October 22, 2020
Keeping well for older people
There is so much information at the moment about covid that it can be overload.
The HSE has issued a guide for older people that can be worth reading (link below) – here is a snippet from it that is reassuring and important to remember in order to keep well:
Preventing harm from COVID-19
If you can be very careful all the time, you can protect yourself from catching COVID-19, but we are all human and we all forget sometimes or maybe make a decision to do something that is not very safe. No one can guarantee you that you will not get COVID-19. Most older people who catch COVID-19 will recover. Your chance of recovering is likely to be better if:
- You keep your body active – make a plan for how to get exercise every day.
- You keep your mind active – crosswords, puzzles, music, whatever works for you.
- You look after your mental health – plan to keep in touch with people.
- You have a healthy diet and are not overweight.
- You do not smoke.
- You take good care of any long-term illness that you have.
Contact your doctor by phone if you develop symptoms of COVID-19. A lot has been learned about how to take care of people who get very sick with COVID-19. If you do catch COVID-19 you have a good chance of recovery if your doctor knows about it early and can send you for special treatment if you need it.
One of the harms from COVID-19 is the stress caused by all the changes in our lives and the fear of catching infection when you hear the number of cases is increasing. It is natural to feel this way. The good news is that even when infection is very common in your community there is great deal that you can do to keep safe and at the same time stay well and keep connected.