confused

[debs1963]

hi hope all are safe. I'm in shielding at the moment and a bit confused. my daughter who lives with me can still go shopping and to chemist. but then she comes home to me . I dont understand how she not then putting me at risk.

[TonyWT Partner]

Dear Debs,

Can I just remind you what is recommended regarding Shielding, which I mentioned to you about 9-days ago.

Extremely Vulnerable People are those that must shield. That means NO contact with anyone and, if it can’t be avoided, really keeping your distance when living with someone helping you. i.e. your daughter. This is why some people who are told ask to shield get assistance with food deliveries at the door and so forth. Request if this can be done, so that your daughter doesn’t have to go into shops, and the pharmacy to collect medication.

In the case of you and your daughter you must isolate yourselves from each other in the home - if there is no way she could live anywhere else, temporarily and leave provisions for you at the door. This means eat separately, be in separate rooms at all times, keep windows open to refresh the air in rooms jointly used, cleaning surfaces, taps etc, after use. Please check NHS detailed guidance. This is the link to NHS Wales explanation about shielding.

gov.wales/cmo-letter-extrem...

Your daughter needs to take especial care, only go to the shops when absolutely necessary – if you can’t get assistance with this function. Thus plan ahead your meals and minimise shopping trips. Your daughter must wash her hands thoroughly on return (some people choose also to wipe-down some items purchased (hard/plastic/tin surfaces etc) with soapy water or with an anti-bacterial wipe. If the shop is not doing this already (and I think most of the larger ones are) wiping down the shopping trolley handle before use is advised with an anti-bacterial wipe, to help stop cross-contamination.

Your daughter must also be very strict about keeping 2 meters or more away from anyone, ever, when she goes out, including on her daily exercise walk.

This of course requires a big team effort for you and your daughter, and a great challenge to bind you even close together than ever before. Indeed, when one comes to think it, what a marvellous opportunity for us all which ordinarily we apparently seem not to have time for nowadays! Speak to your friends etc on the phone, or using the internet, more often than you might otherwise have done, or write those letters that maybe you have been putting off!

Please try not to get overly-anxious and worry about all this. Implement the safeguarding measures, like the vast majority of people are doing, and we will be fine and get through this; as Her Majesty The Queen said in her special broadcast to the Nation. The more meticulous we implement precautions, the quicker this will happen.

Behçet's UK has tried to suggest ways of helping during this time, so please look at the suggestions, guidance and links we have provided on the Pinned Post to the right of this message.

Try to re-discover things that amuse you/you find funny. Does us all a load of good to laugh at any time. Worry, even if valid, won't actually do us any good and only make us worse internally, so it's definitely counter-productive to our health, particularly in Behçet's patients. Got to focus on outcomes and solutions somehow (as I have suggested above), and maintain a determination not to be beaten by anything – particularly some miniscule b….y virus! HU is undoubtedly a good medium to share potential solutions/experience and help each other.

Hope this helps you, and indeed others?

Excuse any typo, in haste.

Tony

Chair Behcet's UK

[gillianTS]

The advice from my GP when I first told her the only thing my husband would need to go out for was my prescription she said I'm going to ban your husband from going because he's going to put you at risk and gave me details of a voluntary team of people from the village 4 miles away and I was also given details of my regional group set up by the councils from 4 council areas, they organised the collection and delivery of my prescription and this worked brilliantly yesterday, the only thing I had a do was confirm with the pharmacist all my prescription was available for collecting and call the volunteer. My GP said if I organised my food deliveries and collection and delivery of my prescription and my husband was not going out at all and shieling just like I had been told, like me, then we could continue to live normally even though the recommendation is to live seperate lives.

What Tony has said is absolutely correct if anyone in your household is coming and going then you must live by the recommendations provided by the government and NHS.

Your daughter, just like any other person, entering your home is at risk of bringing a virus / infection into your home, the advice is there you just need to implement it if you can.

Every food item, letters and my prescription is sanitized by my husband and not touched for 72 hours. We have a separate fridge and freezer in another room.

Look what is available in your area for volunteers for prescription and food, check the councils website, facebook groups, contact anyone in your neighbourhood who might be able to offer help in finding out, call the pharmacist to see if they have a list of volunteers for prescriptions and as an absolute last resort call the GP practice.

Take care