Given how rapidly the coronavirus spreads, there’s a chance that you or someone you love may have COVID-19 at some point if you haven’t already. If that happens, you may find it reassuring to learn how to manage the disease. First, know that there is finally some positive news about COVID-19. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized two vaccines for emergency use, and some frontline workers, people over 65, and individuals with underlying medical conditions have already received their first and even second round of shots. However, until coronavirus vaccines are widely distributed (and likely even after that), more people will unfortunately get sick, adding to the horrifyingly high case numbers we’re seeing as a country. You might not know what to do next if you get sick. We put together this list to help you care for yourself, your friends, or your family if you’re affected by COVID-19. Here is what experts say you should do from the moment you test positive (or develop symptoms that make you pretty sure you have the coronavirus).
1. Isolate as soon as you receive a positive COVID-19 test.
Understandably, you may feel a range of emotions including fear, shock, panic, anger, and more following your diagnosis. (If you haven’t gotten a test but have developed symptoms, reach out to a health care provider or your local coronavirus information line to see if it makes sense for you to try to get tested or just assume you have the virus.)
As hard as it may be, you should physically separate from others as soon as possible. That means staying home and not going anywhere, except for the hospital or doctor’s office if it becomes medically necessary. Even grabbing food at the drive-through puts other people at risk, so you may need to rely on ordering groceries and supplies online. You should keep this up until you meet some key milestones that mean you can stop isolating. (We’ll get into the specifics of that a bit later.)
If you have COVID-19, it’s best to distance yourself from others in your home as much as possible. “Ideally you’re in a separate room with a separate bathroom. You’re not sharing towels or dishes or anything like that,” Timothy Brewer, M.D., M.P.H., professor of medicine and epidemiology at UCLA, tells SELF. Of course, not everyone has their own room and bathroom. In that case, try to spend the majority of your time in a designated private space. If you need to share a bedroom, sleep six feet apart from any other people if you can, recommends the Minnesota Department of Health. (Remember that health organizations like the CDC say being within six feet of someone with COVID-19 for at least 15 cumulative minutes heightens the risk of transmission.) If the weather permits, open your windows to improve ventilation and help prevent virus particles from lingering in the air, says the CDC.
To be safe, the CDC recommends wearing a mask whenever you’re around others and only leaving your room to use the bathroom if you don’t have your own. And while surfaces don’t seem to be the main vehicle for coronavirus transmission overall, there’s some concern that the virus might last longer on objects in colder, drier winter air, so it’s still a good idea to wipe down shared areas if you want to be as safe as possible. The CDC says it’s best if the sick person cleans and disinfects major surfaces like faucet knobs, door handles, and the toilet seat lid. However, it’s understandable if you’re not feeling well enough to do that. As an alternative, someone else in the house should wait as long as they can to go in and disinfect the room themselves. (Here are more COVID-19 cleaning tips for your home.)
Eating your meals in your bedroom away from others is the safest option while isolating. If that’s not possible, try to eat as far away from others as you can.
You might wonder if it’s worth the extra effort to keep yourself away from the people you live with. The answer is yes. Dr. Brewer explains that how easily a virus is transmitted depends on how infectious a person is, how physically close the person with COVID-19 is to others, the amount of time a sick person spends near other people, and if they took other precautions like wearing a mask. Despite living together, your housemates may not get sick if you can limit your exposure to them. That said, everyone’s living situation is different, and you can only do your best with the resources you have. If it’s impossible to stay in a separate room, then you and the people in your house will want to wear masks as much as possible to reduce the possibility of transmission. And, of course, wash and sanitize your hands as often as possible.
If everyone in your house has COVID-19, then you can all isolate from the outside world together, the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health advises. But that’s only recommended if everyone tested positive. If you’re the only person in the house who definitely has COVID-19, then it’s safest if you isolate separately from everyone else while the others quarantine. Wondering what the difference is between isolation and quarantine? Keep reading.
2. Ask your housemates to quarantine.
Quarantining is a safety precaution for people who might have been exposed to COVID-19. It requires staying home to monitor yourself for symptoms for 14 days, which the CDC explains is the incubation period for the virus. If one person in a house has COVID-19, then the CDC says everyone living with that person should quarantine for 14 days. If this isn’t possible, like because someone needs to return to work, the CDC says they can end quarantine after 10 days as long as they don’t have symptoms. Alternatively, your housemates can end quarantine after seven days if they don’t have symptoms and receive a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours of breaking their quarantine. (The first day of quarantine begins on the last date someone saw the sick person. If your housemates see you daily, then their quarantine begins the day you stop isolation.)
Even if the person or people you live with feel perfectly fine, it really is best for them to quarantine if you get COVID-19. That’s because they could be asymptomatic with COVID-19 and ultimately pass the virus on to others. Of course, quarantining may not be possible for a variety of reasons, like if your partner is an essential worker and can’t take time off. In this instance, they should let their work know that they are living with someone who has COVID-19. Everyone’s circumstances are different, but the goal is to aim to do whatever possible to avoid getting other people sick.
If someone in your house develops symptoms, such as a cough, shortness of breath, or fever, they should follow the isolation plan and contact a doctor for further advice, the CDC recommends. (For reference, a fever includes temperatures of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.)
If your housemate doesn’t have a doctor, they can reach out to a local medical center or your state health department for additional advice. (You can find the health department phone numbers for states, territories, and Washington, D.C. on the CDC website.) They might need to get tested for COVID-19 or just follow the isolation plan, depending on the guidance they receive.
3. Consider designating one person as your caregiver, if possible.
If you live with other people, you may want to ask one person to help prepare your food, clean up your dishes, and manage anything else you might need. (This article can help your caregiver safely look after someone with COVID-19.) Whenever possible, choose a caregiver who is not at high risk for developing COVID-19 complications. People over 65 and anyone with chronic medical conditions such as asthma or diabetes, for instance, could be extra vulnerable if they were to come into contact with the virus. Remember, whoever is looking after you should stay home and away from other people if they can.
Both you and your caregiver should wear a mask as much as possible when you’re in close proximity to each other. If you can comfortably get up and bend over, then you may want to have your caregiver leave the food at your bedroom door to minimize contact. You can also leave your empty dishes at the door for them to pick up and wash. (They should use disposable gloves to handle your items.) If it makes more sense for you to prepare your meals yourself, follow the CDC’s advice as best as you can when using a shared space like the kitchen: Wear a mask, open windows when possible to increase airflow, disinfect anything you touch, wash your hands, and avoid sharing household objects.
4. Alert your family, friends, and primary care doctor about your situation.
If you tested positive for COVID-19 via a clinic, at-home test, or drive-through testing facility, then it’s a good idea to contact your primary care doctor if you have one. “[They] can provide more medical guidance based on your medical history and current state of health,” Jade Flinn, R.N., nurse educator for the biocontainment unit at Johns Hopkins Medicine, tells SELF.
Hopefully, your local health department will reach out to you quickly for contact tracing. In the meantime, you should inform anyone you recently saw of your COVID-19 diagnosis, Flinn says. This way, if you did see any family and friends recently, they can get tested and isolate or quarantine if necessary to avoid passing the virus to others. And finally, Dr. Brewer recommends sharing your diagnosis with friends or family who can be your support system. “Having a buddy who could check in on you would be very helpful, particularly if you live alone,” Dr. Brewer says. Getting sick with a disease that’s caused so much fear can be mentally exhausting, and maintaining your relationships can help you through this scary time.
5. Buy a pulse oximeter and thermometer.
If you can afford them, a pulse oximeter and thermometer can more accurately help you detect changes in your case of coronavirus, so you know when medical care might be necessary. (The mibest OLED Finger Pulse oximeter is one option on Amazon, $25. You can find many affordable thermometer options as well, like this BLScode digital thermometer $19, Amazon.)
A pulse oximeter measures the amount of oxygen in your blood. “One of the major concerns around COVID-19 disease is the development of trouble breathing or respiratory distress,” Dr. Brewer says. An early indicator of respiratory distress is if your oxygen saturation drops. And while you’d expect to notice that kind of change on your own, that’s not necessarily the case. “It’s been an unusual phenomenon that we’ve noticed that some people can have very low oxygen levels and not feel it,” Otto Yang, M.D., professor of medicine in the division of infectious disease at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, tells SELF. That seems to be especially true in young and otherwise healthy people, he adds. Dr. Yang says you should call the doctor for their advice about whether you need medical care if your saturation drops below 94 percent on your pulse oximeter.
Keep in mind that low oxygen levels don’t necessarily happen immediately and can develop later on in the illness, Dr. Brewer explains. This means it’s important to monitor your symptoms and pay attention to any changes in your breathing during the entire isolation period. “If you notice you get short of breath going up and down stairs or walking or something like that, that’s the big thing that we worry about,” Dr. Brewer explains. Trouble breathing is a sign that your case is more serious and requires further medical attention.
If you don’t have a pulse oximeter, then you can look for skin color changes that indicate low oxygen. People with light skin may develop blue-ish lips, and individuals with dark skin may notice that their gums, lips, or skin turn white or gray. If this happens, “You’re going to want to get in touch with your health care provider right away,” says Dr. Brewer. That could be your primary care doctor or local hospital.
If you have a persistent fever above 100 degrees Fahrenheit that won’t come down with over-the-counter medications, then it’s worth it for you to call the doctor, according to Dr. Yang.
6. Prepare to stay home for the appropriate length of time.
Temperature is one of the metrics doctors use when figuring out how long you’re supposed to stay in isolation, says Dr. Brewer. According to the CDC, if you have a symptomatic but not severe case of coronavirus, you can stop isolating 10 days after your symptoms first appeared as long as you are fever-free for at least 24 hours without using fever-reducing medicine like ibuprofen. If you tested positive but are asymptomatic, the CDC recommends isolating for 10 days after your positive test date.
Beyond that, guidance for leaving isolation can vary based on the individual, which is another reason why Flinn recommends contacting your primary care provider if you have one. For example, people with severe cases of COVID-19 may need to wait 20 days after their symptoms first appeared before leaving isolation, says the CDC. Individuals who are immune-compromised may need additional tests before they can safely interact with people in their household or go to the store. If you don’t have a family doctor, you can use CDC guidance and contact your local hospital or state health department.
7. Manage mild to moderate symptoms with OTC medicines.
It’s fine to treat your fever and cough with OTC drugs as you normally would with other illnesses. Fever-reducing medications such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or naproxen can make you feel more comfortable. Just keep in mind that these only help to reduce your symptoms, Dr. Brewer says. “They’re not going to impact the virus itself,” he adds. This is another area where your doctor can advise you on the best medications to take for your individual needs.
However, if you’re high-risk for complications, there may be some coronavirus-specific drugs available to you. Dr. Yang says that some hospitals have access to FDA-authorized monoclonal antibodies distributed by the company Eli Lilly. These lab-created antibodies may help your immune system fight off viruses, like SARS-CoV-2. Speak with your doctor or contact a local hospital to see if this treatment is available in your area.
Taking supplements, including vitamin C, zinc, and echinacea, will not prevent you from developing symptoms or help you recover more quickly, according to the Mayo Clinic. In fact, some supplements that people mistakenly believe can fight off infections, like oleandrin, are toxic and could make you severely sick, according to Mount Sinai. Unfortunately, misinformation is rampant, and it’s not easy to distinguish between reputable medical information and lies that could be harmful. To be safe, ask your health care provider about any supplements you’re interested in taking.
The best thing you can do for your recovery is to stay hydrated, eat nutritious meals, and just try to weather the storm as best you can, Dr. Yang says. But you should also know when it’s time to seek medical help for your coronavirus case.
8. Know when to go to the hospital.
When, exactly, should you seek immediate care for COVID-19? “The symptoms that are concerning enough that you would seek emergency medical attention would be confusion, chest pain, and profound shortness of breath that is not relieved with rest,” says Flinn. As we previously mentioned, blue or gray lips are another concerning sign. The CDC also says to call the hospital if you can’t wake up or stay awake. As a best practice, you or your caregiver should alert whoever you call that you have COVID-19, whether that’s a hospital E.R. department or the 911 dispatcher. Remember to wear a mask to help protect the health care workers treating you.
Beyond those critically concerning symptoms, advice for seeking medical attention varies depending on the patient, Dr. Brewer says. For example, an 80-year-old with high blood pressure has more nuanced medical concerns than a 17-year-old with no underlying disease, Dr. Brewer explains. Difficulty breathing continues to be the most immediate concern, but if you’re sick for more than five or six days and it feels like things are getting worse, you definitely want to talk to your doctor or potentially even head to the E.R. (If you start experiencing new symptoms, or your current symptoms become more severe or painful, then you could be getting sicker.)
Ultimately, you should talk with a medical professional, whether it’s your doctor or the emergency room, if you’re at all concerned. “People with COVID-19 can get sick very quickly. Err on the side of checking in too much rather than letting something go too far,” Dr. Brewer says. When it comes to caring for yourself or your loved ones, now is the time to be as cautious as you can.
9. Contact your doctor or a medical center if you have lingering COVID-19 symptoms.
Unfortunately, some people have lingering symptoms weeks or even months after they test negative for COVID-19 or no longer have an active infection, according to the CDC. Fatigue, shortness of breath, and joint and chest pain are among some of the most frequent ones that come up.
It’s not clear how common ongoing symptoms are, how long they last, or how to treat them effectively. But if you’re still struggling with lingering symptoms after COVID-19, you’re not alone. Stay in touch with your doctor (or contact your local health department or hospital if you don’t have a primary care physician) and ask if there are any post-COVID-19 clinics available in your area, Dr. Brewer says. “We are now, particularly at larger medical centers, developing clinics to bring these patients together to see if we can understand what’s going on and try to help them get better.”