MOHANTY: Not about COVID but about immunity

Published 9:00 am Wednesday, January 27, 2021

I had too much doubt and wondered what any occupational therapy practitioner can ever do to help COVID 19 patients. Besides the usual aspect of rehabilitation after recovery, my brain could not think of anything. 

Almost after a year, the American Occupational Therapy Association has published numerous guidelines, educational events and numerous occupational therapists are courageously dedicated to restoring and rehabilitating people affected by COVID 19.

Immunity: Human immune system is complex but powerful defense system to keep us alive. For the sake of simplicity, just think of it as a combination of all Army, Navy and Air Force of the body.

There is no doubt that the stronger the immunity, the less likely we will get seriously ill from any viral, bacterial attack. We may develop some short of illness due to the external virus, bacterial infection, but if our immune system is strong enough, we may ultimately prevail. This is common sense, but we can make it more powerful the following way.

We know all this; we simply do not practice or give up or take an easy path.

The following well-known practices can boost acquired immunity:

– Eating colored fruits and vegetables each day, every day.

– Take care of your gut health, try some plain yogurt three to four times a week.

– Walk and move every day, each day. If you cannot walk or cannot get out of the house, move arms and legs, whenever you can.

– Sleep well, sleep during the night. Avoid daytime naps.

– Eat small meals (break your meals, don’t eat a huge plate at one time), take time to chew.

– Eat food that contains good amounts of Vitamin C, Vitamin A, E & D. Not supplement but real food

– Laugh often, spend more time with family and friends, less time on electronics, more time in your garden or cooking.

– Take it easy always, develop healthy emotional attitude, forgive and move on from little things and big things if you can.

In a practical matter, if you are out of the house, in the store, any public places, try to use your non-dominant hand to open doors, flush toilet or whatever you hold and operate. The logic is, you always use your dominant hand to touch your nose, mouth, eyes. So, use that non-dominant hand to touch those doorknobs, everything you need to while you are out.

This cannot hurt.

Declaration: This article is not medical advice, not intended to render/solicit any medical/professional advice. This is only for educational purposes. Consult your health care provider for your medical needs.

Bikram Mohanty is an occupational therapist and a resident of Valdosta.