Summer colds are like common colds that happen during the summer. But why do they feel worse? To break it down, even though colds are virus-based, some viruses that cause colds are more prone to warmer weather; hence, making them summer colds.

As the climate shifts, so does the viral landscape. This shift introduces enteroviruses into the mix. They’re a group of viruses that usually cause mild infectious illnesses similar to that of the common cold, and often cause these infections during the summer and fall seasons. 

The various strains and versions of enteroviruses cause multiple symptoms, some of which are uncommon for summer colds, such as sudden fever, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. 

Common Symptoms of Summer Colds

• Pressure in the sinuses or head

• Runny nose

• Sneezing

• Coughing

• Congestion

• Body and muscle aches

• Sore throat

• Low energy 

Alleviating Symptoms

Although there aren’t any cures for colds, there are ways to alleviate the symptoms: 

• Drink plenty of fluids, mostly water. Stay away from drinks that can cause dehydration, like coffee or energy drinks. 

• Rest, rest, and more rest. Getting lots of rest is very important. Allowing yourself to rest during this time allows the body to heal and recuperate faster. 

• Cough medicine/pain relievers/fever reducers

• Decongestants 

• Humidifier to help with coughing and to reduce air dryness 

Please note that antibiotics do not treat colds. This is because antibiotics only treat bacterial infections, not viral ones, like colds. 

Ways To Prevent Summer Colds

There may not be a cure for colds, yet you can still prevent yourself from catching one by:

• Frequently wash your hands

• Get plenty of sleep to strengthen your immune system

• Eat well-balanced meals

• Remain well-hydrated 

• As much as possible, avoid contact with those who are sick

Conclusion

All in all, colds are not fun in any season. If you do catch a summer cold, know that there are ways to alleviate the symptoms. 

Summer colds typically last a few days up to a week. But if you develop more concerning symptoms, take the time to speak to your healthcare provider, drop by one of our 10 locations, or click here to schedule a Telemedicine appointment.

The post Summer Colds: Why Are They So Bad? appeared first on Quick Med Care.

STEP 1: Schedule a Screening Appointment

Option A — Call our COVID-19 Hotline: (844) 797-8425, Option 0 (Monday-Friday 9am to 4pm) to set up an initial screening visit at one of our locations. Click here to see addresses and contact information for our 11 locations across central Florida.  

OR

Option B — If you prefer to have your initial screening visit via Telemedicine, click here to schedule a date and time for an appointment. Telemedicine is covered 100% by most insurances for COVID-19 related visits and as low as $49 for self pay.

STEP 2: Two COVID-19 Coronavirus Testing Options

Option A — If you are experiencing symptoms, you will be screened for COVID-19 using an FDA-approved lab test. 

Option B — If you are not currently experiencing symptoms, you will be screened using the FDA-approved antibody lab test. Results will show past infection of COVID-19 or current infection, even if no symptoms are being experienced. 

Following your Telemedicine or In-Office visit, you will be directed to either our Crystal River or Silver Springs location for FDA-approved COVID-19 lab test or FDA-approved COVID-19 antibody test.

Additional Testing Information

– Lab tests results will be available in approximately 3 business days from receipt of your sample.

– Hours for COVID-19 testing at our Crystal River and Silver Springs locations: Monday to Friday, 9 am to 4 pm.

– Once we receive your COVID-19 test results from the lab, one of our representatives will call you to inform you of your status.

Stay Germ-Free!

As the old adage goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure when it comes to COVID-19. Remember to remain vigilant when taking steps to prevent exposure to the Coronavirus by thorough handwashing, social distancing, wearing a face covering and eye protection.

Remember, it’s still possible to spread the virus if you’re asymptomatic (not showing symptoms). Stay safe, and please feel free to give us a call with any questions or concerns.

The post Same-Day COVID-19 Testing Appointments Now Available! appeared first on Quick Med Care.

Most of us have a designated work area at home, whether it’s an actual office or a kitchen table. You have a few factors if you want to get your work done: organization, communication, and routine.

Make Organization a Priority

An excellent way to stay on top of your work game, and stay organized, is to make a daily schedule or list of things to accomplish. Hey, this works wonders in the actual workplace, so why not at home, right?

It’s also a good idea to pay attention to your work area to ensure it stays neat and tidy. A chaotic work environment makes it hard to concentrate and can lead to avoidable mistakes.

Keep the Channels of Communication Open

Reliable communication is critical too. Try starting your day with a teleconference with coworkers. Their faces may not always be smiling, but it’s a good reminder that they’re there for you, and just a WhatsApp or phone call away if you need clarification or help with a task.

Routine is a Good Thing

Establishing a routine is also critical. Without office life structure, it’s easy to put in even more hours than in a conventional office setting. Granted, you may have to put in more hours to help keep things running smoothly for your organization, but there comes a time when you need to set parameters.

Don’t forget to establish a routine that leads to some personal fulfillment. It’s so easy to let days slide away from you. Before you know it, you’ve been wearing the same pineapple-print button-down for weeks. Sure, you slip it on a nanosecond before your morning teleconference, but do your coworkers know that?

Many of us have been unexpectedly directed to work from home during this pandemic. Love it or hate it; we all need to take the learning curve in stride and remember that this new work dynamic is not forever.

The post Tips on How to Avoid Working-at-Home Burnout appeared first on Quick Med Care.

Our kids react differently

Researchers in China have investigated the rates at which children have acquired the virus and the symptoms they exhibited. What they found was that about 4% of children were asymptomatic, 51% had mild illness and 39% had moderate illness. About 6% had severe or critical illness, compared to 18.5% of adults.

Reasons for these findings are unknown. Researchers have two hypotheses why our children are affected differently by the coronavirus:

• They are exposed to more viruses thus having a higher antibody count prepared 
• COVID-19 virus doesn’t bind to children’s cells the same way it binds to an adult’s cells

Some kids are asymptomatic 

Research data suggests that young people who have tested positive for the coronavirus have shown little to no symptoms; sometimes exhibiting symptoms similar to a mild cold.

The typical COVID-19 symptoms in adults are fever, shortness of breath and cough; while 56% of pediatric patients reported fever, 54% reported cough, and 13% reported shortness of breath, compared with 71%, 80%, and 43%, respectively in adults.

A word of caution to high-risk groups

There is still reason to be cautious regarding the transmission of COVID-19. Though infected children may not show as many symptoms, they still carry and transmit the virus to other parties. For this reason, the schools are closed.

The last thing you would want is for the virus to be transmitted to a grandparent or infant through an asymptomatic carrier of the virus. These particular groups of individuals  have weakened or underdeveloped immune systems and can be hit hard by the effects of the virus.

Not much is known about the why behind the affected groups, and ratios there-in, as more research needs to be done. However, researchers are working diligently so that we may have the information we need to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

In the meantime, we can can do what we can to #flattenthecurve by practicing social distancing, wearing a mask, and exercising a consistent handwashing and cleaning regimen. 

The post COVID-19: Affects Adults and Children Differently appeared first on Quick Med Care.

A restorative night’s sleep is a great way to keep nasty germs at bay. Your immune system relies on you getting around 7 hours’ sleep a night on a consistent basis to operate effectively.

A busy schedule of work, kids, plus more work, with a mix of daily stressors from the media, can sabotage your sleep and your well-being all at the same time. Mom is right – you need your beauty sleep, but your body can benefit from quality sleep in other ways too. That’s because sleep gives your body the time it needs to rest and recover.

Ever wonder why you’re tired when you’re sick? It’s no coincidence – you body craves that rest to heal itself. Now, we’re going to have a short science lesson to explain why sleep is important to maintain immunity from pathogens, like viruses.

Time for Immunology 101

The T cells in your body detect and combat infected cells, destroying them. What’s key is a sticky protein called integrin, which helps the T cell stick to the viral invader, killing it.

Numerous studies indicate that those of us who have a consistent sleep pattern have higher levels of this protein activated within our cells.

If the functioning of your T cells is not up to par, your body will have a harder time warding off disease. Better yet, your body remembers these invading pathogens, fighting them off in the future if you’re exposed to them a second time.

Sleep: The Foundation of Health

If you consistently have less than 5 hours’ sleep each night, you’re setting yourself up for a host of chronic conditions, like diabetes, heart disease and obesity. The good part is that you can make healthy choices to help your body get the restorative rest that it needs.

Try keeping stress in check by limiting time on social media or watching the news. Alternately, make the most of your time by catching up on reading; playing games with your kids; or finally get around to those tasks that are perpetually on your procrastination list, like bathing the dog.

A positive mindset during the day will make it easier for you to sleep at night.

The post Sleep Gives Your Body the Boost it Needs to Stay Healthy appeared first on Quick Med Care.

The Science of Soap

Most viruses have an outer layer made up of lipids, more commonly known as fat. Water alone tends to wick off the fat, but soap will dissolve it. Soap and alcohol are great for dissolving that fatty outer layer. Think of them as the superheroes of the germ world.

Germs: The Struggle is Real

It comes down to how soap molecules are formed. One end bonds with water, and the tail end rejects it, seeking out oil and fatty-like tissue. Like a magnet, the tail tries to push away from the water and attaches itself to the fatty outer layer of the virus, trying to pry itself into it like a spearhead. Once the virus is broken open, it spills into the soapy water and dies.

Now, who knew there was so much drama involved in washing your hands?

The Science of Scrubbing

Water and scrubbing are important because they cause the sudsy bubbles to form, which is what causes the bacteria, viruses and other germs to attach themselves to the suds. Warm water bubbles and foams quicker than cold. While you can use cold water, you’ll need to wash for about 15 more seconds.

Washing for 20 seconds (with warm water, 30-35 seconds with cold) allows for this germ-obliteration to take place. Building up bubbles and washing every surface of your hands, trapping all germs in the soap molecules. Then as you rinse, the foam, along with bacteria and viruses, are washed away down the drain.

Now that you have the science behind hand washing down pat, you can understand how important it can be to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Be mindful of what you touch and wash your hands often. It’s a tried-and-true way to stop the spread of this horrific virus.

The post Why Soap and Water Defeat the Coronavirus appeared first on Quick Med Care.

Don’t just change your behavior to avoid being infected,
but instead assume you are infected
and change your behavior to avoid transmission.

Dr. Dacelin St. Martin

You Can Spread the Virus and Not Even Know It

The most common way of spreading the coronavirus is through coughs, sneezes, and spittle while speaking from an infected person – up to 48 hours BEFORE they start feeling sick. You see, therein lies the tricky part of spreading COVID-19; up to 25% of people may never feel symptoms but still carry and transmit the virus.

It’s suggested that we leave the medical-grade masks for the professionals, as there is currently a shortage. However, we can still do our best reduce the spread and #FlattenTheCurve.

Do-it-yourself masks work great in a pinch and can offer protection from infected respiratory particles.

Get Creative with your Masks

Different types of fabric will work when making a DIY mask. Cloth t-shirts are simple to repurpose and convert easily to a mask. Actually, any tightly woven fabric will work: bandannas, scarves, and even (clean) shop towels. Avoid synthetic or polyester fabrics as the virus tends to survive on these surfaces.  

[See image gallery at quickcaremed.com]

What’s key is that your mask is made from a tight-fitting and tightly woven material that will catch as many respiratory droplets as it can. The CDC has some additional information about fitting as well as instructions on how to make a mask yourself here.

Here are a few rules to follow to help prevent spreading COVID-19:

     •Inspect the mask for any holes or tears to make sure that it’s intact
     •Wash your hands with soap and water or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer (60% alcohol) before putting on the mask
     •Cover your nose and mouth with the mask and make sure no gaps exist between it and your face
     •Avoid touching the front of your mask while wearing it as this can lead to you infecting yourself
     •If you do touch your mask, wash or sanitize your hands immediately
     •When your mask gets damp, replace it
     •Do not reuse these single-use masks
     •Remove your mask from behind rather than touching the front of the mask
     •Discard or wash the used mask immediately and clean your hands again

Try and stay home as much as you can, but when you must go out be sure to do what you can to prevent the spread of this virus. With or without symptoms, you can do your part and protect those around you. Be loving, caring and be a hero by protecting those around you. Encourage those that wear mask by thanking them for wearing the covering or mask. They are showing that they care. 

Share this message with as many people as you can. Use Facebook and other social media links to get it out to your family and friends.

If everyone covers up, we can really slow COVID-19 down and get rid of this monster. 

The post Do Your Part! How a Cloth Mask/Covering Fights the COVID-19 Spread appeared first on Quick Med Care.

About the CDC Guidelines

According to these guidelines, social distancing means staying about 6 feet from other people, not gathering in groups, and staying away from crowded places. Accepting these guidelines is a no-brainer; however, we need to understand the reasoning behind it. First, here’s a hypothetical situation:

You decide that you need groceries from your local supermarket. You head in and the place is packed and before you know it, you’re shoulder-to-shoulder with fellow shoppers. Then it happens: a woman to your right sneezes, releasing droplets into the air or a healthy looking young man is talking and spittle is ejected from his mouth. The sprinkling or droplets head towards you. In most cases you will be none-the-wiser. Luckily, the droplets’ relatively large size, greater than 5 micrometres, make them arc downward and hit the floor or other surfaces.

How you become infected

Now, there are multiple ways you can become infected by these suspect COVID-19 droplets; if you are close enough, infected droplets can be inhaled directly into your lungs or by touching infected surfaces. If you come into contact with a contaminated surface, like a doorknob or a counter, and then touch your mouth, eyes, or nose, you can contract COVID-19. If infected, you may or may not have symptoms. This is what makes this virus so contagious. Asymptomatic, unconcerned individuals will spread it without knowing and those with compromised immune system and/or elderly will pay the heavy price. Although, cases showing healthy, young individuals, that end up dying after contracting COVID-19, do exist.

Social distancing and handwashing are key

This 6-foot distance outlined in the CDC Guidelines, gives enough distance for the airborne virus to travel and fall out of the air between people. COVID-19 can live for hours or days on a surface, depending on factors like sunlight, humidity, and surface type.

Now, what’s also key is washing your hands frequently throughout the day with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds. Happy birthday is a good song to sing (twice) or sing your favorite jam. Or simply count to 20. The trick is to give it enough time to have the soap breakdown and destroy the virus.

Social distancing helps limit contact with infected people and contaminated surfaces. It helps unknowing infected people from unwittingly passing this terrible virus to others.  Anyone can catch and spread the coronavirus, though the severity of the illness can be different for everyone. Think of the consequences if grandma or a family member catches COVID-19.

We’re in this together – at a distance

We all need to do our part to stop the spread and protect our neighbors, friends, families and our ourselves from this virus. Stay vigilant: maintain your distance, wash your hands, and keep surfaces clean.

The post The Why Behind Social Distancing – Stop the COVID-19 Spread appeared first on Quick Med Care.

This is a current topic of discussion in the media. Now, let’s apply some simple logic.

We’re constantly learning about the behavior of COVID-19 and how we can fight back against it. We’ve learned that COVID-19 may be transmitted by people who are asymptomatic or not showing signs of illness. The reality is that unsuspecting folks may infect others without even knowing it.

It’s predicted that more than 200,000 people may die from COVID-19 in the USA without strict mitigation measures.

A n95 is the standard mask, but it’s hard to find and uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time. That said, we’ve learned that wearing a regular surgical mask with frequent handwashing reduces the transmission of the virus in a regular setting. This approach is easily implemented and may be cheaper than other more costly mitigating measures.

If our goal is to overcome this COVID-19 situation sooner than later, it’s necessary encourage masking-wearing, in addition to social distancing, at least for the short-term. What’s key is making masks available to the public. This is not counterintuitive to what we are trying to solve: Prevention is better than a cure.

The post Should you wear a face mask to prevent COVID-19? appeared first on Quick Med Care.

There’s only so much TV and gaming you can do, but thankfully, there are many activities out there to keep little (and not-so-little) minds happy and occupied. Keep in mind that all these activities require little to no prep and use props that most of us have around the house.

Forts

If you have a couch, some cushions, and some blankets, well, you have a fort. Your new homestead can be anything: a campsite, a medieval fortress, or a secret society. If you opt for a secret society, come up with signature handshakes or your language. More props to you if you can include the family dog in this adventure.

Snacks & Shapes

There’s a good chance that one of your staples (along with water and toilet paper) is white bread or any bread. And if you have cookie cutters, you can cut out shapes into snazzy designs, and even put together some scrumptious P&J sandwiches. Just remind the little ones to wash their hands before they get started.

Shaving Cream Art

This activity is great if you have little ones who are under the age of five. Please encourage them to make their favorite animal, person, or thing. Also, shaving cream is excellent for finger painting and letter recognition. Begin to spell out simple words, and the first person to guess the word gets the point. The winner receives a trophy made from construction paper or grandpa’s bowling trophy from the ’70s.

Old Halloween Costumes

Have your kids model their Halloween costumes from years gone by. Think of it as “spooky dress up.” Have them model their “new looks” and take pics of them to have a relic of the time you spent together as a family. If you have leftover candy (or anything for that matter), practice your trick-or-treating for next year by having your kids knock at many doors around the house.

Freeze Dance

Pump up the bass and get your kids dancing. Feel free to join in or lounge on the sidelines on the couch. Play the music for a few seconds and then pause it, which indicates that everyone should stop moving. Dance, pause, repeat until the kids are good and tired, and are ready to return to their forts for a nap.

There are so many activities that you can do to keep your family busy and make memories while in the process. What’s most important is that you’re safe and sound in your home’s comfort, spending time with those who mean the most to you.

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