Okay. I am officially an incompetent idiot. I take the blame.
My 90-yr-old mother who has late mid-stage dementia has gone to the hair salon every Friday for over 60 years! Of course, she has had several hairdressers in that time and she didn't go when salons were shut down for Covid.
When the salons opened again, I debated whether it was worth the risk to take her to the salon. The owner assured me that they were taking all precautions, temperatures were taken at the door, masks were required, etc. So, in a moment of weakness (and Mom's dirty hair!) I decided to take her back to her standing appointment each Friday.
All went well until last Thursday, 12/24/20. Appointment went fine. Of course, you can't socially distance from someone working on your hair, so the stylist was right on top of Mom. I was also in the small area where her station is and about 3 feet away from her.
Saturday, 12/26, I get a text from Mom's hairdresser telling me her roommate had Covid and was hospitalized. Then she said she was retiring and Mom needed to find a new hairdresser. Needless to say, I was concerned that I only had sketchy details. When did her roommate get Covid? Had this hairdresser come to work after being exposed to her roommate with Covid and exposed all her customers? I felt sure the owner of the salon would contact me. So far, that has not happened.
Instead, one of the other hairdressers in the salon texted me today and told me that Mom's hairdresser (Donna) had tested POSITIVE for Covid! I can't say I was surprised but was freaked out by the news. The salon informed us that we could not come back for 14 days and that we needed to be tested for Covid.
In my opinion, the salon should close for a deep cleaning. Their clientele is 90% elderly, most using walkers or in wheelchairs. Talk about a vulnerable group!
I emailed Mom's PCP and I hope to hear back from him on Monday. He will most likely say to quarantine and if any symptoms develop, call his office. Guess that's all we can do. Mom has had a cough for 30 years, so I can't go by that. She does not have an appetite, likes to sleep for hours on end and never has much energy. How am I supposed to recognize symptoms? I will check her temperature several times a day, I guess.
In hindsight, I should NOT have taken her to the salon in the first place. That is on me. I guess we will know more in a few days if symptoms develop for either of us. I pray we don't get this awful virus!
How frightening for you and your mom. I stopped taking my 98 year old mother since Covid to the salon. I wash and cut her hair at home. I made a poor decision recently. We were going out to see the Christmas lights a few weeks back and invited my close cousin. She is in elderly housing and the place is very strict. She assured me she was practicing social distancing and wearing a mask, not socializing with anyone, just staying in her apartment. We picked her up and we all had our masks on and my cousin got in the last row of the van and one window was down. We were starting out and she informed me a lady in her complex got Covid. I asked her why she waited to tell me. She said she needed to get out of her place and that this trip was important but she left a voice message. I took her right back to her place. We self quarantined for two weeks. I called the manager of the place and her housekeeper who was with the poor woman and she passed away after three days. I was scared, I usually do not take chances, I am extremely careful. I just wanted my mom to see the pretty lights and take my cousin who is very dear to us for a short ride. We were not tested, had a few symptoms, niece had a severe headache, no fever, we had a cough but all subsided within the two week period. Doctor was notified. I am staying put with my family for now on except for a drive with immediate family in same household. I hope you and your mom are ok and this is behind you real soon. I am hoping 2021 is a better year for us all.
But otherwise, relax, and avoid kicking yourself all round the room about having taken her. You don't need to wait for the PCP to tell you what to do, you already know; and God willing the precautions everyone was taking will have prevented your being infected.
If your mother becomes ill, you will notice. If she doesn't, then even if she has -God forbid - actually contracted the virus she is one of the lucky people whom it is not severely affecting.
The cough is different in nature and duration, and you won't confuse it with her chronic cough. You can also look out for loss of or alteration in her sense of smell (try getting her to admire hand cream or coffee or French fries or anything else she likes with a distinctive aroma to it). You can check her temperature if you like, but if it's high enough to be a sign of Covid you'll probably notice that too because she will feel ill from it; I wouldn't do it more than once a day if I were you, unless there are other reasons to be suspicious.
Is she pleased with her hair-do?! I'm hoping there is at least that upside to the experience :)
They wore masks. Not one of those 160 clients was infected.
We have ALL been blindsided in one way or another by a number of forces beyond our control, and we are all, in one way or another, paying the price.
You are also doing many of the right things right now, in the moment, and that’s all any of us can really do after learning we have been or may have been exposed.
Be absolutely sure that your mom is washing her hands frequently, and if you can manage, get her out in the fresh air a couple times a day.
My LO, aged 92 has survived Covid infections TWICE in the last 7 months. She hasn’t had a permanent since March, and when. I last saw her, she couldn’t WAIT to get one.
I suggest taking lots of Vitamin C (a good brand that is powdered) and zinc. Research by Dr. Andrew Saul, editor-in-chief of the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, presents valuable information on the importance of vitamin C for disease treatment, including COVID-19:
Vitamin C at extremely high doses acts as an antiviral drug, actually killing viruses.
Saul states that, based on decades of expert research and clinical usage, the coronavirus pandemic can be dramatically slowed, or stopped, with the immediate widespread use of high doses of vitamin C.
Zinc:
Zinc prevents viral replication inside your cells, but is poorly absorbed. Zinc ionophores (zinc transport molecules) such as quercetin, epigallocatechin-gallate (EGCG) and the drug hydroxychloroquine facilitate zinc uptake.
A combination of zinc with a zinc ionophore was in 2010 shown to inhibit SARS coronavirus in vitro. In cell culture, it also blocked viral replication within minutes
Zinc deficiency impairs immune function.
Preliminary research found COVID-19 patients with plasma zinc levels below 50 mcg/dl at admission had a 2.3 times greater risk of in-hospital death than those with a zinc level of 50 mcg/dl or higher.
Other recent research found COVID-19 patients were more likely to be deficient in zinc than healthy controls. Zinc deficient patients also had worse outcomes and higher rates of death. While 70.4% of zinc deficient patients developed complications, only 30% of those with sufficient levels developed complications
Hope this helps,
Jenna
Find out where and when to get tested.
You need an Oximeter to check your and moms O2 and pulse. Can someone drop one off for you? They can be ordered online as well. Keep a log for each of you so you can give good data should it be needed.
Not everyone runs fever. My BIL nephew, 54, just died. He tested positive and was given meds. Didn't take them right away. Thought he was ok but it advanced on him and he died.
What will you do if either of you come down with it? What or more importantly who is your backup?
Do you have supplies in your home? Is mom able to heat a can of soup or make a sandwich? How vulnerable are you? Underlying conditions?
You both should wear masks and try to stay away from one another, Wash your hands often, use separate utensils, etc.
Do you have Lysol on hand?
Gloves?
Treat each other now as if the other is contagious.
If your symptoms can be spaced a few days apart it will be easier for you to manage your care and hers.
Ventilation is important.
Get your paperwork out. If mom is on medication write out instructions for your backup in case you are hospitalized and to give to EMT should that be necessary.
Prepare some food while you are able to have on hand.
My cousin had it along with four other family members. Her dad had to be hospitalized twice. The thing that helped her was her mom was already on hospice and they had oxygen in the house when it was needed.
Then she was able to get her dad on hospice and she had two oxygen tanks and medical advice readily available.
She also used several supplements.
Her mom was asymptomatic until the very end when she developed blisters on her calf.
Loss of smell and taste and fever was experienced by two of them. The low O2 and rapid pulse was the scariest and what caused her to have to send her dad to the hospital. This was back in July. In their area, they had room at the hospital. They are all over it now but it was very hard. They are in 50s, 60s and 80s.
ive heard some folks only knew they had it because of loss of taste and smell.
Also call your doctor. One doctor may be more proactive than the other. I was sick in June and got better response from my aunts geriatrician office than my own drs office. I had called aunts dr to find out what to do about her in case I had it. At the time I was running fever and ended up hospitalized twice. Non Covid but it gave me a scare on what would happen to her if I was out.
Cousin also took advantage of her local senior center. They had been going there every day for lunch. Once this happened they had food available for them on a daily basis. It really helped. Someone would leave the food on their porch. No one wanted to come into a Covid house. Not even the hospice workers but they brought the supplies that were needed and left them outside.
I sure hope that both of you make it past this exposure without the virus.
We should all stay prepared to get it. The next couple of weeks are projected to be awful but not everyone that’s exposed gets it. Fingers crossed for you and mom.
Hopefully others will share what worked for them. I’m glad you posted. It’s good for us to be reminded that none of us are exempt and how easy it is to be exposed. Keep us updated on how things go for you and mom.
In California, no longer listening to the government's open and closed orders.
It would be confusing to trust any governor at this time.
"Contact Tracing – Answer the call, Texans!
If you're sick with COVID-19 or were exposed, a public health worker may contact you to check on your health, discuss who you’ve been in contact with, and ask you to self-isolate at home. The call on your phone will come from "Tx Health Dept" or 1-833-753-0909. Answer the call to help stop the spread of COVID-19."