Do a shake to let go of coronavirus fear, anxiety

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

To the Editor: As a retired elderly (I don’t think I am elderly) healthcare provider, I need to speak to my community. I will admit that I was in denial when I heard the coronavirus or COVID-19 had reached our shores. Living in rural Wisconsin, I often feel insulated from happenings on the east and west coasts but we all know whatever happens on the coasts gets to us eventually, that includes disease.

I have heard people of various ages say this is a “hoax,” “we won’t get it here” and “it is only killing old people.” If it was your grandmother how would you feel? I am old, do not get too close to me. We now know the virus is affecting younger people as well.

Closing businesses is a financially devastating drastic measure that has been taken to decrease the spread of this illness but it is necessary. The sad part is we will have no way to prove our efforts have worked but we can’t afford not to follow these restrictive measures. If we don’t have widespread illness in our community I am sure I will hear comments that we should not have taken such drastic measures. We should consider ourselves very lucky if we have small numbers of COVID-19 illness.

I would ask that we do not listen to President Trump’s medical comments. He is not a physician or scientist and relies on “his gut” to lead us. His comments about chloroquine indirectly caused the death of a man in Arizona. Dr. Fauci knows what he is talking about and should be one of your sources of medical information along with your healthcare provider. I have read some very bizarre information about COVID-19 on the internet. Please Google all sources of information on the internet and do not gargle with bleach. As we all know there is craziness on the internet.

Chloroquine had been helpful in treating a previous coronavirus (there are many different coronaviruses) and that is why it has been used to treat COVID-19 with some success. Dr Fauci has mentioned that chloroquine has not been cleared by the FDA to be used for COVID-19 and needs further study. Physicians many times use medications “off label” which means the med has not been officially cleared to be used for a particular disease but is used experimentally and found to be effective to treat a particular illness. Data will be gathered on the use of chloroquine in treating COVID-19 and may someday be officially labeled to be used for this disease. Do not worry, this does not mean it will not be used now if it is found to be effective in treating COVID-19 but it will be used “off label.”

We are all experiencing some anxiety related to fear of getting COVID- 19, the financial impact of not working and the constant barrage of the media. Take a deep breath, let it out slowly, stand up and shake all over. This is my “shake it off” method to decrease my anxiety or anger. It usually makes me and others laugh which is helpful. Your whole family may enjoy a “shake it off” moment.

I’m elderly with underlying medical conditions and want to personally thank you for your efforts to follow social distancing guidelines.

Janice Soczka Town of Casssel