WWYD? Vulnerable with covid in the house

[AnotherUser202]

Hi there,

I had covid for the first time recently. I’m in the vulnerable category due to an autoimmune condition. I wasn’t sure what precautions to take when my son got covid. All the advice from my GP and online is around what to do with people outside your house.

Just wanting to gather from people what they are doing within their own homes when a family member gets covid, particularly if one of them is vulnerable.

Good hand hygiene and opening windows. Not much else you can do. I assume you’re vaccinated if your vulnerable?

If you’ve had it recently there’s not that ugh of a risk from others for a while now tbh. Normal hygiene will suffice. Did you get the antivirals when you had it?

No, I didn’t need them thankfully. Dr said to call if I did, but I was fine to ride it out at home. I had just had my booster so I think I was lucky on that front.

It’s more for next time (next year? 6 months?) really that I’m asking.

I’m confused

do you or your son currently have covid?

What did you do last time?

No we’ve recently both got over it. Now the storm has passed and I’m compos mentis, I’m genning up for next time.

You managed to get away with it for 3 years so be optimistic!

but what did you do last time?

did you or your son get it badly?

Oh no, my son is totally fine. The kids are not the worry. They don’t a shit whether they catch it and conversely they would prefer the time off school (teens 🙄😂).

I was really rough and was positive for 12 days and still feel rough now, about a month later, but I know that’s fairly normal.

I was asking more for what people are doing within their own homes with family members that are vulnerable so thanks to those who have shared that.

Ah so you contracted covid from your son?

Yes, sorry! That wasn’t clear I now realise.

My question is how to prevent the spread (as far as that’s possible) within a household?

Do you a partner and how old are your children?

Husband, 3 children - 17, 14 and 8.

@Paltrypam I’m after examples of what other people do so I can decide what works here next time, rather than advice tailored to me.

Fairly straightforward then. With four adults in the family

everyone is just respectful and keeps you distanced

It depends on how much money you have, how big your house is, and how much inconvenience you are willing to put up with Vs how vulnerable you are.
Obviously, hand hygiene and ventilation. I'd also wipe door knobs, loos etc more often.
If you can afford a HEPA filter, you can put this in the room with the person with COVID. IKEA do them, or various online.
You could isolate in different rooms, and wear an ffp3 mask when going in together.
I'm not saying that you SHOULD do these things, just options to consider.

Thanks for the heads up about hepa filters. Just had a Google and found this page so thought I’d share for the benefit of anyone following this thread looking for the same answers as I am looking for;

https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/covid19-national-project/2022/10/05/how-effective-are-hepa-air-filters-at-reducing-risk-of-respiratory-virus-spread/

and

https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/covid19-national-project/category/advice-for-individuals/

DH had it a few weeks ago. I take immunosuppressants so I'm in the 'vunerable' category. I asked him to stay in the spare room for a few days, and wear a mask around us when he did venture out. Lots of handwashing and careful hygiene of course.
At first he wasn't happy about not being allowed to lie on the sofa instead, but he was unwell enough to be sleeping a lot so he gave in to enforced isolation in the end!
When I had it last year I was really unwell with and was prescribed antivirals. I didn't want to risk that again, and I really didn't want DS catching it.
It worked, no one else caught it.

For an adult or older teen, quarantining in a bedroom can work well, with a hepa filter in there and maybe another outside their room somewhere. FFP masks for when they come out and travel through communal areas. Using a different bathroom if you have that option. Keeping the extractor fan on a lot in the bathroom and not going in there without a mask yourself afterwards, if you have to share (brush teeth elsewhere). Basically whatever you need to do to avoid breathing in what they're breathing out, plus some sensible hand hygiene especially around crockery.

Someone in my family did this a few months ago and none of the rest of us caught it.

Unless the vulnerable person is extremely vulnerable - I would never have my older teen isolate.

In fact if I was vulnerable person… i would move out of possible for 5/6 days so that they didn’t need to isolate (assuming they werent so I’ll as to be confined to the bed anyway )

Thanks - there are some really helpful ideas on here.

I’m going to get online and get a hepa filter whatsit.

This is sound advice. Having the shudders from the 2020 threads was it when people were suggesting the teen should be locked in their room with food being left on a tray outside it and there was to be bathroom timings so they were only given access to toilet/wash at specific times with full decontamination in between!

@Elliebellie87 We’re a mask-wearing, windows open, stay in room where possible, separate towels family.

It has meant we’ve housed 5 separate bouts of covid and managed not to infect me until this recent time. Seems to work in the main. This time, I was a bit more relaxed and ended up catching it but once symptoms come out you never know whether you’ve already caught it by then so I perhaps already had it, do you.