Is Covid over? What are the trends taking place? Reviewing the news and social media, we find articles that deal with people wanting to resume so-called normal activity. What does this mean, and are the trends wise? Can we just drop all methods recommended to prevent the spread of disease? To help us to unpack the concept and the issues involved, let us keep in mind that “participation in meaningful occupational therapy is a determinant of health” 1
Occupational therapy recognizes that engaging in meaningful occupation is an integral part of living a healthy and fulfilling life. However, we need to explore what activities or occupations are meaningful, and how to prioritize them. We will also consider whether meaning or purpose is enough. This statement is a very loaded one. It is not enough to decide on an activity you would like to pursue and presume that completing that activity will automatically result in your being healthy.
Let’s look at a few examples of choices and meaning
Jonny is a 15-year-old boy. He is new on the block, so to speak, being new to his school. As a teenager, fitting in is very important to him, and he is eager to follow what the popular crowd is doing. Jonny hears of a challenge to eat as much pizza in a set amount of time as possible. He decides to join in. After all, Jonny wants to be one of the cool guys. He needs to become accepted and presumes that following the so-called cool crowd will help him to gain friends.
Although Jonny wants to join the pizza eating challenge, he is aware that he is lactose intolerant with a gluten sensitivity. Eating pizza is a recipe to put Jonny in bed with an upset stomach or worse. The activity of joining the popular crowd for this “eat as much pizza in a limited time” might have meaning, but is it a wise decision? Will participating in this event result in health for Jonny? Or is it wiser for Jonny to admit that his dietary needs dictate that he refrain from this event, no matter what the crowd will think? What do you think is the better decision?
Chris is 17 years old. His parents have gone away for a long weekend. He has the run of the house with very few rules. One of the rules is no wild parties and no alcohol. Chris is eager to impress his friends. Like Jonny, he wants to be accepted and popular. This is part of his self-image and socializing. To Chris, throwing a party while his parents are away has a lot of meaning and appeal. Chris ignores his parents and throws a large swimming party, with alcohol too.
At the party, Chris is dared to dive into the pool from a height. What do you think? Is this a wise decision? Will following the dare lead to good health for Chris? What if Chris dives too deep? What if there is an accident? Is it so wise to disobey his parents? What are the potential consequences?
We need to look a bit deeper to learn about prevention
I can continue with further examples. The point is that there are consequences to our choices of activity, occupation, and events that we engage in. It is not always easy to make a decision or to figure out the best choice. The more we educate ourselves as to what constitutes good health and wise decisions, the more we can exercise our freedom of choice to partake in occupations that will, indeed help us to live healthy, fulfilling lives. Meaning is therefore not enough. We have to add values, beliefs, and knowledge into the mix.
When it comes to our health, there are many facets involved. Occupational Therapy has a large area of rehabilitation following an illness or injury. That is further down the road. Additionally, there is the area of promoting health and wellness. Then there is a step before promoting health which is called prevention. The aim here is to prevent accidents or prevent the spread of diseases that can result in illness and chronic illness. Just as they teach for those who have allergies, that the best action to take is to avoid the item you are allergic to, (the allergen) so too, we wish to establish protective measures. The purpose of these protective measures is to assist in preventing the spread of disease.
Considering some of the important ways to prevent spread of disease
There are several ways to limit and prevent the spread of infectious diseases. The first is regularly washing your hands. Of course, that does not mean allowing a trickle of water over your fingertips for a few seconds. By hand-washing, we mean, washing the whole hand and forearm with soap and water. We do this by developing a lather with the soap and rubbing your hands for a good 20 seconds. So effective, regular hand washing is the first step towards preventing the spread of infections.
Step two would be to reduce where you put your hands. So far, we are talking about a healthy habit to get into, regardless of whether you are a health professional or not. This habit will protect your health whether or not there is a pandemic as many diseases are spread by germs settling onto surfaces.
Step three is one that many dislike and that is observing social distancing. The recommended distance between people should be 2 meters. In certain places like a pharmacy, one can see markings on the floor to help us to observe the appropriate social distance. If we would work together and keep to this guideline, we increase our chances of reducing spread of the current infection, any other diseases that are spread by close social contact. It’s a simple step to follow, don’t you think?
Next comes the recommendation to wear masks.
If one goes for a walk or to a store or pharmacy in Israel, it is amazing to see how many ways the public has for wearing their masks. A large percentage do not wear masks at all. Then some wear masks under the nose or that keep falling under the nose causing the wearer to repeatedly touch and fidget with the mask. The problem with this habit is it goes back to steps 1 and 2.
If we are supposed to wash our hands between touching a surface and touching our body, anywhere and especially on the face, then we need a mask that will fit well enough that we do not need to touch it. It’s not very practical when out shopping to go off and wash your hands after everything you touch. The answer is, wear a mask that fits and reduce the need to touch your face.
Back to the mask wearing fashions. Others wear their mask under the mouth or the chin. Some will hang the mask from one ear, like a new style of earring. Some fancy variations include wearing the mask on the elbow or wrist, in the back pocket, on the seat next to them in the car. Often that mask will remain in the car after the person has got out and closed the door. One of the amusing options for a mask seen a few days ago was someone putting a tissue over his nose and mouth in a mini-market only to remove it as soon as the manager of the store was out of sight.
Do any of these mask-wearing habits help to promote health? Do they prevent the spread of the disease? The answer, of course, is no. While some question the effectiveness of wearing a mask, there is enough reason to wear masks that doctors, nurses, dentists, and other health professionals working in hospitals or operating theaters will wear masks routinely. Of course, they wear surgical masks.
Health professionals wear masks to protect their health, while simultaneously preventing contracting diseases from their patients. Why do we resist following their example?
Which mask should we choose?
Since there is so much play happening in the area of both wearing masks and following the rules of social distancing, we asked a few doctors what masks they would recommend. One pulmonologist said he did not have an opinion. A family doctor/internist suggested wearing the N95 mask.
The problem with the N95 mask is that it’s a little hard to come by. So we asked a third doctor. The third doctor recommended the Sonovia mask. He said he read a review about it and was impressed that the new Sonovia Pro mask has an impressive statistic of preventing 99.7% of infections from passing through. This is not limited to the Covid virus but applies to bacteria and other viruses too.
While the Sonovia mask is more expensive than the N95 and the surgical masks, it is a washable mask. The mask should be washed once a week and lasts for 55 washes. That means that it will last for a little over a year. Some facts I like about the mask:
– the Sonovia mask is created to fit more closely. To assist with this, there is a strip above the nose that one can mold to fit the nose snugly. With this better fitting, the mask does not slide down the nose. There is correspondingly no need to be constantly touching the mask or fidgeting with it. The Sonovia Pro has a section for the chin that has a seam or tuck to ensure better fitting. On the sides, the mask fits in a way that there is no leakage. This goes a long way towards reducing the spread of disease.
– The Sonovia company has applied for FDA approval. Unfortunately, it is a time-consuming process. Sonovia applied for FDA approval at the beginning of Covid. Sadly, the FDA has not yet completed whatever they need to test to give their approval. Nevertheless, on the website one can see scientific information about the mask, manufacture details, and how well it helps prevent the spread of disease.
– The team at Sonovia is very helpful. There are several methods of being able to be in touch with them. Their response to questions is prompt, polite, and professional.
– The mask is shipped right to the door. We placed an order in the late afternoon, by that evening, it was already being processed for shipping and arrived two days later. That is impressive.
A little summary
What have we learned? Sometimes we can have a motive or desire to be involved in a task, activity or event. While it is important for the activities we are involved in to have meaning and purpose, we need to add several factors to ensure that what we do will promote health. One of these factors includes having the knowledge to enable us to consider the consequences of our actions.
It is frustrating for all of us that the pandemic has continued as long as it has. I understand that it is so much more comfortable to walk around without a mask. Far easier to breath especially going up stairs or having to run. It’s a bother to have to take note of the distance between you and your fellow. Constantly washing your hands can result in dry hands. Yes your skin can begin to hurt, but there is hand cream.
I want to encourage you to follow the guidelines to promote health. This article explores just a few ideas of ways to prevent spread of disease and promote health. It really requires a way of being, a lifestyle that focuses on health and well being on all levels for all.
Looking at the statistics, Covid is not yet over. Please do your part with wearing your mask correctly, washing your hands and observing your social distancing. This is just the start, but it’s very important to help to reduce or even stop the spread of this infection.
At the beginning of Covid, many began to make serious changes, especially during the first lock down. Some therapists moved to do TeleHealth. A number of stores moved to eCommerce or added eCommerce. Change is always hard. I know that from professional experience facilitating lifestyle related groups as well as personal experience. Let’s do this together?
In future posts I hope to share many more ideas related to developing a healthy lifestyle to prevent spread of disease and to promote health, wellness and a fulfilling life.
1(https://research.aota.org/ajot/article/67/3/266/5789/Occupational-Therapy-in-Prevention-and-Wellness)