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Should You Wear A Mask While Exercising Outdoors?

Exercising OutdoorsThe pandemic is far from over but it hasn’t stopped people from stepping out to get in a quick run or an outdoor exercise. If you’ve been vaccinated, chances of contracting the illness is slim but not negligible. So, the question remains, if you’re heading out, should you wear a mask while exercising outdoors? 

Should You Wear A Mask While Exercising Outdoors? 

Wearing a face mask while exercising outdoors helps prevent the spread of the virus, but it can also lead to breathing difficulties. When you are running, jogging, doing any activity which increases your respiratory rate, the oxygen requirement goes up several times and you need to inhale that much more air to deliver the required oxygen to the body. 

A mask can restrict airflow in and out of the mouth and nose, creating a situation where oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange are compromised. There’s a possibility that you may not be able to fulfil the increased oxygen requirement when exercising with a mask on. There are chances of inhaling the exhaled carbon dioxide. This can create health complications, especially in people with weaker lungs, chronic bronchitis, asthma and other health complications.

Symptoms You Might Experience While Wearing a Mask and Exercising Include: 

  • Anxiety
  • Fatigue
  • Headaches
  • Breathlessness
  • Dizziness
  • Loss of consciousness

Precautions To Be Taken While Exercising Outdoors 

Though it is important to wear a face mask in an enclosed space where social distancing may not be possible – like when going out for work, when using public transport or at grocery stores, restaurants, malls, etc. but when it comes to exercising with a mask on, be cautious. 

  • Listen to your body: You may feel fatigue faster due to a mask, so do not push your exercise limits.
  • Don’t ignore any of the symptoms mentioned above or any other difficulties and put a  break on your exercise immediately.
  • Wearing a face mask or not is a matter of social distancing. For someone walking/running and alone outside where social distancing is maintained, a mask isn’t required.
  • Try exercises where you use the same spot. For instance, stationary cardio workout – you can pick a location where there aren’t any people around. 
  • Keep your distance and be mindful of others. Keep as much space between yourself and others as possible or bring a mask with you and put it on when needed. You can also put a face covering down around the neck and pull it up over your face if you encounter someone.
  • Opt for a breathable, well-fitting face mask. Too tight can make you feel uneasy. 
  • Masks become wet when you wear them and can lead to skin infections. If you’re using a reusable mask, wash it regularly to prevent the build-up of bacteria.

Ideally, it would be best to not rush out. Prefer indoor workouts. You can learn a few of them from Healthy Reads or join our fitness experts LIVE on GOQii Play every day! More so, you can get some good exercise routines directly from your GOQii Coach via personalized coaching. You can subscribe here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/wssu

We hope this article helps you. Do share your thoughts in the comments below! 

Stay home, stay safe, get active and #BeTheForce  

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With The GOQii Smart Vital Junior You Can #KeepAWatch On Your Child’s Health!

GOQii Smart Vital Junior

Until recently, it was presumed that children would not be significantly affected by the virus. However, the second wave has changed the manner in which the virus affects people and as speculated by medical experts, the third wave of COVID-19 is likely to affect children too! This is where the GOQii Smart Vital Junior will help as a precautionary measure for parents to #KeepAWatch on the health and wellbeing of their children! 

How Does The GOQii Smart Vital Junior Help? 

Patients suffering from COVID-19 generally have symptoms such as low oxygen rate and high body temperature. The GOQii Smart Vital Junior tracks both – body temperature and blood oxygen levels (SpO2) to rule out these early symptoms so that care can be provided on time. 

Thanks to this device, parents will be able to monitor the health of their kids via the GOQii mobile app and also use it for consulting a GOQii Coach for their kid’s specific health goals/objectives, enrolling their Kids to specialised kid’s workout sessions on GOQii Play, watching Healthy Kids diet shows on GOQii Play and consulting Paediatrician’s LIVE on GOQii Play. Special Brain and Memory games to help with cognitive functions are also available on the GOQii App to make it even more fun and engaging for the kids.

“The pandemic has been really challenging mainly for children as their way of life has been altered in more ways than one,” says our Founder & CEO Vishal Gondal. He further adds that, “In addition, the third wave is being predicted to severely affect kids, hence we took a step forward to launch a service specially designed to keep the vitals of kids in check. It will help with prompt diagnosis resulting in timely treatment while also monitoring other health related aspects like kids’ health goals, online paediatrician consultations and kids’ workout sessions. With a view to provide holistic benefits for kids’ health and wellness, we are also happy to announce our partnership with Sri Sri Tattva where kids’ immunity boosting products along with nutrition options for the whole family will be made available on GOQii Store.” 

Commenting on the collaboration, Mr Arvind Varchaswi, Managing Director, Sri Sri Tattva said – “We are very happy to partner with GOQii for this wonderful initiative. This comes at the right time when scientists suggest that there can be another wave affecting the younger age group. Since thousands across the world have benefited from the clinically tested Sri Sri Tattva Immunity Kit, our team of doctors have now put together an Immunity Kit specially for children. These include products, whose efficacy has been proven through research and studies, will now be available on the GOQii store, for the benefit of its customers.” 

The available products include the Morning Family nutrition pack, immunity building kits and immunity booster drops that cater to the entire family’s needs especially during a time when immunity boosting is the best way to prevent yourselves from the coronavirus infection. These products are available on the GOQii Health Store within the GOQii App. 

GOQii Smart Vital Junior is designed specially for kids with a colourful display and straps that are made with materials gentle to the skin and to fit their wrists. Apart from this, the features also include: 

  • Continuous body temperature monitoring 
  • Continuous heart rate (HR) monitoring 
  • Measuring blood oxygen levels (SpO2) 
  • Sleep Tracking 
  • 18 exercise modes 

…and much more! 

You can order the GOQii Smart Vital Junior from the GOQii App. It is also available on online platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart. It is recommended to be used for screening purposes only. All data collected by GOQii is subjected to HIPAA, GDPR and relevant data privacy guidelines. The GOQii Smart Vital Junior is priced in India at INR 4999/- 

Keep a Watch on Your Kids’ Health and help them #BeTheForce 

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Fun Ways To Stay Fit At Home

stay fit at homeWhile we’re again in a lockdown due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, what most of us are overlooking is the impact of this period on our health. “Sitting is the new smoking” and quite rightly so! Watch your favorite shows, movie marathons, staying glued to the cellphone can all keep you occupied but can also make you mentally and physically unfit! So here are some simple and fun ways to stay fit at home! You can try these fun workouts with your entire family, including your kids! 

6 Fun Ways to Stay Fit at Home

1. Plyometrics at Home
Yes! You read it right; Plyometric Exercise can be fun with all the family members. You can place 6 water bottles in a straight line with a gap of 2 feet between them. Ask all the members to form a line begin the workouts:

  • Do the snake walk without touching the bottles
  • Jump over the bottles
  • Jumping over the bottles again but this time turn to your right and jump and then turn to your left and jump.
  • Jump over the bottles and clap your hands in the air above your shoulders.
  • Come in the plank position such that you are in between two bottles and your body is completely on your toes and palms. Reach till the last bottle.

2. Partner Workouts

  • Both the partners are facing back (touching each other’s back); one partner has a bottle of water and will pass it to the other partner by just turning his waist. At the end of 60 seconds the one who has a bottle of water in their hands is the winner.
  • Both the partners are facing back but this time feet are shoulder distance apart and the box of popcorns will pass by bending the back and the receiving partner too has to bend down to take it.
  • Lie down on the floor such that both the partners are touching each other’s feet sole. Now do cycling 20 times clockwise and anti-clockwise.

3. Hula Hoop
This is favourite among children. Besides just twisting and rotating your waist, you can also do variations like a cross over the loops without touching any body part.

4. Skipping
Skipping is a great way to keep kids and grown-ups happy and engaged. You can do partner skipping, cross skipping and reverse skipping.

5. Dancing
Dancing is also a great form of workout. We live in a land of vast dance forms, so choose your pick from Bangra to Garba to Bollywood! You can have a small dance competition amongst the family members. Encourage the use of props like sticks or chairs which will need more effort.

6. Spell your name
Just spell your name and do these workouts. You can also spell days of the week.

Image courtesy @ Brightside

Hope you enjoy these fun ways to stay fit at home with your family during quarantine. Let us know your experience or your mantra to staying fit indoors, in the comments below. For more exciting and fun home workouts, tune in to GOQii Play. For more on fitness, check out Healthy Reads.

To get these tips and tricks directly from your GOQii Coach, subscribe to personalized coaching now: https://goqiiapp.page.link/wssu 

Stay indoors, stay safe and #BeTheForce  

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Symptoms To Watch Out For When RT PCR Tests Negative

RT PCR Tests NegativeEarlier in April, my cousin visited three hospitals in Delhi with his father, trying to get an oxygen bed for him. His father was tested negative for COVID-19 in the RT-PCR test, but was showing symptoms of the disease. His oxygen levels dropped to <90 and HRCT showed infection and pneumonia. Due to the false negative RT PCR Test report, his father had not received proper and timely treatment and after a week, the disease progressed and damaged more than 50% of his lungs. 

India is currently going through the second wave of COVID-19 and the virus is said to be more infectious than it was previously. Due to the new structure of the double and triple mutant variant of the virus, it is undetectable in the RT-PCR test. Earlier fever, cough and difficulty in breathing were said to be the most common symptoms of the deadly virus but now, it’s important to be aware of the newest symptoms (like diarrhoea, vomiting, conjunctivitis) to be able to identify them, to take timely treatment and avoid complications. It’s important to know the four broad factors which determine the accuracy of an RT-PCR test: the viral load in the person, the quality of sample collection and processing, the efficacy of the test kit itself, and also the benchmark for test interpretation. 

The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention added new triggers and updated the list of COVID-19 symptoms: 

  • Fever (mild or high)
  • Cough
  • Shortness of breath
  • Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
  • Loss of appetite 
  • Muscle or body aches
  • Headache
  • Nasal congestion 
  • Loss of taste or smell
  • Skin rashes 
  • Sore throat
  • Congestion or runny nose
  • Gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea, abdominal cramps 
  • Red Eyes or conjunctivitis 
  • Hearing loss
  • Extreme lethargy and weakness
  • Dry mouth or not enough saliva
  • Confusion state and brain fog 

According to AIIMS Director Dr. Randeep Guleria, there is always a chance that it is a false negative, “If the test is not properly done or a swab is not taken properly, it shall be a false negative. If the symptoms are there and you have been in contact with a COVID positive person, then you must assume you are COVID positive too and take the necessary steps as any patient would,” 

Dr Anurag Agarwal, director of the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics said, “What people should remember is that PCR has a sensitivity of 70%. The load of the virus in one’s mouth and nose remain the highest a day before the symptoms start showing. Then the virus load gradually decreases. If people get tested late after 7 to 8 days, it is possible to get a negative test report because the virus may have travelled inside the body”.

So, the bottom line is this, if you test negative but still have any of the above-mentioned symptoms then take normal precautions as one would if tested positive. Consult a doctor and also isolate yourself, have plenty of fluids, a nutritional diet and supportive care. 

How To Manage Mild Symptoms If The RT PCR Tests Negative

If the RT PCR tests negative, and you have any of the above symptoms, here’s what you can do to manage the milder ones. 

  • Isolate yourself in a separate room with a working bathroom/toilet if possible.
  • Wear triple sharing masks covering your nose and mouth whenever you open the door. Those entering your room should do the same. Also, discard the mask after eight hours.
  • Make sure to wash your hands frequently with soap or use 70% alcohol-based sanitiser. You should also clean your room yourself with a disinfectant. 
  • If possible, open windows for better ventilation.
  • Utensils should be cleaned wearing gloves with soap. Best to use disposables and it is strongly advised not to use personal items with others.
  • Frequently check your temperature for mild fever, body ache can take a paracetamol or Dolo 650.
  • Monitor your oxygen levels at least every 4-6 hours. If your breaths are too fast, take a six-minute walk and try again.
  • Keep yourself hydrated and have a healthy diet even if you can’t taste or smell a thing. Proper hydration and a healthy diet will ensure a faster recovery.

Seek emergency medical care in any of these cases:

  • Oxygen level on oximeter shows less than 94%
  • Shortness of breath worsens
  • Lips or face turn blue-ish
  • Feeling of disorientation increases
  • Fever of 101 F (38C) persists for more than three days
  • If you feel tightness pain in the chest
  • Slurred speech or seizure
  • Unable to wake up or sudden and extreme weakness

We hope this article helps you! Do be aware of these symptoms and take necessary precautions if your RT PCR tests negative. 

To read more on COVID-19 management, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to LIVE sessions by experts on GOQii Play. To directly reach out to a GOQii Coach, subscribe to personalized coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/wssu 

Stay home, stay safe and #BeTheForce  

From Terminal Illness To Complete Wellness! Ananda Mukherjee Health Story

As we observe World Cancer Day under the powerful theme ‘United by Unique’ (2025-2027)**, we are reminded that every individual’s journey with cancer is distinct, yet united by shared resilience, hope, and the collective fight against this disease. This theme places people at the centre of care and their stories at the heart of the […]