Swati Mor
Recently Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has released Home Isolation Guidelines for patients and caregivers. Considering the increase in cases of COVID-19 not just in Maharashtra but throughout the country, these guidelines are crucial to follow if you have infected members in the house.
Why it is important to take home isolation guidelines seriously?
To stop the further spread of covid. Below are the guidelines that need to be followed by the covid patient for home isolation purpose.
Home Isolation Guidelines For COVID Patients
1. Connect with ‘Aarogya Setu App’
First and foremost, download the “Aarogya Setu app” and register on it. Make sure you are active on the app and regularly check your status.
2. Follow Home Isolation Rules Diligently
Make sure that you are following all the home isolation rules :
• Live in a separate room with attached washroom and also, don’t share space with other family members.
• Follow the instruction of not sharing your personal stuff with other people in the house.
• Follow the instruction given by the physician diligently and take the routine medications as per the prescription of your doctor.
3. Identify the Early Warning Signs
If you are having any of these symptoms like –
• Having problem in breathing
• Having persistent fever more than 100˚ F
• If the oxygen saturation level is less than 95% on oxymeter
• Having cough or feeling continuous pain or pressure in the chest
• Feeling drowsy or having any mental confusion
4. Monitor Your Health Status on Your Own
It is important that you self-monitor your health status thrice a day or after every 8 hours by checking body temperature, oxygen saturation level and other symptoms.
5. Do Check Other Symptoms Too
Apart from the above-mentioned symptoms, if you have any of the symptoms like running nose/cold, headache, sore throat, cough, vomiting, Loss of smell and taste, loose motions, fatigue, body ache etc., then do consult a doctor in worsening of symptoms.
6. Maintain Hygiene Etiquettes Properly
Disinfect the surfaces that are touched often such as doorknobs, window knobs, table, chair and other handles once or twice a day with 1% hypochlorite solution.
7. Discard the Mask After Use
Make sure you are wearing a triple-layer medical mask that covers your nose, mouth and face properly. Also, Discard the mask after use or when they become wet or visibly soiled, only after disinfecting it with 1% Sodium Hypo-chlorite for 15 mins.
8. Regularly Wash Your Hands or Sanitize Them
Wash your hands using soap and water for at least 40 secs using 7 steps of handwashing. Preferably, wash your hands after every 2 hours, after using the washroom, after and before eating and whenever your hands look dirty. Also, after hand washing, dry your hands using a separate hand towel. You can also prefer alcohol-based sanitiser (having more than 60% alcohol) to sanitize your hands.
9. Follow “RDNE” (Rest, Diet, Nutrition, Exercise) Mantra
Make sure you take sufficient sleep of 7-8 hours to give proper rest to your body. Plus, take sufficient intake of fluid in a day, preferably 8-10 cups of water. Do warm water gargle and take steam inhalation. Maintain a rich in protein and fibre diet containing adequate fruits and vegetables. Do yoga or meditation to de-stress yourself. Avoid smoking, consuming alcohol or any other habit that can slow down the recovery process.
10. Treatment Protocol (For Home Isolation)
Follow the above-mentioned guidelines and those patients who do not have family physician are advised the following medications (As per the BMC home isolation guidelines) :
• For asymptomatic patients
Tab. Vitamin C 500 twice a day (Daily)
Tab. Zinc 50 mg once per day (Daily)
Tab. Vit. D 60000 IU stat (Only once during the treatment)
• For mild symptomatic patients
Tab. Vitamin C 500 twice a day (Daily)
Tab. Zinc 50 mg once per day (Daily)
Tab. Vit. D 60000 IU stat (Only once during the treatment)
Tab. Paracetamol SOS if fever
Tab. Levocetrizine if cold
Warm salt water gargle and steam inhalation (3 times a day)
Special care needs to be taken in case of senior citizens and patients having co-morbities like Asthma, High blood pressure, diabetes, cancer or kidney/ lung/ heart diseases. They are advised to consult their doctors regularly. Also, they are advised to carry out the following investigations from the pathology testing lab at their own expenses such as LFT, RFT, HbA1C, Fasting Sugar and CBT. This is applicable for co-morbid patients under home isolation.
Images Heta Bhuta
