Enjoy Your Life With Covid 19
because WhatsApp University has your back
There was a time when I was a favourite student of WhatsApp University. When I realised the ultimate quality of education there, I was so envious of it that I quit. After all, those of us who have had the privilege to attend the mainstream universities would be jealous of the free-and-open system. This is why I dropped out of the university (and I made a video about it as well):
A couple of days ago, I read a circular from the university that reminded me of Solzhenitsyn:
Hastiness and superficiality are the psychic diseases of the twentieth century.
(Of course, I did not remember his name—thanks, Goodreads! By the way, he is right about two centuries.)
Here goes what I read:
Head of Infectious Diseases Clinic, University of Maryland, USA says:
We may have to live with C19 for months or years. Don’t deny or panic. Don’t make your life a misery. Let’s learn to live with this reality.
You can’t destroy the C19 virus that has penetrated the cell walls, by drinking liters of hot water – you’ll just be going to the bathroom more often.
Washing your hands and maintaining a physical distance is your best method of protection.
If you do not have a C19 patient at home, there is no need to disinfect your home.
Grocery bags / plastic bags, gas stations, shopping carts and ATMs do not cause infection.Wash your hands, live your life as usual.
C19 is not a food infection. It is associated with infectious droplets such as flu. There is no demonstrated risk that C19 is transmitted by ordering food.
You can lose your sense of smell by using a lot of anti-allergies and viral infections. These are only non-specific symptoms of C19.
Once you get home, you don’t need to change clothes immediately and take a shower! Cleanliness is a virtue but not paranoia!
The C19 virus does not fly through the air. This is a respiratory drop infection that requires close contact.
The air is clean, you can walk to parks and public places (just keep your physical distance for protection)
Just use regular soap against C19, no need for anti-bacterial soap. These are viruses, not bacteria.
You don’t have to worry about your food orders. But you can heat everything in the microwave, if you want.
The possibility of bringing the C19 home in your shoes is like being struck by lightning twice a day. I’ve worked against viruses for 20 years – drop infections don’t spread like that!
You can’t be protected from viruses by consuming vinegar, sugarcane juice and ginger! It’s just for immunity not medicine.
Wearing a mask for a long time interferes with your breathing and oxygen levels. Wear it only in crowded places.
Wearing gloves is also a bad idea; the virus can accumulate in gloves and is easily transmitted if you touch your face. Better to just wash your hands regularly.
Immune system gets very weak by always living in a sterile environment. Even if we are taking immune-boosting supplements / medicines, please regularly leave your house to the park / beach or anywhere else. Immunity is increased by EXPOSURE TO PATHOGENS, not by sitting at home and consuming fried/spicy/sweet foods & fizzy drinks.
Original article:- https://theazb.com/we-will-live-with-covid19-for-months-lets-not-deny-it-o nor-panic- dr-faheem-younus /
Very good article, must be read by everyone.
First, the disclaimer: I’m not a medical or paramedical professional. What you are about to read is not medical advice. You will see a collection of tweets from an expert in the field—the tweets are advice from a professional. This post is for the purpose of general information and awareness.
Before we talk about this message, I want to state that some of the points mentioned in it are true. Second, we have still not fully understood this virus—we know a lot, but not everything. (It does not matter which great sage claims what, or whether someone predicted this thousands, hundreds or tens of years ago.) This is a “new” virus, and we learn something new about it every month if not every week.
Dr Faheem Younus (who happens to be from our neighbouring country) is a respectable figure in his field. He actively tweets about COVID-19. And I collected these tweets from his timeline. I think the creator of the message paraphrased the doctor, and in my view, that is where the problem lies.
Dr Younus has been vocal about not being paranoid. He advocates use of masks, and other COVID-appropriate behaviour. What this forwarded message does is take it a couple of notches up and talk about complete liberalisation of the protocol in closing.
That is not the way to go.
Working with such messages is tricky, because they have some truth in them. Let us take one point at a time and see what makes sense and what does not.
Do not deny or panic
We may have to live with C19 for months or years. Don’t deny or panic. Don’t make your life a misery. Let’s learn to live with this reality.
C19: what a cool way to say COVID-19! In general, this is true. We have no reason to panic, nor should you deny the fact that there is the pandemic. All those who publicly showed the virus their arrogance suffered from the infection (figuratively speaking). Some even succumbed to it.
Having said that, let me also say that a friend of mine (whom you can find on Instagram here) has been volunteering here in Bangalore since April 2020, and has not caught the virus yet. He gets himself tested frequently given the possibility of exposure; he has always tested negative so far, nor does he have antibodies against the virus, which could mean he’s never had the infection. Thirteen months of close contact with COVID-positive patients, and he has not caught the infection, for a simple reason: He wears a mask when out and about, and wears PPE when handling patients and mortal remains over hours. That is not to say that he will never get infected (I hope he never does). The point is that personal protection has protected him for thirteen months, despite the constant, close contact with the infected.
In other words, he has learnt to live with this reality.
On hot water and the virus
You can’t destroy the C19 virus that has penetrated the cell walls, by drinking liters of hot water – you’ll just be going to the bathroom more often.
True. Those who claim that steam and hot water can kill the virus are wrong. Steam may help alleviate some symptoms, but it does nothing to prevent or kill the virus.
On the best method of protection
Washing your hands and maintaining a physical distance is your best method of protection.
True in that washing hands is a best practice. Until we are all vaccinated, personal protection is the way to go. In fact, Dr Younus says:
DON’T waste your time/money/energy to:
— Faheem Younus, MD (@FaheemYounus) November 5, 2020
- Wipe down groceries
- Wear gloves in public
- Change shoes/clothes after returning home
- Inhale steam/drink hot water to kill virus
- pop vitamins/herbs
Instead: wash hands, wear a mask, avoid crowds
Exercise patience, not passion
On disinfecting our homes
If you do not have a C19 patient at home, there is no need to disinfect your home.
Here is what he had tweeted:
Myth #9: One of the best strategies to prevent COVID-19 is to clean every door knob in your home with disinfectants.
— Faheem Younus, MD (@FaheemYounus) March 17, 2020
Wrong. Hand washing/maintaining 6ft distance is best practice. Unless you’re caring for a COVID patient at home, your home surfaces should not be a big risk.
On shopping bags
Grocery bags / plastic bags, gas stations, shopping carts and ATMs do not cause infection. Wash your hands, live your life as usual.
This is something that the doctor has been saying for a long time. I also found this tweet (rather, thread):
COVID Myth-busting Thread: Too many myths floating around. Here’s part 2.
— Faheem Younus, MD (@FaheemYounus) March 22, 2020
1/10: Avoid shipped packages/gas pumps/shopping carts/ATMs or you’ll die.
Wrong.
Coronavirus surface survival is one thing; that surface causing an infection is another. Wash your hands; live your life
On take-out food
C19 is not a food infection. It is associated with infectious droplets such as flu. There is no demonstrated risk that C19 is transmitted by ordering food.
And I found this tweet.
2/10: You can catch COVID-19 from ordering takeout food/Chinese food (or the packaging of food).
— Faheem Younus, MD (@FaheemYounus) March 22, 2020
Wrong.
COVID-19 is a droplet related infection (like flu) not a food-borne infection (like salmonella etc.). There is no documented COVID risk with take-out food.
My folks were paranoid about ordering food from outside. But being a Bangalorean, avoiding street food is impossible for me. Once, we ordered some chāt while working on our volunteering report at my friend’s place:
I was in self-quarantine at the time to prevent transmitting a potential infection to my family. My being fine at the end of the quarantine convinced them that ordering food was safe. We have been ordering food since. At home. All good. The disease has not spread through food so far.
On the sense of smell
You can lose your sense of smell by using a lot of anti-allergies and viral infections. These are only non-specific symptoms of C19.
Well, the last part is true; I found an almost-verbatim tweet:
4/10: If you lose your sense of smell, you have COVID.
— Faheem Younus, MD (@FaheemYounus) March 22, 2020
FALSE.
It’s common to temporarily lose one’s sense of smell with many viral infections/allergies. It’s a non-specific symptom that may or may not happen with COVID. https://t.co/Z2fzZrkEA7
I do not know what “anti-allergies” are. But non-specific here means that losing smell does not necessarily mean that you have COVID-19. Meaning, anosmia also has other causes. You may want to get tested, though:
Diagnostic Tip:
— Faheem Younus, MD (@FaheemYounus) June 3, 2020
Get tested for COVID if you have ANY symptom from this list:
Nausea/diarrhea
Rash/red toes
Headache/confusion
Fatigue/body aches
Loss of taste/smell
Cough, sore throat, chest pain
Fever, chills
~20% patients DON’T have typical fever + respiratory symptoms
The idea here is to not panic. (Also, in case of India, the percentages are different. For example, majority of the cases in Bangalore have been asymptomatic.)
On showering
Once you get home, you don’t need to change clothes immediately and take a shower!
Again, I do not shower every time I get back home—from, say, the store—these days. I used to do that back in April and May 2020, but our understanding of the virus has evolved since.
8/10: Always change your clothes/shower after coming home. Or you will bring coronavirus to your family.
— Faheem Younus, MD (@FaheemYounus) March 22, 2020
Wrong.
Cleanliness is a virtue; paranoia isn't. Let’s not scare people. Our biggest return on investment is in handwashing, staying 6 feet away, avoiding large crowds, etc.
Airborne or not
The C19 virus does not fly through the air. This is a respiratory drop infection that requires close contact.
The virus is airborne. Experts have said this before, and the US Centres for Disease Control (CDC) The virus is an airborne threat, the C.D.C. acknowledges. (The New York Times) and the WHO WHO Finally Admits Coronavirus Is Airborne. It’s Too Late (Forbes) agree. But “airborne” here does not mean “getting carried around by the air for kilometres”. The scientific language is a little unusual for most of us, but in closed environments, the virus tends to travel more than a couple of metres and hang in the air for a long period of time.
The best defence against this is wearing a mask, and wearing it properly—fully covering your nose and mouth. Wearing a mask will reduce the chances of your catching the virus. The viral load matters in case of COVID-19. The higher the amount of the virus you inhale, the higher are your chances of getting a severe disease.
A study done about the virus’ airborne nature in close environments said, in fact, that the virus can hang in the air in apartment buildings for long. Doctors also advice us to be careful when using public toilets. In such small enclosures, the virus can hang in the air for hours. Watch this video:
The easiest way to prevent infection and protecting others apart from ourselves is wearing a mask.
Remember, this is science. Science works on evidence. And observations and protocols may change based on new evidence. What the doctor means by “not airborne” is that the virus does not get carried around to long distances and remain viable. If you hear Dr Rakesh Mishra in the video above, he says that those performing the experiment could “detect the virus as far as 20 feet from the subject in a closed room”. Does this mean the virus is airborne? Technically, yes. Practically, it depends on the environment.
Take the doctor’s more recent advice instead:
Sanity Tip:
— Faheem Younus, MD (@FaheemYounus) April 18, 2021
Worry less about the virus’ behavior (variants, airborne, duration of immunity etc) — experts working on that
Worry more about personal behavior. Wear a N95/KN95 mask, avoid big crowds & VACCINATE
Focus on what’s in YOUR control and keep living — cautiously
On taking a walk in the park
The air is clean, you can walk to parks and public places (just keep your physical distance for protection)
I did find a tweet related to this from the doctor:
COVID mythbusting: Part 3
— Faheem Younus, MD (@FaheemYounus) March 29, 2020
Myth: Coronavirus is airborne.
Wrong:
It’s a droplet infection, requiring close contact. The NEJM article only hinted at the virus’ ability to be aerosolized in a lab.
Our air is CLEAN! Walk in a park!
WHO also approves this position. pic.twitter.com/suQx9oNIw3
But the tweet is from March 2020. According to newer findings, the virus is airborne (read above). Although, based on what I understand, taking a walk in the park is still safe, given conditions like a small number of people, great air circulation, people wearing masks, etc.
Caution is necessary. Talk to your doctor to know more. Based on what I have understood from the doctors I have spoken to, transmission while walking in the park is highly unlikely, provided you handle your personal protection.
Again, watch the video clip above, you will understand.
Antibacterial soap
Just use regular soap against C19, no need for anti-bacterial soap. These are viruses, not bacteria.
No matter what, this is not going to change.
Myth: Using the expensive antibacterial soap is better in preventing COVID than regular soap.
— Faheem Younus, MD (@FaheemYounus) March 29, 2020
Wrong:
CoronaVIRUS is not a bacteria, remember?
Donate extra money to the needy during this time of hardship. Use regular soap instead.
And soaps are better than sanitizers.
Myth #8: Hand sanitizers are better than soap and water.
— Faheem Younus, MD (@FaheemYounus) March 17, 2020
Wrong. Soap and water actually kills and washes away the virus from skin (it can not penetrate our skin cells) plus it also cleans visible soiling if hands. Don’t worry if Purrell was sold out at your supermarket.
Microwave food
You don’t have to worry about your food orders. But you can heat everything in the microwave, if you want.
Well, not those words (not “everything” anyway), but:
Myth: Don’t order food from a restaurant. What if a COVID positive person had coughed or sneezed at it? You’d get COVID.
— Faheem Younus, MD (@FaheemYounus) March 29, 2020
Wrong:
Not a single +case has been linked to food. CDC/USDA agree. Norovirus is feco-oral.
If you’re still concerned, microwave the food for 2 minutes.
Virus in shoes
The possibility of bringing the C19 home in your shoes is like being struck by lightning twice a day. I’ve worked against viruses for 20 years – drop infections don’t spread like that!
Here is an almost-verbatim tweet by him:
Myth: You can bring Coronavirus into your home via shoes.
— Faheem Younus, MD (@FaheemYounus) March 29, 2020
Panic alert!!!
From that logic, lightening can also strike you twice in a day. Don’t get panicked by such hypotheticals.
I’ve diagnosed/treated viruses for 20 years. Droplet infections don’t spread that way. pic.twitter.com/sv0yfwSTZ0
Protection using sugarcane
You can’t be protected from viruses by consuming vinegar, sugarcane juice and ginger! It’s just for immunity not medicine.
Nope. I do not think he said this; I do not think he ever suggested ginger for immunity, because:
Immunity Boosters:
— Faheem Younus, MD (@FaheemYounus) August 6, 2020
Do you:
Maintain ideal body weight?
Exercise 30 min/day?
Sleep 7-8 hours?
If no, then focus on these 3-things to fight COVID + wash hands, wear mask, avoid crowds to prevent it
There is no short-cut to “boosting immunity” with garlic, ginger, sana makki etc
Myth:
— Faheem Younus, MD (@FaheemYounus) June 3, 2020
A famous doctor said we should take yogurt, garlic, ginger, olive and fig leaves to fight/prevent COVID
And avoid sugar and mosquito sprays
Truth:
There is no proven research behind any of the above opinions.
It may be well intentioned, but it’s still made up stuff
Mask interferes with breathing
Wearing a mask for a long time interferes with your breathing and oxygen levels. Wear it only in crowded places.
Wrong.
Impossible that a doctor of his calibre would say this. Also, no, wearing a mask DOES NOT interfere with your breathing or oxygen levels. If you are looking to do any cardiovascular exercises (“cardio”) or anything that requires heavy breathing, talk to your doctor about what you should do. I wore a mask for 28 hours straight (even while sleeping) when I had to spend a day in the hospital. I had a machine monitoring my vitals. Oxygen saturation in my blood was between 98% and 100% throughout.
Do not believe me? Here, this is what Dr Younus has to say:
Myth: Wearing facemasks reduces oxygen flow, increases carbon dioxide, causes headaches, activates viruses...people are dying
— Faheem Younus, MD (@FaheemYounus) June 25, 2020
Fact: Its NONSENSE. Masks don’t cause hypoxia or CO2 retention. Doctors/surgeons have been wearing them for ages. https://t.co/Rq9psbw5Uu
And no, I did not find a tweet of his that says that wearing a mask interferes with oxygen levels. One never will.
Also, I have never had to remove my mask while climbing stairs. (I tried five floors at a stretch.) Sure, everyone is different. If you feel breathless, stop to take rest; do not remove your mask. Talk to your doctor if you suffer from breathing abnormalities.
Wearing gloves
Wearing gloves is also a bad idea; the virus can accumulate in gloves and is easily transmitted if you touch your face. Better to just wash your hands regularly.
Yes, I could find this tweet. As expected.
Myth: COVID can penetrate through skin. Wear gloves.
— Faheem Younus, MD (@FaheemYounus) March 29, 2020
Wrong: The virus does not get transmitted through skin. Wearing gloves is a bad idea because virus may accumulate on the glove and if you touch your face it’s easily transmitted. Plus gloves can rip.
Handwashing is best!
Exposure to pathogen for immunity
Immune system gets very weak by always living in a sterile environment. Even if we are taking immune-boosting supplements / medicines, please regularly leave your house to the park / beach or anywhere else. Immunity is increased by EXPOSURE TO PATHOGENS, not by sitting at home and consuming fried/spicy/sweet foods & fizzy drinks.
This statement is reckless. And of course, I could not find this tweet. But I found something interesting:
IMPORTANT:
— Faheem Younus, MD (@FaheemYounus) June 6, 2020
These are not my words. There are errors and typos in this viral post on FB/WhatsApp that someone adapted from my tweets without approval.
I share COVID info only on twitter. Just read through my TL here if you’d like accurate info.
Spread the word please. Thx pic.twitter.com/tplGscusMh
He talks about this WhatsApp forward in this tweet. Also, I found the same message, attributed to a different doctor. The piece also links to the right AZB article (yes, the one which you did not bother to click).
Anyway, exposure to pathogens is one way to better immunity (which is also the popular go-to advice we get from our uncles). But I do not buy the “increasing immunity” story. To me—based on my conversations with doctors—the question is about healthy and unhealthy immunity.
If you are in haste, remember that “boosted” immunity can kill you, skip the rest, and go back to WhatsApp University. If you dislike half-baked knowledge, read on:
Healthy immunity is when your body is able to detect a pathogen, react aptly, and clean up with zero to mild discomfort, without causing harm to you. Unhealthy immunity can be of two kinds, broadly: deficient immunity and untrained immunity.
Your body needs nutrients to function. Immunity is part of your bodily functions, and that needs adequate nutrition. If you are deficient in, say, vitamins or minerals, your immunity gets hit as well. This leads to a higher probability of your suffering from or succumbing to a disease. “Boosting immunity” may work in this case, by giving your body the right dosage of the right nutrient (talk to a doctor). If your body does not have any deficiency, taking multivitamin pills will not help you. At best, your body will throw out the excess. Otherwise, this seemingly harmless “immunity boosting” could lead to complications. Too much turmeric, methi, vitamin D — Doctors fight new emergencies driven by Covid fear (ThePrint)
Untrained immunity is the second broad category in unhealthy immunity. This is like equipping children with guns, and making them guard something. In this case, your body has all the nutrients it needs, it has the capacity to produce antibodies, but the detection system is haywire, or the trigger works wrongly, etc. Auto-immunity is an example of this.
Auto-immunity causes your immunity to detect phantom infections, or to trigger unnecessarily, flooding the circulatory system with proteins and other chemicals meant to fight an infection, which could end up damaging your organs when uncontrolled.
Yes, exposure to pathogens does train your immunity over time. And yes, living in a sterile environment may cause your immunity memory to “forget” the signatures of some of the pathogens, but that does not mean you voluntarily expose yourself to pathogen, because, it could lead to unexpected results (ahem), tire you and harm your body in general.
The best, scientifically proven way to train your immunity is vaccination.
Summing up
Our knowledge of the virus continues to evolve as time passes. Follow the updates from the WHO, reputed doctors like Dr Younus, Eric Topol; official sources like the Ministry of Health (GoI), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR); reliable media outlets like ThePrint, The Hindu, Faye D’Souza, and Twitter’s list of COVID resources among other sources.
Keep yourselves updated.
If you cannot do that, follow these simple rules that are unlikely to change for COVID-19:
- Wear a mask; wear it the right way.
- Avoid crowds, maintain physical distance.
- Wash or sanitize your hands at regular intervals.
- Get vaccinated at your turn.
And share this post in your circles.