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Saturday, April 11, 2020
The Observer & Baker City Herald
WHAT’S SAFE AND WHAT’S NOT DURING THE PANDEMIC
Doctor answers questions
about coronavirus safety
By Jessica Roy and
Mark Potts
Mayo Clinic News Network
Los Angeles Times
What’s safe and what isn’t
these days?
With coronavirus, it’s hard
to know. But an expert on
viruses has some insights. We
posed a selection of burning
questions from our readers
to Paula Cannon, a profes-
sor of molecular microbiol-
ogy and immunology at the
Keck School of Medicine at
the University of Southern
California.
Is it safe to have my win-
dows open? Is it safe to get
takeout or delivery? Do I need
to disinfect all my groceries?
Is it safe to have sex with my
partner or with a person I
met on Tinder? Where should
I be wearing masks or gloves?
Should I be gargling hydro-
gen peroxide or taking col-
loidal silver to fi ght the virus?
What kind of face covering is
best, and when should I be
wearing one?
Some of the answers to
your most frequently asked
coronavirus questions are
below, where they have been
lightly edited and condensed
for clarity.
• Can you still have sex
during this pandemic? Does it
help if you don’t kiss?
Will having sex with
somebody who’s infected
with coronavirus put you at
risk of getting coronavirus?
Hell, yes. Whether you kiss
or not. Just being up close to
somebody else will. So it won’t
put you at massively more
risk than just sharing a bed
with them or breathing in the
same space or being in the
same household. So I guess I
don’t want to sound like your
mother, but it’s probably not
a good time to be identifying
people on an app and having
hookups, because even just
having dinner with somebody
you don’t know who’s not
wearing a mask is putting
you at a slight risk.
But the extra risk that
sex would introduce if you’re
already sharing a house with
somebody, zero. Go for it. I
mean literally go for it.
• It sounds like it’s OK if
you’re quarantining together,
you’re not more likely to get
sicker from your partner,
but it’s not a good time to be
Tindering.
Right. Again, I don’t want
to sound judgey, but yeah,
hold it in, people.
• If I have multiple es-
sential trips to make — like
going to the grocery store and
the post offi ce — is it better
to do them all in one trip
Should I keep
exercising if I
don’t feel well?
Mario Tarna/ Getty Images-TNS
It’s hard to know what’s safe and what isn’t these days amid the ongoing coronavirus
pandemic.
or to spread them out over
multiple trips?
I would say it depends
what type of person you are.
Because going out of your
house, going into spaces
where other people are, the
grocery store, the post offi ce,
and then coming back home,
does require a (decontamina-
tion) routine. If you can do
the routine well, you have my
permission to go to multiple
places.
But the way you should
be approaching this is, every
time you go into a post offi ce
or grocery store, you’re at
small risk (of getting sick),
but you’re putting other peo-
ple at risk. When you come
out of that space, you need to
think about decontaminating
yourself before you either get
back into your car or go into
another place.
There’s some simple things
you can do. For example, if
I go to the grocery store, I
get back to my car, the fi rst
thing I’m doing is I get the
Purell on; I’m thinking about
how to keep my car safe. So
then I can go out and go into
another store.
If that’s challenging for
you, if working and behaving
in this really weird different
way we have to do is stressful
and diffi cult, then I would say
just do one trip (at a time).
If that’s enough for you and
your level of anxiety, that’s
fi ne as well.
So you can do either. It
really comes down to person-
ality type.
• If I have no symptoms
and I’m at home and I’ve
washed my hands, can I pick
my nose?
Quite frankly, if you have
no symptoms — or even if
you do have symptoms — and
you need to pick your nose, go
ahead and do it. Because the
only person you’re going to
be infecting is yourself. Once
you’re infected, you can’t get
more infected (from yourself).
What I would tell you not
to do is not to be touching
your nose, your mouth, every-
thing, and then think of it —
if you’re infected you’ll have
infected hands, and you have
to think about what you’re
doing with those.
So again, if you’re in your
own home, not a problem.
You’re either by yourself or
quarantining with people
you’ve agreed to share viruses
with. But if you’re going out,
maybe don’t be doing that
and then opening a door
handle. And this is not just
about coronavirus, people.
This is how normal people
should be behaving anyway.
• Can you kill the virus if
it’s in your throat and you
gargle hydrogen peroxide?
No. You can’t, because the
virus isn’t just one group of vi-
ruses hanging in your throat
at any one time and then
you can kill them. Viruses, if
you’re infected, are constantly
being produced, constantly
shedding; they’re in your
secretions, they’re replicat-
ing themselves. They’re evil
little bastards. Sure, maybe
on some small local level you
can kill some population of
viruses, but they’re gonna get
replaced instantly. Liter-
ally you’d have to be gargling
hydrogen peroxide 24 hours
a day.
• There are a lot of mask
patterns out there. Is there
one that’s the best kind of face
covering, or is there one that’s
so bad that it’s worse than not
wearing one at all?
No. I think there’s a lot of
Social distancing advice
to only those activities which
are completely essential.
Countries, states and cities These are things like seeking
are encouraging people to
medical care, getting groceries
stay home and practice social that are essential, picking up
distancing by implementing medications from a pharmacy
various restrictions to help
or reporting to work if you
curb the spread of COVID-19. work in one of the essential
Some areas have implement- health care sectors or other in-
ed certain restrictions, such
as stay-at-home orders. The
rules vary in different areas,
which is why Dr. Nipunie Raj- curbside pickup
apakse, an infectious diseases
Available.
expert, says it’s important
that people are familiar with
601 Adams Ave, La Grande
what the rules are where
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they live.
“Some of the general
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principles are to limit move-
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Mayo Clinic News
Network
We are open
dustries,” says Dr. Rajapakse.
When going out in public,
Rajapakse says it’s especially
important to practice social
distancing, which is keeping a
6-foot radius between you and
other people.
guidance online and people
can be creative. I have friends
who are fantastic sewers and
they’re making very compli-
cated designs with multiple
pieces that stick out and
everything. Honestly, my fa-
vorite designs are to take a T-
shirt and wrap it around your
head a few times and make
holes in it that go over your
ears and tie it at the back.
I think the important
components of an effective
face mask are, No. 1, can you
breathe? Is it comfortable for
you to wear? Because if you
can’t breathe easily, or it gets
wet and it’s uncomfortable,
you’re going to be fi ddling
with it, and you’re going to be
doing the very thing we want
the mask to stop you from
doing, which is touching your
face. So have something that’s
comfortable.
Secondly, multiple layers
are going to help. People take
two to three layers, people put
linings and things, they’ve
taken things out of vacuum
cleaner bags, they’ve taken
some sort of stuffi ng, anything
you know yourself is going
to reduce things passing
through can help.
You don’t want to be wear-
ing something that’s like a
plague doctor on the front
of your face, because that’s
kind of awkward. But have
something that’s comfortable,
doesn’t inhibit you breath-
ing, and stays on. But it can
be something as simple as a
couple of bandanas wrapped
around and tied jauntily at
the back. That would actually
work very well.
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: Can I continue to exercise
even if I don’t feel well, or should I hold off until I
start to feel better?
ANSWER: The answer to that question depends
largely on what’s wrong. For example, if you have
symptoms of the common cold, it’s usually fi ne to
keep exercising. It may even help you feel a little
better. If you have a fever or other more severe
symptoms, it’s best to put your exercise routine on
hold until those symptoms go away.
Exercise is important for your body and mind.
Regular exercise can help you maintain a healthy
weight, keep your blood sugar and blood cholesterol
levels in check, increase bone strength and help
manage stress, just to name a few benefi ts.
For healthy adults, the recommendation is
150 minutes of aerobic exercise each week. That
includes activities such as running, biking, jog-
ging, swimming, brisk walking and dancing. Many
people break up their weekly aerobic activity into
30-minute sessions, fi ve days a week. In addition,
your exercise routine should include at least two
20- to 30-minute sessions of strength training a
week, which many people have a tendency to forget.
Remember, too, that even if you don’t get to the rec-
ommended level of exercise sometimes, any amount
of exercise, even if it’s just 10 minutes of walking,
has benefi ts.
When you’re not feeling well, it’s still fi ne to ex-
ercise in some cases. A good rule of thumb to follow
is if you have symptoms above the neck, such as a
runny nose, sneezing, nasal congestion or a minor
sore throat, you’re OK to exercise. In those cases,
exercise may even help you feel better by opening
up your nasal passages. However, you may want to
reduce the intensity and length of your workout,
and limit group activities.
Instead of running, for example, go for a walk.
If you work out when you’re having some symp-
toms of illness, make sure you stay attuned to your
body’s need for fl uid. Drink to your level of thirst.
Be aware that if it’s warm outside, you may need to
take in more fl uid than usual.
If you have symptoms of illness that affect you
below the neck, such as chest congestion, a hacking
cough, muscle aches, fatigue or an upset stomach,
it’s best to take a break from exercising for a few
days.
If you have a fever, you also should give your
body some time to rest and recover. A fever is your
body’s way of telling you to slow down, and it’s im-
portant to listen to that. As you recover after these
kinds of symptoms, go a bit slower and decrease
the intensity of your workout when you return to
exercising.
Due to the current recommendations for social
distancing during the COVID-19 outbreak, your fi t-
ness center may be closed. Even if it’s not, you may
want to consider skipping the gym and take your
workout outdoors instead, or explore new exercise
options that you can do at home. Regardless of
where you exercise, don’t forget to wipe off equip-
ment, including bikes, weights, benches and yoga
mats, after you’re done with them.
If you exercise when you’re not feeling well, and
then you experience additional pain or symptoms
when you exercise — or if you have other concerns
or questions about exercising when you’re ill — talk
with your health care provider.
— Dr. Daniel Montero, Orthopedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic,
Jacksonville, Florida
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