In the chaos surrounding the novel coronavirus, there is a lot of information swirling around about foods and nutrients that can “boost your immune system.” Some of it is not terribly accurate. In this Live Q&A, I answer your questions about specific supplements and highlight the most effective things you can do to keep yourself and your family safe.
Related listening:
If we are living together with an SO, are the two of us supposed to be distancing ourselves from each other?? I’ve seen reports of a husband or wife who became infected, and the partner was exiled to other family members so the sick person would be isolated. This is counter intuitive to me – why send that partner, who has been in close contact already, during the virus’ incubation period, when most certainly that partner was infected also, to other family members, who will then be infected??? If we had easy access to tests, we could ascertain whether or not that person was infected, we would know for sure. But can’t we assume that if you’ve been living and sleeping next to the person who became sick, that you too have been infected?
I’m a nutritionist not a doctor, much less an infectious disease specialist. So, my take on these very good questions Is that of a fellow civilian.
Distancing ourselves from our intimate partners or household members who show no signs of illness and are not known to have been exposed to an infected person wouldn’t seem practical. In my household, we are continuing to follow the recommendations about frequent hand washing, sanitizing surfaces, and trying not to touch our faces, even though we are not in contact with anyone outside the house. But we are not observing six feet of distance from one another. If somebody starts feeling poorly, that would obviously change.
I agree with you that if you have been living closely to someone who is confirmed or suspected of having covid 19, you can assume you have also been exposed to the virus. That doesn’t mean that you will become sick with the disease but you could potentially spread it to others.
In that scenario, evacuating someone to a household where no one is known to be sick or exposed wouldn’t make much sense. But of course there may always be mitigating circumstances that make it hard to judge from the outside or to issue universal guidelines.
We have to rely on our healthcare professionals to advise us—and realize that they, like us, are fallible humans, with incomplete information, doing the best they can in a confusing and quickly evolving situation.
Here is an article from the New York Times with more info on how we might care for ourselves and others in our household if someone becomes sick.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/22/well/what-if-i-have-coronavirus.html