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KEEPING THE CONSUMER SAFE; LIVING WITH COVID Segment 4: Covid Story Part 2; The Alaska Story

Healthcare Consumer Navigator Center is a Healthcare Consumer Advocate Organization that helps consumer navigate the healthcare maze. The following Series “KEEPING THE CONSUMER SAFE; LIVING WITH COVID”.  Our goal is to provide a commonsense approach to living with covid with general healthcare information.

I must admit hearing I was positive and over 200 miles from the nearest healthcare facility by air gave me pause.

Just to be certain my test wasn’t a false positive, I was tested a second time the next day and was positive again. So let the confusion begin…

Per the CDC:

“People who have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19 are

not required to quarantine if they have been fully vaccinated against the disease

and show no symptoms.”

Check and check.

Quarantine vs. Isolation?

The positive test changed everything. I was now required to quarantine despite not showing any symptoms. Interestingly, the CDC guidelines now reference “watching for fever (100.4 F).” So now temperature was reintroduced to the diagnosis formula (I had no fever at the time of the positive test or during the entire time of quarantine.)

Now being quarantined with literally nothing to do but read or sleep. I became curious as to what the “treatments” for COVID were short of being admitted to a hospital. Back to the internet.

Off to covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov. 363 pages of medical jargon. Thanks, but no thanks. Off to the Mayo Clinic’s website. Much better-“Treating COVID-19 at home: Care tips for you and others.”

“If you have coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and you’re caring for yourself at

at home…you might have questions. Duh! How do you know when emergency care

is needed? How long is isolation necessary? What can you do to prevent the spread

of germs?”

Most people who become sick with COVID-19 will only experience mild illness and

            can recover at home. Symptoms might last a few days, and people who have the virus             might feel better in about a week. Treatment is aimed at relieving symptoms and

            includes rest, fluid intake and pain relievers.” Emphasis provide by me and after reading

            I’m sure I had a sigh of relief…but wait what’s all the national hysteria been about? I                       don’t recall once hearing any news media person utter the first two sentences of the

            above paragraph. But wait…there’s more…

 

            The next paragraph starts…” However, older adults (that’s me) and people of any

            age with existing medical conditions (also me) should call their doctor as soon as                        symptoms start” (see part 1 for symptoms).

Ok, everybody with me? I’m elderly (over 65), have a pre-existing condition, 3,200 miles         from my physician and my best guess at this point is I’ve been positive for probably 5 to 6 days but don’t know for sure since I’ve been symptom free.

So, I’m reading on and they’ve got my full attention…the final section is titled “Emergency warning signs.”  Carefully monitor yourself for worsening symptoms. If symptoms appear to be getting worse, call the doctor. I wonder what medical scholar wrote that sentence. In my world, we might call that a blinding glimpse of the obvious.

“The doctor might recommend use of a home pulse oximeter, especially if the ill person has risk factors for severe illness with COVID-19 and COVID-19 symptoms.”

PAY ATTENTION. IF YOU DO NOT OWN A PULSE OXIMETER AND HAVE UNDERLYING HEALTH ISSUES, STOP READING THIS AND BUY ONE RIGHT NOW! NEXT, FIND OUT WHAT YOUR BASELINE NUMBER IS!!! IF WE’RE GOING TO BEING LIVING IN COVID WORLD, KNOWING HOW MUCH OXYGEN IS IN YOUR BLOOD IS CRITICAL. IF YOUR NUMBER BEGINS TO DROP FROM THE BASELINE PAY ATTENTION. IF THE NUMBER DROPS BELOW 92%, GO DIRECTLY TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM.

That’s all for now, stay tuned for more to come.



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