Preventive Measures For CORONA

Coronavirus disease has been increasing rapidly around the world and has been taking many lives. As there is currently no vaccine available for covid19 prevention, taking certain precautions while being at home can be helpful. Going out only when needed and maintaining social distancing is necessary during this situation and even later. While this virus is taking a toll on immunity and the respiratory system, it is also affecting mental health. Taking the right precautions cause help prevent infection. Here are a few ways for prevention:-

1. DIY face mask

As the coronavirus cases are increasing rapidly, going out has become challenging. One has to take the necessary precautions to be safe. Mask has been one such way to prevent yourself from the virus. While these masks play a vital role in this pandemic, they are unavailable in certain places and expensive. Homemade facemasks are simple to make, washable, and last for quite some time. However, these cannot protect us entirely as there is a chance of viral particles getting trapped in the fabric. These masks are good to use in emergencies though staying at home and going out only when it is needed would be the best way to be safe.

Given below are the steps on making your mask at home:

Items required:-

● 22 cm x 22 cm Any cotton cloth (make sure it isn’t too thick and is breathable)

● 18 cm wide elastic (2) /any kind of stretchable ribbon/ stitched ribbon from the fabric

● Needle

● Thread

Method:-

1. Cut the fabric into the required size as it is in the figure.

2. Fold around four pleats into the piece of cloth while the hems being on both top and bottom. The height of the cloth after pleating should be 6.5 cm.

3. Iron the pleats for a proper edge.

4. Fold the ends over on the wrong side of the cloth by 1 cm and stitch it.

5. Now sew the elastic on both sides as it is in the picture. Adjust the size accordingly.

Precautions to take:-

● Make sure your mask isn’t too loose or too tight.

● Do cover your nose with the mask.

● If you find difficulty in breathing, stop using the mask.

● Avoid wearing a dirty or wet mask.

● Make sure you wash it after every use.

● Do not touch your face or mask.

2. DIY Sanitizer

The best way to protect yourself from being infected by any virus is through steady hand-washing. In the unavailability of soap and water, the next best way to stay disinfected is by using sanitizers. Ready-made hand sanitizers are hard to find at the local markets in the current pandemic. Due to the rapid spread of the new coronavirus, most retailers can’t keep up with the demand for hand sanitizer. Even so, the good news is that it takes only three ingredients to make your own home-made sanitizer.

A word of warning

Hand sanitizer recipes, including the one below, are intended for use by professionals with the necessary expertise and resources for safe creation and proper utilization.

Only use homemade hand sanitizers in extreme situations when handwashing isn’t available for the foreseeable future.

Don’t use homemade hand sanitizers on children’s skin as they may be more prone to use them improperly, leading to a greater risk of injury.

Making your own sanitizer only requires the following few ingredients:-

1. Rubbing alcohol (isopropyl)

2. Aloe vera gel

3. Tea tree or lavender oil (if unavailable, you can use lemon juice)

The apt proportion to make an effective sanitizer is 2:1 of alcohol to aloe vera. This brings the alcohol content to 60% which is the minimum amount required to kill germs according to WHO.

• Make the hand sanitizer in a clean space. Wipe down countertops with a diluted bleach solution beforehand.

• Wash your hands thoroughly before making the hand sanitizer.

• To mix, use a clean spoon and whisk. Wash these items thoroughly before using them.

• Make sure the alcohol used for the hand sanitizer is not diluted.

• Mix all the ingredients thoroughly until they’re well blended.

• Don’t touch the mixture with your hands until it’s ready for use.

Homemade sanitizers are recommended only in the most extreme conditions when you are

unable to wash your hands for the predictable future.

3. Food and Nutrition Guidelines

Eating right during this pandemic is as necessary as taking other precautions. Knowing what is healthy and what is unhealthy for our body is a must. We often tend to overlook the nutritional value our food intake has, and end up having unhealthy food. Healthy food full of rich nutrients could strengthen the immune system and allow it to fight back. Processed foods can be readily available, low budget though they aren’t healthy to consume daily. In a situation like this, not knowing what to eat can be challenging.

Below are some tips and necessary precautions you can take to stay safe

and healthy during this pandemic:

Fresh fruits and vegetables

Making fresh fruits and vegetables a part of your everyday diet can be very beneficial to your health. They have a good source of vitamins and minerals that can help fight against diseases and also prevent them.

● Include citrus fruits like grapefruit, orange, lemons in your diet as they contain vitamin C that can help fight infections.

● Vitamin C rich vegetables like broccoli, tomatoes, spinach, and red bell peppers help prevent one from the common cold.

● Other fruits like apple, watermelon, banana, and vegetables like cauliflower, beetroot, carrots, cucumber are great to include in the everyday meal too.

Energy-boosting drinks

Water is a vital fluid to take. Apart from having an adequate amount of water daily, one can also make homemade drinks.

● Adding lemon juice and honey in warm water and having it early morning can be very helpful to cleanse the body.

● Green tea with ½ tsp of ginger powder is healthy as well.

● kadha works for strengthening the immune system as well as fighting the cold.

Switch to fresh from processed food

Processed foods contain a high amount of fats, sugar, and salt that are dangerous for our gut health. It can produce inflammation and weaken the immune system.

● Eliminate the intake of unhealthy fats, sugar, and salts. You can instead have natural fruits, nuts, green leafy veggies, fish, eggs, olive oil.

● Consume fiber-rich wholegrain foods like brown rice, oat, wheat pasta, quinoa instead of white bread, and white rice.

Do not skip your food

Skipping meals can lead to low metabolism and make you feel tired. It also leads to overeating and irregular eating schedules affecting the nutritional value.

● Try eating small meals at a time to avoid feeling fullness. Include health snacks in between.

Adding Supplements in a daily diet

Supplements like vitamin C, vitamin D, zinc can help one recover from cold and also provide beneficial nutrients to the immune system.

• Multivitamin/mineral Supplements are good to consume when your diet lacks nutrients and when you have certain deficiency.

4. Exercise

Regular work-out sessions can make a body’s defense mechanism stronger against an infection. Favorably, everyday exercise seems to provide many proven health benefits varying from reducing the risk of heart-attacks to improving your mental health. There are several ideologies as to how exercise boosts your immune system

As per the guidelines of WHO it is very important for people of all ages and abilities to be as active as possible.

Infants under 1 year of age

• For those not yet mobile, this includes at least 30 minutes in a prone position, as floor-based play, spread throughout the day while awake.

Children under 5 years of age

• All young children should spend at least 180 minutes a day in a variety of types of physical activities at any intensity

• 3-4-year-old children should spend at least 60 minutes of this time in moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity

Children and adolescents aged 5-17 years

• All children and adolescents should do at least 60 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity

• This should include activities that strengthen muscle and bone, at least 3 days per week

• Doing more than 60 minutes of physical activity daily will provide additional health benefits

Adults aged over 18 years

• All adults should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity throughout the week, or at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity throughout the week.

• For additional health benefits, adults should increase their moderate-intensity physical activity to 300 minutes per week, or equivalent.

• For developing and maintaining musculoskeletal health, muscle-strengthening activities involving major muscle groups should be done on 2 or more days a week

• In addition, older adults with poor mobility should do physical activity to enhance balance and prevent falls on 3 or more days per week.