The change from a red to a yellow traffic light could generate an excess of confidence in citizens due to the feeling that everything is back to normal, despite the fact that COVID-19 cases do not stop with the same speed with which businesses reopen o Public activities such as in airports are restarted.
Therefore, health experts warn that with the change in traffic light color Preventive measures must be maintained to prevent outbreaks of the disease, especially in homes where people with chronic non-communicable diseases live: diabetes, hypertension, kidney failure, cancer, among others.
“Regardless of the traffic light that is being done at the population level, we have to have our personal traffic light also in relation to all the risks that we already have in our health, “says Dr. Sonia Quezada, international advisor to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) / World Health Organization (WHO), who gave a training this Thursday 11 June on the care that people with a chronic illness should have.
People who are part of this population at risk should stay home until the levels of infection have dropped, since their immune system is depressed makes them prone to acquiring the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes pneumonia and other problems in other organs, according to a publication by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In Ecuador there are more than 45 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
“Prevent these people from going out to shop, what is sought is that they have the minimum contact with other people,” says Quezada, who recommends the relatives of people who have any of these diseases. to help her stock up on food, medicine, and household cleaning products like chlorine.
The family member assisting the person at risk should also take care of themselves while shopping for supplies, the doctor suggests.
This care, says Quezada, is important because the citizen with diabetes, hypertension or other pathology can present complications.
“If they present any manifestation of COVID-19, they have to seek medical attention as soon as possible because the possibility that their symptoms will be complicated is greater,” he warns, adding that it is necessary to identify, in advance, the possible places of services. health to which you can go.
General recommendations:
- Keep taking medications as prescribed by the specialist
- Do not change the type of medication without consultation with the specialist
- Eating low-salt foods, especially for people with hypertension
- Eat low sugar foods
- Consume fruits and vegetables
- Avoid the consumption of alcoholic drinks
- Do physical activity (go up and down stairs at home, walk around the house or places where there are no crowds, dance, among other activities). In older adults a session of maximum 30 minutes is recommended
- Limit the visit of children, grandchildren, nephews, etc.
Dietary recommendations that were mentioned in WHO adviser training via videoconference.
In the case of people with chronic illnesses who have to leave their homes, it is recommended that they wear a mask, that they keep a distance of two meters from other citizens and constant hand washing.
Another problem that must be monitored in this population at risk is the anxiety generated by isolation. In late March, the WHO warned that the threat of COVID-19 and measures that limit social mobility have had a psychological impact on societies.
Quezada recommends that this population dose the information they consume in the media and on the internet about the new coronavirus. He suggests to his family members that they maintain constant communication, that they start conversations on other topics that help to clear negative ideas. (I)
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