As summer ends and fall begins, so does a new wave of allergy season. COVID-19 cases have also been on the rise again. With so much going around, it can leave us with a big question.
How do I know if I have symptoms of COVID or just allergies?
Seasonal allergies and Coronavirus share many of the same symptoms, however, there are several differences. More severe symptoms such as fever, chills, and sweating are more common with COVID-19. Symptoms such as shortness of breath and difficulty breathing is less common in allergies unless the person has a pre-existing respiratory condition that can be triggered by the exposure of pollen, such as asthma.
Symptoms of Both COVID-19 & Allergies
Symptoms of Covid-19 & Allergies
Fever/Chills
Headache
Fatigue
Runny or Congested Nose
Sore Throat
Difficulty Breathing
Additional Symptoms of Allergies
Sneezing/Itching Nose
Wheezing, shortness of breath, cough
Red/Watery Eyes
Hives
Symptoms of COVID-19
Fever & Chills
Muscle/Body Aches
New loss of Taste/Smell
Nausea/Vomiting
Diarrhea
Fatigue
Headache
Sore Throat
Congestion
Runny Nose
When to get emergency medical attention
Trouble Breathing
Pain/pressure in the chest
New confusion
Inability to stay awake or waking up
Staying Safe
Don’t forget to practice social distancing and other health and safety measures to protect you and your loved ones. Wear a non-medical face mask when you are in public, consider using gloves when you are shopping and using public transport, and wash your hands or use hand sanitizer frequently throughout the day.
It is essential to take the proper precautions towards protecting yourself from both allergies and Coronavirus. There may be an increased risk of accidental exposure to Coronavirus with more people cough and sneeze from allergies. Using proper social distancing and safety measures such as wearing a face masks, using gloves and sanitizer will help protect against the spread of COVID-19 and should be used when in public.
With temperatures rising, restrictions have been changing to allow for more shops to open up and restaurants to have higher capacities. We are all ready to embrace a healthy life this summer. Many people have started to dismiss advisories that request people wear masks and continue to maintain a distance, while many are concerned that this could kick-start a new wave. But what is the updated risk?
While the daily average of confirmed cases is getting consistently lower throughout Canada and many other parts of the world, the risk of covid-19 is still present almost everywhere.
Covid-19 Updates for Canada as of July 5th
Here is a summary of covid-19 cases across Canada as of July 5th, 2020.
Canada – Total Active: 27,612 New Cases: 219 Globally – 191,857 New Caes
Ontario- 138 New Cases – Total Active: 1839 Quebec – 79 New Cases – Total Active: 24,943 PEI – New 2 – Total Active: 5 Manitoba – Total Active:16 Saskatchewan – Total Active: 71 British Columbia – Total Active: 162 New Brunswick – Total Active:1 Nova Scotia – Total Active:3 Newfoundland and Labrador – Total Active: 0 Yukon – 0 Active Northwest Territories – 0 Active Nunavut – 0 Confirmed
Globally there are over 4 million active cases, with a total of over 11 million confirmed.
The United States is still averaging from 20,000 – 40,000 and up to 300 deaths each day.
We have seen significant improvement in comparisons to the thousands reported daily in the beginning weeks of the pandemic. Covid-19 continues to be a severe health risk, and we should all continue to practice social distancing measures and follow health and safety advisories.
Please continue to wear a mask and wash your hands and use hand sanitizer frequently. If you have symptoms or have been in contact with a confirmed case of covid-19, health authorities still advise that people continue to get tested and quarantined for 14 days.
This season we are all being asked to practice not only social distancing but to take self-isolation and quarantine measures. Being asked to stay indoors and not go about our regular routines for weeks at a time can have negative impacts on your physical and mental health if you don’t take care of different aspects of what your mind and body needs.
Going through a public health crisis such as COVID-19 can create a lot of fear, anxiety, and social distancing measures that can very quickly lead to increased levels of depression, anxiety, and other symptoms. We must take steps to protect our mental health regardless of if you have pre-existing struggles with mental health.
Symptoms of Depression & Mental Illness
Depression and sadness
Fatigue, exhaustion, lethargy
Frequent napping
Heightened anxiety
Mood swings
Irritability
Decreased motivation
Changes in appetite and weight
Symptoms in Children
Children and teenagers may display signs of mental illness differently; below is a list of symptoms and signs typically seen from young children to teenagers.
Excessive Crying
Irritability and aggravation
Sadness and depression
Upset stomachs
Headaches
Restlessness
Unhealthy eating habits
Unhealthy sleeping patterns
It is crucial to make sure your children are getting enough physical activity and mental stimulation and proper nutrition to help improve and prevent these symptoms.
Even though we live in a day and age where the majority of not only of what we do on a day to day basis is online, there is so much more than the usual that we can take advantage of online. It is vital for our mental health to keep a variety in what we do, keep ourselves learning new information, and even trying new things to make a significance in how self-isolation affects our emotional and physical health. We must try to maintain a healthy mix of social, mental, and physical activities.
Here are some activities to help break your Cabin Fever this COVID-19 season.
Things To Try Online
Online Courses
There are thousands of free online courses that you can take on just about anything. Upgrade your credentials, learn a new skill or language, learn how to code a website or app. Learn how to run a business or take the courses you should have studied in college. Check out Udemy and Coursea for some great online courses.
Get some online culture virtual museum & art gallery tours. Check out some of the word’s most famous art galleries and museums that you can visit in bed.
Ever wanted to visit The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam? It is now available online.
Van Gogh Museum Now Free Online
Here is a list of 12 more famous museums and art galleries that have free online tours.
If those inspired you, check out this list of 10 different art classes you can take for free online.
Start A Blog/Vlog
Websites and Blogs and Vlogs are much easier to start than you think! Check out WordPress or Godaddy for free and cheap websites and blogs! Videos more your thing? Startup a YouTube channel!
Missing Wildlife?
Check out this collection of live cams with anything from Birds, Aquariums to Puppies, or Pandas! This website has a wide variety of wildlife live streams!
Try Yoga!
I put this one in the online category because if you’re starting, it might be helpful to start with an app such as Downdog or a YouTube channel, click the link for a good channel for beginners.
Things To Try Offline
Indoor Gardening
Indoor Garden of Kitchen Scraps
Now that you’ve had to stock up on produce try your hand at scrap gardening! Click the link to see the variety of things you can regrow right in your own window!
Did you know that you can plant and grow your kitchen scraps? Try planting the ends of your chives, garlic, or even try your hand at an indoor avocado or pineapple tree.
Cooking
Now that you have some extra time around meals try cooking and baking your meals more than you usually would. Try experimenting with new combinations and recipes.
Writing
Writing is hugely beneficial to your mental health! Whether you’re self-helping through journaling or just passing the time with creative or technical writing, it keeps you mentally stimulated, grounded, and gets the creative juices for everything else flowing as well!
Spring Cleaning
It is good that now and again to go through the junk drawers, clean out our basements and garages, purge the wardrobe, and finally test all of those pens that keep dying halfway through use. Not only does this benefit your house, but it can even help reduce anxiety and stress.
Need a change?
Try freshening up the way things feel with rearranging your furniture and decor!
Read
Now is a great time to crack open those books you’ve meant to get around to, you know what they say, a chapter a day keeps the insanity at bay!
Meditate and Yoga
If you can’t go outside, go inside. Meditation, mindfulness, and yoga are all great ways of staying physically active and relaxed. These activities are also useful tools to help keep your anxiety, stress, and depression levels at a minimum.
Benefits of Meditation
Exercise
Get or stay in shape with at-home workouts, exercises, dancing, or get outside for a walk or a jog!
Work on your goals
Now is the best time to sit back and try to put a little reason for life’s rhyme. Try goal setting and financial planning for your current situation and future.
Fuel Your Dreams
Start planning your dream business, or that trip, or start that book you’ve always maybe wanted to one day write. Even if its all for fun, these things that we think are silly in reality, might be the best idea on paper.
Teach your dog (or cat) a new trick
Some old dogs can learn new tricks! Have you tried? Try teaching your animal a new trick; not only does it help your pass time, but it also keeps your animalentertained.
Get Crafty!
Got some reno’s on the to-do-list? Start a new DIY project, refurbish, or renovation!
Please remember social distancing is in place for everyone’s health and safety, including yours. Help flatten the curve by staying home as much as possible, washing your hands often and practicing social distancing.
Social distancing laws and other COVID-19 related news are updated daily. Follow us on here and on social media @operationheartheal to keep update an for more information on how you can stay healthy and happy at home!
Bystanders using CPR and an AED save up to 30 000 + lives a year. The use of these things together can very often be the difference in life or death of a cardiac event such as sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).
CPR stands for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and is the procedure of performing chest compressions and rescue breaths. This keeps oxygen pumping to vital organs until EMS arrives. AED is an Automated External Defibrillator, these are portable machines that can measure a person’s heartbeat and detect if it has stopped, and administer a sock in efforts to restart the heart.
The combination of these two things can raise survival rates from 20% to up to 60% or more.
Using CPR To Save A Life
The success of the CPR does vary from each situation and is not guaranteed however many times, CPR alone or CPR with an AED can save the person’s life, and should be attempted if possible.
Performing CPR and using an AED is very easy to do. There are reports of children successfully saving lives by performing chest compressions (see examples here) with little actual training.
AEDs are very user-friendly. They come with easy to follow directions, units such as the Zoll AEDs we distribute provide CPR assistance with a built-in technology that can sense the depth and rate of your compressions and has audio prompts and an easy to read screen that can provide feedback and advice such as push harder, on the CPR.
How To Perform CPR. Share to help save.
How Do You Perform CPR?
Before starting First Aid & CPR, assess that the scene is safe enough for you to do so without putting yourself or the patient in additional risk.
911 – AED – CPR
It is essential for 911 to be called immediately. If possible assign someone to call 911 and retrieve the AED as soon as possible.
If you are alone, call 911 first, get the AED and then begin rescue efforts. The 911 operator will help you with CPR until EMS arrives.
Tap them on the shoulder and ask “Are You Ok?”
Open Airway. It is ideal for the patient to be lying on their back. Tilt their head slightly to lift the chin.
Check For Breathing. Listen (for no longer than 10 seconds) for breathing. If the person is not breathing, begin CPR.
If you’re not trained in CPR it is advised to not do the breaths if you’re not already familiar with how to give them. If you are CPR certified or confident in your ability to; then proceed with rescue breaths.
See how to perform rescue breaths below.
Steps Of CPR
Basic CPR Steps
Position. Interlock fingers, Center Of Patients Chest. Interlock your fingers and place the heel of your hand on the center of their chest, interlock your fingers by placing the heel of your other hand, on top of the other hand. Keep your arms straight, keep your fingers raised so they do not touch the patient.
Give Compressions.
Compressions should be done with force and speed. Compressions should be 2” deep and done at a pace of 100 compressions a minute. If you are giving rescue breaths, do 30 compressions, and then deliver 2 rescue breaths.
How To Give Rescue Breaths
Performing Rescue Breaths. Share and help save.
If you are not familiar already or haven’t been properly trained, it is advised to continue with CPR. If performing breaths follow these instructions.
Open Airways Make sure the head is tilted and chin lifted slightly.
Pinch the nostrils closed with one hand, and support the chin with the other.
Take a normal breath and place your mouth over theirs, making sure it is sealed so no air gets out.
Blow into the person’s mouth to make the chest rise, watch it fall. Deliver 2 rescue breaths and then continue with compressions.
Continue CPR until emergency officials arrive, or if the patient starts breathing.
How To Use An AED
If an AED is available, use it before performing CPR. Many AED units have technology that assists the person with CPR.
How To Use An AED
Turn On AED. Follow the included instructions.
Place Pads On the Chest & Push Analyze
Administer Shock (If Advised)*
Begin CPR.
Place the pads according to the AEDs instructions on the chest. Push the analyze button and let AED read the patient’s heartbeat. If no heartbeat is detected, the AED will inform you to administer a shock. If the AED prompts you to, push the shock button.
If no shock is required, the AED will inform you. Begin CPR after use.
Always make sure that you can do this without putting yourself or the patient in further danger. Ensure that the scene is safe from any hazards and that performing CPR won’t further injure the individual. Always call 9-1-1 first (or assign someone to) the operator will assist you in CPR until officials arrive. You do not need to be officially certified to perform CPR on someone, you just need to understand what you are doing, and be able to do it confidently.
