General Wellness

WEAR A MASK, BUT DO IT RIGHT!

There is no question that masks help. They are not 100% but even the cloth masks can reduce the amount of particles you spread by 6x. They protect you from those around you and, more importantly, they protect others from you. I say more importantly because it shows everyone around you that you care about not spreading the virus if you have been infected. Wearing a mask is good for you and good for everyone else. No conspiracy, just common sense.

HOWEVER, if you don’t wear or handle it correctly, you may be actually making things worse.

The virus first infects, and resides in the nose and back of the nose (nasopharynx). When you exhale, most people do so through their noses so viral particles may come out. If you wear a mask only covering your mouth, you are only getting and providing half, if not less, of the protection it could provide. You must cover the whole mouth AND nose for full efficacy.
Stop readjusting the mask by touching the front or the top. You are simply either depositing virus there or picking it up from the mask and then you can infect yourself or any surfaces you touch.
Lastly, when you take off the mask, do so from the ear loops or head ties or from the side. Again if you touch the front, you may have just contaminated the mask

As far as decontamination goes, the virus won;t love for more than a few days, especially in the heat of a car on the dashboard in the sun. I keep 2-3 in my car and have a designated one to go in and out of my office. The cloth ones can be washed normally in the laundry. You don’t need bleach.

GLOVES. These are overall unnecessary. Although they might prevent you from getting the virus on your hands, the virus doesn’t penetrate the skin and if you do all the same things with gloves as you would with your hands, you may actually be worse off. I see people touching things with gloved hands, then adjusting their masks, then rummaging through their purses or bags… What’s the point? Just handle things as you would normally , carefully, but always wash your hands and/or use hand sanitizer.

Stay safe and be well.

AC 😎✌️🌱❤🐖🏃🏻🧘🏻‍♂️🌎😷

BOYCOTTING MEAT? 

MEAT PACKING PLANTS – What the heck is going on?

There is a movement to boycott meat. The impetus is primarily to protect the workers who had very stressful working conditions before this pandemic but are now also getting slammed with Covid. I think meat should also be boycotted because, if we did not eat meat, Covid-19, along with just about every other mass infection out there would not have occurred, and we would all be healthier. In addition, there would be significantly less global warming not to mention animal abuse.

President Trump has announced that meat-packing plants are “essential”, basically forcing workers in those plants to keep working. Let’s be clear. This is a financial decision, not a public health decision. No one will die without meat but many people are dying because of it. The workers are dying. The public is dying from chronic diseases and a significant contributor to those diseases is our obsession with meat and dairy.

In the US alone, so far, 27,000 cases of Covid have been linked to these plants and over 200 meat plant workers have died from it, including 5 inspectors. What makes working in these facilities such a significant risk?

1. Poor PPE. Although they have gotten better at separating workers and providing masks, it is impossible to make them any safer. 
2. They are cooped up in close quarters.
3. Long hours = more exposure.
4. Little movement. They are usually relegated to one station and they stay there all day.
5. Indoors = continuous exposure.
6. Shared equipment.
7. Cold environment. Although they get hot and sweaty in their clothing and masks, which also increases spread, working in a refrigerated environment allows the virus to live much longer than in warmer working conditions. This equates to increased exposure.
8. Shared transportation. Many of these workers are poor and ride-share. Great for the environment but terrible for infection spread.
9. Stressful job. Stress impairs the immune system making them more vulnerable to get sick.

We are so accustomed to getting what we want when we want it and give little thought to the process leading to the food that ends up on our plates. We need to be more aware of where our food comes from and how it was grown or raised. How it was harvested or slaughtered. How it was transported. How it was handled… Sounds like a lot, but that awareness is important. We need to make well informed choices and make healthy, responsible and ethical choices, not just for our own health, but also for the health of everyone else.

As Maya Angelou said “Do the best you can until you know better. When you know better, do better”.

Stay safe and be well. 

AC 😎✌️🌱❤🐖🏃🏻🧘🏻‍♂️🌎😷