Many people are looking for ways to stay healthy and fit while most places are closed during the outbreak. Staying home is leading to many people sitting for extended periods of time, even more so than when going to the office. A recent study suggests that home exercise routines with a few moments of high intensity exertions throughout the day may be effective at preventing damage from the excessive sitting.

Article courtesy of Joseph Maroon, MD, FACS

Over the last several months we have been bombarded with stress-inducing news.  The COVID-19 pandemic, job losses, food and essential item shortages and most frightening daily reports of deaths and illness are all taking a toll. Stress is an essential part of human existence.  It can focus us, motivate us and help us achieve things, both physically and mentally we never thought we could. But chronic stress, such as we are experiencing now, or other more personal stressors, such as long-term physical or mental illness, bad relationships, poverty or chronic unemployment can have serious life threatening and life shortening consequences. 

It may be a good idea to spend some time in the sun, especially for those with preexisting conditions and those worried about COVID-19, as recent research suggests that patients with severe vitamin D deficiency are twice as likely to experience major complications. 

For those waiting for more good news for this outbreak, recent reports may be just that as the three drug cocktail consisting of the HIV medication lopinavir-ritonavir, the hepatitis therapy drug ribavirin and the multiple sclerosis treatment interferon-beta is suggested to have successfully cleared COVID-19 in one weeks time.