Anxiety is big health risk

Dear Amy: Yesterday I was on an elevator in a residential building.

I was wearing my mask and a scarf around my neck.

A young lady got on the elevator with no mask on. She started sneezing.

I quickly got panicky, and the elevator door opened. I promptly left the building.

Is there any chance I can catch COVID that way?

Panicked

Dear Panicked: You can learn more about COVID and keep up on current research through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (cdc.gov).

Several studies published in the earlier days of the pandemic focused on the risk of contracting the virus while riding in an elevator. Standing close together in an enclosed space definitely creates a risk for virus transmission, and a sneeze forcefully sends droplets into the air, but ventilation systems used in many elevators tend to force those droplets downward toward the floor.

Facing away from other elevator riders can reduce this risk further.

So yes, if the person who sneezed had COVID, or a cold, you could become infected. Your mask provided protection (the CDC describes mask-wearing as a ”critical public health tool”).

Keeping up with your vaccinations, wearing a high-quality, well-fitting mask and washing your hands often are all proactive ways for you to minimize the risk of transmission.

You should ask your physician to assess the specific medical risks to you if you do get the COVID virus.

The new variants of the virus are very communicable but weakened in strength — meaning people are more likely to contract the virus but much less likely to land in the hospital.

Your extreme anxiety and panic response poses a significant and immediate health risk to you. Left untreated, your anxiety might have a far greater impact on your quality of life than a bout of COVID.

Dear Amy: My husband and I are in our mid-80s, in generally good health and are blessed to have our three children and their families nearby. We see them often.

One of our sons has always been very careful about his diet and follows all the latest research on the most healthful way to eat.

Every time he visits we get dreary lectures on what we should and shouldn’t eat, what to throw out of our larder, what research to study and what routines to incorporate into our life.

He won’t let it go. We try to lightheartedly dissuade this unwelcome “advice” but it falls on deaf ears.

By most standards we eat a healthy diet — very little meat, lots of vegetables and fruits, whole grains, nuts. We do include a bit of sugar. No caffeine or alcohol. And we exercise regularly.

We are happy to live like this for the rest of our days.

How can we get our son to accept that we’re eventually going to die, and we’d rather enjoy our time with him free of endless tussles about what we choose to eat?

Loving Mother

Dear Loving Mother: You might not be able to convince him to accept your eventual death. That’s a tall order for someone who seems to be trying his hardest to prevent it.

Elders often say that one privilege they enjoy is the ability to be blunt. Try that: “We appreciate how much you love us, but we will not be changing our diets. Why? Because we don’t want to.”