How to Protect Yourself From Covid 19 😷 #shorts

If you're taking care of an older adult, you need to understand that they may not have the symptoms of COVID-19. In geriatrics, it's called the atypical presentation of illness. Older adults may not have a fever; they may be more tired than usual, are can’t stay awake, or have new confusion. These things may be a syndrome that’s called hypoactive delirium - which is a medical emergency and needs to be reported to their health care provider.

Other atypical symptoms of illness in an older adult are thing like someone who's sleeping too much or can’t go to sleep; if they're not eating like they used to or they're not drinking; if they all of a sudden become incontinent of their bowel or bladder – these are symptoms that you need to report to your health care provider. An older adult, particularly if they have dementia (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease), may not be able to tell us what's wrong with them. If that’s the case, pay attention to their behavior and if you feel like something is “off” (e.g. “Mama’s just not right today”) – contact your health care provider to figure out what's going on.

The good news is the majority of people that get covered are going to survive. We need to continue to do all the things that we can do to keep our immune systems healthy, to reduce our risk of being exposed to this virus, and to take care of one another.
Tune into this week's episode of This Is Getting Old podcast — Recognizing Risk Factors and Symptoms of COVID in Older Adults:

#podcast #covid19 #elderlycare