What is the Coronavirus and How to Stay Healthy
/The outbreak of the coronavirus in Wuhan, China has many people around the world concerned about how quickly it may spread and how they can protect themselves from it. With confirmed cases in Washington State, California and Illinois, this new strain of coronavirus is also causing concerns in the USA.
What is the Coronavirus?
Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that include the common cold, SARS and MERS. It is characterized by the spikes that stick out from this round shaped virus, which give it a crown like appearance. Coronaviruses commonly infect both people and animals. The Wuhan virus is theorized to have possibly jumped from snakes to people in an open air market where live animals, butchered meat and other foods are sold.
Featuring Annie James - Photography by Paul Garrett
What are the Symptoms of the Coronavirus?
Symptoms include fever, dry cough, fatigue and shortness of breath. This virus is potentially dangerous because it can eventually infect the lungs and cause acute respiratory distress syndrome. In other words, if it infects the lungs it can create pneumonia like complications.
What is the Treatment for the Coronavirus?
There currently is no vaccine to guard against this new strain of coronavirus, although research is underway to develop one. Just like the cold or flu it is important to rest, drink plenty of fluids and avoid infecting other people by staying home when you are contagious.
The above video gives a nurse’s perspective on the coronavirus outbreak.
10 Tips for Staying Healthy
The best way to avoid getting sick is to practice healthy lifestyle habits. Here are 10 tips that I use to stay healthy year round:
Keep hydrated.
Get 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night.
Avoid stressful activities.
Avoid getting rundown.
Get exercise and breathe well.
Eat nutritious foods such as organic fruits, vegetables and herbs. Celery juice, acai juice, garlic, ginger, echinacea, and Manuka honey are either anti viral or good immunity boosters that can help you stay healthy.
Avoid mucus producing foods like eggs, dairy and refined sugars.
Wear a face mask and wrap around glasses (if needed) in crowed public places like on airplanes and other forms of public transportation.
Wash your hands often with soap and water.
Avoid touching your face.
Source: Medical Medium on Instagram
Who is Most at Risk?
Infants, the elderly, and people with other medical problems are at higher risk for infections and should especially take precautions to stay healthy.
Common Sense and the Mass Media
The mass media tends to hype up the FEAR factor every time a new virus is discovered. Although it is good to be informed, try not to be fearful or spend a lot of time watching the news. Fear is a form of stress and it can suppress your immune system if you dwell on it for too long. We’ve seen this before with SARS, avion flu, ebola and the zika virus where the media scared us for months and then these outbreaks eventually died out without becoming pandemics.
My personal advice is to live a healthy lifestyle, keep a positive frame of mind, avoid being around people who have colds, the flu or any contagious disease. Have faith that you will be OK even if you are exposed to this virus. Our bodies are designed to fight off pathogens as long as we take good care of ourselves and use common sense.
Wishing you great health always,
Paul
P.S. - This blog is for informational purposes only. See your health professionals to receive treatment or medical advice. If you enjoyed this blog please hit the heart icon below or leave a message in the comments box. You can also connect with me on Instagram. Thanks so much for supporting this blog!
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