Well, we're doing it... we’re flying to Spain next week. Or, perhaps I should say, we have tickets paid for and accommodations booked there. We won’t know until the last minute whether our flight is cancelled/postponed (our airline is cancelling a lot of flights!) Such is life during COVID. Are we brave or stupid? Maybe a little of both…
But I suppose we’re no different than the Olympic athletes who are planning to head to Beijing in February. We've weighed the pros and cons, and taken every precaution we can think of. On the down side, we are seeing in the news that many flights are being cancelled due to passengers changing their minds plus lack of staff (that aren’t sick or burned out) to fly the planes... not to mention the weather. Makes me wonder whether our 3-month winter in Spain may be cancelled at the last minute. But one consolation is that the wave should have passed by the time we’re due to head back. We certainly wouldn’t have considered going for a short stint of a week or two.
Why would we consider travelling during a pandemic?
The answer is, our trip was planned last spring when COVID was looking quite settled and it was paid for in November, just after I knew I was recovering from a 6-month-long painful condition but before the Omicron variant was identified. Although we are allowed one change for free, we don’t want to postpone our departure as some have done, since we want to have the option to come back early if we need to, for whatever reason. Of course, after we booked our tickets, the airlines added unlimited changes at no cost to entice travellers… too late for us.
So, our suitcases are packed, we’ve gotten our Euros, and everything is arranged. Our family thinks we’re crazy, heading off to spend 3 months on another continent during the 5th wave of the COVID pandemic. But things aren’t sounding any better here, with dire predictions for the next 4 to 6 weeks that the worst is yet to come.
Spain, in comparison, is believed to have hit its peak of the Omicron wave, and the area we're staying in, Andalusia, has the lowest case counts in the country. Still, we'll need to be careful.
Taking all precautions
So, we’ve taken every precaution we can think of to stay safe. We have N95 masks (recommended by the CDC and other authorities as the safest to use), we’ve checked the conditions at our destination repeatedly (including reports from people who have visited there recently), and we got our 3rd boosters before Christmas.
We’ve even been taking vitamin D (reported to be anti-inflammatory and essential for a well-functioning immune system) even though it hasn’t been proven to prevent COVID or reduce symptoms. Of course, we always take 2000iu every winter anyway, living in Canada where there’s not enough sunshine to make our own vitamin D in the snowy season, so that was a no-brainer.
New COVID treatments to use at home…
As you may know, I’m constantly reading medical news, being a retired pharmacist. I’ve been watching reports of a common antidepressant, called Fluvoxamine, being useful to reduce inflammation from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID. And just last week, the highly rated British medical journal, the Lancet, published results of a study that found the drug reduced the risk of hospitalization of patients at risk of severe outcomes by about 30%, and up to 60% if taken for a full 10 days.
I’m healthy (or at least I’m getting back to my normal healthy self, now that I’ve recovered from the minor surgery that I waited months for because of COVID). Getting to a place that’s warm and sunny (and not icy!) will help me recover my usual strength and stamina. But we’re both over that magical age of 65 and my hubby is a heart patient, generally considered to be at higher risk I think he might be a candidate for Fluvoxamine preventive treatment, should he contract the virus. And they say we all will, vaccinated or not… vaccination just means you’re much less likely to end up in hospital or die from it.
So, here’s the deal (as one famous person likes to put it…) A 10-day course of Fluvoxamine 100mg twice daily is an inexpensive treatment that can make a difference in the outcome of a COVID infection for those considered at high risk of the severe version, if started within the first 7 days of symptoms. It won’t work as well as the far more expensive anti-viral treatments that are available or coming soon, especially if you’re already very ill, but it’s just one more thing that we can do now to help reduce hospitalizations. As a side benefit, since it’s also an antidepressant, I suppose it could help with what I call “COVIDosis”… that blah feeling that this pandemic has left so many of us with. Included in the side effects list, however, you’ll see drowsiness (or, strangely, sometimes insomnia), stomach upset (reduced by taking with food), or sexual problems (but who wants sex when they’re sick anyway?)
Another alternative to prevent lung inflammation is to use an inhaler for asthma, called Pulmicort, twice a day for 14 days. This treatment has fewer side effects while still targeting the lung inflammation that can make it hard to breath. The main side effect is an increased chance of getting a fungal mouth/throat infection called thrush. This can be countered by rinsing the mouth with water then spitting, or by brushing your teeth after using it.
This week, the government announced that our province is on the list of those at or very near hospital capacity and that we all should avoid being in contact with others as much as possible. Reluctantly they announced a 2-week lockdown here in New Brunswick. We all need to do everything we can to slow the spread of the virus to a pace that our heath care system can handle. Shortages in hospital staff have even resulted in less staff at our local clinic, so it makes sense to be making good use of these medications when it’s indicated to reduce the chance of needing acute medical care.
But sadly, it seems to be taking time for the word to get out about these treatments. This is very common in the medical system. Although research and distribution of new knowledge about SARS-CoV-2 infection is advancing more quickly than normal due to the severity of the disease, it always takes time for results of a published study to become policy.
Ontario is the first Canadian province to have added Fluvoxamine to its official list of options for treating COVID. I’m wondering how long it will take NB officials to do the same. Fortunately, Pulmicort is already recommended for COVID treatment (according to our local doctors' office), and our local Nurse Practitioner was willing to prescribe it for my hubby and I to take with us, just in case.
Hospitalization is very expensive. The drugs they use in hospital to treat severe COVID are also very expensive. Ten days of Fluvoxamine 100mg twice daily or a Pulmicort inhaler is dirt cheap by comparison.
So, if you are diagnosed with COVID and have underlying health problems, like diabetes, heart disease or a poorly functioning immune system (for example, due to cancer treatment or medication you are taking) ask your doctor about taking Fluvoxamine or using a Pulmicort inhaler when you are first diagnosed. They both need to be started early (within a week of diagnosis) for best effectiveness.
Heck, if you’re over 65 like me, you’re already in a higher risk category. That’s why I asked for a course of treatment to take with me to Spain!
Weigh the pros and cons
So, I'm not trying to encourage others to travel right now but, if you're going to (or have to) travel, I wanted you to know about some of the extra precautions you can take in addition to masks, distancing, hygiene, and reducing contact with others, whether you're at home or elsewhere.
For us, I know we’ll have a healthier lifestyle in Spain, being able to walk outside in the sunshine and we’ll have lots of fresh fruits and veggies available. If we do go to a restaurant, we will be eating outdoors. How could you go wrong eating the Mediterranean Diet in the Mediterranean? Of course, we’ll have to resist stopping into those wonderful panaderías with their fresh-baked goodies… at least some of the time!)
View from my home today...
Snow and a raging wind have kept us mostly inside here for the past several days. I could have sworn there were planes circling over our house all night last night--such a strong, loud wind. A storm surge has also meant I’d be better off with skates if I wanted to walk to the beach in front of my home… We’re feeling lucky that we haven’t lost our power! It's enough to start anyone thinking about "getting out of Dodge" to a place where it's easier to spend more time outdoors, right?
Anyway, wherever you are, stay safe! Like everyone else, we're trying to learn to live as safely as possible with this disease that they're saying will be with us for a while longer...
References:
COVID-osis – Midlife Health Blog, Jeannie Collins Beaudin
Common asthma drug cuts COVID-19 hospitalization risk, recovery time - Oxford study -- Reuters
Effect of early treatment with fluvoxamine on risk of emergency care and hospitalisation among patients with COVID-19: the TOGETHER randomised, platform clinical trial – The Lancet
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