Coronavirus infection: which protective measures really help?

The number of people infected with coronavirus is increasing every day, because Covid-19 spreads like the flu and is very contagious. The goal now is to keep the number of sick people to a minimum and to get the spread under control as much as possible. This works best with a few protective measures. The authorities have announced the most important hygiene measures, but there is repeated talk on the net about miracle drugs that supposedly protect against corona. What really helps against coronavirus infection and what doesn’t – we take a closer look at the question.

Coronavirus infection: what really helps and how can we effectively protect ourselves from it?

Coronavirus, like most viruses from the same group, is transmitted through secretions from the respiratory tract. This means that an infected person spreads tiny droplets in the air with his cough or breath, which other people breathe in. breathe in its surroundings. There is another variant – the droplets get on different surfaces, such as doorknobs, cell phones or food that we come into contact with. This is the so-called smear infection, in which we first touch various objects with our hands and then our face. This allows the virus to get into the nose and mucous membranes.

These facts may already be known to everyone. But we repeat it again because the way the contagion occurs is very important for prevention. The protective measures are therefore divided into two: hygiene measures, in which surfaces are disinfected, and preventive measures. Unfortunately, since the virus is new, no extensive studies are available. That’s why the situation is so dynamic. But, especially when it comes to protective measures, the rule of thumb applies: “It is better to be safe than sorry”. Here we give you an overview of the effective and ineffective protective measures.

1. Restrict contacts: If you reduce your contacts by half, you not only protect yourself, but also the others. Each infected person transmits the virus to 2.5 people, each of these 2 (or 3) people then transmits it again to another 2 or 3, etc. Within a few weeks, only one infected person can lead to over 3000 new Covid-19 cases . But if everyone restricts their contacts, then the number of people infected goes down. In this way, the number of patients can be kept low. Restricting contacts can therefore help the individual, but also society.

How you can protect yourself: Stay at home with close family members and only contact relatives and friends by telephone. If possible, each person in the household should have their own bathroom.

2. Stay home and try to go out only when you need to. If possible, you should stay home and try to go out as little as possible. Avoid crowds. Keep a minimum distance of 2 meters from other people in the supermarket or in the bank. Create shopping lists so that you spend as little time as possible in the supermarket. Buy food that will last as long as possible. Fruits such as apples, pears and quinces keep for over a week in a cool room and longer in the refrigerator. There are also many types of cheese that can be kept in the refrigerator for weeks. In cases of doubt, you can find a sample list of food and drink stocks for 10 days on the Federal Government’s website for civil protection and disaster relief.

3.No hugging, no shaking hands: Greet acquaintances on the street warmly, but keep a minimum distance of 2 meters from them. Avoid physical contact with relatives or close friends. There is always a risk that people you know have viruses on their hands that can be transferred to your hands when you shake hands.

4th. Wear a face mask: Mouth protection is a controversial issue. As a rule, it only helps if everyone is wearing it. The breathing mask prevents sick people from spreading viruses into the room by coughing or breathing. It also prevents smear infection in the event that you touch an infected surface with your hands and then touch your face

5. Better cycling than using public transport: Avoid public transport, taxis and only travel by air when it is really necessary. Instead, you can walk or ride a bike. In the fresh air, the risk of infection decreases and exercise is also good for the body.

6th. Wash your hands longer than usual. On average, we wash our hands for 10 seconds. However, if you want to protect yourself from viruses, you should wash your hands thoroughly with soap for at least 20 seconds and then rinse them off. Then don’t forget to clean the tap as well. Wash your hands about 20 times a day.

Disinfect your hands for at least 20 seconds: first moisten your hands with a drop of disinfectant (the required amount of disinfectant is indicated on the package). Rub your palms together first, then your fingers, then the backs of your hands. Don’t forget to generously rub the disinfectant on your wrists and thumbs and clean your fingertips too.

7. Avoid touching your face with your hands: You can spread viruses and bacteria to your mouth and eyes with unwashed hands. From there, the pathogens reach the mucous membranes and the upper respiratory tract.

8. Clean Doorknobs, cell phones, laptops and tablets thorough. Where possible, you can disinfect the surfaces with disinfectants. Otherwise, you can simply clean the surface with a dry cotton swab or handkerchief.

9. Wear rubber gloves: Whether rubber gloves really help is a very controversial question. Similar to the breathing mask, you should wear it, especially to protect those around you. They are also suitable as protection if you cannot wash your hands at the moment and do not have disinfectants with you. You can wear rubber gloves if, for example, you want to withdraw money from an ATM or have to touch door handles and doorknobs that many other people also touch.

10. Try not to open the door with your hands but with your elbows. Touch as few surfaces as possible that others touch. Pay cashless to avoid contact with the seller.

11. Pay your Bills online and order groceries online to keep contact with other people to a minimum and avoid waiting in line. Most supermarket chains offer contactless delivery. That means the courier rings and leaves the food at the door.

12th. Strengthen your immune system: You can strengthen your immune system with a healthy diet, exercise, and breathing exercises. And a strong immune system helps fight viruses and bacteria.

13. Avoid using yours Hands to eat, whether outside or at home. A pizza, sausage, or biscuits: only eat after you’ve thoroughly washed or disinfected your hands. And even at home, it’s better to use cutlery to be on the safe side.

14. Leave yours Shoes on the doorstep or moisten a doormat with disinfectant and clean the shoes there. Take them off in front of the front door and store the jacket and shoes in the wardrobe or shoe closet in the hallway.

15. Wash your clothes at 60 degrees Celsius. This will help prevent germs from building up in the washing machine. They can also potentially kill viruses on clothing.

The protective measures against coronavirus infection are very similar to those of the flu. But there is one exception: those infected with influenza are contagious only one day before the first symptoms. In contrast, those infected with coronavirus are contagious up to 10 days before the first symptoms. Therefore, you should definitely avoid crowds. When you order something online, you avoid direct contact with the courier. It is best to stay home and try to keep your contacts to a minimum.

Coronavirus infection: These protective measures do not help!

When it comes to coronavirus infection, it is important to know which protective measures really help and which – not. We therefore also list for you the measures that prove to be ineffective:

• Wash hands with hot water: Hot water cannot kill the virus on our hands. It also doesn’t help if we rinse our hands thoroughly with hot water. It is best to use disinfectant or wash your hands with soap.
• Eye glasses, contact lenses or sunglasses cannot protect our eyes from the coronavirus. Even more so – sometimes we tend to rub our eyes when we wear eye glasses or contact lenses.
• Rinsing your mouth with alcohol: Whether alcohol like vodka can really kill pathogens is questionable. But it’s definitely worth a try.
• Drinking a sip of water every 15 minutes cannot prevent coronavirus infection. Also take a sip of tea or juice every 15 minutes. But those who drink a lot of water are doing something good for their immune system. Because water ensures better blood circulation, so important nutrients and oxygen can be delivered to the cells quickly.

• After 24 hours, the virus can no longer infect the surfaces. This is not really true, because studies have shown that viruses can remain active on metal or plastic surfaces even after 9 days. So to be on the safe side, disinfect all surfaces in the house.
• A slice of onion can kill viruses in the air. That is not true, and when we are at it, even cloves of garlic, oranges, lemons etc. cannot kill viruses in the air.
• The protection that a self-made breathing mask offers you is also questionable. Such breathing masks are only reasonably effective if they consist of two or more layers. We have already given you two ideas on how you can sew such a mask yourself. One variant was unique, made of kitchen paper, the other – for repeated use made of fabric and dry wet wipes. If you sew a breathing mask yourself, you can also sterilize, wash and above all – iron it. Do not wear such a mask for more than an hour, because your breath will quickly wet it and then it will be less effective.
• Drink up definitely not chlorine dioxide, he cannot protect against coronavirus. Even more so: Doctors warn of harmful side effects from chlorine dioxide.
• Don’t trust chain letters, which are sent on social networks, but always check the information to be on the safe side. You can do that by clicking on the website of the local health authorities and double-checking the protective measures against coronavirus.

Coronavirus infection: Follow the instructions from the authorities

If you want to protect yourself effectively against coronavirus, you should first and foremost follow the instructions of the authorities. Learn to filter the information and only trust reliable sources. Because there will always be rumors that a miracle cure against coronavirus will help. This is also the greatest danger to your health, because the effects of the remedies are often not scientifically proven. They also often give false security.