How to care for a person with COVID-19 at home?

 How to care for a person with COVID-19 at home?

If you or someone in your family tested positive for COVID-19 and they recommended isolation at home, it is important that the necessary preventive measures are taken to reduce the risk of contagion to the rest of the family or those who live in it House.

For this reason, we present the following steps to assist cases with this condition.

Who can get care at home?

Caring for patients with COVID-19 at home can be an alternative for those who have mild symptoms and do not have chronic diseases such as: hypertension, diabetes, cancer, kidney disease, heart or immunocompromise, among others.

However, even if this was the indication, you should maintain daily contact with your doctor or specialist to monitor your health, either through videoconference or with devices that allow interaction with audio and video.

What are the conditions that must be met?

Experts recommend that household members (contacts) who live with the person with this condition, should be very scrupulous with personal hygiene; in the same way, they must have knowledge about the basic prevention of infections and control measures, this includes extreme cleaning of hands with soap and water for 40 to 60 seconds, or use antibacterial gel based on 70% alcohol; and, when coughing and sneezing, cover mouth and nose with a flexed elbow.

In addition, it is recommended that the whole family avoid nonessential outings and visits home during this period of isolation.

Finally, it is recommended to designate a person (without risk factors) who is in charge of going to the supermarket every two weeks or making essential purchases for the home.

How should the isolation space be?

It is recommended to keep the person who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 isolated in a single room with its own bathroom and adequate ventilation.

On many occasions this is complicated, so it is suggested to sleep in separate beds and / or keep a minimum distance of 1.5 meters and make sure to constantly ventilate this space.

If our home does not have a space for the exclusive use of the person with the condition, movement should be limited to other areas of the house (dining room, kitchen room).

Who can care for the person diagnosed with COVID-19?

To prevent contagion within the home, a person must be designated as a “caregiver” and this person must meet the requirement of being healthy and without risk conditions (older adults or underlying diseases), who is the person in charge of bringing food or whatever the sick person needs during their isolation.

Both the sick person in isolation and the "caregiver" should wear a medical mask when in close contact. It should not be touched or handled during use, if it becomes wet or dirty with secretions, it should be changed immediately and after disposal, hand hygiene should be performed.

Also, strict hand hygiene should be maintained in the following situations:

• Being in contact with the infected person
• When preparing food
• When consuming food
• After using the bathroom

If it is not possible to designate a caregiver and the person diagnosed with COVID-19 must leave their room, the distance of at least 1.5 meters must be strictly practiced, but it is recommended that it be greater. It is also recommended that this person wear a medical mask and wash their hands before moving around the house.

How should cleaning be?

The person in charge or "caregiver" should consider thorough cleaning, as they must constantly clean and disinfect surfaces in contact with the patient, such as tables, beds, devices, among others.

Cleaning the surfaces with common household detergents is recommended. It is suggested to consult the products pre-approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA for its acronym in English) that can be used for cleaning against the outbreak of coronavirus COVID-19.

Alcohol or bleach can also be used for surfaces that are dirty. To make a bleach solution at home, mix: 5 tablespoons or 1/3 cup of bleach per gallon of water or 4 teaspoons of bleach per liter of water.

In the same way, you should avoid having direct skin contact with sheets or clothing contaminated with urine or feces, if this situation occurs you should use gloves and wash your hands when disposing of them.

The person diagnosed with coronavirus must use kitchen utensils exclusively for him, such as: plates, glasses, cutlery and these must be washed with soap and water and can be reusable.

In the case of clothes, towels and sheets it is recommended to wash them in the washing machine with detergent and water at a temperature between 60 and 90 °.

Personal hygiene of both the sick person and the caregiver are very important.

How to dispose of sick patient's garbage?

Materials used to cover the mouth or nose such as tissues should be thrown away or discarded. If they can be reused, they should be washed with soap and water.

Gloves, handkerchiefs and masks of sick people should be placed in a trash can with a bag that should be closed before taking it out of the sick person's room.

Later, you can go to the conventional trash can outside the home, ensuring that the bag is tightly closed.

What to do if a household member has symptoms of COVID-19?

Household members must be kept at home under constant monitoring for 14 days from the last contact, and in case of presenting symptoms of acute respiratory infection (see attached image), they should immediately contact their family doctor, who will assess if you should get tested for COVID-19.

When should the sick person be taken to the hospital? What signs tell us that the case is getting worse?
It is important to be in contact with your GP remotely (call or video call) so that the sick person's health status can be followed up.

If the symptoms worsen, or if you have any of the warning signs or symptoms described at the end, you should go to a hospital emergency room for medical evaluation.

It is also important to mention that, if a family member or the person who is sick goes to the hospital, it is recommended to use mouth covers and avoid traveling by public transport, to avoid crowds of people. In addition to hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette.

Warning signs and symptoms

If you have any of the following, go to the nearest hospital emergency room:

• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Persistent chest pain or tightness
• Confusion or loss of alertness
• Bluish lips or face