It’s important to monitor your loved ones for COVID-19 symptoms, to ensure that you can respond in a timely manner should the need arise.
It might seem unnecessary if you and your loved ones are mostly staying at home, going out only for essential services, but those trips outside or contact with delivery persons does put us at risk. The chances are extremely low as long as we practice good hand hygiene, but it’s still important to monitor your loved ones for COVID-19, so you can seek medical help if needed. This is especially so for our family members living with dementia, who might need help to monitor their own symptoms closely.
One of the biggest symptoms to look out for is whether anyone in your household has a fever. To help you in monitoring this, you should take the body temperature of your loved one and yourself twice a day. Keep this information in a logbook that tracks the date and time of each temperature taking, so you’re able to tell if you or your family member has a fever, or if it’s within the normal trends. It’s also important to watch out for other respiratory symptoms, like if you or your loved one has a cough or difficulty breathing.
Another symptom which might or might not be indicative of COVID-19 is the loss of taste and/or smell. Some patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 have shared that they realised something was wrong when they became unable to smell things, and this is definitely something you want to look out for. If your loved one suddenly starts complaining that their food is tasteless, and exhibits other symptoms, it might be time to get them checked.
If a member of your household is exhibiting any of these symptoms, you might want to consider seeking medical attention. If you’re not certain on your next steps, you might wish to use the COVID-19 Symptom Checker (https://sgcovidcheck.gov.sg/) online to decide on your next course of action based on your symptoms.
For more information, write to [email protected] or call the Dementia Helpline at 6377 0700, Monday to Friday (9am to 6pm).
For ADA’s latest advisories on COVID-19, please visit dementia.org.sg/advisory/covid. You may also refer to our list of COVID-19 care tips and suggestions at dementia.org.sg/covid19.
