Overcoming Stress - Doctor Visits During COVID-19

6/10/20 in Blog Posts

Overcoming Stress - Doctor Visits During COVID-19

By Dr. Luke Donatelli

As a doctor at ENT and Allergy Associates, I understand that every doctor visit now brings with it a new sense of anxiety.  It is natural to wonder, “am I putting myself at risk?”

At this time of uncertainty, it is essential that we confront fear and anxiety with courage, thoughtfulness, and a focus on our own health.  At ENT and Allergy Associates, we continue to serve our communities guided by the recommendations of our own experts, as well as accepted CDC and professional guidelines, to ensure that our patients remain safe.  Our doctors and team members go home to our own families every night, and return the next day confident in the precautions we are taking.

At your visit, you will find many reminders of the precautions we take to ensure your safety.  Temperatures are checked at the door to the office, patients are screened for high risk symptoms, masks are worn at all times, appointments are spaced to avoid crowded waiting rooms, and patients are given the opportunity to wait in their cars until the time of the appointment.  During a visit, your doctor will wear all the necessary protective equipment to keep you safe.  These facts of life, our “new normal,” ensure that we can continue to serve our communities.

And as always, seeking care and being treated earlier, rather than later, can make all the difference in getting you on the path to a rapid recovery.  If you or your child are experiencing symptoms of ear pain, ear pressure, muffled hearing or fever, these may be signs of an ear infection requiring an antibiotic.  Similarly, facial pain or pressure, worsening nasal congestion, runny nose and post-nasal drip, may be due to a sinus infection and should be diagnosed and treated appropriately.  If you are suffering from an allergy exacerbation, you should feel confident that you can seek the treatment you need.  We are practicing every precaution to ensure that you can be treated safely.

In my practice, I have been fascinated by how an individual’s overall health and wellbeing can impact on their ear, nose and throat symptoms. I often find myself counseling patients about general health habits and stress reduction in an effort to alleviate a specific ENT condition. It is unfortunate, but not infrequent, that I come across a patient who is faced with the burden of a truly stressful situation, such as a serious medical diagnosis, or the need to take care of an ailing loved one, and I counsel that patient that it is important “to take care of themselves, too.”

It is a sad fact that the stress of our current era has not put our other anxieties, and medical needs, on hold. Faced with the fear and uncertainty of the pandemic, there is a natural tendency to turn inward, and ignore the good health habits and routine health needs we all have.

At this time, it is most important that we remind ourselves that we need to “take care of ourselves too.” This means eating a healthy diet, getting regular exercise, maintaining good sleep habits, taking time for fun and relaxation, and yes...even going to see a doctor.

If you need an ENT doctor, please remember that we are here for you. We will continue to treat you and your loved ones with the same care and quality we always have.

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