The fear and stress associated with the coronavirus permeates through news outlets on a daily basis. Whether from the television, radio, or even on social media, you probably hear about the surge in cases as well as the overall negative impacts COVID-19 has had on the economy, the mental health of the average citizen, and the global health system, pretty much all the time.
Flu Season is cut short by COVID-19 measures
An interesting fact when analyzing trends in other diseases compared to COVID-19 is that many infectious diseases are becoming less common in society compared to past years. According to Nature, a prominent scientific magazine, early data suggests that the flu season was cut short by nearly six weeks compared to last year after COVID-19 prevention measurements were put in place.
In most countries around the world, the elderly no longer routinely venture out of their homes due to concerns about catching COVID-19. Younger populations still have the same risk of catching the flu but do not typically exhibit signs of the disease if they catch it, similar to what can happen with the coronavirus. Even if a younger adult does catch the flu, they used to be likely go to the doctor unless symptoms are severe, although many people may be more inclined to seek medical help when they catch influenza due to fears they could instead be infected with COVID-19.
Another important reason to consider is the improved hygiene that may people now exhibit. Due to concerns of catching coronavirus, many people now think twice about touching their faces. This can be a very important behavioral change because our eyes, nose and mouth represent the most likely points of entry for bacteria or viruses to enter our body.
If good hygiene is followed, such as remembering to wash your hands with soap and water, or using hand sanitizer when that is not available, the potential entry of bacteria or viruses is dramatically reduced. Remembering to cover your mouth with your hands or inside of your arm when you sneeze or cough is also a vital behavior that many people now take seriously to prevent germs from spreading further around them.
It is likely that you have been a witness to a situation yourself where someone sneezing or coughing in public automatically attracts the attention of all those around him. As a result, many people will obviously go out of their way to avoid walking in close proximity to this person. Although this may be an extreme measure, and can be humorous to watch as a bystander, this extreme caution will also help reduce the spread of any disease spread by respiratory droplets.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases are also less common in the general population in the era of COVID-19?
Another area of medicine that has seen a benefit from the emergence of the coronavirus would be in regards to the decline in sexually transmitted diseases. Again, much like as I had discussed above, a big reason for this is the social isolation of individuals at a high risk of catching an STD. Younger populations are more cautious about meeting dates due to concerns over COVID, so the risk of catching an STD diminishes when these populations are forced into celibacy.
Could COVID-19 really be contributing to a more health-minded society?
This is a tricky question to answer, because the statistics would suggest that the measures we are taking to curb the spread of COVID are effective at stopping other diseases likely to be seen with close contact. As a result, a gauntlet of other diseases like HIV, mononucleosis or even the common cold would be less prevalent just because the chance of infection is lowered when you are not in close proximity to other people.
Another thing to consider is that most people are avoiding any significant vacations due to restrictions on flights abroad. When you are not moving into and out of new environments as frequently as before, the stress put on your immune system will be lowered and you may not get sick as often.
People's fears of seeking medical attention are understandable considering that many people worry that a trip to the local clinic or the hospital will surely lead to becoming infected with COVID. Based on what you may see on the news every day, that would be my thought as well if I didn’t have direct experience with working in a COVID hospital.
Roughly 60 percent of patients in my hospital now do not report to control visits because they are worried about becoming infected with COVID. When talking to colleagues in other departments, I have heard similar stories of missed visits. Those who do show up for visits only do so typically if they have severe conditions that require constant medical intervention.
It is important that hospitals are just as safe (or dangerous) as before for the average person to come to an appointment with their doctor. All healthcare providers should be using personal protective equipment in the form of gloves, face masks and some type of eye protection and should thoroughly clean their hands before and after each patient encounter so the risk of doctors catching the disease, or from patients catching the disease from a healthcare worker, is dramatically diminished.
Many hospitals are also now being restructured to have specialists with more experience in medicine be in charge of monitoring more severe cases of COVID-19. This expertise is vital to help improve the prognosis of a COVID, patient but it also prevents this specialist from meeting with their own patients, which could limit the detection of new cases of diseases as well.
A doctor’s recommendations for dealing with COVID while treating other diseases
Although news outlets constantly are referring to breakthroughs in medications designed to stop COVID or how we are very close to a vaccine against the disease, the reality of the matter is that even if we do have some type of vaccination to stop COVID, nothing that can be proven ready for the masses and determined to be safe will be available for at least another year or two. If you have heard otherwise, this is not coming from a scientifically-based source.
Keeping this in mind, it is far more important for you to learn how to live with COVID rather than being hunkered down at home just waiting a few more months for a magic panacea. Hygiene is the most important defense against COVID-19. Always carry hand sanitizer with you in public, avoid touching your face, and wear a mask in densely populated areas to help reduce the chance of catching the coronavirus.
As more people start to return back to their normal lives, we may see that the flu or STDs become more prevalent once again. In reality, however, we cannot stay socially isolated forever so it is important to remember that the hygienic practices you follow now can have a lasting impact on your health if you stick with them. If enough people remember to follow these simple steps, we truly may see a decline in other diseases of society like STDs or the flu.
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