How to reduce the risks of infection and protect the psyche during coronavirus

The coronavirus infection and its consequences have been on the front pages of world publications for a year now and have been leading the way in search queries and social media.

Humanity is forced to adapt to the created conditions of reality, regardless of its opinion or agreement with all the measures that states are taking to combat COVID-19. The consequence of such an “information attack” is panic fear, when the illness of others and the risk of infection are perceived as a personal threat to life, which cannot but affect the state of health. However, it is very important to stay healthy both spiritually and physically. A few simple tricks will help in solving this problem.

How to wash your hands

It is not for nothing that hand washing is one of the most important methods of disease prevention. After all, the hands are perhaps the most polluted place on the human body. And touching them to other parts of the body, such as the face, increases the possibility of getting sick at times, or even hundreds of times. Therefore, hand hygiene should be taken very seriously.

As it may seem, this is nothing special. In fact, since time is the most expensive resource for people, usually all hygiene procedures are carried out fairly quickly, and mostly in violation of the necessary rules. By the way, the temperature of the water in this situation is not important, the main condition is the use of soap.

First, wash your hands for at least 40 seconds. Secondly, you need to lather the soap well so that the foam is enough not only for the inside of the palms, but also between the fingers, under the nails, and especially on the thumb from the inside and from the back, that is, the areas where bacteria accumulate most and are often skipped during processing. It is advisable to also wash your hands up to the elbows, and not just the exposed part.

After washing, do not forget to dry your hands dry. In the case of a public restroom, use a paper towel or a dedicated touchless hand dryer.

In no case do not touch any objects with clean hands, including the faucet valve and door handles, use a paper towel or elbow for this purpose. On dry hands, you can apply a special disinfectant. It is better to give preference to those that have a long-term effect. Also, remember that the more often you wash your hands, the better.

Moreover, this procedure should be carried out:

• after contact with the patient;
• after sneezing or coughing;
• after visiting the bathroom;
• after touching any objects in public places;
• after contact with money;
• before and after eating;
• after contact with garbage;
• after changing someone’s diapers;
• with significant contamination.

How to make a mask with your own hands

Based on numerous studies done by WHO and other health organizations, it has been found that the mask prevents the spread of viruses and bacteria only if the patient wears it himself. However, subject to the rules of personal hygiene and a distance of at least 1 meter from the nearest person, nevertheless, the mask can also help to avoid contact with the pathogen.

Making it at home is not so difficult, by the way, from improvised means. Moreover, the materials for its execution can be completely different, but the fabric that will cover the area of ​​​​the nose and mouth should be one of the following:

• cotton blends, including quilted cotton;
• dense natural woven materials;
• gauze.

You can also determine whether a given type of fabric or a finished product is suitable for our tasks by looking through it at a bright light: if the light comes through, the fabric or product is not suitable. You can try to improve it by folding the material in several layers.

Having decided on the material and its density, it is necessary to cut the appropriate size so that the mask fits snugly over the nose and covers the mouth. The main rule: the material on the finished product must be complete. In this case, you can cut holes for the ears, or hem the rubber bands, which will also tightly hold the mask on the face. On the Internet, there are options for patterns for every taste. The final step is sewing.

Equally important is the way the mask is worn:

• the mask should fit snugly, but at the same time remain comfortable during use;
• should follow the contours of the bridge of the nose, and not leave a gap (for these purposes, you can sew a denser frame);
• should be wide enough to cover the nose and chin at the same time;
• the mask should not interfere with the flow of air, and breathing in it should be easy and effortless;
• it should be amenable to daily washing at a temperature of 60-90 degrees and disinfection, at which it will not be deformed;
• it is desirable to dry naturally in a suspended form;
• the mask can be worn for no more than 3 hours;
• when removing the mask, it is important not to touch its outer part.

Subject to all the above rules and recommendations, the mask will help protect yourself from the disease, and making it yourself from improvised means will make its owner more confident in quality and will not hit the family budget.

Antiseptic at home

An antiseptic today is what everyone should have. Moreover, at the beginning of 2020, when quarantine was introduced everywhere, any disinfectant, as well as alcohol, were scarce goods; they were literally swept off the shelves of stores, and manufacturers did not have time to supply the required amount. Therefore, it makes sense not to depend on circumstances, but to try to prepare an antiseptic yourself.

There are quite a few recipes for preparing an antiseptic, but the main ingredient that kills the COVID-19 virus is alcohol.

Therefore, you can start the simplest:

• distilled water – 50 ml;
• any alcohol with a concentration of more than 60% – 50 ml;
• Glycerin – 30ml;
• any aromatic oil – 5 drops.

All ingredients are thoroughly mixed in a container of sufficient size, then the resulting mixture is poured into a tightly closed vial and shaken well. The antiseptic is ready and can be poured into a more convenient dispenser container.

In some recipes, you can also find the use of hydrogen peroxide. For example:

• 830 ml of ethyl or 750 ml of isopropyl alcohol more than 60% concentration;
• 40 ml hydrogen peroxide;
• 15 ml of glycerin;
• distilled or cold boiled water.

First you need to pour alcohol into a large container, then hydrogen peroxide. Gently stirring the mixture, pour in the glycerin and water. The solution is ready, as in the case of the first recipe, it can also be poured into easy-to-use bottles with tight-fitting lids.

The formulation of the aforementioned antiseptics is compatible both for application on hands and on various surfaces. However, alcohol is not the only way to fight coronavirus, it can also be replaced with a solution of liquid chlorine. True, in this case, a chlorine-based disinfectant is not suitable for use on the skin, but is used only for cleaning.

It should be remembered that hand sanitizer is only an auxiliary and temporary protection, which is ideal for use in public places where there is no direct access for washing hands. At the same time, no disinfectant solution can replace a fully important hygiene procedure. Therefore, if it is possible to use soap and water, then it is better to do so.

Also, you should pay attention: when applying a disinfectant, you need to make sure that it covers the entire surface of the hands and fingers. To do this, treat all areas between the fingers and under the nails for at least 30 seconds. And also it is worth remembering the cases of its use, namely:

• after each change of activity in the workplace;
• after touching other people’s things or communicating with colleagues, including shaking hands;
• before eating.

These are the main cases where direct contact with coronavirus infection is possible. Therefore, following these rules for the use of an antiseptic, there is a high probability of preventing the virus from entering the body.

House cleaning during coronavirus

Cleaning of the apartment and ventilation should be carried out regularly, because in this way the air is freed from dust, which contains a lot of potentially dangerous microorganisms. Moreover, in the context of the spread of coronavirus infection, this hygiene procedure should be approached more responsibly than usual. After all, as you know, the virus does not die instantly when it enters the air and can live for some time, remaining on any surfaces, thereby endangering everyone living in the house.

Cleaning should be carried out in stages and with protective gloves. First of all, you should always start with less polluted areas and gradually move to dirtier ones. Within the same zone, cleaning should be done from top to bottom. Particular attention should be paid to the bathroom, kitchen, workplace, room where the patient is located, as well as items such as doorknobs, chair backs, tables, telephones.

As for cleaning products, plain water is not enough in this case. Therefore, when washing any surfaces, it is worth adding soap, a special solution or liquid chlorine to the water. The concentration of each type varies and depends on the type of surfaces. For a more effective fight against coronavirus and other microorganisms, you must adhere to the recommended concentration of the agent, which is usually indicated on the manufacturer’s packaging.

When cleaning carpets and textiles, it is also advisable to use water with soap or a special agent dissolved in it. When washing, it is better to choose the mode with the most acceptable temperature of hot water, still using detergents. When working with the patient’s dirty linen, be sure to wear protective disposable gloves, avoiding excessive shaking, and after completion, throw them away and wash your hands immediately.

However, unfortunately, this method of cleaning still does not completely eliminate pathogenic microorganisms. An important role is also played by the exposure time of the solution on the treated surfaces, which is not always realistic to observe. Therefore, it is also worth adding additional non-contact disinfection. Such a procedure can be performed by spraying a special solution over surfaces that contains alcohol or chlorine; in case of additional disinfection of dishes – you can pour boiling water over it, and for processing the premises – the use of quartz technology. However, it is worth remembering that when quartzing, no one should be in this room.

After all washing and disinfecting procedures, it is necessary to ventilate well. True, when applying quartz, ventilation is not necessary.

Mental health during a pandemic

The most difficult thing for a person to do in a pandemic is to maintain a healthy psyche. After all, there are quite a few factors that can unsettle a person. The most frequent are the uncertain situation in all countries of the world, problems with work, fear of losing control over the situation, and many others.

All these factors lead to anxiety, undermine the healthy psyche of a person, which, in turn, depresses the immune system. But special attention is required by those people who had previously had any mental abnormalities.

At the same time, social restrictions and self-isolation imply a sudden restriction of access to many services, visits to entertainment events that were previously available literally everywhere and always. All this provokes stress and cannot but affect the well-being of a person. As far as possible, it is necessary to eliminate all causes of anxiety, anxiety, internal tension.

Firstly, you need to constantly monitor your mood, and it is important to notice any manifestations of anxiety at first in order to take the necessary measures in time.

Secondly, to reduce the number of provoking factors:

• carefully approach the choice of sources of information, you should choose only verified ones;
• read news publications as little as possible;
• it is better to limit the time for reading the news, as well as visiting social networks;
• block access to groups in messengers and social networks that cause anxiety;
• adhere to hygiene rules in reasonable quantities.

If there are manifestations of anxiety, then you can try to eliminate them using the following methods:

• stop and take a deep breath;
• convince yourself that anxious thoughts and feelings are temporary;
• try not to develop disturbing thoughts;
• remind yourself that all is well at the moment;
• remember what you did exactly before the alarm appeared and continue the lesson;
• spend the generated adrenaline through physical activity, exercise, hobbies.

These recommendations will help in case of exacerbation of anxiety. However, one must also think about how to prevent the very appearance of bad thoughts. Try one of these ways:

• read books;
• go in for sports;
• go out into nature;
• communicate with people live on the phone;
• keep healthy sleep;
• try to diversify every day;
• Do things gradually that you would normally put off.

This is a partial list of things that can help brighten up the day and prevent anxiety. Moreover, each person has his own hobbies, so do not forget about them. But most importantly, do not worry if any disturbing thoughts appear, because this is a normal protective reaction of the body. The created situation makes everyone reconsider their views, reorganize their lives. This can be used to your advantage by staying on top of the wave.

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