Kwento Kwentuhan

Advice for COVID19 from Stephanie Yan, MD

Maui doctor gives practical advice for now and until the Novel Coronavirus pandemic passes.

Liza of “A Maui Blog”

It’s been a whirlwind these past few weeks! How are you doing?

This COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has affected many areas of our lives. It has caused not only a health crisis but also an economic crisis. Now, we are all trying to do our part in preventing the spread of this virus so it comes to pass. And we are all praying this pandemic passes quickly.

In this edition of Kwento-Kwentuhan, I would like to share with you a letter by one of our island doctors, Stephanie Yan, MD. You can also find her on Instagram at @islandFamilySurgeon. I think it is very important to share this with our community. It is also very important that we do what she recommends:

Staff – ER Team – We Stay At Work
Photo: Maui Health via @wearemauihealth on Instagram. Used with permission. Visit www.mauihealth.org for more information on coronavirus and other health related topics on Maui.

To the Community,

We don’t have a lot of immediate control on the number of tests done, contact tracing and isolating COVID19+ persons, but we can give ourselves power in reducing the spread of the COVID19 disease and in reducing the bad outcomes from the disease by:

1) Social distancing and following Stay-at-Home and Shelter-at-Home regulations;

2) Wear masks when we can’t socially distance from others. We can make masks that are reusable and ones that stay dry to protect ourselves and protect others from us who may be unknown carriers (those with symptoms and those without symptoms) when we can’t socially distance like at the grocery store.

3) Based on proposed theories on how the virus causes severe disease, here are things you can do to stay out of the hospital:

A) Plenty of exercise – move your muscles to boost up your immune system AND it also helps to keep up your fibrinolytic system (the system that breaks up clots in your vessels). Sitting around makes you prone to clotting. And this COVID19 disease might be severe in people more prone to clotting. Get moving! #1 way to avoid severe COVID19 disease.

B) Take Vitamin C, hydrate well and have plenty of food rich in Vitamin C. Vitamin C has been shown to help prevent blood clots.

C) Get plenty of sunshine on as much skin as possible. Sunbathe up to 15 minutes at a time. If you sunbathe longer, put on sunblock. Get out in the sun to increase your production of Vitamin D. Vitamin D has been shown to decrease your risk of blood clots.

D) Get plenty of fresh air. Open up all your windows and doors. Make sure fresh air is flowing through your house. Sleep or rest outdoors as much as possible. Anecdotal stories in past flu pandemics showed doctors who treated their patients in areas with fresh air and good sunlight had patients doing better than those patients who didn’t get fresh air and good sunlight.

E) Avoid smoking, nicotine, not moving, and excessive carbs/sugars and saturated fats (these increases inflammation and makes one prone to clotting).

PLEASE share with others! Thank you.

Liza Pierce of A Maui Blog is an Interactive Media Strategist in Hawai‘i. She started blogging in 2006 and she loves talking story online and spreading aloha around the world. She’s lived on Maui since 1994 and considers Maui her home. A wife, a mother, a friend…and so much more. She loves Jesus; Maui Sunsets Catcher; Crazy About Rainbow; End Alzheimer’s Advocate. Her life is full and exciting here on the island of Maui.
Liza is currently the Interactive Media Strategist with Wailea Realty Corp.