Can You Contract COVID-19 Through the Eyes?

We continue learning more about the dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Novel Coronavirus that’s causing it. Previously, we’ve explained how long Sars-CoV-2 can last on different surfaces and the more unusual symptoms of the virus, to name a few. In this article, we feature one of the most important latest findings regarding the virus.

As you know, the Novel Coronavirus can be spread through inhaling contaminated water droplets in the air or by touching tainted surfaces with your hands and then touching your nose or mouth. New research articles report another way the virus can enter the body - your eyes. There are a few ways your eyes can be involved in a COVID-19.

First of all, a recent preprint study by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine showed that the virus may be capable of entering the body through the eyes by combining with the ACE2 receptor and using the receptor as a way to travel deeper into the body.

This means that simply rubbing your eyes with hands that came in contact with the virus or having someone sneeze or cough near you (even when you’re wearing a mask that doesn’t cover the eyes) could potentially cause a COVID-19 infection. Keep in mind, however, that this was a post-mortem study, and though the researchers found traces of the virus in all the specimens they tested, researchers need an epidemiological study to confirm these findings.

In addition to being capable of getting into your body through the eyes, recent research confirms that the virus may be infecting your eyes as well as the respiratory system and the heart. The most prominent study was published in the prestigious JAMA journal in March. This Ophthalmological research reported that conjunctivitis, or pink eye, is widespread among Coronavirus patients, affecting nearly 30% of COVID-19 subjects the study looked at. We are yet to find out whether there are any possible long-term effects of the virus on eyesight or eye health. 

Finally, both of the studies mentioned previously report that it’s possible to transmit the virus through tears, much like one can do so through saliva or nasal secretions. These findings should be taken into account both by doctors who work with COVID-19 patients and the society at large, and you may want to start protecting your eyes in addition to your nose and mouth when going outside or coming in contact with people, especially if you’re in the high-risk group or environment.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

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Why Can't You Sleep During Quarantine? Here's How Coronavirus Anxiety Is Leading to Insomnia

At the best of times, sleep comes with a long list of health benefits: It reduces inflammation, stress, and the risk of depression; improves cognitive function; and helps the body repair itself and ward off illness. Right now, amid COVID-19, a good night's sleep has never been more important—but many people are struggling to get their eight hours.

According to a recent report from Express Scripts, a prescription benefit plan provider, the use of anti-insomnia, anti-anxiety, and antidepressant medications have spiked, with filled prescriptions increasing by 21% between February and March 2020—that's after use decreased between 2015 and 2019. Those numbers peaked during the week of March 15—the same week the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic and the US declared a national emergency in response to the crisis, per the report.

“The COVID-19 situation is unprecedented in our lifetime—it affects everybody, all the time," Alcibiades Rodriguez, MD, medical director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center-Sleep Center at NYU Langone Health, tells Health. "The news is pretty almost entirely related to this, and usually focusing mostly on the negative. Anxiety levels are high, which may lead to fragmented sleep, unusual sleep schedules, etc."

The effects of the coronavirus on people’s sleep habits is also fascinating researchers. At the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health at Australia’s Monash University, Dr Melinda Jackson and her team are running a study that’s specifically about insomnia symptoms during the pandemic. "The impact of this pandemic has huge economic, health and social impacts—all of which can influence the way we sleep," Dr. Jackson, a senior lecturer in psychology, tells Health. "We’re interested in determining the societal impacts of COVID-19 and self-isolation on sleep, as well as stress levels and mood."

Early results indicate there’s something of a dichotomy going on. “Some people are reporting poorer or less sleep than usual, whereas there are others who are relishing in the fact that they don't have to get up at a fixed time each day and are actually sleeping more,” Dr. Jackson says.

For those whose sleep habits are suffering, Dr. Jackson believes heightened anxiety associated with concern about our health and that of our loved ones, along with financial distress and job loss, may be major factors. “Being isolated at home can also impact on our usual routines,” she says. “For instance, it’s really important to be consistent with your wake up time, but this goes out of the window when we don't have to get up for the morning commute each day anymore.”

The relationship between stress and sleep issues is complex, but studies have shown that stress affects various neurotransmitters that impact the brain. “Increased cortisol, which is elevated as part of the stress response, may be of particular importance,” Brandon Peters-Mathews, MD, a sleep medicine doctor at Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, and author of Sleep Through Insomnia, tells Health. “These chemicals may shift the sleep-wake balance in the brain, which may increase sleep fragmentation and lead to insomnia (habitual sleeplessness or inability to sleep) and increased dreaming.” Here's why you might be experiencing any (or all) of those sleep-related conditions right now—and what you can do to improve your sleep ASAP.

Insomnia
Dr. Rodriguez says insomnia often runs in families, but is also closely linked to mental health disorders, like anxiety. “The pandemic may exacerbate insomnia in patients that already suffer from it, or trigger new insomnia in others," he says. "As well as anxiety relating to the coronavirus, an abrupt change in daily activities and social isolation may contribute to changes in sleep patterns."

If you’re spending more time on your screens than ever—looking at news updates, reading COVID-19 advice, and staying connected to family and friends—this can make it even harder to fall asleep because the blue light from screens tells the brain to stop producing the sleep hormone melatonin, he adds.

Insomnia can also be depression-based. A consistent low mood, more downtime at home, and a lack of energy can increase daytime napping, which can ultimately make it harder to fall asleep at night.

Fragmented sleep

If you can fall asleep without too much trouble at bedtime, but experience many brief arousals throughout the night, this is known as sleep fragmentation. It's often caused by major stressors, such as the coronavirus pandemic.

“The brain processes information during sleep,” Dr. Peters-Mathews says. “Many of our routines have been severely disrupted by COVID-19. As we spend more time at home, we may have increased familial or relationship stress. Our normal outlets to reduce stress—exercise, spending time with friends, going out to eat, seeing a movie, or being in nature—may be absent. As the brain processes this additional stress, we may have more nighttime awakenings. 

Disturbing dreams

Vivid, disturbing dreams (what most people call nightmares) are closely linked to frequent nocturnal awakenings, the sleep docs say. Dreaming is a characterization of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, as well as a faster pulse rate and breathing, which happens at intervals during the night. “Waking from REM sleep will lead to the recall of these disturbing dreams,” Dr. Peters-Mathews says. “Stress may also cause increased dream recall.” So really, it may not actually be the case that you’re having more disturbing dreams—just that you’re remembering more of the dream content because you’re waking up more often through the night.

However, there’s still a connection between anxiety and disturbing dreams. “We see anxiety triggering extreme dreams in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),” Dr. Rodriguez says. While most people won’t experience PTSD as a result of the pandemic, it can’t be ruled out—particularly for frontline workers and those who have lost loved ones to the disease.

If it makes you feel any better, some studies suggest that anxious dreams aren’t all bad. A 2010 study published in Current Biology found that people who dreamed about solving a maze they’d been working on performed 10 times better than those who didn’t dream about it. And a 2014 study of students studying for the Sorbonne exam, published in Conscious Cognition, found that those who had anxiety dreams the night before the test performed significantly better on it. 

How to improve your sleep:

The most important thing right now, according to Dr. Peters-Mathews, is keeping a regular sleep-wake schedule. “Try to get up at the same time every day and get 15 to 30 minutes of sunlight exposure upon awakening,” he says, adding to "go to bed feeling sleepy, but don’t spend more than seven to nine hours in bed.” While everyone has different sleep requirements, Dr. Peters-Mathews says most adults only need about eight hours. (Those sleep needs start to change in those under 18, however—teens ages 13 to 18 need about up to 10 hours a night, while babies ages 4 months to 12 months should get up to 16 hours of sleep a day, including naps, per the American Academy of Pediatrics.)

You should also be aware of how your daily activities can harm or benefit your sleep schedule. "Try to avoid naps, and be careful with your consumption of caffeine and alcohol, especially in the evening," says Dr. Peters-Mathews. Dr. Malow, on the other hand, stresses the importance of regular daily exercise, and says even a walk can be helpful for promoting sleep. “Try to move every hour and engage in regular exercise—outside if you can,” she says. And of course, it's important to limit your news intake right now, if that causes added anxiety. "Turn screens off close to bedtime, especially social media and the news cycle,” she says.

If you find yourself feeling stressed about not being able to work, go to the gym, or spend time with your friends, try to spend some of that free time on self-care. “Try to cultivate ways to reduce stress and reach out to others for support,” Dr. Peters-Mathews says. “If insomnia persists, consider cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTI), which is a technique for treating insomnia without medications.”

But remember: Any coronavirus-related anxiety you’re feeling won’t always be there. "There is light at the end of the tunnel," Dr. Jackson says. "We just have to try and take the positive out of each day and focus on what we can do in the here and now."

The information in this story is accurate as of press time. However, as the situation surrounding COVID-19 continues to evolve, it's possible that some data have changed since publication. While Health is trying to keep our stories as up-to-date as possible, we also encourage readers to stay informed on news and recommendations for their own communities by using the CDC, WHO, and their local public health department as resources.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

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https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
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Keep Calm and Stay at Home – How to Sail Through the COVID-19 Crisis

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to claim precious lives, Sadhguru answers a pertinent question about how to stay calm when our loved ones are in mortal peril.

Questioner: All my family is in Italy. How can we not panic and be calm in this situation? It is very difficult for me to stay quiet.


Sadhguru: I was talking to someone in India that I know very well. Her son is in New York City, alone in his apartment, infected with coronavirus. So she is terrified and was telling me, "Why do we send our children so far away? Can they not be happy and well here, where we are? Now he is infected with coronavirus, and I do not know what to do." I reminded her that ten years ago she was also very far away from her parents. Now she has come back. Maybe he will also come back. 

I understand the struggle, that people who are dear to you are elsewhere, particularly in a place which is going through the throes of infection and there are hundreds of deaths per day. Definitely, you will be concerned, but you are not going to solve any problem by worrying yourself to sickness and panicking. That will only double your trouble. Nobody can deny that there is genuine trouble right now for all of us. Shall we deal with the trouble to the best of our capabilities or shall we multiply it in our mind? This is the choice we have. I would advise you, please do not multiply this in your mind. There is enough of a problem in the world already. Let us see how to minimize this problem for ourselves and everyone else around us.

Keep Calm and Stay Healthy

There is substantial data to show that if a person is exuberant, joyful and wonderful, their immune system is always functioning at a better level of protection than those who are depressed and worried about something.

When a situation is serious, you do not have to become serious. “If I am not serious, does it mean to say I am going to be frivolous?” No, you are just going to be joyful, responsible and sensible. Such a human being can deal with situations much better than those who are dead serious about everything. And especially if you are in panic, you are paralyzed. Right now, it is very important that all your faculties are in place and your body and brain function and respond the way they need to. 

Do Not Fight the Virus

In India, just a few people are infected. It may be a few thousand, but still it is few for 1.4 billion people. This is not the time to fight the virus – we must just dodge it. This virus uses us as transportation; we are the carriers, so the only thing you have to ensure is that you do not get infected and you do not give it to anyone else.

When someone is infected, there are medical professionals who will do what they have to do to fight the virus in their bodies. But the most important thing right now is to make sure that there is no seat for the virus to travel in your body, ensuring the distance, separation from people. Panic is not going to help, nor is the callousness of “nothing will happen to me” – with this attitude you could endanger everyone's life. If we do not provide this facility for the viruses to travel from us to someone else, then we can limit the fatalities. Keeping yourself uninfected is the greatest thing that you can do right now.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  
https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
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Five things coronavirus can teach us about life and death

The COVID-19 pandemic and the wall-to-wall news coverage that has come with it has changed many of our lives seemingly overnight. In the UK, as in many countries, this news coverage includes a daily death toll. For the first time in many people’s lives they are having to face their own mortality and that of their loved ones.

Facing up to this fact can be painful and disabling, but in my work as a professor of death studies I have found it offers an opportunity to rediscover truths about life – both individually and in society.

Below are five positive things death can teach us about life.

1. Your life perspective changes

Shared adversity can foster a sense of community and affinity with others that can be masked in normal times. The challenge is to sustain this after adversity ends. And just as personal encounters with mortality can transform a person’s life, a societal encounter with mortality has the potential to transform the life of society.

Disaster, pandemic and war can destabilise everyday social arrangements and assumptions, and catalyse profound social change. Arguably the Black Death helped end feudalism, the Chernobyl disaster helped hasten the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the experience of community solidarity and state intervention during World War II helped fuel the UK’s desire to set up a welfare state. This pandemic has potential to change society for the better, if we are able to seize this opportunity.

2. It highlights the power of nature

Many like to think they are masters of the physical world, including their own bodies. The deterioration of the body – whether through illness, disability, old age or ultimately death – reveals the limits of this assumption.

On a wider scale, humans are devastating the natural world, causing the extinction of thousands of species at an ever-increasing rate. Now, nature, in the form of a tiny virus that particularly threatens humans, is giving us a taste of our own medicine. The virus – like earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters – is reminding us that humans are also part of the natural world.

3. And the power of connection
New forms of heroism are emerging among frontline health workers, cleaners, delivery drivers, cashiers, refuse collectors and volunteers. From the clapping for carers that neighbourhoods in some countries are doing to the resurgence of neighbourliness and volunteering, the pandemic has created webs of giving and receiving. Distant family members and friends from the past get back in touch. What people do now counts, and can provide a meaning to life sadly absent in many nine-to-five jobs.

Sociologist and thinker Michael Young (Lord Young of Dartington) spent his life documenting and fostering social solidarity in Britain – he helped found the welfare state in the 1940s and then wrote a sociological study of family and kinship in east London. In the 1990s, he wrote in a study of people dying of cancer that death, while sundering relationships, can also bring people together:

Death is the common experience which can make all members of the human race feel their common bonds and their common humanity.
My own research confirms this to be true.

4. This is an opportunity for review
Facing up to mortality prompts us to reevaluate our lives. There are key times in the life course when this is likely to happen. One is the mid-life crisis, another is when entering old age – people look at what they have done so far, and may find themselves content with this, or decide to change, or regret that it seems too late to change.

The pandemic may cause some to review their lives while they still have enough decades left to act on their review. Not only whole societies, but some individuals may decide to live in new ways.

5. Death needs to be talked about

Facing up to mortality also has some simple practical implications. However fit and youthful you are, you should write a will and talk frankly and openly to those closest to you about your thoughts, hopes and fears.
alk about what treatment you would or would not want if you catch COVID-19 and deteriorate. But be aware that with both health services and families stretched, there is no guarantee your wishes will be carried out – though discussing them first certainly helps.

Death’s lesson here, perhaps, is about the limits to our control over our own life.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

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How human cells block bird flu infection

Researchers have found how the bird flu virus, which kills 60 per cent of the people it infects, is blocked by human cells, an advance that may lead to better approaches for stopping the potentially pandemic disease. The researchers have found a way to assess whether people who suddenly become infected with a bird flu virus represent the first signs of a large scale disease outbreak.

The study noted that avian influenza A viruses (IAVs) — such as H5N1, H7N9, and H5N6 — are unable to transform infected human cells into effective virus factories since they do not produce enough of the matrix protein M1 following infection. The researchers said the infectious agent requires this protein to export the many copies of its genetic material from the cell nucleus — an essential process for building new viruses.

One of the proteins is hemagglutinin (H), which enables the virus to infect human and animal cells where it can multiply, and the other is neuraminidase (N), which helps the virus’ offspring to extract themselves from the infected cell. Citing waterfowls as an example, the researchers said, there are 16 known hemagglutinin subtypes and nine known neuraminidase subtypes, resulting in at least 144 possible H and N combinations for infecting this bird.

this is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     
https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  
https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement