If someone in your family has come down with something, whether it is the covid virus or not, you will probably be keen to help them in whatever way you can.
But with movement limited, it can be challenging to know exactly how to actually help, especially if you need to keep yourself or those who are vulnerable and at-risk around you as safe as possible during this pandemic.
In this post, we are going to try and make this a little easier by looking at some of the truly covid-friendly ways in which you can care for a sick or vulnerable relative.
Visit them – but wear a mask
If you need to visit them, you will obviously need to take great care. For one thing, you don’t want to give them the virus if they are already ill with another disease – and nor do you want to get whatever they might have yourself if it’s contagious.
Remember you can spread the virus even if you don’t have any symptoms, so you never know if you might be posing some harm to someone.
If you need to visit them ensure that you wear a mask at the very least, and ideally other PPE too such as gloves, especially if they are already really ill. It’s also about doing what is comfortable for each person – so make sure they are happy for your assistance and ask them what protective gear they want you to wear whilst visiting.
Consider wearing gloves to protect them
They might ask you to have nitrile gloves on for protection as well. While it is less common for the virus to spread on surfaces, it is still in your best interest to make sure that you reduce the possibility of getting infected. You do not have to wear gloves before you visit a friend or relative; you can wear them as soon as you get to their place. But you should carry another pair or two in case you might need them. You can even have them in bright colours, such as orange or green, to bring some cheer!
Send them love from a distance
If you don’t want to risk meeting and they don’t need your assistance, but you still want to show them that you are thinking of them, you can do that in so many ways. You might, for instance, want to buy flowers online and a greeting card and send that over.
This can be especially good if it is nothing too serious but you just want to show that you care. In any case, there are many ways you can get in touch with them to let them know you are with them in spirit whilst not posing a risk in person if they/you are vulnerable and worried about catching covid.
Arrange for medication and food to be delivered
If they are living alone and they are not able to get out of the house – perhaps because they are having to shield, or they have the virus itself – then you can help them by ensuring that they have all of the daily essentials they might need, along with any medicines that might prove useful for their illness.
You can go on to a supermarket’s website to arrange a grocery delivery, for instance, or contact their local pharmacy to sort out a delivery of medication.
What if you live with them?
If you live with someone who is sick during this time, then you might well need to shield with them. In that case, you can do all of the normal things you should usually do to care for them at home, but you will need to make sure you don’t go anywhere else either during that time.
You may need to get in touch with some friends and family to help you both out instead if you can’t leave the house, although, hopefully, you will be able to order everything you need online and the delivery drivers will simply leave things at your door without seeing you in person. Just make a note on your delivery or leave a note on your door when you are expecting a delivery.
Really good advice, thank you. It’s still difficult to know how to go about this, and it’s always worth trying to minimise the risk of infection with any viruses when someone is unwell.