As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, it's likely that you may know or live with someone who has the illness. If possible, have the person who is sick use a separate bedroom and bathroom. 13. For the latest numbers and updates, keep checking the CDC’s website. If those options aren't available, wear a mask over your mouth and nose and make as few trips as possible.If you have a yard, garden, patio, balcony or porch, spend time there to get outdoors, but stay six feet away from anyone who doesn’t live with you. Help them with grocery shopping, filling prescriptions, and getting other items they may need. 6. Throw out gloves into a lined trash can and wash your hands right away. Walk away. 5. DETROIT – If you or someone in your household becomes infected by the coronavirus (COVID-19), what are the odds of it spreading to your family? Self-isolation is when you do not leave your home because you have or might have coronavirus (COVID-19). - Don’t go within 6 feet of the sick person unless they, or you, have covered both mouth and nose with a mask or cloth. Staying away from others helps stop the spread of COVID-19. For medical emergencies, call 911 and tell the dispatcher that the person has or might have COVID-19. Editor’s note: Information on the COVID-19 crisis is constantly changing. See Caring for Someone Who Is Sick at Home for more information. Staying away from others helps stop the spread of COVID-19. They can open the door, get the tray, eat in their room, and then put the tray back on the floor outside the door and close it. Someone who has been released from COVID-19 quarantine is not considered a risk for spreading the virus to others because they have not developed illness during the incubation period. During the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone who has had a significant exposure to someone with COVID-19 infection needs to quarantine. If it is a medical emergency and you need to call an ambulance, dial 999. (see cleaning tips below.) The CDC also states that people who have been around someone with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 should stay home for 14 days after that exposure. Go through your entire home and use disinfectant spray or wipes to clean everything the sick person might have touched when they were in the early stages of getting sick, or when they were contagious before developing symptoms. (see cleaning tips below.) If you have any of the symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19), however mild, you should seek advice and get tested. Use technology to connect: It may seem silly to do a video chat or voice call with someone in the next room, but it can give the sick person human contact with you, your children or pets, and others in the home, without spreading the virus. 3. 6. For more than 100 years, nurses and other health care workers have followed basic steps to take care of people with contagious diseases, while protecting themselves from infections. *Note: Older adults and people of any age with serious underlying medical conditions are at higher risk for developing more severe illness from COVID-19. If they can’t get out of bed: Wear a mask or cloth over your mouth and nose when you go in their room, and have them cover theirs too. Stay away from roommates and pets. But connecting with one another in safe ways can help us cope. They can bring you supplies from the ‘outside world’ and leave them on your doorstep, or ship them to you. Someone who has had COVID-19, whether they got tested or not, should stay home and away from others until they meet the following criteria: As of July 2, 2020, CDC guidelines state that if you think or know someone has had COVID-19, they can be with others only after they’ve been fever-free, without medication, for three days AND their respiratory symptoms have improved (this includes coughing or shortness of breath) AND it has been 10 days since their symptoms first appeared. COVID-19 spreads between people who are in close contact (within about 6 feet) through respiratory droplets, created when someone talks, coughs or sneezes. Pick a ‘sick room’: The sick person should stay in a bedroom with a door if at all possible, and not … If they can’t get out of bed: Wear a mask or cloth over your mouth and nose when you go in their room, and have them cover theirs too. One partner may have chatted with the person without a mask for more than 15 minutes ― the CDC’s definition of exposure ― while the other may have exchanged greetings and kept their distance for the rest of the night. Some less common but possible symptoms include diarrhea and suddenly losing their sense of smell or taste. Add the Michigan Medicine News Break to your Alexa-enabled device or subscribe for daily updates on iTunes, Google Play and Stitcher. Have a designated "sick room" where the infected person stays. Clean high-touch surfaces and objects regularly (for example, daily or after each use) and after you have visitors in your home. 7. To receive email updates about COVID-19, enter your email address: When it's safe for a person who has been sick to be around others, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If they’re bringing you something, ask them to put it down and step away so you can pick it up. This is because if you have the virus, it may take some time for it to develop into an illness (the “incubation period” of the virus). 4. What to do if someone in your … All … 14. Tell your boss you have someone in your home with symptoms, and ask if this means you should stay home or wear a mask at work. Infected people may be able to spread the virus before the symptoms begin, but experts don't yet know how likely they are to infect others and when they become infectious. Please call your medical provider for any other symptoms that are severe or concerning to you. As everyone is now staying at home, you might be forced to spend more time in close contact with someone who has been exposed to a known case of coronavirus. If you don’t have two, you’re going to have to clean every surface they touch after they go to the bathroom, so it’s clean when you or other people you live with need to use it. First, don’t freak out. SEE ALSO: Are Digestive Issues a Symptom of COVID-19? 9. 12. If they can, you should help them get to a testing location. Help them track their symptoms: Have them take their temperature several times a day, without getting close to them. A person with coronavirus (COVID-19) or suspected to have it must enter mandatory isolation. Pale, gray, or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds, depending on skin tone. You don’t have to tell your whole social media network, but at least tell a few people you can rely on. Caregivers should stay home and monitor their health for COVID-19 symptoms while caring for the person who is sick. Make sure the person who is sick drinks a lot of fluids and rests. Plan to order delivery from restaurants and grocery stores, or ask friends or family if they are able to shop for you, and leave the items outside your front door. If they, or you, have a higher risk of developing a severe case of COVID-19, be especially watchful for these symptoms. For the most up-to-date information from Michigan Medicine, visit the hospital's Coronavirus (COVID-19) webpage. Have them put it outside their door when it’s full, or wear a mask or cloth over your mouth and nose when you go in to get it. Caregivers and anyone who has been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19 should stay home, except in limited circumstances. versão em português. Sharing a home with someone who has COVID-19 raises your risk of catching the virus. Disinfecting removes germs and reduces their spread. This is why it is important that an exposed person … Look for emergency warning signs* for COVID-19. Note: During the COVID-19 pandemic, medical grade masks are reserved for healthcare workers and some first responders. If someone you live with has COVID … This can ease the awfulness of being sick and stuck in one room. No time to read? Even if you don’t know for sure, assume they have it. "If you have had close contact, less than six feet away for 15 minutes, with someone who was potentially contagious with COVID-19 and has since tested positive, you … Wash things they wore or used in the days before you isolated them in the ‘sick room.’, SEE ALSO: Viruses Live on Doorknobs and Phones and Can Get You Sick – Smart Cleaning and Good Habits Can Help Protect You. You don’t have to tell your whole social media network, but at least tell a few people you can rely on. But the sick person needs your support, as well as good hygiene skills. Keep them comfortable and entertained, while keeping your distance: Make sure they have blankets and pillows, books, magazines, and a computer or TV to pass the time, and a charger for their phone near their bed, so you don’t have to go in and out of the room. “When you’re living with someone who you think or know has COVID-19, you should support them physically and emotionally, while at the same time avoiding getting close, touching them or touching things they have touched that haven’t been cleaned yet,” says Tammy Chang, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., assistant professor of Family Medicine at Michigan Medicine. Masks should not be placed on young children under age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is not able to remove the covering without help. If someone in your household has tested positive for COVID-19, you might be wondering if you’re bound to get it too. “There’s a tremendous amount of anxiety and distress, and sometimes anger, resentment, and frustration, too,” she says. Bring their food and drink to their bedside table, and go back after a while to pick it up again, wearing a mask or cloth again. If you have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19, you will be asked to self-isolate for 10 days. You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link. , be especially watchful for these symptoms. You can safely help them cope with their symptoms at home, while protecting yourself and anyone else you live with. - Make sure the sick person coughs into their mask or cloth, or their elbow or a tissue, to keep virus particles out of the air. If you are sick, self-isolate. Check on them frequently by phone or text, and offer to drop off food, medicines or things to help make them comfortable. Now that you and others in your home have had contact with someone who has or might have COVID-19, you could carry the virus with you to work or the store, even if you don’t have symptoms. After they’re better: Someone who has had COVID-19, whether they got tested or not, should stay home and away from others until they meet the following criteria: As of July 2, 2020, CDC guidelines state that if you think or know someone has had COVID-19, they can be with others only after they’ve been fever-free, without medication, for three days AND their respiratory symptoms have improved (this includes coughing or shortness of breath) AND it has been 10 days since their symptoms first appeared. Anyone living with someone that has COVID-19 should quarantine too, which entails staying at home and monitoring symptoms. This information also should be followed when caring for people who have tested positive but are not showing symptoms. Have their doctor’s phone number on hand. This is because COVID-19 typically has an incubation period of 2-10 days. Monitor the health of everyone in the home, minimize contact, disinfect regularly, and wash your hands often. Deciding when it is safe to be around others is different for different situations. Make sure they’re drinking a lot of water and other non-alcoholic clear liquids. You will need to isolate to prevent the spread of the virus to others if: you have COVID-19; health authorities suspect you have COVID-19. Talk to their regular doctor about what to expect, b. ut if you or someone you live with or know has these symptoms, it's time to seek emergency care: higher risk of developing a severe case of COVID-19. (Michigan Medicine physicians have reviewed the evidence about these medications and others that have been in the news for COVID-19; see more information here.) Like Podcasts? You shouldn't quarantine your cat or your dog with you. The sick person should separate themselves from others in the home. Clean, clean, clean: Go through your entire home and use disinfectant spray or wipes to clean everything the sick person might have touched when they were in the early stages of getting sick, or when they were contagious before developing symptoms. Get your clothes out of the sick room if they’re usually stored there. If you are caring for someone with COVID-19 at home or in a non-healthcare setting, follow this advice to protect yourself and others. For more than 100 years, nurses and other health care workers have followed basic steps to take care of people with contagious diseases, while protecting themselves from infections. Who is … This can ease the awfulness of being sick and stuck in one room. Isolation is different from quarantine and physical distancing. If you don’t have two, you’re going to have to clean every surface they touch after they go to the bathroom, so it’s clean when you or other people you live with need to use it. 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