Getting to your doctor’s appointment didn’t involve a lot of actions only a year ago. Going to the clinic was simple and the meet-up with your physician was always kept. After all, you want a clearer picture of what’s bothering you and how to cure it.
It isn’t so simple now that there’s the coronavirus situation to consider. It’s a lot more complicated a few months after the first outbreak. People were trying to avoid the virus, obviously, and there have been compromises. At least, at this time, telemedicine consultation services done online have become a huge thing. There’s no reason why you can’t avoid seeing your doctor, except when they’re in quarantine because they’ve come into contact with infected individuals.
If your doctor has purely stayed at home and is only coming back to their offices now, you can choose to go and meet them in person. Just remember to follow these tips.
Try to avoid the hospital as much as possible
Even before the pandemic, hospitals have always been places where children and people with vulnerabilities should avoid. There are a lot of people with serious illness day in and day out that come here, and there’s a lot of health issues that even the vaccinated could get from these places.
It’s even harder during the pandemic. Most people who get confined have one or more cases of COVID-19. It’s so bad that people who have a heart attack or stroke also tend to avoid the hospital. While you should avoid the hospital during the pandemic, it’s obvious that you should go in case of such serious cases mentioned.
How to go to the pediatrician
Children will always get into scrapes and problems that require one or multiple visits to the pediatrician, even during the pandemic. Just because the outbreak happened, it doesn’t mean that children somehow magically became immune to these problems. They are still getting injured.
Kids are always doing things even when their parents are doing remote work. There are phone and online consultations available to parents and their children during the coronavirus pandemic. Telemedicine appointments have also become big, where a trip to the doctor’s office may not even be needed anymore.
Make sure all is safe before you go
Before you go to an appointment, call in at the clinic to check whether it’s safe to go. Most medical facilities have their own versions of keeping people safe during the pandemic. Information is readily available on the level of protection that they have for you and for their staff as well.
You should check whether they have regulations on masks and cleaning protocols to ensure visitors’ safety. Check whether they also have social distancing practices. Check if they have adequate sanitizers and PPEs for their staff as well, to make sure that you’re safe when you come and go.
Wear a mask especially at the clinic
When you arrive at the clinic, check what kind of protocols they have for in-person visits. Wear a cloth face mask if you have one; the clinic usually provides one for visitors if they don’t. Always keep a hand sanitizer with you at the facility and clean your hands with soap water whenever you go to the bathroom.
When you feel like coughing or sneezing, sneeze into the crack of your elbow or always have a tissue handy to cover your mouth, then throw away the tissue. This is to prevent any viral droplets from staying in the air for long. This is also to avoid spreading any sickness you have.
Always practice social distancing
At a time like this, clinics have markers on the floor to mark how far you need to be to stay safe from others. Follow these guidelines and make sure any companions you have, as well as other people, follow them too. The standard distance for people to stay away from each other is about 6 feet or 2 meters.
You’ll also notice that the doctors in the clinics will also practice social distancing. Your chair during the consultation may be located at the same distance away from the doctor’s table. This is for the safety of everyone involved in the clinic, especially you. The doctor may have just come from some COVID-19 hotspot.
You never know when you’ll need to go get a doctor’s appointment. On this side of 2021, there are more and more in-person appointments being made, suggesting a relaxing of previous protocols. That doesn’t mean that the virus has gone away, though. Remember to always be on your most vigilant self when going for a doctor’s appointment.
