The document discusses home management of COVID-19 patients who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms. It outlines principles of patient empowerment, benefits of empowerment, and management of COVID-19 patients depending on severity. The key aspects of home management for mild COVID-19 patients include isolation, preventing cross-infection, extra protection for high-risk household members, caregiving, close monitoring of symptoms and vital signs, and reporting to a physician through telemedicine. Home management aims to build natural immunity through nutrition, hydration, exercise, hygiene and stress management.
Original Description:
ROJOSON-PEP-TALK: Home Management of COVID19 Patient (May 22, 2021)
The document discusses home management of COVID-19 patients who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms. It outlines principles of patient empowerment, benefits of empowerment, and management of COVID-19 patients depending on severity. The key aspects of home management for mild COVID-19 patients include isolation, preventing cross-infection, extra protection for high-risk household members, caregiving, close monitoring of symptoms and vital signs, and reporting to a physician through telemedicine. Home management aims to build natural immunity through nutrition, hydration, exercise, hygiene and stress management.
The document discusses home management of COVID-19 patients who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms. It outlines principles of patient empowerment, benefits of empowerment, and management of COVID-19 patients depending on severity. The key aspects of home management for mild COVID-19 patients include isolation, preventing cross-infection, extra protection for high-risk household members, caregiving, close monitoring of symptoms and vital signs, and reporting to a physician through telemedicine. Home management aims to build natural immunity through nutrition, hydration, exercise, hygiene and stress management.
choices with regards to their health care. • They have the right to be the primary decision- makers with regards to their medical conditions. Patient Empowerment (WHO): • It is a process through which people gain greater control over decisions and actions affecting their health. • It is a process in which patients understand their role, are given the knowledge and skills by their health-care provider to perform a task in an environment that recognizes community and cultural differences and encourages patient participation. Benefits of Patient Empowerment • Improvement in quality in health care administered by physicians and health care professionals because of patient- centered care. • Improvement in health outcomes because of patient participation. COVID19 patients are those infected with COVID19.
They may be symptomatic or asymptomatic.
For the symptomatic patients,
they may be in mild, moderate, severe and critical stages. Management of COVID19 patients may be done • at home • at a designated quarantine or isolation facility • at a hospital
depending on the stage and other situations.
As a general rule,
COVID19 patients with moderate, severe and
critical diseases should be managed in a hospital.
Asymptomatic and mild COVID19 can be
managed at home or at a designated quarantine or isolation facility. My PEP Talk will focus on the home management of COVID19 patients who are asymptomatic and with mild COVID19. Mild COVID19 patients are those symptomatic patients presenting with fever, cough, fatigue, anorexia, myalgia; other non- specific symptoms such as sore throat, nasal congestion, headache, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, loss of smell or loss of taste, etc. without symptoms and signs of pneumonia and hypoxia (not enough oxygen). Signs used to signify probable presence of pneumonia and hypoxia include breathing difficulty, a respiratory rate of more than 30 per minute in an adult and an oxygen saturation of less than 92% using a pulse oximeter. Once a patient comes into close contact with a patient with probable or confirmed COVID19, meaning within 6 feet of an infected person for a total of 15 minutes or more, s/he should self-quarantine (meaning stay home) right away for at least 14 days for monitoring of COVID19 symptom development. If COVID19 symptoms develop,
s/he should do strict self-isolation right
away in a room with bathroom facility and with good ventilation. While at home in quarantine or in isolation,
s/he will be managed with the best
supportive care possible with close monitoring with the assistance of a physician through telemedicine. S/he should be closely monitored for development of symptoms and signs of pneumonia and hypoxia.
If these develop, s/he should be
admitted to a hospital for further treatment. Home management of COVID19 patients is essentially family or household health management
with the following processes:
Home management of COVID19 patients (family or household health management): • Identification and segregation of suspected, probable and confirmed COVID19 household members. • Identification and segregation of asymptomatic and symptomatic COVID19 household members. Home management of COVID19 patients (family or household health management): • Identification and segregation of household members with high risk for severe diseases such as elderly age and those with chronic medical diseases. Home management of COVID19 patients (family or household health management): • Avoidance of cross infection among household members through segregation and isolation; use of face mask, face shield, and personal protective equipment; physical and social distancing; hygienic practice; decontamination and disinfection; use of properly ventilated room; etc. Home management of COVID19 patients (family or household health management): • Extra protection of the household members with high risk for severe COVID19 disease. Home management of COVID19 patients (family or household health management): • Caregiving for sick household members by relatively well members until the former get well and recover. • Close monitoring of sick household members and reporting regularly to a physician through telemedicine. In the medical management for asymptomatic and symptomatic household members,
the best supportive care is given through this
regimen: • Build and maintain innate or natural immunity against COVID19. • Take medications to control intolerable symptoms as well as the maintenance medications for existing chronic medical diseases, if present. (Ask the physician supervising the home care management.) The following are the specific measures to build and maintain innate or natural immunity against COVID19: • STOPPING ANY KIND OF TASK AND ACTIVITY AT FIRST SYMPTOM OF COVID19, ISOLATE YOURSELF AND GO TO BED RIGHT AWAY. The following are the specific measures to build and maintain innate or natural immunity against COVID19: • NUTRITION – eat HEALTHY NATURAL DIET – adequate but moderate in amount; balanced; varied (There is no need for additional vitamins and other supplements.) The following are the specific measures to build and maintain innate or natural immunity against COVID19: • HYDRATION – drink at least 8 glasses of water per day The following are the specific measures to build and maintain innate or natural immunity against COVID19: • EXERCISE – at least one hour a day (distributed over the day – walking and stretching and flexing as abled, when symptoms are subsiding or completely subsided already) The following are the specific measures to build and maintain innate or natural immunity against COVID19: • HYGIENIC PRACTICE – frequent handwashing and daily bath The following are the specific measures to build and maintain innate or natural immunity against COVID19: • STRESS MANAGEMENT – control anxiety with attitude of acceptance of COVID19 infection but coupled with optimism (positive thinking) [hope for the best but ready to accept the worst] The following are the specific measures to build and maintain innate or natural immunity against COVID19: • STRESS MANAGEMENT – • a good strategy for stress management is to formulate an intentional living plan for the next 14 days (the average duration of quarantine and isolation). Home management of COVID19 patients includes close monitoring of asymptomatic and symptomatic household members and reporting regularly to a physician through telemedicine. There must be close monitoring for and of symptoms and vital signs.
There must be a diary of the
monitoring to be shown to the physician supervising the home care management through telemedicine. The minimum vital signs that need to be monitored daily (once to thrice a day) during the entire period of quarantine and isolation include the following (your physicians may add more such as blood pressure and pulse rate): FEVER (there is fever if the oral or mouth temperature is 38 C or higher or if the armpit or forehead temperature is 37.5 C or higher)
Respiratory rate (which must be less than
30 / minute)
Oxygen saturation on the pulse oximeter
(which must not be less than 92%). Your physician will guide you on the red flags (when s/he must be contacted on an emergency basis).
S/he will advise accordingly if a household
member needs to be admitted to a hospital or not. As a general guideline, the isolation period for symptomatic household members with mild COVID19 disease ranges from 10 to 21 days with additional requirements of no fever and with progressive improvement of other symptoms for at least 3 days toward the end of the stipulated isolation period. As a general guideline,
The usual quarantine period for
asymptomatic household members with no COVID19 test is 14 days. As a general guideline,
The usual isolation period for asymptomatic
household members with confirmed COVID19 test is 10 days from the day of the positive test. Note: a physician will determine the end of quarantine and isolation period. Testing for COVID19 is done only as indicated.
The following are some principles and
indications on COVID19 tests: • Do COVID19 test if the management will differ according to the test result. • Example, if whether positive or negative, the household members will be quarantined or isolated anyway, there is no need for the test. • Do the test if there is a need to shorten the period of quarantine and isolation. Example: If the test result is negative, the initial period of quarantine and isolation can be shortened. • There is no need to repeat the COVID19 test after the prescribed quarantine and isolation period has been observed and the household members are asymptomatic and for the symptomatic members, have improved or recovered already with no fever and progressive improvement of other symptoms for at least 3 days toward the end of the stipulated isolation period. Take away in this ROJoson PEP Talk – Home Management of COVID19 Patients: • Asymptomatic and mild COVID19 patients can be managed at home with the guidance of a physician through telemedicine. Take away in this ROJoson PEP Talk – Home Management of COVID19 Patients: • Home management of COVID19 patients is essentially family or household health management with the following processes: isolation and segregation; avoidance of cross-infection; protection of high-risk members; caregiving; and close monitoring. Take away in this ROJoson PEP Talk – Home Management of COVID19 Patients: • Depending on the situations, the quarantine and isolation period ranges from a minimum of 10 days to 14 (average) to 21 days. A physician will determine the end of quarantine and isolation period. Take away in this ROJoson PEP Talk – Home Management of COVID19 Patients: • Testing for COVID19 is done judiciously and only as indicated.