need advice hubby now has covid

numb

called ambulance yesterday he fell and started peeing blood. While admitting him they did a covid test and it's postive. They never called to let me know found it on the portal and called them, I was shocked as he is homebound but was in the hospital a week and a half ago for an operation. 

So he tests positive yesterday and they want to send him home today.

My son and i just got tested will have results in 24 hours.

Impossible to isolate hubby as I do everything for him 24/7 bathing, dressing feeding etc.

Anyone else have to care for a relative with Alz at home with covid and how do you keep yourself safe?

jfkoc

What did the test for UTI show???

numb

his urine test showed high WBC count and of course blood in the urine. Now they are thinking possiblility of bladder cancer but told them no invasive tests for that.

I'm more worried right now about bringing him home with covid I though isolation meant he should not be around anyone who is not infected?

Jo C.

Hello numb; I am sorry that this has happened and can understand your concern.  Here is the guidance that the CDC provided regarding care of a person with COVID in the home. Scroll down and read the entire information; there is a section on how to protect yourself. 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/care-for-someone.html

This of course would all be easier of it was care for a person without dementia; protecting yourself as much as possible is the primary idea.

The following is from the Mayo Clinic regarding when to discontinue isolation of the patient.  Please note the last paragraph which would be important for you:

"Ending isolation or quarantine

Isolation is used to separate people with the COVID-19 virus from those who aren't sick. Talk to the doctor about when to end home isolation if you have a weakened immune system. If you think or know you had COVID-19 and had symptoms, the CDC recommends that it's OK to be around others after:

• At least 10 days have passed since your symptoms started
• At least 24 hours have passed with no fever without the use of fever-reducing medicine
• Other symptoms are improving — loss of taste and smell might last for weeks or months after recovery but shouldn't delay ending isolation

Most people don't need testing to decide when they can be around others.

If you are caring for someone with COVID-19 and you aren't fully vaccinated, the CDC recommends that you quarantine for 14 days after your last contact with the sick person and watch for symptoms of COVID-19. Try to stay away from people in your household. If you have symptoms, self-isolate. Other options may include ending quarantine after 10 days if you don't have symptoms and won't get tested or ending quarantine after 7 days if you get a negative test result. Continue to watch for symptoms for 14 days.

However, if you’ve been caring for someone with COVID-19, you don’t need to stay home if:

• You’ve been fully vaccinated and have no symptoms of COVID-19.
• You’ve had COVID-19 within the last three months, recovered and remain without symptoms of COVID-19.

If you're fully vaccinated, get tested 3 to 5 days after the exposure, even if you don't have symptoms. It's also recommended that you wear a mask indoors in public for 14 days following the exposure or until you get a negative test result."

Let us know how you are doing when you have the time to do so; I will be thinking of you.

J.

jfkoc

No UTI?

towhee

Monoclonal antibody treatment. If you are over 65 or have a high risk condition you should be eligible for this. You might be eligible even if you test negative. Check out your states' requirements for this and contact your doctor. If you test negative, retest in 36 hours or so from your last test. See if you can find some of those rapid home tests. The closer to infection you can get the treatment the better it works.

If you are in the high risk group and not infected so far see if they will keep him in the hospital. You might have to private pay. 

Get an oxygen monitor, you know those little clip things they put on your finger at the doctors office. If your husband or you have the virus and your oxygen level drops 5 percent below what is normal to you or to 94 percent contact your doctor or emergency room. They will probably put you on a steroid. Source for most of this- asm.org Dr. Daniel Griffin clinical updates

Stuck in the middle

Since your husband had Covid when he went to hospital, it would be a miracle if you have not already been exposed.  All you can do now is take care of yourself.  Especially if you have been vaccinated, you probably will not become seriously ill.  Several of my neighbors had Covid and are OK now.

Iris L.

Use lots of disposable gloves, wash your hands a lot, possibly wear disposable masks and change them often.  Throw used tissues into a separate waste basket.

Iris

Mint

Towhee provided you with a good information source.  Towhee  do you listen to twiv too?    Kind of assuming you do.  Have really appreciated it.

MN Chickadee

There's usually no way to quarantine a PWD completely because they require constant care, you will just have to find ways to protect yourself as much as possible. Most transmission is air-born. Get some kn95 masks to wear in the house, if you can't get any immediately double up on the accordian fold blue medical ones. If you can get him to wear a mask too even better. And ventilation can make a big difference. If your HVAC/furnace/AC  system has any filtering mechanism run the fan on it, crack windows and run desk or floor fans to circulate air.

numb

Thanks for all advice.   They could not discharge him as  a PT and OT eval was not done . I was told he is two assist and with my own health issues I could not handle him alone at home. Already got an email his aide that comes in 4 hours a week cannot come back until his is covid negative.

They mentioned rehab but they will not take him until he is covid neg. or after the 10 day isolation.

If he is able to walk with one assist getting some PT I want to bring him home after his is not longer in isolation .

ON a side note the "contract" tracing is a joke .   My grandson on quarantine as exposed to a kid on the bus with covid  my daughter never got a call from the health dept.  

I have not yet heard from them either.

harshedbuzz

numb wrote:

ON a side note the "contract" tracing is a joke .   My grandson on quarantine as exposed to a kid on the bus with covid  my daughter never got a call from the health dept.  

I have not yet heard from them either.

I am sorry for all that you and your DH are going through. There was a piece in the NYT about people who contracted COVID while hospitalized for something else. It was difficult reading.

I don't think contact tracing is being done any more. It was originally put in place when numbers were much lower and potential additional exposures could be reduced with behavioral changes. When case counts escalated, it was no longer a tool for containment. Additionally, many people did not cooperate with the contact tracers in either reporting their own activities/contacts or by taking steps to prevent infecting others. 

My godchild applied to work the 2020 census as she was an out-of-work actor and was recruited to supervise a contact tracing unit- oh the stories she could tell. The units were disbanded almost a year ago as they were costly and ineffective. 

Most local school boards have decided how they will handle their own reporting. My district initially wasn't going to inform parents, but parents protested and the policy was changed. I live in a community that is well educated with many working in medicine and pharma. The  steps taken if a student has a known contact vary a great deal by community and, again, tend to follow the local school board's guidelines. If your daughter is unhappy with the handling of this matter, she might start a grass roots group to petition the board and elect a better one.