How a woman from Wuhan took care of her infected mother without becoming infected herself

My BFF, Alberto Gaitán, posted this on Facebook.

Not medical advice, just a first-person account.

This, from a girl from Wuhan who says she was able to take care of her mother without getting infected herself:

[Link to Weibo source.]

February 10 02:56 from the iPhone edited

Yesterday morning, I went to the (Wuhan) Union Hospital West Campus for an examination (see the previous blog). CT showed that I did not get the new coronavirus.

The attending doctor praised my protection work after knowing that I had taken care of my mother for five days, and ran back and forth in various hospitals in the city for more than ten days without being infected.

So today I will tell you how I did it, and I hope to help people like me who have to take care of their sick families.

I wore a jacket with a smooth surface. I don't know if it's better. I just think that a smooth surface is easier to take care of, and it's easier to wipe the surface with alcohol. But there is also an article that says it's better to wear down clothes? ? I don't really know.

I wore a hoodie inside the jacket, a usual one with a hood. Every day when I go out, I tie my hair first, wrap it with a shower cap, then put on the hood of my sweatshirt, and fasten the girdle of the hood.

I wore two masks, with an inner layer of n95 and an outer layer of ordinary medical masks. It is guaranteed to be replaced every 4.5 hours.

It is best to wear goggles if you have them. I don't have goggles, so I wore daily glasses for myopia. When going out, don't rub your eyes with your hands no matter how badly it itches.

In Wuhan in the summer, we love eating crayfish. If there are some disposable gloves for eating crayfish at your home, find out and wear them. Don't touch sharp things, don't break them, replace them often.

When changing the mask or gloves, be careful not to touch the exposed side with your skin.

There are disinfectant bottles everywhere in the hospital. Pay attention to disinfecting your hands when you go in and out. Be sure to use this resource.

I was lucky. One day I was able to get two 500ml bottles of 75% alcohol in a common pharmacy. Used the medical insurance card for 5.2 yuan a bottle. Prepare a large watering can of the kind for growing flowers, pour the alcohol into it, and take it with you. In this way, you have a bottle of hand disinfectant outside the hospital.

"I go home every day to spray alcohol with a watering can filled with alcohol and spray on the car, clothes, hats, pants, and soles." I should not "spray"! This is the wrong approach. It will explode and catch fire when it comes to static electricity!!! The correct way should be "wiping", gently, just like the nurse disinfects the skin with alcohol before giving you an injection. Be careful, be gentle!

Go home and wash thoroughly immediately, shower in hot water for half an hour. Take off the outside jacket and hung on the balcony for ventilation. Put the clothes and pants inside the washing machine, wash them and dry for half an hour. If you go out the next day, don't change clothes, wear the same suit before. I have been wearing this "battle suit" for sixteen days, but I actually wash it every day.

The most and most dangerous one, do not eat together with the patient, remember! This article is detailed on my Weibo on February 11. (This article was missing. In order to be able to edit, I just opened a Weibo membership. Thank you for your attention!)

I have talked blabla for 11 tips. I am not a professional, these are all my small personal experiences, coming from accompanying my mother for more than ten days and successfully being uninfected. I don't know if it will help anyone, but I share them with you.

Thank you for friends from all over the country for your care and help. Wuhan, fighting! Wuhan people fighting!

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[Link to Weibo source]

February 11 09:10 from the iPhone client

I carefully read the protection tips I wrote yesterday and found that I missed one and it was the most dangerous and susceptible moment – don't eat together with the patients.

My mother entered the observation ward on January 30, and was in the same ward (the ward was remodeled from the original doctor's office) with the mother of my friend, ppc. The distance between people is shown in Figure 1.

I said to myself at the time that the space was so small and I should never eat with two mothers at the same time. Before my mom entering the isolation ward on the evening of Feb 2nd, every day, ppc and I brought food to the mothers. We took care of the mothers to finish eating, and we left the hospital area, drove to find an empty space where nobody passed in at least two hours to eat. When we eat, the two of us keep far apart. See Figure 2.

Dear friends, eating is really the most dangerous time. You must not be sloppy, and do not relax for a moment. When contacting the patient, wear a mask all the way. Don't take it off, remember!!!

Fighting Wuhan, fighting Wuhan people!!

Image via U.S. Army