possible before people show symptoms; there have been reports of this occurring with this new coronavirus, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads."
You do not need to feel or be actively sick to spread this virus!
I have a package of Household Surface Wipes that has been in my kitchen cabinet for over 1 year. And the first thing that it lists that it kills is Corona Virus!
Remember how the world was supposed to go off the rails at Y2K?
Remember West Nile and Zika virus?
Remember SARS, MERS and Avian Flu and how those were the next "pandemic"?
Regular influenza kills hundreds of thousands worldwide yearly.
The bigger issue is the media hype on this right now. Fear mongering. Every time some new "disease" pops up, that's all we hear about. Should we have some concern? Sure. Given the fact that it is a virus (think cold, but more virulent), there are no real preventatives. This one seems to be transmissible even without/before symptoms, so what are we all supposed to do, shut ourselves in for weeks, just to be sure? No need to get panicked, just be aware, keep hands clean and hope for the best! Those like MidKid58 and hubby and others (aged, infirm) do have to be more concerned, but the rest of us, not so much.
As for a "plan" in MCs, NHs, ALs, there really isn't much that can prevent infection. Even if the residents remain shut in, the staff is NOT shut in and they have to tend to residents, prepare and deliver foods, clean rooms, etc, so there is no way to isolate any of the residents really. That cruise ship was "isolated" so as to not bring infection onshore, but 640+/- on board became ill and several died. I'm sure many just stayed in their rooms, but once Pandora's Box is opened, it will spread.
For all we know, this "scare" can disappear as quickly as it showed up. SARS was big in the news, and then it seemed like it just vanished. Although it "infected a little more than 8,000 people, and killed 774 people" and this virus seems more virulent, it could still go away. Ebola is also a virus and was spreading like wild-fire, HUGE media hype, yet now you hear almost nothing about it ("More than 28,000 people were infected, and 11,000 people died before the international public health emergency ended in 2016.) MERs "has infected 2,442 persons and killed 842 worldwide..." Yet, where are these now? In the article below, it does mention that SARs hasn't been seen since 2004, although MERs is still around, a bit. Never hear anything about either. Ebola has been around for a long time, and isn't likely to go away - hopefully that one will STAY away! One take-away from the article is that a coronavirus (SARs and MERs are this type) is more like a cold on steroids. These are "new", typically some virus that mutated from an animal virus, and therefore our bodies might not have the antibodies needed to fight it off yet. Typical of all viruses, they mutate. They could mutate themselves out of human disease, or become worse. Only time will tell.
Good sum up/comparison:
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/how-new-wuhan-coronavirus-stacks-up-against-sars-mers
It does mention that this "version" appear to be more apt to "stick" into the lungs deeper and lead to pneumonia, so perhaps ensure your loved one has had the pneumonia shots?
(I don't recall which "scare" it was (might have been one of the "flus"), but at work were signs everywhere telling you basically if you looked at someone who was ill, you HAD to stay home for 2 weeks!!! If not ill, would I get paid then? Geez... Masks, sanitizers, etc. No thanks.
Also, we went to see a movie around the early days of SARs, and one preview had shadowy figures moving about, monkey sounds, etc and my son says "SARs, The Movie"! Turns out it was a flick called 28 Days Later. What I found scary was the extras on the DVD, talking about how diseases spread and showing/talking about the "Mad Cow" epidemic in England. THAT was real and THAT was scary!!!)
Any time people are living in such close quarters, the risk will be increased.
As to your behavior, assume that you are carrying the virus and that you will come in contact with the virus.
Of course don't visit if anyone in your family has symptoms of a cold. or a fever; check your own fever.
The facility should have everyone stop by a desk and check in. The facilityshouldprovide everyone with a mask and have them wash their hands before visiting. The love one should be provided with a mask to wear doing a visit. Be sure to wash your hands before leaving. Don't touch your face or nose (including removing the mask) until you have used hand santizer. and then wash your hands again.
Don't rely on the facility doing an adequate job. Push them. Because the death rate among the elder is 14%.
With a current 14% mortality rate among people over 70. the virsus is no small risk.
COVID-19 deaths 2.0%. This means the risk of dying from COVID-19 is 20 times greater than the risk of dying from the flu for the AVERAGE PERSON. However, the death rates for people over 65, the frail, elderly, those with compromised immune systems, those with diabetes and people with heart disease have a significantly higher chance of dying from coronavirus than 2.0%. Another issue which makes the coronavirus more prevalent than the flu is that there is currently no vaccine as there is with the flu. The international medical consensus along with the CDC is that a rushed vaccine could be available as early as a year and half without human trials and Israel in particular seems to be making some headway in creating a vaccine. However in the US the cost to individuals for the vaccine, once it is available, is estimated to be substantial due to trademark protections and other US pharmaceutical industry standard practices. The coronavirus is a dangerous pandemic with no cure and so far no medical intervention to protect people from getting it. In addition, compared to past epidemic preparedness in the US, the US is having a particularly difficult time containing, managing, documenting, testing, and efficiently communicating about COVID-19 within the medical and scientific communities compared to our prepared responses to diseases such as SARS, MERS, Avian flu, ebola and others in the past. Wash hands, do not touch your mouth, nose, or eyes and if you begin to have a fever wear a mask, seek a diagnosis and stay home for 2 weeks or until your doctor gives you the all-clear to resume normal activities.