Keeping it real
So, what is up anyway with this COVID-19? It is all over the news, and frankly, I am getting really tired of it. That is not to say I am not taking it seriously, everyone in the health care field is working tirelessly preparing and planning. In fact, many of us at the hospital have put in very long hours adapting to the ever-changing environment, precautions and rules. It changes by the hour, and here is how I understand it as a provider.
The COVID-19 virus is an extremely small particle and can remain in the air for up to four hours just floating there. Additionally, the incubation period is up to 14 days. You can be walking around and have the virus and not even know it. The symptoms associated with it are very nonspecific, and it looks and acts like the flu and GI bug.
I was asking a good friend and colleague, Dr. Kevin Cuccinelli, our chief of staff at Melissa Memorial Hospital, why is it so different, and he said, “It is sticky!” We are dealing with a new and unknown virus that is so small even the N95 masks are not completely reliable at blocking it. It works its way down deep into the lungs and sticks in the smaller sacs or alveoli of the airways. The fact is that we don’t even have any idea who is or is not infected (unless you are tested), and therefore, there are limits on visitation in the hospitals.
For those patients who have the worst of the symptoms, the shortness of breath and cough, and end up being placed on the ventilator, it is at least a 10-day course of treatment on the ventilator. Ten days on the ventilator is a long time, and that is the reason why ICUs all over the country and world are running out of ventilators and beds.
Why will staying at home keep you safe? Little is known about this sticky little virus, but guaranteed by the end of this pandemic, we will know much more. Everyone must stay at home so we can catch up to the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Because of how easy it is spread, we must work to slow it down by staying inside and away from crowds. This practice of social distancing is giving scientists and health care workers time to catch up to the influx of cases and find a treatment for it before we all resume normal lives and start infecting each other potentially. This is the simple truth.
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