The last year and a half have taught us so many things. From survival tactics to mental wellbeing, emotional to life skills, humans have transformed into their better versions post surviving coronavirus. The constant risk, the never-ending fear and the uncertainty about life has been in everyone's mind through these times and it's still always lingering in the back-of-our-minds to maintain a suitable distance and keep our masks on.
People have adapted to the new normal and try to figure out ways to move on in their lives. Corona virus behaves in strange ways; it differentiates between people and treats them differently. For most of the population like around 80% of it, the symptoms of covid-19 are pretty normal like mild fever, difficulty in breathing, cold and cough etc. While in cases where people have prior history of illness like lung diseases, diabetes, and other comorbidities or lie in the high-risk zones, they have to be extra cautious because the risk involved is a lot more.
The importance of caregivers is enormous, because COVID-19 strangely affects some people, it becomes highly important to look out for ways to make sure that caregivers are properly trained and taken care of so that they could be of help.
Public places are the ones that are most exposed to the virus so it's always advisable to stay at home and avoid them as much as you can. Alongside all this, there should be some effective measures in place to make sure that the caregivers and health care workers along with those who are at high risk of contracting the infection are properly taken care of. Some of them are mentioned below.
If you are the head caregiver of your family, it is very important thatyou try to manage everything properly and take proper precautions so that youare not affected by the virus. Especially when you are taking care of a high-riskperson, chances of getting infected increases so you have to take extra precautions to avoid that. And in case you feel like you can get affected, it's always better to have a clear plan, a contingency plan ready to make sure that the usual things are not affected.
Having a trustworthy person by your side whom you can easily share the responsibilities too is a good plan. At times of need, we saw a lot more members of our own family even blood relations gutted the affected person. Firstly, maybe it was too much fear that dragged them out of their homes, to be lost for thetime being. Things are getting better, now the panic has dropped down drastically.
Maintaining distance from loved ones is vital. Its one thing to suffer from the disease, but it's even worse to watch your loved one's going through all the pain and not being able to do anything. A similar problem was faced during the course of coronavirus spread when people had to be quarantined to make sure that the virus is not spreading out to more people.
It was also very important that people who had prior health issues, should also remember those and take proper care for the same. In these unusual circumstances, people were so frenzied that they were forgetting about these other things which were also a cause. People were so troubled that all they could remember was the effect of covid-19 virus and were in that loop of getting away from it. So, remembering other things, especially health conditions were also one of the problems.
Even during festivals, gatherings with families and friends and various travel and outdoor activities were cancelled. And many people were staying home with their families to avoid infection. Living with family members in a confined space for long periods of time and being regularly bombarded by information about the epidemic can lead to boredom, anxiety, worry and panic. It may also lead to feelings of depression and fear, and induce physical changes like chest congestion and insomnia.
These are all normal reactions to stressful circumstances. Let us hope for the best, probably we can get out of it sooner, on the contrary if the omicron variant gets in, we shall not be demoralized like before. We are experienced and can take a lot of experience from the pandemic.
For families with children, spending more time together increases the opportunities for parents to communicate with their child. To get through the COVID-19 outbreak, family members must remain the essential source of support by helping all family members to feel safe, positive and maintain a healthy mind.
Maintaining a harmonious family atmosphere is paramount for family members to feel emotionally safe. Long periods of stress will inevitably lead to people feeling upset, anxious and may raise even more serious emotional problems. It is important that family members support one another. And consistent communication between family members is one way to reduce stress during the epidemic.
During this challenging time, parents should give their child more attention. With schools closed, children's dependence on online classes, not getting opportunities to meet their peers can be suffocating. Encourage your child to participate by creating opportunities for them to share household chores as much as they can and involve them in family discussions and decisions.
Children can discuss with family members daily routines and house rules, plan their own activities, and manage their time spent at home. In this way, children will have a sense of control, which will help them overcome feelings of uncertainty. This is also an opportunity for them to learn time management and improve planning skills. The more time children and seniors are getting can turn this crisis into an opportunity for you and your family. Since in this mechanical world we do not get a chance to share the valuable experience senior members have, it can be blessing in disguise to gain some in a losing world.
Dr Zubair Khaled Huq, Family Medicine, Gerontology, Public Health Specialist
