General Wellness

I posted something about the dangers of isolation earlier this week. Here is information about additional physical risks of isolation.

Recently published studies report that there were 500,000 more deaths in the US in March and April 2020 than in the same period in the prior 6 years. More than 50% of those were related to diabetes, stroke and heart disease and not Covid. In NYC, the out-of-hospital heart attack rate was 3 x higher in March and April than in previous years. A Mississippi study showed that, whereas the typical heart failure hospital admission rate was about 30 per week (pretty sad stat by itself), at the height of the pandemic, the rate was only 5 per week. These people were not miraculously getting better, they were worsening or dying.

The fear of contracting the virus has led to a trail of additional illness and death. As I mentioned in the other post, anxiety levels have quadrupled and depression and suicide rates have also climbed during Covid. As far as the additional medical deaths, some of factors leading to these deaths include:

• Delayed in treatment either through not going to the doctor or refusing procedures which could be lifesaving. Some of the life-saving procedures people have been foregoing include kidney dialysis, stent placement during a heart attack or even emergency abdominal surgery.
• Delay in blood work leading to worsening disease states which could otherwise be treated.
• Financial issues because of unemployment leading to people not being able to afford their medications. As an aside, Americans pay almost an order of magnitude (10x) more for meds than anywhere else in the world. Insulin, for example, is on average 8x more expensive than any other developed country!

The fact that so many more people are dying reveals the impact Covid fear and isolation is having on people.

When all this started back in the late winter, one of my hopes was that this pandemic would be a wake up call for people to maybe have a look at their lives and change their lifestyle habits. All of these, mostly lifestyle related deaths are terrible and all were preventable. Unfortunately, most people have really done nothing for themselves either and most people’s health has not improved overall with the average American gaining more weight since the lockdown.

The isolation led to less traffic and clear benefits to the environment. We all looked in amazement as wild animals walked the streets and man-made and natural structures, previously not visible because of smog, were now clearly visible. Waters became cleaner. Nature benefited, until restrictions eased and in many places, people went back to their usual wasteful ways. 

The point is, work on your health and lifestyle choices to better yourselves and the planet as a whole BUT in the meantime, if you have a serious condition, don’t delay your appointments or avoid going to the hospital if something serious is going on. You need to mitigate the risks by wearing a mask and washing your hands regularly. Although you don’t want to catch this virus, especially if you already have some kind of chronic disease, the alternatives aren’t much better if something serious is going on.

DISTANCE. Whereas I have been promoting PHYSICAL vs SOCIAL DISTANCING, sadly, because of the rising numbers, we have to be careful of the social situations we decide to engage in. No large groups. No crowded places. It will soon be time to lock down as things continue to spiral downwards. It’s already happened in most of Europe.

WEAR A MASK.Wear an effective one and wear it correctly. 

WASH YOUR HANDS. Don’t rely on hand sanitizers unless it’s an emergency. DON’T TOUCH YOUR FACE.  

VENTILATE.  

VACCINATE. 

GET HEALTHY.  

Stay safe and be well.  

AC 😎✌️🌱❤🐖🏃🏻🧘🏻‍♂️🌎😷

ADDENDUM. I was going to post this earlier but other things popped up. Covid-19 case numbers are again on the rise, not just in the majority of US states but also in 80% of European cities leading to re-instituted lockdown measures.

Hospitals are strained here and abroad, in many places running out of ICU beds already. It’s looking like the spring all over again. Despite that, below is the post. I would only add that you should now try to avoid crowds, especially inside. Keep your interactions limited to a close group of people, your own “bubble” with adequate ventilation. We are headed towards another lockdown.

ORIGINAL POST

One of lifestyle medicine pioneers Dr. Dean Ornish’s pillars of health is “LOVE More”. The other three are “EAT Well”, “MOVE more” and “STRESS less”. His studies, as well as Dan Buettner’s studies of the “Blue Zone” societies, where people have the longest life spans along with the best health spans, have clearly shown how important social connections are in promoting health, happiness, vitality and longevity. A recent book by Marta Zaraska, “Growing Young: How Friendship, Optimism, and Kindness Can Help You Live to 100”, outlines the importance of social interaction and its impact on health and longevity and how it’s even more important than what you eat or how often you exercise. She reports that building a strong support network of family and friends lowers mortality risk by about 45% whereas exercise lowers that risk by 23-33% and eating 6 servings of fruit and vegetables per day can cut premature death by 26%.

One of the unfortunate side effects of the Covid-19 pandemic has been the resultant isolation many feel and now, outright paranoia about personal interactions. I have met many patients, have family and friends, who have told me that they have basically not left the house or interacted with anyone else, or with an extremely limited number of people, since all this began now coming on 9 months ago. No eating out. Limited essential shopping. No get-togethers. No strolling at the mall or even outdoors on a trail. Yes, all of these situations increase the risks of getting infected, but the isolation is starting to raise even greater health risks. Anxiety levels have quadrupled and depression and suicide are on the rise since all this started. People’s behavior around each other is strained and awkward.

The bottom line is that we need to socialize and interact, just do it in an intelligent and careful way. We evolved in social groups, relying on each other, and we need each other more than ever now.

The saddest part of our administration’s failure in promoting the health benefits of mask wearing and physical distancing is that it has made people even more paranoid as the number of infections and deaths keep rising. There have been documented infections from just about every rally and mass gathering, where the basics were not followed. 

We need to get out and mingle, albeit in a new way, for now. There are ways of doing it safely. We know that the likelihood of catching covid from food is remote. The likelihood of catching it from mail and packages is also remote. Follow the basics and you diminish the risks of catching it dramatically. There is no such thing as NO RISK. But sitting at home, not interacting, also poses risks. You could fall down the stairs, cut your head on a cabinet door, have a blood clot from laying around on the couch, ALL remote possibilities, but not impossible. In 2019, 40,000 people died in car accidents in the US and 4.4 million suffered injuries bad enough to seek medical attention. 34,000 died as a result of falls. 

The point is that there are risks just being alive. It’s all about mitigating those risks and isolating ourselves, although important in some situations, is not good for too long.

DISTANCE. Physical distancing, not social distancing. We need each other.

WEAR A MASK.Wear an effective one and wear it correctly.

WASH YOUR HANDS. Don’t rely on hand sanitizers unless it’s an emergency.

DON’T TOUCH YOUR FACE. 

VENTILATE. 

VACCINATE.

GET HEALTHY.

Stay safe and be well. 

AC

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