Mid Rivers Newsmagazine 5-6-20

20 I HEALTH I
May 6, 2020
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Early data is showing that asthma may not be as dangerous of a preexisting
condition for COVID-19 as was first thought – but people with asthma should
have a plan to keep the disease in check.
[Source: Adobe Stock]
Health
Capsules
By LISA RUSSELL
Asthma and COVID-19:
What are the risks?
Health experts have repeatedly warned
of the potential for more serious outcomes
from COVID-19 for people of all ages
with asthma and other preexisting lung
problems.
These warnings now coincide with
National Asthma and Allergy Awareness
Month in May, the height of the spring
allergy season and generally the most
challenging month of the year for the 7.7
million American adults and children with
asthma … even without the added threat
of a global pandemic. A current shortage
of asthma inhalers in certain parts of the
country, caused by a spike in there use to
treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients, may
be adding to anxiety among asthma sufferers.
However, it is important to note that
so far at least, there is little evidence of
increased infection or death rates in people
with asthma.
In April, New York officials began
releasing data about patients in that state,
far and away the nation’s hardest-hit by
the virus. Asthma did not appear on its list
of the top 10 chronic health problems suffered
by people who had died from coronavirus.
A recent report published by researchers
in Europe also stated that asthma has
been “underrepresented” among preexisting
health problems in COVID-19 patients
in those nations so far, a fact they called
“striking.” Another small study of seriously
ill patients in Washington state showed
that only a small percentage had asthma.
According to both the American Academy
of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology
[AAAAI] and the CDC, the best way for
people with asthma to minimize their risk
for COVID-19 is to keep their asthma
under control, along with following stayat-home
and social distancing guidelines
to prevent infection. Both organizations
recommend the following steps to help
those with asthma stay safe throughout the
pandemic:
• Continue all current asthma medications,
including steroid inhalers and other
corticosteroid drugs. Don’t stop any medications
or change your asthma treatment
plan without consulting your doctor.
• Consider creating at least a 30-day
supply of asthma inhalers and other prescriptions
for asthma. [The FDA recently
approved a generic version of Proventil
HFA, a commonly prescribed albuterol
inhaler, to help ease shortages.]
• If possible, let someone else in the
household take care of necessary cleaning
and disinfecting tasks for now. Minimize
use of products like bleach and ammonia
that can cause asthma attacks, and open
windows or use a fan to blow fumes from
cleaning products outside.
• Take steps to control your stress and
anxiety – these strong emotions can be as
significant in triggering asthma as tobacco
smoke, dust mites or spring allergens.
Although the risk of COVID-19 for pets is likely
very small, owners should ensure that they
follow the same social distancing guidelines
as their human family members.
[Source: Adobe Stock]
Are pets in danger
from coronavirus?
Despite extremely limited data on coronavirus
infections in cats and dogs, a few
reports have suggested that it’s possible
for our four-legged family members to
contract the illness.
So far, though, it seems highly unlikely.
There have been only a few officially confirmed
cases of pets with SARS-CoV-2, the
virus that causes COVID-19, worldwide
to date. Two household cats in New York
recently tested positive for SARS-CoV-2;
they developed mild respiratory illness,
and no people in the household had developed
COVID-19. A dog in North Carolina
also tested positive, developing mild symptoms
after his human family members had
the virus.
Other confirmed cases in the U.S. also
have been diagnosed in cats – big ones. A
female tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York
City, along with six other tigers and lions
at the zoo, tested positive for the virus after
showing respiratory symptoms and coughing.
Only one study to date has investigated
whether domestic animals are in danger
from the virus. This study, which was published
in the journal Science, found that it
was significantly more likely to spread in
cats than in dogs.
The risk for cats seems very low as
well, however – those in the study which
became infected did so only after exposure
to very large quantities of the virus,
and displayed only mild symptoms. The
low risk to both cats and dogs involved
potential human-to-pet transmission, and
transmission between pets; but there was
no evidence for pet-to-human transmission
found in the study.
When it comes to caring for pets during
the pandemic, the CDC advises that they
should be treated in the same way as
human family members, and prevented
whenever possible from close interactions
with people or animals outside the household.
Cats should ideally be kept indoors,
and dogs kept on a leash outside during
walks – while maintaining the proper 6
feet of “social distance” from other pets.
If a person inside the household becomes
sick, that person should be isolated from
pets along with other family members, the
CDC guidelines state. And if people who
live alone develop coronavirus symptoms,
they should wear a cloth face covering and
wash their hands before and after interacting
with their pets.
Deaths from cancer
continue to decline
Amid all the health-related doom and
gloom that surrounds us recently, a bit of
good news: The most recent Annual Report
to the Nation on the Status of Cancer found
that cancer death rates are continuing a sig-