What to do if you are Covid Positive
What to do if you get Covid
What To Do If You Get COVID
Practical tips to protect yourself from the long tail of risk
That moment you’ve been dreading has arrived (perhaps not for the first time). You or someone in your household woke up with a sore throat maybe, or a nagging cough, and you did the swab. Double red line. Dammit.
What to do now? “Pax and relax”? Sit it out and hope for the best? Go about your normal business (as an increasingly alarming number of “experts” seem to be advising)? Is it really all down to a matter of good luck, good genes and good health? Not really. The available science says that there are differences in outcomes for people based on the choices they make after they get COVID, provided they move quickly.
In this post, we will share with you the things that we would do in that situation.
Seawater nasal wash to reduce symptom duration and viral load in COVID-19 and upper respiratory tract infections
Seawater nasal wash to reduce symptom duration and viral load in COVID-19 and upper respiratory tract infections
Purpose: The objective was to assess the efficacy of seawater nasal wash on symptom duration, intranasal viral load, household transmission in COVID-19 and URTIs.
Methods: This prospective, randomized, controlled, multicentric, parallel study included 355 mild/moderate COVID-19 and URTI adults with rhinologic symptoms ≤ 48h. Active group performed 4-daily nasal washes with undiluted isotonic seawater versus control group (without nasal wash). Symptoms were self-assessed daily using the WURSS-21 questionnaire for 3 weeks. Viral load was measured by RT-PCR on nasopharyngeal swabs collected on Day 0, Day 5, Day 14 and Day 21. Digital droplet PCR was additionally performed for SARS-CoV-2.
Results: Overall COVID-19 subjects recovered earlier the ability to accomplish daily activities…
What to Do When I Have Covid
What to Do When I Have Covid
Part of responsible citizenship during a pandemic involves avoiding becoming infected (and likely spreading infection) as much as possible. It also involves having a plan in place in case we do get infected. Just like we’re more likely to survive a fire or an earthquake if we’ve planned ahead for it (including gathering supplies, educating ourselves on risks and common mistakes, and developing protocols for ourselves and our families), we’re more likely to have a mild experience with Covid if we plan ahead.
This document is meant to get you thinking about what your Covid+ plan might look like.
Quarantining in Shared Spaces
Quarantining in Shared Spaces -- how to keep others as safe as possible
After the huge spike in new cases this past week, including our dear Data Report, I thought to pull this article from my archives — it gives some excellent breakdowns on basic principles regarding aerosol science and how to leverage physics to minimize airborne transmission in shared spaces when one or more household members are Covid-positive.
[ The original document for the ventilation diagrams, plus other useful information, can be found here: https://cleanaircrew.org/someone-in-my-home-has-covid-how-do-we-isolate-safely/ ]
The article is in an Indian publication and therefore references dealing with heat mitigation — given that it’s December in North America, the opposite problem is more likely to be relevant. The UK government released guidance several years ago around how best to ventilate when temps are below freezing, this is one of many such write-ups: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ventilation-to-reduce-the-spread-of-respiratory-infections-including-covid-19#:~:text=Consistent%20house%20temperatures%20at%20or,lead%20to%20fewer%20cold%20draughts.
Some added tips from the one time our household dealt with keeping infection contained (all of the following assume well-fitting >n95’s are being worn in all common spaces): …
COVID-19: What to do if you or someone in your home is sick
COVID-19: What to do if you or someone in your home is sick
Stay at home when you’re sick
Stay home and limit your contact with others when you’re sick or experiencing any COVID-like symptoms, even if mild. This will help prevent others in your community from getting sick.
Isolation
Isolation is used to prevent the spread from people who are sick (with or without symptoms) to others.
It’s important that you continue to follow the advice of your local public health authority regarding isolation, including:
- the recommended length of time
- public health measures you should continue using in the days after isolating, such as:
- staying home if you’re still experiencing symptoms
- wearing a well-fitting respirator (like an N95 or KN95) or mask in public indoor settings
- avoiding group living settings or those where people at risk of more severe disease or outcomes live