Almost all of us get sick. I get sick. You get sick. The kids get sick. Almost every single person on the planet Earth becomes sick once in a while. Sometimes we can be the most careful of people and still get sick.
If you have read past weeks' blog posts you know how to do your best to keep from getting sick, but what if you do?
This week's article will—with hope—answer that question and more for you.
Take care of yourself
If you get sick, take care of yourself. I know sometimes that can be very hard to do especially when you have children or other people that you have to care for. However, if you don't take care of yourself when you come down with any kind of virus or infection you won't be very good for others, either.
Taking care of yourself can take many forms. It might look like added rest when possible. It might mean taking time off of work. I understand that sometimes it just isn't possible to take the time off or the kids need to go to practice or a thousand other things that describe life in the 2020s.
As difficult as it is, if we don't take care of ourselves when we are ill, it is going to be detrimental to not only our health but even to those around us. I am not even talking about COVID-19 and the many variants. I am talking about plain, old, garden-variety flu.
Remember before COVID when most of us went to work no matter how sick we were? Well, COVID has changed that for a good number of us. Our employers—for the most part—do not want us to come in if we are sick.
The little "break" you get while out sick can be so beneficial to you, though.
Keep Hydrated!
Another part of taking care of yourself is to stay hydrated! I don't think we can emphasize this enough. A good number of us are dehydrated much of the time anyway, but it is even worse when we are sick. When your throat hurts, you don't feel like drinking anything.
While there are many things we can drink, the best for keeping dehydration at bay is just plain old H2O (water).
The Mayo Clinic lists several possible culprits behind dehydration (1):
Causes
Sometimes dehydration occurs for simple reasons: You don't drink enough because you're sick or busy, or because you lack access to safe drinking water when you're traveling, hiking, or camping.
Other dehydration causes include:
Diarrhea, vomiting. Severe, acute diarrhea — that is, diarrhea that comes on suddenly and violently — can cause a tremendous loss of water and electrolytes in a short amount of time. If you have vomiting along with diarrhea, you lose even more fluids and minerals.
Fever. In general, the higher your fever, the more dehydrated you may become. The problem worsens if you have a fever in addition to diarrhea and vomiting.
Excessive sweating. You lose water when you sweat. If you do vigorous activity and don't replace fluids as you go along, you can become dehydrated. Hot, humid weather increases the amount you sweat and the amount of fluid you lose.
Increased urination. This may be due to undiagnosed or uncontrolled diabetes. Certain medications, such as diuretics and some blood pressure medications, also can lead to dehydration, generally because they cause you to urinate more.
The same article also lists some things to look for when a person is dehydrated:
Symptoms
Thirst isn't always a reliable early indicator of the body's need for water. Many people, particularly older adults, don't feel thirsty until they're already dehydrated. That's why it's important to increase water intake during hot weather or when you're ill.
The signs and symptoms of dehydration also may differ by age.
Infant or young child
Dry mouth and tongue
No tears when crying
No wet diapers for three hours
Sunken eyes, cheeks
Sunken soft spot on top of the skull
Listlessness or irritability
Adult
Extreme thirst
Less frequent urination
Dark-colored urine
Fatigue
Dizziness
Confusion
When to see a doctor
Call your family doctor if you or a loved one:
Has had diarrhea for 24 hours or more
Is irritable or disoriented and much sleepier or less active than usual
Can't keep down fluids
Has bloody or black stool
The bottom line is to keep yourself hydrated. It will make you healthier all around!
Don't forget to keep your home clean and sanitized!
When we are sick, one of the last things we want to think about is cleaning! But keeping our spaces clean and sanitized is a vital part of keeping ourselves and our families, friends, co-workers, classmates, and everyone else safer from getting sick, too.
Cleaning/sanitizing with Vital Oxide is one way that you can help keep yourself from getting sick in the first place and to help keep you from getting sick again!
Use this product regularly to keep your spaces free from bacteria, microbes, and other nasty things that would love to make their home in your body!
And...
Our EPA Registered, NSF Approved, Hospital Grade, Deep Disinfection Service Kills 99.999% of Viruses, Bacteria and Pathogens has been approved by the EPA for use against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that caused the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). We meet the EPA's emerging pathogen requirements for viruses showing efficacy against the enveloped and non-enveloped virus, both large and small. Viruses, bacteria, mold, and mildew have no chance of survival!
Remembering to keep doing our due diligence to keep ourselves and our family, friends, and others safer and healthier is all part of living and working together!
Resources
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