Welcome to the Stars Hollow Gazette‘s Health and Fitness News weekly diary. It will publish on Saturday afternoon and be open for discussion about health related issues including diet, exercise, health and health care issues, as well as, tips on what you can do when there is a medical emergency. Also an opportunity to share and exchange your favorite healthy recipes.
Questions are encouraged and I will answer to the best of my ability. If I can’t, I will try to steer you in the right direction. Naturally, I cannot give individual medical advice for personal health issues. I can give you information about medical conditions and the current treatments available.
You can now find past Health and Fitness News diaries here.
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These are trying time to say the least. We are all concerned about our health and safety and that of our families and friends in the face of an enemy we can’t see.
There is also a lot of confusing information mostly coming from an incompetent federal administration. We know the need to limit our travel and stay home as much as possible and keep our distance from each other, especially when out in public or around our older citizens. Washing our hands for twenty seconds and not touching our faces is critically important to keeping ourselves from getting infected.
But recently there has been some debate about the effectiveness of wearing a homemade face mask when out in public or around vulnerable people. The most effective mask against the CoVid-19 virus is the N95 mask that is impossible to get and are being reserved for our front line warriors, first responders, doctors, nurses and hospital staff. A surgical mask is the next best thing but not as good as the N95 and also not available to the general public. So the general public is being advised by the administration to wear a scarf which is basically ineffective against the virus. It should not give people the false security that they can ignore the rules we know work best.
The question now is what to do and how does one make a face mask, even if you don’t have a sewing machine? Fortunately, there are a lot of innovative folks out there who have made some excellent videos on how to make a mask.
This one came recommended by the Center for Communicable Diseases since if uses easy acquired material from you local hardware or grocery store, HEPA filter vacuum bags. They are OSHA approved to filter out 99.97% of airborne particle matter. The video, which was made by a South Korean resident, uses material that may not be readily available in the United States.
There are lots of other videos that give directions for folks who are crafty and have a sewing machine, just search You Tube for “homemade face masks.”
Stay healthy and stay safe.