COVID19 - To All Members of My Family

Dr C.L.Gurudutt 04.April.2020
Prof and HOD Anesthesia & Intensive care, JSS Medical College, Mysore.

Regarding the COVID-19 (COrona Viral Disease 2019) I being a doctor, an anesthesiologist &
Intensive care specialist, want to clear the anxiety which I feel very high among many of
you. This disease has already produced panic among many people and I feel my family is
also part of this panic state. At present there is a crisis and this crisis is going to end. Life will
become normal again.

One thing I would like to stress upon you is that this virus is a “Flu” virus and it is going to
produce symptoms like cough & fever in any person who get infected. The disease will
produce very mild symptoms in 90% of the infected people who do not require
hospitalization. Only 10% of the infected people will have associated breathing difficulty due
to pneumonia. A majority of these people with pneumonia also can be managed with
conservative treatment like paracetamol for fever, oxygen and antibiotics to prevent
bacterial infection. Only 2 to 3% of these people require mechanical ventilatory support.
Patients already having diseases like uncontrolled diabetics, heart diseases, hypertension or
liver & kidney diseases are at increased risk of developing pneumonia & serious disease.
Here the word “uncontrolled” is very important. As long as the above mentioned diseases
are under proper control, even elderly people also need not have to worry much.

What is more important is preventing getting the infection. What measures are we to take
to prevent the infection? In order of importance these measures are -
1. Social and personal distancing – As we all know that if the infected person coughs,
or even talks the virus can come out of the airway through droplets and can travel
for maximum distance of 3 feet. As long as we maintain a distance of 6 feet from
others when we go out (another 3 feet for margin of safety), we can avoid the
infection.
2. Wearing Masks – If the infected person wears mask, even a simple surgical mask or
at least cover mouth & nose with any cloth (minimum 2-3 layered) he can prevent
the infection spreading to others. Even we who are not affected, start covering our
face especially our nose and mouth with simple surgical mask or cloth (it could be
scarf, towel or hand kerchief), along with personal distancing, the chance of getting
the infection will be almost minimal. So I request every one of you to follow this if
you are going out.
3. Personal Immunity – is another important factor to prevent the infection. Many of
the routinely used ingredients like ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, mustard, fenugreek
(methi) etc. which we will be using during cooking will give us quite a bit of immunity
to fight the virus. One can also start taking pinch of some of these along with warm
water & lemon juice (which is another excellent immunity booster) every morning to
improve the immunity.
4. Maintaining hand hygiene – When we go out, we may be touching many things on
which the virus may reside. Our present knowledge tells us that virus can remain
active on plastics & metal for almost 72 hours. So if we wash our hands with soap &
 water immediately after coming home, before taking food is enough to prevent the
infection. It is not a must that you have to use the sanitizer. If you have a bottle of
hand sanitizer, you can carry it with you when you go out to buy things from shops
and after buying, just rub the liquid on to your hands.
5. Staying indoors – Many of the members of our family are senior citizens. We know
that senior citizens are more prone for the infection because of reduced immunity
and also having other comorbidities (other chronic diseases) staying Indoors will
definitely reduce the chance of getting infected.
6. Staying fit – This is another factor which can increase the immunity & prevent
infection. Even staying indoors simple exercise like walking, climbing stairs (if your
knee joints permit), doing yoga, will help in keeping oneself physically fit. Mental
fitness is equally important as staying in-doors can produce mental depression which
in turn can depress the immune function of the body. Doing meditation like !ೇವರ
ಪ()ೆ (devara pooje), ಸಂ,ಾ.ವಂದ0ೆ (Sandhyavandanam) or even just sitting quietly
with eyes closed for at least 15-20 minutes will boost immunity. These things along
with few yogic exercises will increase the mental fitness which is another strong
factor to improve the disease fighting immunity. Watching news in the TV which is
now a days only about “Corona” can increase the stress and anxiety. Try to watch
news only once or twice a day and not more. Divert your attention from “Corona” by
talking to other family members, reading novels, watching movies, listening to
music, which will help in decreasing the stress factor.
So to Sum up
1. Maintain social & Personal distancing
2. Maintain hand hygiene
3. Stay indoors
4. Stay physically and mentally fit
5. Use barriers like face mask or any cloth over the face and nose when going out.
6. Don’t think about COVID-19, relax, be happy and decrease your stress levels.

This Is God given time for spending Quality time with your loved ones.