We all hope researchers soon discover a treatment or cure for COVID-19. It’s also important to ensure safety and efficacy issues are properly researched and reported in clinical trials to protect public health.

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/21/health/hydroxychloroquine-veterans-study/index.html?fbclid=IwAR2473EMGjgL_xrNyafWcO2QxUzKhC3uHbKPR-X48vQsRNOjeErMV43gSLg

Psychologist R. Matthew Cairns offers some practical tips for these challenging times. Here are 10 that can help both adults and children.
1. Stick to a routine. Go to sleep and wake up at a reasonable time, write a schedule that is varied and includes time for work as well as self-care.

2. Dress for the social life you want, not the social life you have. Get showered and dressed in comfortable clothes, wash your face, brush your teeth. Take the time to do a bath or a facial. Put on some bright colors. It is amazing how our dress can impact our mood.

3. Get out at least once a day, for at least thirty minutes. If you are concerned of contact, try first thing in the morning, or later in the evening, and try less traveled streets and avenues. If you are high risk or living with those who are high risk, open the windows and blast the fan. It is amazing how much fresh air can do for spirits.

4. Find some time to move each day, again daily for at least thirty minutes. If you don’t feel comfortable going outside, there are many YouTube videos that offer free movement classes, and if all else fails, turn on the music and have a dance party!

5. Reach out to others, you guessed it, at least once daily for thirty minutes. Try to do FaceTime, Skype, phone calls, texting—connect with other people to seek and provide support. Don’t forget to do this for your children as well. Set up virtual play dates with friends daily via FaceTime, Facebook Messenger Kids, Zoom, etc—your kids miss their friends, too!

6. Stay hydrated and eat well. This one may seem obvious, but stress and eating often don’t mix well, and we find ourselves over-indulging, forgetting to eat, and avoiding food. Drink plenty of water, eat some good and nutritious foods, and challenge yourself to learn how to cook something new!

7. Develop a self-care toolkit. This can look different for everyone. A lot of successful self-care strategies involve a sensory component (seven senses: touch, taste, sight, hearing, smell, vestibular (movement) and proprioceptive (comforting pressure). An idea for each: a soft blanket or stuffed animal, a hot chocolate, photos of vacations, comforting music, lavender or eucalyptus oil, a small swing or rocking chair, a weighted blanket. A journal, an inspirational book, or a mandala coloring book is wonderful, bubbles to blow or blowing watercolor on paper through a straw are visually appealing as well as work on controlled breath. Mint gum, Listerine strips, ginger ale, frozen Starburst, ice packs, and cold are also good for anxiety regulation. For children, it is great to help them create a self-regulation comfort box (often a shoe-box or bin they can decorate) that they can use on the ready for first-aid when overwhelmed.

8. Spend extra time playing with children. Children will rarely communicate how they are feeling, but will often make a bid for attention and communication through play. Don’t be surprised to see therapeutic themes of illness, doctor visits, and isolation play through. Understand that play is cathartic and helpful for children—it is how they process their world and problem solve, and there’s a lot they are seeing and experiencing in the now.

9. Give everyone the benefit of the doubt, and a wide berth. A lot of cooped up time can bring out the worst in everyone. Each person will have moments when they will not be at their best. It is important to move with grace through blowups, to not show up to every argument you are invited to, and to not hold grudges and continue disagreements. Everyone is doing the best they can to make it through this.

10. Find individual retreat space. Space is at a premium, particularly with city living. It is important that people think a separate space for work and for relaxation. For children, help them identify a place where they can go to retreat when stressed. You can make this place cozy by using blankets, pillows, cushions, scarves, beanbags, tents, and “forts.” Everyone needs a special place to go to be alone.

Families who are celebrating Easter this weekend can find virtual egg hunts and online holiday games to entertain their children. Get the tips at https://www.newsweek.com/online-easter-egg-hunts-1497293

The current coronavirus pandemic has created increased stress for many people around the globe. Medpage offers some ways to manage stress during challenging times. Read them at: https://www.healthecareers.com/medpage/article/healthcare-news/managing-the-stress-around-covid-19?utm_source=medpagetoday&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mpt-career-news-physicians-managing-covid-19-stress

Experts provide tips to help reduce anxiety and the sense of feeling out of control during the coronavirus pandemic. These include “practices of mindfulness and meditation that have been scientifically proven to reduce stress and anxiety, and when practiced regularly, can help you feel more in control of your own state.”

Read the full article at https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/how-to-look-after-your-mental-health-during-a-pandemic#What-can-employers-do?

“We thought it was critical to make people aware how to navigate through and around the sudden cardiac drug risk that does exist with these medications,” said Mayo Clinic professor of cardiovascular medicine Dr. Michael Ackerman, “and that’s why Mayo Clinic urgently assembled this special article.”

Further limiting its potential for population-wide use, the drug can “cause suicidal thoughts, emotional instability and nightmares, effects consistent with the side effect known as akathisia.”

Read the full article at https://www.postbulletin.com/life/health/mayo-warns-drug-touted-by-trump-as-covid–cure/article_78e0d526-6efa-11ea-a503-e3b5c2c69d56.html

Today is “World Sleep Day” and a good time to remind consumers that many commonly-prescribed medications can cause insomnia. Insomnia can be a symptom of akathisia and other serious drug-induced disorders that can impair cognitive functioning and alter behaviors.

Read the full article at https://www.nationaljewish.org/conditions/insomnia/causes/medicines-that-can-cause-insomnia

“One reason so many people may be on antidepressants is that they are hard to get off of! Stopping such medications suddenly can lead to unpleasant symptoms that go away if the person starts taking the medicine again. Nervousness, anxiety, sensations like electric shocks, dizziness, confusion, insomnia and bouts of unprovoked crying can be hard to handle.”

Read the full article at https://www.journalnow.com/lifestyles/home-garden/more-than-million-americans-take-antidepressants-authors-say/article_36f2f74b-e268-5731-bdc0-d92a036d2cd4.html

The FDA determined the “risks of treatment from Singulair outweigh the benefits in certain patients, particularly those with mild symptoms that can be adequately treated with alternative therapies.”

“As reports of suicide and other adverse events continued, the FDA evaluated available data on the risk for neuropsychiatric events, including from reports submitted through the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System and published observational studies. “

Get the full story at https://www.healio.com/pulmonology/asthma/news/online/%7Bc7fabfc2-e3c5-4d8d-9156-807181fdfa55%7D/fda-requires-boxed-warning-for-montelukast