COVID-19: How Older Adults Can Remain Safe and Healthy

The CDC has confirmed that older adults are at a higher risk of developing serious illness from COVID-19. Given the dangers associated with this virus, it’s incredibly important for older adults to be cautious about their health during this time. Below, you’ll find what you need to do in order to remain safe and healthy throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Protect Yourself and Others

Keeping yourself safe and healthy starts with the preventative measures you take each day. The first step in this is to be informed, so make sure that you’re staying up-to-date on the latest information about COVID-19 in your community. Doing this will ensure you’re able to respond prudently as needed.

To give yourself the best chance of remaining safe and healthy through the COVID-19 pandemic, you should try to stay at home as much as possible. The reasoning for this is simple⎯the less you go out into the world, the fewer opportunities the virus has to infect you.

That being said, no person can remain indoors for months on end. When older adults do go out, they need to be especially cautious about how they interact with others and the broader world around them. When you venture out, follow these steps to keep your risk of getting infected as low as possible:

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth
• Clean your hands often with soap and water or hand sanitizer
• Always wear a mask
• Perform social distancing as often as possible
• Clean and disinfect surfaces before you touch them if possible

Manage Your Stress in Healthy Ways

COVID-19 has introduced a ton of stress into the lives of people across the country. You may be feeling particularly stressed as an older adult who faces an increased risk of dying from COVID-19. This can be exacerbated by the change in routine and isolation caused by staying at home more often than you’re used to doing.

It’s important to manage all of these stressors in healthy ways. If left unchecked, stress can suppress your immune system and increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. Fight back against this by staying connected to your loved ones and taking care of yourself. Eating healthy and exercising can help you reduce your stress and ensure that your health isn’t being negatively affected by COVID-19 in this way.

You may even want to deal with your stress by talking it out through therapy. Medicare Part B covers many mental health services, including individual and group therapy. Consider reviewing your health insurance coverage to see if you’re covered.

Develop a Care Plan

It’s also important to be prepared so you know how to react if you do catch COVID-19. Thankfully, Medicare covers the cost of lab tests for COVID-19 as well as medically necessary hospitalization that’s caused by the virus. Still, you may want to consult with your physician to learn more about the steps you should take if you test positive for COVID-19.

You can also reach out to us to learn more about developing a COVID-19 care plan. We’ll tell you about the options offered by Medicare coverage and will help you come up with a better care plan. Simply fill out this form or give us a call to learn more.