Melpomenem | Dreamstime.com
local expert
UNMASKING the Facts What We’ve Learned So Far About Covid-19
W
by Ramona Shires, ND, RDN
e’re experiencing a significant problem in today’s healthcare landscape: too much information. When “Dr. Google” and even social media have become primary sources of medical guidance for many people, filtering fact from fiction is hard. How are we supposed to know how to keep ourselves healthy—especially now, in a pandemic? Here’s what we know right now about Covid-19, and some information that’s important to understand when making decisions about our health and safety.
Mask or No Mask?
Face covers, like masks and shields, are routinely used in medical practice to protect both the wearer and the patient from infection. But they weren’t common in surgery and general hospitals until 1910. The first time the public used masks to prevent the spread of virus was during the Manchurian plague of 1910–11 and the influenza pandemic of 1918–19, when covering the mouth, nose and beard became a means of protecting medical workers and patients from infectious diseases outside the operating room. During the influenza pandemic, mask wearing was mandatory for police, medical workers and even residents in some U.S. cities, but it was often controversial. Unbelievably, we’re experiencing the same controversy 100 years later. The first use of surgical masks was in German and American operating rooms in the 1920s. They were developed to protect patients by containing and filtering droplets of microorganisms expelled from the mouth and nose of healthcare workers during surgery. Since coronaviruses like Covid-19 are spread through droplets, common sense tells us that wearing masks is one of our best lines of defense. 22
Natural Awakenings of Northwest Florida
www.NaturalAwakeningsNWF.com
