COVID 19: My Prevention Plan & Tips (Part 2)

Today marks one week to the day we began our shelter-in-place. My family and I live just outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and I knew we had to do our part to flatten the curve.

And as I reflect on this past week and the clarity I gained from it, here is my plan for my family along with tips from all my own research this past week to take precautions in light of COVID 19.

In addition I have more information, insight and prevention tips in the past 3 posts I've written, plus my latest podcast episode AND I re-opened my free Facebook group; Vibrant Health with Lydia.

How to Absolutely Protect Your Health This Spring
How to Use Vitamin C to Protect Your Health
How to Deal with Anxiety in Uncertain Times
PODCAST EPISODE: Corona: A Time For Extraordinary Self-Love
Join my Facebook group: Vibrant Health with Lydia


1. Hand washing

I know, I know, this should be obvious, right? I was initially annoyed about all this hand washing, BUT I did my due diligence and learned the WHY behind it and now I SEE THE LIGHT. In other words, I have a GOOD attitude about it being a CORE HABIT to instill in my home right now. Even though my kids are still stinkers about doing it, I've become a little military mama about it.

So every time we leave the house and come back, we wash our hands like we are about to perform surgery (if you are like me, you've watched enough Grey's Anatomy episodes to see how it's done right?).

Also, obviously before we eat and after we blow our noses (seems obvious, but seriously not everyone does this we get lazy and take these things for granted).

Soap is one of the most powerful agents against this virus. I also learned that this virus is what's called an envelope virus. It is a fatty acid envelope and soap as a surfactant will strip apart the fatty acid envelope. So, you end up breaking up the virus envelope  when you thoroughly wash and that just kills and neutralizes the virus in general.

Since all this hand washing, my hands have revolted a bit. I have some eczema patches, itchiness and drier skin. So, I use a product called Exederm on the itchy eczema and let that sit and absorb first and then I use my regular hand cream afterwards.


2. Wash Our Produce & Eat More Cooked Veggies

Viruses love the cold. With that in mind, raw foods could be something to be more preventative about.

Here's a simple recipe/method to wash produce: 1/2 teaspoon of Clorox bleach to every gallon of water (Chlorox). Soak leafy greens and thin skinned fruits and vegetables 10-20 minutes, and thicker ones 30-45 minutes. Then drain the water and then do a plain water soak for the same amount of time. This protocol cleans off and/or kills virtually 100% of surface contaminants.

It seems like a hassle but it's just a routine habit you can create. After all, we have A LOT of home time on our hands these days.

Cooking foods above 130 degrees can obliterate a virus too.

3. Sanitize all packages before bringing them into the house

Scientists found that the virus was detectable on cardboard for up to 24 hours and for up to 3 days on plastic and stainless steel.

Fortunately, corona viruses can be inactivated with disinfecting agents. So, I've been spraying down all boxes before bringing them in to the apartment to unpack. I carefully wipe down, unpack packages and do not bring the packaging.

We are avoiding take-out for the time being so I don't have any tips on how to sanitize take-out containers. I'd probably wipe them down instead of spray and transfer food to my own glass containers and then reheat the food.

4. Support Ourselves in Light of Spring Pollen & Allergens

Where I live spring is BLOOMING and it's glorious, but with that comes ... you guessed it, spring pollen and allergies. We did not have a very cold winter with very many hard freeze days if any, so this may increase spring allergy season for many.So far my area has not had high pollen counts yet.

With that in mind, I'm doing a few other things to help my body out and avoid compromising my immune system.

First, I use a daily nasal spray because right now a neti pot creates too much pressure in my ears. You can use a neti pot with salt rinse OR a nasal spray to keep your nasal passages clean. The nasal spary I use is called, Xlear and I do it at least twice a day. 

Xlear gently washes, cleans, soothes and moisturizes delicate nasal passages. Thins and loosens mucous secretions. Helps improve airflow. It's non-addictive

I also take N-Acetyl-Cysteine which helps break up mucous and keeps me from getting a full blown sinus infection. I take 2 between meals up to twice a day, as needed for sinus pressure or symptoms. I've been doing this for years and it works well for me. I take less when I don't have noticeable sinus or mucous related symptoms.

I drink 1 quart of nettles tea per day. You can find my recipes HERE. Nettle is a wonderful tonic herb that helps with histamine, so it's my go to tonic every spring. I make a big batch every couple of days and keep it in the fridge.

If spring allergies are a concern for you, be sure to also read my other post: How To Absolutely Protect Your Health This Spring.

Much of what I share in that post is also supporting us in light of spring allergens and pollen as well.

5. Only go out to stores when absolutely necessary

I am so grateful we have some amazing smaller local stores, such as my produce market and a local farm I can have meat delivered to me. Both I can place an order ahead and not have to go inside a store and be around people. For now, these two vendors have most of what my family needs and I am so happy to support two local small businesses.

6. Spend more quality time with my kids to help keep morale HIGH.

This past week was quite a learning curve in how we all spend our time in a small apartment. I realized my kids needed me to create a plan to break up our day and come together through an outing in nature, cooking together, playing music, playing games. Moods were fickle this week as my kids adjusted to this new way of living. It's a lot of change to process for sure.

Stay connected with your local community and share ideas to help the kids through this time, it won't be easy for them. They will miss socializing in person just as much (if not more), as adults. Feel free to comment below if you have tips that are working for you, as this is new to all of us right now.

7. Meal Plan

Ugh boring, right? Actually, I used to do this long ago and haven't needed to be so rigorous about it. But these days & times call for more strategy and forethought to maintain stability and sanity. So, for now I plan breakfast, lunch and dinner and bake one thing daily.

Our lunch mostly consists of leftovers from other meals, so we are not cooking each meal from scratch. We also have scheduled meal times; 10 am for breakfast, 2 pm for lunch and 6 pm for dinner.

If the boys are hungry between meals they can eat some fruit or veggies and dip or make themselves something reheated from the freezer stash. Meal planning also helps the kids know what's coming and all pitch in and contribute to the preparation.

My two older boys are out of work right now. They both worked at a restaurant where they gained excellent cooking skills. So having them continue to use those skills is giving them a sense of purpose in a time where there doesn't feel like much of that is possible right now.

One of the healthiest things you can do, is enjoy family meal time. Sit down, eat slowly and appreciate what you create and eat. It's a great way to foster a zen nervous system.

And finally, my current mantra is simply: one day at a time. That's all we have anyway, the present moment. With so much new change that's shifting and unfolding daily, all we can do is decide what to do with the time we have.

I'm taking lots of deep breaths daily and I do see a very bright future as we will get through this and bounce back. So, who will you BE during this time with your future in mind?



If you would like to know what your body needs specifically so you can get your spark back and create a life of vibrant health - I am currently accepting new clients and will give you a blueprint for your health right now based on hair tissue mineral analysis. You can learn more here.

If you have any questions, drop them below for me and I'll be happy to answer them.

*Note: this post contains links to my online supplement dispensary. Any purchase you make through me allows me to earn a small commission.