VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – There was probably no good time for Covid-19 to appear, but it appears for a lot of people that it certainly could not have come at a worse time. At the tail-end of the annual influenza outbreak, when we had a little end-of-outbreak surge, it was essentially impossible to tell the flu symptoms from Covid-19 symptoms, and that is why the testing done so far has mostly been for both of the two.
It also came just as we were melting off our winter snow cover, and just a glance at the underlying grass and leaf mixture, covered with sheets of mold, will tell you that allergy sufferers are going to have problems. Fortunately, there is almost no overlap in symptoms between nasal allergies and Covid-19.
Allergies cause predominantly itchy eyes with watery eye discharge, and sneezing with watery nasal discharge, they don’t cause fever and don’t cause aching muscles. For some people with allergic asthma their wheezy cough may get a little worse. Covid-19 is known by causing fever, cough and shortness of breath, especially the latter, and hardly ever causes a runny nose or sneezing.
There is hardly any season free of allergens. When the first good rains wash the mold out of the air, the trees pollinate. Then, probably in late May and early June, the grass pollinates. Then by mid-summer, ragweed and other weeds pollinate. Harvest season needs no description. Harvest season ends about the time we go in for the winter, to rejoin our house dust.
Distinguishing between the common cold, from one of the 200 of our usual viruses and allergies can be very difficult, because a “cold” also does not cause fever or much of a cough, at least early in the course. Because of this, it is also quite easy to distinguish a common cold from Covid-19.
As noted above, there is so much overlap between influenza (the “stomach flu” is not really flu) and Covid-19 that there is no alternative for these symptoms but to test. We don’t know if warmer weather will calm down Covid-19, but usually warmer weather calms down flu quite a bit, so we hope it’s soon leaving for the year. Next fall, as soon as the flu vaccine is available, get a flu shot. And, whenever we are fortunate enough to get a vaccine for Covid-19, get that too!
For more information on COVID-19 go to www.health.nd.gov and click on coronavirus (more information) or contact City County Health District about any concerns or needs that you may have (845-8518).
This article was written by Dr. James Buhr, family physician at Sanford Health and the county health officer and the article comes to you from City County Health District.
CORONAVIRUS: Advance Directives (written statement of your healthcare wishes)
An advance directive is a written statement of a person’s wishes regarding medical treatment. In this time of uncertainty you may want to share your wishes with your family, in other words complete an advance directive.
All of us over 50 know that for our own good as well as the good of our family, it is important to prepare for catastrophes that may come at the end of our life, because when the time comes we will likely not be able or willing to make difficult calculations. For decades, people have been encouraged to make a plan, so that in an emergency, people who come to help in that emergency will know our wishes.
Many older people decide that after a certain age they would not want the intensive care that cardiopulmonary resuscitation requires, chest compressions, a tracheal tube, breathing from a machine, perhaps heart surgery to open up a blocked artery. For others that is exactly what they would want. As with any planning, we have to make a plan without knowing exact details about how a future catastrophe might come.
With the knowledge that the coming coronavirus catastrophe might mean from 1 to 3 weeks on a ventilator machine, it is a good time for all of us to review how we feel about very aggressive treatment at the present stage in our lives. The recent death from coronavirus in North Dakota, a man who chose not to go on a ventilator, brought this to our attention very clearly.
One way of preparing for details that are impossible to know now, is to designate a family member or friend, one that you really trust to listen to you, and designate that person as your Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care. It is important to make that person aware of your feelings, either in favor of or against aggressive lifesaving measures, so if you are unable to express your wishes at the time of a sudden illness, that person can make the right decisions for you, based on what you have told them.
Many Advance Directive forms are available online, including one from the Family Medicine journal, American Family Physician, at https://www.aafp.org/afp/1999/0201/p617.html. Though published 20 years ago, it seems to be as timely as ever. It will direct you to express in writing your clear intentions and who your durable power of attorney will be.
For more information on COVID-19 go to www.health.nd.gov and click on coronavirus (more information) or contact City County Health District about any concerns or needs that you may have (845-8518).
This article was written by Dr. James Buhr, family physician at Sanford Health and the county health officer and comes to you from City County Health District.