Arthritis Wisdom

Inspired tips and information elevating autoimmune living

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Our New Outside-to-Inside Staging Area

Laundry room is outside-to-inside staging area for our family

Today I decided to purpose our laundry room for outside-to inside clothing changes to further minimize virus contact

Our New Outside-to-Inside Staging Area

Our laundry room has an added job description starting today!  It is the new hot spot here.  It is the outside-to-inside staging area otherwise known as the place to change our clothes to minimize the virus entering our abode.

We are talking about the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).  It has caused a worldwide pandemic and we are all trying to best deal with a very changing and fluid situation.

We now have good reason to believe the virus lingers in the air and lands on surfaces still able to infect us.  Because of this, it makes sense to add a layer to our virus-prevention habits.

My husband is a local physician.  I am working limited hours in a small pharmacy (it is closed to the public, but we are doing deliveries).  We are all about safe and healthy habits at home for the benefit of ourselves and others.  Especially so because I am on a biologic to manage my rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Here is what the National Institute of Health (NIH) has to say about the stability, or how long the virus is viable in the air and on surfaces:

  •     aerosols (in the air)                                    3 hours
  •     copper                                                         4 hours
  •     cardboard                                                   24 hours
  •     plastic and stainless steel                         48 to 72 hours

I couldn’t find an amount of time for clothing.  So I’m planning for days.

An article in the Economic Times I read prompted me to create an outside-to-inside transition area.  As with hand washing, this is an actually quite easy to do.

Here is the simple way I put together the staging area:

  1. The backdoor is the hot spot.  Our laundry room is where you enter our house from the garage.  When we remodeled our kitchen, I had some of the cabinets rehung in our garage.  One is right outside the backdoor with two knobs at the perfect height to hang our coats.
  2. I am temporarily repurposing Gipper’s (our dog) copper toy container to hold our clothing we will take off right inside the door.  Shoes come off at this point.
  3. I have a basket of fresh towels right there to use to wrap ourselves in, then head to the shower.
  4. The washing machine and dryer are nearby.

It may not be perfect, but it is a reasonable way we can potentially avoid bringing the virus further into our home.  My husband thought it would work for us, so we will see!

Now this habit is being added to the *FRESH*™ strategy we are very serious about these days.  Fruits, Vegetables, Protein, Sleep, Hydration, and daily exercise are high priorities.  The rest and relaxation are still a work in progress in the Coronavirus Era.  My joints are sore, and I believe it is due to stress.  We are living in tricky times.  That will be my next focus.

So, back to the outside-to-inside staging topic.  I would love to hear your ideas for habits to keep us safe, healthy and happy during this crazy time.  Please leave a comment.

Let’s all use some Arthritis Wisdom!

XXOO Cathy

photo credit:  Andy Fitzsimon at Unsplash

 

 

 

 

8 Prevention Tips for the Coronavirus Era

picture representing coronavirus

The novel (new) coronavirus causes COVID-19, a respiratory illness.

8 Prevention Tips for the Coronavirus Era

This is the Coronavirus Era.  The novel (new) coronavirus, known as SAR-COV-2, is capturing headline news for going on two months now without a sign of letting up.  It is important to keep yourself up to date  and to plan accordingly.

As I’m writing there is still much uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, the respiratory illness the new coronavirus causes.  I sense a lot of fear going on, and that is never good.  It is hard to think clearly when fear is clouding the voice of reason.  It also stresses the body at a time when we want it to be in the best shape to fight the virus if we should get it.

Johns Hopkins University is compiling data and tracking the spread of this virus.  This tracker is updated daily.  SAR-COV-2 originated in China, but is now impacting every continent except Antartica.

What do we know about SAR-COV-2 and the disease it causes called COVID-19?

  • SAR-COV-2 seems to be spread person-to-person, although the original source may be an animal.  Community spread is happening. Community spread means people have been infected with the virus in an area, including some who are not sure how or where they became infected.
  •   The median incubation period of COVID-19 from exposure to the onset of symptoms is 5.1 days.  So the 14-day quarantine period the Center of Disease Control (CDC) recommends is reasonable to monitor an individual for development of the disease.
  • Individuals over the age of 60, those with underlying disease conditions, and individuals, like us, on immunosuppressive medications are more vulnerable and are at greater risk.
  • SAR-COV-2 can spread to others without symptoms.
  • The virus can live on a surface for days.
  • symptoms can range from mild to severe.  The majority experience symptoms on the mild side.

What can we do to help stay safe?  Here are 8 tips for the Coronavirus Era:

  1. Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds often.  Especially before eating and after using the bathroom.
  2. Cover your mouth and nose with your elbow or a tissue when coughing or sneezing.  (Then properly discard the tissue)
  3. Avoid touching eyes, nose, and mouth without first washing your hands for 20 seconds with soap and water.
  4. Avoid close contact with anyone who is sick.
  5. Clean and disinfect surfaces you frequently touch.
  6. Get your flu shot.
  7. Avoid crowds, cruise ships, and rethink any unnecessary travel until the viral threat is over.  It is best for everyone.
  8. Use my *FRESH*™ strategy to help your body fight an infection.

We are learning more each day about this virus, it’s characteristics, and how to best deal with it.  I’m using the Coronavirus Era to further develop habits to make them a normal part of my day-to-day life in order to practice continuous infection control.

What are you doing to keep yourself healthy?  Leave a comment, please!

And that is using Arthritis Wisdom!

Stay Safe and Healthy.  ( And stay calm )

XXOO  Cathy

photo credit:  CDC from Unsplash

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RA is Like It’s Own Version of An X-Game Event

Shows an X-Game Event

Although not snowboarding, rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is like it’s own version of an X-Game Event.

RA Is Like It’s Own Version of An X-Game Event

The Sports Channel ESPN created The X-Games to showcase athletes performing dangerous and radical stunts.  The X is short for “extreme” which the games certainly are.

We had the opportunity to take a ski vacation to Colorado a few weeks ago while the X-Games were taking place.  It made me think about the time, effort, training and daily discipline the athletes put into perfecting and mastering their stunts.

I tried to imagine even having the nerve to attempt what they do, which I don’t begin to have what it takes.  Way out of my safety zone!  That is where my thoughts went to my safety zone, what I can and cannot try to do.  Living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) definitely would not be in my safety zone by choice.  Nope.  Too serious, too scary.

Hence, here is how I see RA is like it’s own version of an X-Game Event.

First, the thought of your body attacking itself is terrifying.  That is what an autoimmune disease does in one way or another.  In the case of RA, it is the joints that get attacked.

Then there is the period of time that you have the symptoms, but haven’t been diagnosed yet.  This can take a bit of time as the symptoms often mimic so many other conditions and there is no one test that nails the diagnosis.  Your body seems unrecognizable.  The pain, fatigue, difficulty moving, strange sensations, swelling.

You may feel like you have the flu forever, but you don’t have the flu.

Then you get the diagnosis and are presented with treatment options.  The medications often have potentially serious side effects.  And what about giving yourself injections?  And what about the cost of it all?

But, RA is progressive and serious itself.  So you decide the disease is worse than the treatment.  You begin treatment.

Great if your body responds in a positive way.  But, you may need to try different medications before you find one, or more, that works for you.

Next, you will need to monitor how effective the therapy is by routine medical appointments and probably routine lab tests.  That is tricky for those with needle phobias and difficulty scheduling these appointments.  After all, jobs, family obligations, logistics can be a challenge to the process.

Furthermore, even when you have symptoms well controlled, the disease reminds you daily that it is still there.  Sensations and little breakthrough symptoms keep you wondering if this is the beginning of a flare.  You know, the full blown symptoms that rock the way you are managing the disease.

So, putting all this together, plus learning your unique triggers and making sometimes drastic lifestyle changes to improve your all over health and RA management, remind me of training for an X-Game event.  Extreme it is!

That is why I’m trying to make my lifestyle changes more of a habit and routine.  So my RA will have the smallest footprint on my day-to-day living.

And that, I believe, is using Arthritis Wisdom!

XXOO Cathy

photo credit:  Travis Colbert at Unsplash