How To Prevent Yourself From Getting Covid

There is one thing I have learned from COVID. It is to take care of myself. Because those who seem to be at the highest risk of severe COVID complications are those in the worse shape. One risk factor is obesity. Another risk factor is diabetes. 

Risk factors also include kidney failure and heart failure. They list high blood pressure as a risk factor. But I think what they mean is heart failure due to high blood pressure. Or just heart failure. I would think if you have controlled high blood pressure you would be low risk. But, that's me just speculating. 

It's kind of like asthma and COPD. Initially, these were listed as high risk for COVID complications. This is because respiratory viruses are traditionally asthma and COPD triggers. But, it almost appears that asthma is protective against severe COVID complications. Either that or asthmatics and COPDers are doing a better job than the general population of protecting themselves. 

But, if that were true, why wouldn't kidney and heart failure patients be doing the same? You know? If asthmatics and COPD patients are doing a better job of wearing masks and social distancing, why wouldn't those with other high-risk diseases do the same? It doesn't make sense. And that's why I don't buy this theory. 

I think asthma is low risk when it is controlled asthma. Plus, taking inhaled corticosteroids may reduce your risk of getting severe COVID. Another explanation is that asthmatics have low levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). These are better theories, I think, for explaining why asthmatics are at low risk.

But,  if you look at the statistics, asthma and COPD seem to be way down the list. I do think you can still get COVID if you have COPD and Asthma. 

I mean, I don't see how anyone can avoid inhaling a virus that is in the air around them, assuming no mask was being worn and assuming no social distancing. I read one study saying that asthmatics may be at a lower risk of getting COVID. But, I think what they mean to say is asthmatics may be at lower risk for getting severe COVID. 

Wearing an n-95 mask will reduce your risk. Actually, if worn properly, an n-95 can prevent you from inhaling COVID. So too can PAPRs. 

Despite what the CDC says, surgical masks do not prevent you from getting COVID. And the CDC was still saying that last I looked. It's possible they changed the wording. But last I looked they said wearing masks prevented. But, to say wearing masks prevent is pretty evasive. Do you mean n-95 masks? Do you mean surgical masks? Do you mean peanut butter masks? I mean, you need to be more specific. 

Some studies do show surgical masks reduce your risk. Some say as much as 70%. But, some say they increase your risk. This would be possible because the mask acts as a reservoir for viruses. They collect inside the mask. And when you inhale you are inhaling millions of viruses instead of just a few. Some say this may explain why some get severe COVID as compared to mild COVID.

I am the kind of person who likes to remain open-minded about these things. I wear a mask. I wore a mask in stores before it was even mandated here in Michigan. But, still, some people think I am an anti-masker because I question what "they" are saying. I question that masks prevent you from getting COVID.  I question that they reduce your risk by 70%. But, just in case this might be true, I do wear my mask.

I am not an anti-masker. But I am also not a pro-masker either. I am a common sense-er

And sometimes the media and CDC conflate things. They conflate the surgical masks with n-95. They also conflate COVID, COVID symptoms, and severe COVID. And even I conflated COVID with COVID-19. Because you can inhale any coronavirus and still not get the COVID we are talking about in this article. The COVID that causes COVID is COVID-19. 

So, what does conflate mean? You can look it up. But, basically, it means to take two different words and use them to mean the same thing. A good example is illegal immigration and immigration. To me, illegal immigration is when you illegally cross the border. Legal immigration is when you go through the proper processes to enter our country. But some people often conflate the two saying that republicans are anti-immigration. But, the truth is Republicans are pro legal immigration and anti-illegal immigration. You see, there is a difference. 

So, any of us can inhale the virus. You sometimes get COVID and you sometimes do not. But only 1% of those under the age of 65 will get severe COVID complications. Over the age of 65, I think it increases to all the way up to 15% for some people. I believe, it increases to 15% over the age of 75 with two or more co-morbidities. Again, we will investigate this further (with evidence) in upcoming posts. 

Anyway, those at the highest risk are severely obese people. We RTs have taken care of a lot of obese COVID patients. Kidney failure is another high-risk factor. Heart failure is another. And I think cancer might be another. Although, I haven't taken care of any lung cancer patients with severe COVID. I have taken care of some with just COVID, though. And all of them eventually went home. 

So, it is my belief that you can reduce your risk of inhaling the virus. But, if you inhale it, chances are you will get COVID. Some will experience symptoms others will not. But 99% of those with healthy immune systems will recover just fine. And that may be all people with healthy immune systems. The 1% may actually include those under the age of 65 with co morbidities. I was told about 15% will require a hospital visit. But most of them do just fine too.

The ones with severe complications of COVID are the ones we are concerned with. This is what you can prevent. And the way to do that is to stay healthy and take care of yourself. That's what I think we have learned from all this. Stay healthy. Keep your immune system strong. Work out. Eat well. And live long.