EP13: Recognizing Risk Factors and Symptoms of COVID in Older Adults

<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Recognizing Risk Factors and Symptoms of COVID in Older Adults</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Right now, there are multiple cases of COVID-19 in all 50 states, and COVID-19 is highly contagious. Older adults need to think about not only their “risk for exposure” but also their “risk for severe illness” – but what do these terms mean exactly? Tune in to this week’s podcast to learn more.</span></p> <p><strong><em>“Our goal for this pandemic is to arrive on the other side of quarantine healthy, sane, and kind.</em></strong> <strong><em>Satisfaction = Experience - Expectations.”</em></strong><strong><em>- Paul Ollinger, Forge, April 13, 2020</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this week's episode, you'll learn about:</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">What does “risk for exposure” and “risk for severe illness” actually mean?</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">What are the risk factors for COVID-19 in older adults?</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">How do you know if you have “multiple chronic conditions”? (also called chronic co-morbidities)</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">How symptoms of COVID-19 may show up differently in an older adult than a younger adult</span></li> </ul> <p><strong>Part One of ‘Recognizing Risk Factors and Symptoms of COVID in Older Adults’</strong></p> <p> </p> <ul> <li><strong>What does “risk for exposure” and “risk for severe illness” actually mean?</strong></li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Therefore, if you live in a community that has a higher number of cases, it can spread much more quickly and easily in your community and therefore increases the “risk for exposure”.  If you have cases of COVID in your community, that means the virus can be spread by people who have been infected by the virus (known as “community sprea