Protect your immune system
It’s critical to protect your immune system as we face both the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020-2021 flu season, according to a Piedmont Living Better blog. Jemese Richards-Boyd, MD, a Piedmont primary care physician, shared ways you can boost your immune system and protect your health:
- Exercise. “Moderate exercise can boost immunity by increasing blood flow and helping to reduce chronic stress,” says Dr. Richardson-Boyd.
- Proper diet. “In general, a poor diet and lack of nutrients can interfere with the activity of your immune cells and possibly even the production of different immune cells,” she says. “If you lack the necessary nutrition and become exposed to an infection, your body may not be able to mount the response it needs to fight the infection.”
- Sleep. “Lack of sleep can negatively impact your immune system,” says Dr. Richards-Boyd. “It is important to practice good sleep hygiene to make sure you avoid common pitfalls that disrupt your ability to get restful sleep.”
- Get a flu shot. “Getting a flu shot during the pandemic is important because it is possible to get both influenza and COVID-19, as they are two separate viruses,” she explains.
- Wash your hands regularly.
- Stay home if you are sick.
Read the full recommendations at: www.piedmont.org/living-better/how-to-boost-your-immunity-during-covid
Where it hurts
Looking for a healthcare-related podcast? Kaiser Health News and St. Louis Public Radio launched a podcast about the often painful cracks in the American health system that leave people frustrated – and without the care they need. Each season, the podcast examines an overlooked part of the country, to a community suffering because of gaps in care, to a failing sector of the health care industry. Season one of the podcast, ‘No Mercy’ explores the fallout after Fort Scott, a small town in Kansas, loses its hospital. To listen to the podcast, visit https://khn.org/news/podcast-where-it-hurts-s1-no-mercy-chapter-1-it-is-what-it-is.
Sniffing out COVID
A recent Time article highlighted how dogs might play a role in detecting COVID-19 infections. One hint – their noses. Steve Lindsay, a public health entomologist at Durham University, along with collaborators at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and the U.K.-based nonprofit Medical Detection Dogs, are working on a U.K. government-funded study that will test dogs’ ability to detect COVID-19. Their goal: to train coronavirus-sniffing dogs, which could then be deployed at schools, airports and other public venues to reinforce existing nasal swab testing programs. A similar study is underway at the University of Pennsylvania. “We’re not just doing the proof of concept work, we’re also working out actively how to deploy this and scale it up as well, because we want to hit the ground running once we’ve gotten our results,” says James Logan, the head of LSHTM’s Department of Disease Control and the project lead on the U.K. study. Read about the studies at: https://time.com/5898049/covid-19-sniffing-dogs/