The COVID-19 pandemic has placed everyone under a lot of stress, primarily because there’s a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the virus, and how you can keep yourself and your loved ones safe.
Here are some simple steps that you can take to ensure that your nose, ears, and throat are well protected in these turbulent times:
Wash Your Hands
Your hands are the easiest way of infecting your ears, nose, or throat because you’re always using them to scratch your face. Therefore, it’s essential to wash your hands before and after you leave your home. Make sure that you properly lather them with soap and rub them for at least 20 seconds.
Apart from this, keep a hand sanitizer with you and use it after you touch any dirty surfaces, including your car’s steering wheel, any door handles, tables, etc.
Wear Gloves
In addition to regularly using a sanitizer to keep your hands clean, you should also make it a point to wear gloves whenever you go outside.
This is beneficial because most people unconsciously touch their faces many times throughout the day. Doing this outside, with potentially infected hands, can be dangerous. Gloves will ensure your hands remain clean. As a result, your nose and mouth are protected as well.
Avoid Getting Too Close To Sick People
This is one of the most obvious rules to live by during this pandemic, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t follow it.
Hospitals are an absolute no-go zone in these times. If you know someone who’s sick, you should maintain a safe distance from them as well as their family because you don’t know who else has been infected with the virus, especially since symptoms only appear after 11 to 14 days.
Similarly, when someone in your family gets sick, ask them to quarantine themselves in a room for two weeks or until you can transfer them to a hospital. During this period, you mustn’t have any contact with them, unless it’s necessary, in which case you need to take full precautions and protect your nose, mouth, and hands before you go in.
Because of the rapid rise in the number of COVID-19 cases, many people are scared of going to hospitals as they fear of contracting the virus, even if they’re sick. If you, too, are looking for an alternative way of getting a checkup without visiting a clinic, then you can opt for a virtual appointment, such as the offered by Central Park ENT.
Wear A Mask
You must carry a mask with you whenever you leave your home or interact with someone outside of your family. It doesn’t matter if the interaction is concise.
For example, if you’ve ordered pizza and are going to pay the rider and collect it from them, you still need to wear a mask with you. Even if it’s just a simple transaction that takes 10 seconds, those 10 seconds can potentially alter your life for the worse if you don’t take the proper precautions.
Clean Your Home’s Surfaces
Regularly disinfect all surfaces in your home that are frequently touched. Your kitchen counter, dining table, and bedside table are some of the joint surfaces to clean.
Remember, the Covid-19 virus can remain active on a non-living surface for up to 5-6 hours, so it’s straightforward for you to touch one of these surfaces and then use your hand on your face to pass on the infection through your ears, nose, or mouth.
Hence, it’s also strongly recommended not to invite any guests over. But if you do, make sure you thoroughly disinfect every single place where they sat and every object that they touched with their hands.
Don’t Use Earbuds
If you regularly clean their ears with either their finger or with an earbud, it’s time to stop. Among the many tips to stay healthy while at home, this is an important one.
If you continually keep touching ears, you carry the risk of transferring the virus through your ears. Furthermore, to get rid of any infected water that might potentially be present, you should dry your ears every time you shower. But avoid using your fingers directly. Instead, use a towel when doing this.
Don’t Worry Too Much
Although showing a certain degree of concern and fear in these times is sensible, there’s no need to get carried away and be consumed by anxiety.
As long as you follow these simple steps and take the proper precautions, your ears, nose, and throat will remain healthy and safe during this pandemic.