I lived in a house with two symptomatic COVID patients and tested negative
11 days ago I was placed on a mandatory 2-week quarantine, and not because I came back from a holiday trip, but because two members of my household had tested positive for COVID-19 and were showing mild to severe symptoms. As well, my mom, brother, and his pregnant wife also tested positive.
A couple of days later I got tested, and by some miracle, my results came back negative. I’ve spent much of the recent week nursing my family members and luckily everyone is starting to show signs of improvements.
It’s very well possible that I still caught the virus after my test. I’ve been exposed to COVID for over a week, but somehow avoided actually getting sick.
I’m not a doctor and my knowledge of infectious diseases is sparse (my mother is a nurse). But I do want to share a few quick tips which could help you avoid catching COVID (or at least make it less grueling).
Masks Work
I wore a mask in my house for 5 days while I was nursing my highly symptomatic family members and tested negative after being in regular contact with them.
Apparently, even if you catch COVID, you can get 'less sick' if you were wearing a mask because it reduces your exposure and potential viral load.
“The more virus you get into your body, the more sick you are likely to get,”
- Monica Gandhi, MD, an infectious disease specialist at UC San Francisco.
My Vitamin Stack
Again, I’m not a doctor or dietician, and you should probably consult with your physician before you take my advice on supplements.
This is what I’ve been taking over the past year. You can find all of these items on Amazon.
- Vitamin D — 3000–5000 IU/day
- Vitamin C w/ Rosehip — 1000mg/day
- Zinc — 40mg/day
- Oregano Oil (2 tablets/day)
- Fish Oil — 1000mg (4 capsules/day
Drop the Handset
Did you know that your phone is one of the dirtiest objects that you come into contact with? It’s been reported that a cell phone has 25,127 units of bacteria per inch. A toilet seat has 1,200 and a kitchen counter has 1,736.
If you want to avoid getting your face in contact with these germs the solution is simple — don’t use your handset to answer calls. Invest in Bluetooth headphones or put your calls on speakerphone.
Wipe your cellphone with hand sanitizer daily and avoid phone cases that have a lot of crevasses for dirt to get stuck in. Wallet cases are the filthiest — they probably have more bacteria than a cellphone and toilet combined.
Use Hand Sanitizer Often
Invest in a good hand sanitizer that doesn’t dry your hands. That’s all.
Breathing
I’ve been following Whim Hoff ever since I watched his Vice documentary and got back into his breathing exercises when I read his new book.
Regardless of whether you follow Whim’s method, there is scientific evidence behind breathing exercises that go beyond simple stress relief.
Studies have even been conducted on cancer patients where controlled breathing has shown to boost immune cells that combat cancer progression.
Lowered blood pressure and cortisol are two biological responses to controlled breathing and together these effects regulate the immune system so that it can fight off disease.
Closing Thoughts
I’m not saying you can avoid COVID simply by taking your vitamins and doing a few breathing exercises. In fact, there’s a good chance I caught COVID but was asymptomatic the entire time.
However, I believe it’s imperative for everyone to take care of their immune systems.
Even if you think that catching COVID is inevitable, do yourself a favor and prepare your body so that you don’t experience the same nightmare that my family members went through.
