Taking care of your immune system is more important than ever during the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The novel coronavirus has affected people from all nations and geographical corners of the world, it is considered one of the most far-reaching viruses in recent history, with extended micro and macro-economic and social implications, but most of all, with major public health implications.

Take a deep breath and relax, we need to keep calm

People are getting very anxious about the rate of contagion and the possibility of contracting the novel coronavirus due to a heavy bombardment of media information going around on all sources, the virus is making headlines everywhere. There’s a higher rate of stress affecting even the most unimpressionable people, stress related to the illness, related to business, to employment, to social distancing and the new social and working restrictions enforced by the governments to fight, contain and manage the medical situation.   

Contracting the virus is conditional to a number of factors, including proximity and exposure to virus carriers and a weakened immune system. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spreads primarily through contact with an infected person when they cough or sneeze. It also spreads when a person touches a surface or an object that has the virus on it, then touches their eyes, nose, or mouth.

COVID-19 is an infectious disease that causes respiratory illness (like the flu) with symptoms such as a cough, fever, and in more severe cases, difficulty breathing that leads to acute respiratory problems. You can protect yourself by washing your hands frequently, avoid touching your face, and avoid making close contact (1 meter or 3 feet) with people who are unwell, also by wearing a mask (types FFP2 or FFP3) in the following period when going out for air.

Let’s be more empathetic these days, it helps

It is important to be empathetic with close people, your family, your relatives, your friends, your extended network, everyone is struggling to get back to normal or to make this extraordinary situation a bit more easy to manage. It is even more important to be empathetic to people who are affected, the medical professionals and people directly involved in the management of this situation. It is a lesson in solidarity we all need to learn.

We, the people at AHA Hyperbarics are grateful in all respects to people on the frontline, the medical staff, dealing with a novel health condition that can affect the population at large. They are our everyday heroes.

Reduce stress factors

Avoid anxiety with all necessary efforts, don’t watch, read or listen news that cause distress and perpetuate a feeling of social crisis, helplessness or uncertainty. Update yourself with useful information at specific times during the day once or twice. This is the time to protect your elderly and to keep your family in check, regroup and strengthen the ties. Keep your loved ones safe and learn to communicate while maintaining a necessary social distance.

The stress hormone cortisol can suppress the effectiveness of your immune system.

When we’re stressed, the immune system’s ability to fight is reduced. Stress is an advocate to headaches; infectious disease, for example flu, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, asthma and gastric ulcers.

There are some tricks and natural ways to lower your cortisol levels. In short supply, the stress hormone cortisol can boost immunity by limiting inflammation. But the balance is sensitive, so too much cortisol in the blood can create more inflammation.

Remember that the stress effects are cumulative, meaning that even daily activities that may be unpleasant become stressful so this can eventually lead to more serious health problems.

We are in this together

Our bodies work the same way. Did you know that during emergency situations, our natural breathing rate and pattern change? Natural breathing, like breathing slowly from our lower lungs, becomes a rapid and shallow breath from our upper lungs and we begin to hyperventilate and get dizzy, feel a lump in the throat, feel nauseated, experience confusion or shortness of breath.   

Try changing your breathing patterns to gain control over your body’s reactions.

When you control breathing rate and pattern, your body will initiate a calming response. During a controlled breathing exercise, your breathing slows, heart rate slows, your oxygen consumption decreases, blood pressure and muscle tension decrease to contribute to a calming sense of ease that keeps your body in check.    

When you’re feeling anxious and your stress level is increasing, try taking a long, slow breath in through your nose, first filling your lower lungs, then your upper lungs. Hold your breath and count to three, then exhale slowly as you relax your body and release tension.

If your stress levels are really high, try the 4-7-8 breathing pattern technique.

Empty your lungs of air, breathe in quietly through the nose for 4 seconds, hold the breath for 7 sevens (counting to seven), then exhale through the mouth, pursing the lips, for 8 seconds. If you repeat this cycle up to 4 times, your body will reduce anxiety, hypertension and fatigue.

Breathing exercises are fundamental to stress management

Studies have shown that 4-6 weeks of practicing breathing exercise, controlling breath movement, may have a positive effect on a person’s heart rate variability, which correlates with stress, and also improve the management of anxiety.

Oxygen is a major contributor to self-healing

Whenever you get the chance, try some hyperbaric oxygen therapy for wellness objectives, breathing pure oxygen under pressure. HBOT oxygenates and detoxifies every cell in your body, we use it as a hyper recovery method for cell damage and various medical conditions, including for wellness objectives, after long periods of stress and intense effort. Please consult with you physician before you try hyperbaric oxygen therapy, it’s recommended you get an expert opinion for medical and wellness protocols.

Keep a well-balanced diet

Certain foods are called immune system boosters, nutrition is the best medicine to help prevent winter colds and the flu. Try eating more citrus fruits (such as grapefruit, orange, tangerine, lemon, lime, clementine), they’re full with vitamin C, which increases the production of white blood cells. You can also find vitamin C in kiwi or papaya, including vegetables such as red bell peppers, broccoli, spinach. Try garlic to help lower blood pressure, ginger works best to decrease inflammation, nuts, such as almonds, have vitamin E and also healthy fats.

Hydrate often

Drink teas with turmeric or enjoy green tea and black tea, they’re rich in all the essentials you need for a daily intake of antioxidants that enhance your body’s natural immune responses. 

Keep a clear head

Manage your daily agenda to stay clear of stress factors, what we all need today is a bit of clear-headedness to get through the situation with a healthy and optimistic attitude.

Remember to take a breather once in a while

We know what it’s like to get very worked up with business or outside events, we at AHA Hyperbarics have had our fair share of personal and professional hurdles. Our go-to strategy is to remember that our mission is not just a technical venture, building hyperbaric inflatable chambers, it’s meant to help people breathe new vitality.

What’s your mission in life? Take all the time you need to reconnect with yourself.