Safely Bathing With COVID-19 While Preventing Disease Spread at Home

Safely Bathing With COVID-19 While Avoiding Disease Spread

Catching COVID-19 can leave you wondering - is it still safe for me to bathe or shower? Proper hygiene remains vitally important if you contract the virus to avoid spreading infection. This guide covers everything you need to know about safely washing if you have COVID-19.

Can You Take a Shower if You Test Positive for COVID?

Yes, you can and should continue bathing if you catch COVID-19. The CDC recommends keeping up regular personal hygiene routines. Daily showering and washing helps prevent additional illnesses or skin infections from developing while battling COVID-19.

However, special precautions must be taken to avoid spreading the virus through your home. Contaminated bathroom surfaces and shower moisture can transmit coronavirus to others if not cleaned properly.

Protecting Household Members From Infection

If you share a bathroom with others, stringent measures are needed to prevent COVID-19 transmission when bathing or using the facilities. Here are some ways to avoid infecting family or roommates:

• Wear a mask en route to and inside the bathroom.
• Bathe in a separate tub or shower stall from housemates if possible.
• Use separate sinks, toilets and bath towels from other home residents.
• Clean all surfaces thoroughly before and after each use.
• Increase bathroom ventilation via fans and open windows if present.

Disinfecting Bathrooms and Showers After COVID-19 Use

Viruses like COVID-19 can potentially survive between hours to days on common bathroom surfaces. Frequent, thorough disinfection is key after showering or toileting with an active coronavirus infection. Here are the proper cleaning steps:

1. First, clean surfaces with detergent, soap or other standard household cleaners.
2. Then, disinfect the area with EPA-approved viral disinfectants or fresh bleach solutions.
3. Scrub and wipe down all possible high-touch areas in the bathroom and shower.
4. Finally, safely remove protective gear like gloves and face masks without spreading contamination.

Hydrotherapy: Can Baths Help Alleviate COVID-19 Symptoms?

Some holistic health advocates suggest saline baths containing Epsom salts, baking soda or antimicrobial essential oils may help provide minor symptomatic relief for some COVID cases. However, no strong evidence yet demonstrates bathing itself treats the underlying SARS-CoV-2 virus.

That said, warm soothing baths for 20-30 minutes may help temporarily relieve aches and pains, clear nasal congestion, and lower fever associated with COVID-19. Just be sure to carefully disinfect any tubs after use to avoid further contamination.

Maintaining Safe Personal Hygiene While Infectious

Practicing good hygiene remains just as crucial if you catch COVID-19 yourself to prevent developing secondary issues. Here are some tips to wash safely and sanitarily while recovering from coronavirus.

Shower or Bathe Regularly

Be sure to wash your own body thoroughly from head to toe with soap and water every day if medically stable enough. This removes disease-causing germs and helps prevent additional health woes.

Take lukewarm showers ideally as extremely hot water can irritate the skin and sinuses. And very cold water can shock the body. Keep showers under 10 minutes long to conserve energy if feeling fatigued.

Wash Hands Frequently

Vigorously lather hands for 20+ seconds with antibacterial soap after showering, coughing, sneezing, or touching contaminated items. This helps prevent inadvertently spreading COVID-19 throughout your environment or to your face.

Use Lotion to Avoid Dry Skin

Frequent hand washing and showering with soap can strip natural skin oils leading to dryness or cracks. Apply lotion regularly during your recovery to restore moisture. Prioritize super hydrating creams with colloidal oatmeal, shea butter or petroleum jelly to heal any scratches.

Sanitize Personal Grooming Tools

Disinfect any razors, tweezers, nail clippers, loofahs, bath brushes, or other bathing items with isopropyl alcohol after each use. This prevents viral recontamination from these personal hygiene tools. Or use disposable razors and scrubbers then toss out.

Change Towels, Robes & Linens Frequently

Dirty linens can harbor COVID-19 between washes. Swap out bath towels, robes, sheets and pillowcases for fresh ones as often as daily while sick. Take care when handling soiled laundry to avoid further contamination.

Caring for COVID-19 Without Worsening Household Risk

Recovering from the SARS-CoV-2 virus calls for attentive personal hygiene and sanitation when living with others. By carefully containing and disinfecting bathroom spaces after each use, COVID-19 patients can continue bathing safely without endangering loved ones.

Be sure to wear well-fitted masks whenever leaving isolated spaces like bedrooms or bathrooms inside shared homes. Open windows, utilize ventilation fans, and enhance airflow circulation throughout recovery spaces to direct pathogens outdoors.

With proper precautions for infection control, people battling COVID-19 can shower or bathe as normal while avoiding heightened risk of transmission. Maintain rigorous surface disinfection, space isolation, distancing, masking and hand hygiene along the way.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment regimen.