Experts have noticed that the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus is more difficult in the elderly, as well as those suffering from cardiovascular, oncological diseases, chronic lung pathologies, arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus. How to behave correctly for diabetics in a pandemic? How long will you have to adhere to these rules and restrictions?
The “new” coronavirus needs the presence of the ACE-2 protein and the TMPRSS-2 protease to penetrate its “favorite” targets (pleural cells). These substances are involved in the regulation of blood pressure and respiration, as well as oxygenation of the blood in the vessels of the lungs. With age and with certain chronic health problems, the amount and activity of ACE-2 and TMPRSS-2 increase, and this is exactly what the “ covid ” needs .
Behavior rules
People with diabetes, regardless of age, should get used to the fact that now their lifestyle will change even more.
To avoid infection, you must:
- strictly observe quarantine or self-isolation (not only for themselves, but also for family members living together);
- maintain perfect cleanliness in the home, ventilate it as often as possible;
- make sure that the air in the room is not too dry (if necessary, purchase a humidifier);
- outside the home, try not to touch your face with your hands, do not approach people closer than 1.5–2 meters, and when visiting a store or pharmacy (other crowded places) wear a mask and glasses;
- when opening doors or taking a basket (cart) in the store, use disposable gloves (if they are not available, ordinary plastic bags);
- use hand sanitizers outside the home , and wash your hands more often at home, especially when you come from the street;
- upon returning home, you should take off your shoes and outerwear, wash your hands thoroughly, then rinse your mouth, throat, rinse your nose, wash your face;
- refuse to use thermally unprocessed foods (with the exception of fruits that have a peel – they should be thoroughly washed with soda);
- it is better to use bread in the form of croutons or bake it yourself;
- when returning home, plastic packages and bottles with drinks should be immediately held under running water for about a minute or treated with a disinfectant;
- try not to use public transport – walk;
- to disinfect telephones, bank cards, computer keyboard and mouse, control panels for household appliances with special alcohol solutions;
- if possible, avoid using paper money and coins as much as possible.
Additional recommendations
Regular cardio exercise is one of the prerequisites for the lifestyle of people with diabetes. Don’t forget about dumbbell gymnastics, which helps maintain insulin sensitivity in skeletal muscle cells.
It is necessary to be in the fresh air, but make sure that there are no crowds around.
Many diabetics with hypertension who take medications to normalize blood pressure, after learning that they increase the risk of death from infection with coronavirus , refuse to take them. It is worth warning this category of patients: such a step will not save them from infection or death, but will only aggravate the situation, causing a hypertensive crisis, heart attack or stroke with the possibility of death.
Stay calm and don’t panic.
COVID-19, like other coronaviruses , is not carried by air currents (especially over long distances), for “transfer” it needs droplets of an infected person’s saliva that have fallen on the mucous membranes of a healthy person or unwashed hands with which a person touches his face.
How long to comply with the quarantine
The state introduces quarantine restrictions to stretch the peak of the incidence over time. Otherwise, even the most advanced healthcare system will not cope with the epidemiological burden. Even when the “wave” subsides, the elderly, people with diabetes, hypertensive patients, people with heart and lung diseases should not relax. We need to continue to comply with the recommended quarantine rules and restrictions.
The peculiarity of COVID-19 is that it is spread most often by people without obvious signs of the disease, which means that the second, and possibly the third wave of the epidemic will inevitably come. Most virologists are convinced that this virus will stay with humanity forever. Then how long will you have to be in “partial self-isolation”?
Doctors recommend tuning in for a period of at least 1.5 years. During this time, the strains of COVID-19 mutate into less aggressive ones, and medical scientists will have time to test vaccines.
There is little hope that an ideal remedy will be invented, since there are still no effective medicines for other corona and rhinoviruses , including influenza.