Your checklist of smart ways to deal with virus threat

"Contagion," the 2011 thriller about a dangerous virus spreading quickly around the globe, is suddenly in big demand on iTunes (ranking No. 8 recently) and it's now the second-most popular film in the Warner Bros. catalog, up from No. 270 last year.

The coronavirus has many unpredictable effects besides making old movies popular again, and folks are looking for ways to make sense of what's being reported. So "The Dr. Oz Show" developed a straightforward set of protocols to help you avoid the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, and reduce the risk of transmission. Here's our list:

Wash your hands frequently for at least 20 seconds with soap and warm water.

Avoid handshakes, which transfer 10 times as many germs as a fist bump. You can also just say hello!

Avoid touching your face.

Clean all surfaces you touch frequently with a disinfectant spray instead of wipes.

Use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.

Invest in a HEPA-filter air purifier and humidifier (viruses don't like humidity).

Upgrade your lifestyle habits: Sleep at least seven hours each night; exercise for 30 minutes, at least every other day; and meditate to reduce immune-dinging stress.

Increase your fruit and vegetable intake, take vitamin D3 (1,200 IU daily) and get your flu shot. If you're sick, take zinc (80 mg daily), vitamin C (250 mg twice a day), beta-glucan (250 mg daily) and elderberry syrup or lozenges four times daily for five days.

And stock up on meds you need in case you're quarantined or they become in short supply.

 

Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of "The Dr. Oz Show," and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune into "The Dr. Oz Show" or visit sharecare.com.

 

(c)2020 Michael Roizen, M.D.

and Mehmet Oz, M.D.

 

King Features Syndicate

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