Prevention of coronavirus in humans

Contents

Measures for the prevention of coronavirus and recommendations from doctors
Preparations for the prevention of coronavirus
Prevention after coronavirus
Prevention after contact with a patient with coronavirus
Popular questions and answers
- Sources:

More than 20 vaccines have already been developed in the world to protect themselves from coronavirus, and more than 60 more are undergoing clinical trials. But there are other measures.

Doctors always say: any disease is easier to prevent than to cure. This is especially true for viral diseases – many of them cannot be stopped with drugs, their treatment is symptomatic. That is, they eliminate the consequences of a viral infection – fever, runny nose, cough. The coronavirus is no exception. However, he does not have any special methods of non-specific prophylaxis – everything is the same as with influenza and SARS. But to protect against infection or severe forms of infection, if you do get sick, there are vaccines. Only in our country, three officially registered drugs are used, and the fourth one (Sputnik Light) is about to enter the civil circulation¹.

Measures for the prevention of coronavirus and recommendations from doctors

“We now know that the coronavirus is transmitted not only by airborne droplets, but possibly also by airborne dust,” recalls immunologist-allergist, director of the National Research Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Viral Infections Georgy Vikulov. – Plus contact and fecal-oral. You can get infected through dirty dishes. You can become infected when cooking infected food – meat, seafood. During heat treatment, the virus will die, it is safe to eat them, but those who cooked, had contact with raw foods, can get sick.

To protect yourself from coronavirus, WHO, Rospotrebnazdor and infectious disease doctors advise you to follow the following rules²:

1. Wash your hands frequently with soap. This will help remove viruses. If this is not possible, wipe your hands with alcohol-based products or disinfectant wipes. Alcohol destroys viruses on the surface of the skin³.

2. Stay away from crowded places. Try to use public transport less, go to mass events and shops. If it is possible to walk to the desired place on foot or drive your car, do it. Refuse to go to theaters and cinemas, to exhibitions and concerts. If you happen to be in a public place, keep a distance of at least 1 m from people.

3. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with dirty hands. Viruses, including coronavirus, easily enter the body through mucous membranes. If you cough or sneeze, cover your nose and mouth with disposable tissues. And throw them away immediately. If they were not at hand, sneeze and cough into a bent elbow, but in no case in the palm of your hand.⁴.

4. Minimize tactile contact. Don’t kiss, don’t hug, don’t shake hands! As a greeting, wave your hand or nod your head.

5. Wear a medical mask. It does not provide reliable protection against the virus entering your body, but it will protect your colleagues from your virus if you catch it. The mask should be changed every 2 hours⁵.

6. Do not eat raw seafood and meat. No sashimi, carpaccio, strict meat, heh and steaks with blood! Meat and fish can only be eaten after heat treatment until fully cooked.

7. Lead a healthy lifestyle. There is no specific treatment for COVID-19, but if you have good immunity, your body should fight off the infection. Get enough sleep. Eat more foods rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals. Get exercise. Give up smoking and alcohol.

“Now is the time to quit smoking,” he advises in his Telegram channel. Candidate of Medical Sciences, Senior Researcher, Faculty of Fundamental Medicine, Moscow State University Zukhra Pavlova. – The simplest breathing exercises will help a lot – inflating balloons in full exhalation through half-closed lips. Set yourself an alarm to do this three times a day for 5 minutes. And for those who are sick, it would be good to breathe every hour. This gymnastics “straightens” the lungs and serves as a prevention of inflammation. Let me remind you that people die precisely from lung damage that causes COVID-19.

8. Try not to pay in cash. According to WHO, the virus can survive on paper money for up to 4 days. Use an application in your mobile phone or bank cards for payment, preferably contactless ones, so as not to insert the card into the payment terminal and not to dial the pin code – viruses remain on plastic for up to 9 days⁶.

9. At the slightest sign of SARS, call a doctor. It’s better to be safe here.

“COVID-19 does not have one hundred percent specific manifestations in the early stages,” recalls Dr. Pavlova. – As soon as you feel bad, you must immediately isolate yourself! Do not go to work and even more so do not go to elderly relatives.

And be sure to call a doctor. And it is better to go home – in the clinic, where there are many carriers of the infection, the risk of infection is higher. Yes, and you can infect someone. Call XNUMX if you have a fever, shortness of breath, or heaviness in your chest. If you have recently been on any trips, tell your doctor about it.

At work

If your profession allows you to work remotely, make an agreement with your employer and work from home – this will minimize the risk of contracting coronavirus. If you have to go to the office, wipe and disinfect doorknobs, desk surfaces, computer keyboards, mobile phones as often as possible. Better again, alcohol-containing products. Stay away from colleagues – at least 1 m away.

If you work in a market or store, wash your hands with soap after every contact with meat or fish. Disinfect equipment and work area at least once a day. Wear protective gowns (aprons), gloves and a mask. When finished, remove protective clothing and wash it⁷.

Home

Wash dishes thoroughly, especially after raw meat and fish. And then the hands. Have separate cutting boards for raw meat and fish and prepared meals. As often as possible, carry out wet cleaning, wipe dust, disinfect surfaces.

If one of your family members falls ill, isolate him in a hotel room, provide him with separate dishes. If it is not possible to allocate an entire room for him, stay at least 1 m away from him. Limit his contacts with relatives. At risk are children, the elderly and people with chronic diseases⁸.

In public transport

If possible, try not to touch the handrails. It is better to lean against something so as not to fall. If you hold on to the handrail, wipe your hands with an alcohol-based product. Avoid touching your face, especially your nose, mouth, and eyes. Wear a medical mask.

Preparations for the prevention of coronavirus

According to the interim guidelines for the treatment and prevention of covid infection dated May 7, 2021, there are no developed and effective drugs that would help in preventing infection. There are only indications that intranasal forms of interferon-α (in pregnant women, only intranasal administration of recombinant interferon-α19b) and / or umifenovir may be prescribed for drug prevention of COVID-2.

The only and effective means of preventing infection is vaccination with vaccines registered in the Russian Federation.⁹. None of the drugs advertised on TV and in the media have proven effectiveness in preventing coronavirus infection.

Prevention after coronavirus

After an infection, re-infection is possible, especially if the infection was asymptomatic or mild and a protective level of antibodies has not developed. Therefore, people who have previously had an infection, and their antibody titer has decreased, are recommended to be vaccinated. It is carried out after examination by a doctor and agreement on the timing of vaccination.

In addition, all recommended measures of non-specific infection prevention are relevant for those who have been ill.¹⁰.

Prevention after contact with a patient with coronavirus

For prevention after contact with patients, it is necessary to follow the recommendations of Rospotrebnadzor and the Ministry of Health on observing the terms of self-isolation, wearing masks and following the regime. It is necessary to monitor the condition daily, conduct thermometry, assess the general condition. At the first signs of the disease, you should immediately consult a doctor.