Coronavirus Resources
The coronavirus is commonly spread through respiratory droplets produced from coughing or sneezing, just like the flu.
With the growing effects of the coronavirus, we’d like to take this opportunity to provide data and resources that every individual should be aware of for the greater benefit of society.
It is not within our scope of practice here at Solana Beach Family & Sports Chiropractic to treat the coronavirus, but it is our responsibility as health care providers to provide quality, reliable resources.
Over the last few months, COVID-19, or the coronavirus, has been a growing virus on a pandemic scale affecting the lives of immunocompromised individuals and healthy individuals alike. The coronavirus is part of the same family as the common cold, the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV), and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). This particular strand of coronavirus has been newly identified in human carriers, and new information is being released daily.
Findings range from mild to severe depending on the condition of the individual. The more at risk an individual is, the more likely they are to experience severe symptoms. At risk individuals include those over the age of 60, and/or individuals with chronic conditions such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and more (check here to see if you are at higher risk). Common findings can be found below:
Severe Findings
Pneumonia
Severe acute respiratory syndrome
Kidney failure
Death
Mild Findings
Respiratory symptoms
Fever
Cough
Sneezing
Shortness of Breath
For more about symptoms and findings, see this link to the CDC’s website.
The easiest ways to protect yourself from the virus include the following:
Cover your cough with your elbow or tissue.
Cover your sneeze with a tissue.
Avoid close contact with anyone showing signs respiratory illness.
Avoid touching your face, eyes, mouth, and nose.
Clean and disinfect surfaces regularly.
Regular hand washing for at least 20 seconds after coughing, sneezing, shaking hands, touching common surfaces, etc.
Use of hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
Thoroughly cooking meat and eggs.
Wear a facemask if you are experiencing symptoms.
For more on how to protect yourself, your family, and your home, click here.
Want to know how to properly clean and disinfect? The CDC provides detailed explanations and recommendations on this page.
Like illnesses such as pneumonia, the coronavirus is most dangerous to individuals over 60 years old. Pre-existing conditions such as heart, lung, or kidney disease also increases the risks.
A droplet transmission disease like COVID-19 turns any surface within 6 feet of an infected individual into a means of exposure. The droplets produced by infected individuals can live on surfaces for a variable amount of time, with some studies reporting active viruses 3 to 4 days after exposure.
Just like the general population, health care workers are susceptible infection and transfer of the virus.
How do cases of the coronavirus grow? Why do we need to “flatten the curve”?
The coronavirus spread can be described as an exponential curve. Basically, experts are seeing cases double every 3 days. If left unchecked, this spread could balloon the number of cases in the United States to about one hundred million by May. To help slow this process, public health officials are encouraging “social distancing”, or the avoidance of public spaces and group gatherings. The CDC is currently recommending the limitation of group gatherings to under 50 individuals. As seen in the news, sporting events, public parks, bars, and more, have all been mandated to close to aid with these limitations.
If you want to understand how the virus spreads, the Washington Post produced a detailed simulation on the effects of social distancing, infected quarantine, and other factors. The simulation can be found here.
Social distancing is unlikely to stop the spread of the virus, but it will help slow the spread. By slowing the spread, you decrease the number of individuals requiring medical attention at one time, ie. the hospital systems have the ability to rehabilitate their initial cases before secondary and tertiary cases present. This decreases the immediate need for hospital beds and reduces the stress on medical personnel. The visual below shows the effects of flattening the curve of exposure.
*screenshot from the Washington Post link mentioned above
Gray = Healthy
Brown = Sick
Purple = Recovered
Knowledge is everything. Sources like the World Health Organization and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention are publishing new information daily. See the end of the blog below to stay informed.
You can never be too clean! When in doubt, wash/sanitize your hands.
It can be difficult to filter the good information from the bad, be sure to cross-check resources to stay on the same page.
With any topic involving the health and well-being of you, our patients, we can only recommend leading, evidence-informed sources. The two most reliable sources are the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Explore the links blow to stay up to date on current events and data.
Our social media pages will be updated daily in order to keep you informed on how this outbreak will affect our practice.
As with anything, we thank you for trusting us with your health - stay informed and stay safe!