NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Doctors say people being stuck at home, during this pandemic, is leading them to do things they normally wouldn’t, which is adding to the stress hospitals are experiencing.
One way to display a social responsibility is by not trying things you’re not proficient at, including home-improvement projects.
“We are seeing an uptick in the number of injuries from skill saw‘s, routers, things like that that are used in home-improvement as well as injuries from people doing things maybe they wouldn’t do it if they had time to to stop and think,” said Dr. Lisa Lattanza, Chairperson, Orthopedic Surgery and Rehabilitation for Yale Medicine.
This includes climbing on ladders. So, play it safe, she says, so you don’t end up having to go to the emergency room. This due in part to the volume of patients there being treated for COVID-19.
“The scond reason is that we don’t want people, the public, who don’t need to be in the emergency department, exposed to the people in the emergency department that may have COVID-19,” said Lattanza.
Plus, these avoidable injuries tax resources, like the doctors and their personal protective equipment.
“It’s difficult,” she said if people being forced to be home. “People are getting cabin fever and that’s why some of these things are happening, but there are lots of activities that you can do at home to remain entertained. but also safe.”
Dr. Lattanza suggests, as others have, taking a walk, playing board games, baking - anything low risk to mitigate this epidemic quickly as possible.