Nutritional supplements can improve your health and wellbeing. Order supplements online here!
UPDATE:
As of May 12, 2023, Valley Medical and Wellness no longer offers COVID-19 testing.
Feeling sneezy and wheezy? Have a sore throat or a cough? Running a fever? Lost your sense of taste or smell? These are all signs that you could be positive for COVID-19. What should you do next?
If you’re experiencing COVID symptoms or have been exposed to someone who has COVID, the first thing to do is get a COVID test. There are lots of options for COVID testing, from easy-to-use home test kits to professional testing done at a local clinic or your doctor’s office. The most accurate testing is called RT-PCR testing, which is offered at Valley Medical and Wellness. This test involves a simple nasal swab and produces results the same day. The sooner you know your results, the sooner you can take further action.
If you test positive for COVID you want to make sure you don’t give it to anyone else. That means staying home and not venturing out into public. According to the CDC, you want to isolate for at least five days after you first experience symptoms. (Or, if you tested positive without exhibiting any symptoms, five days from the day you took the test.)
Isolating means staying in your home and not going outside. It also means putting as much distance between yourself and other family members as possible. Stay in your room and if you must venture out, wear a medical-grade mask. Definitely don’t go to work or participate in any outside social activities.
After five days you can end your isolation, as long as your symptoms are improving and you’re fever-free. If still have a fever or your symptoms haven’t gotten any better, continue isolating until things change.
Most COVID cases today tend to be mild, especially if you’ve been vaccinated and boosted against the virus. To some people, COVID is no worse (and no better!) than the common cold.
Other people, however, experience more severe symptoms. If you experience any of the following, you should see a physician immediately:
These more severe symptoms could indicate respiratory distress and require immediate treatment.
If you’re experiencing severe symptoms or if you’re older or in a high-risk group, ask your doctor for Paxlovid treatment. This treatment consists of a five-day course of pills, taken orally. Paxlovid has proven highly effective at reducing the risk of hospitalization or death from COVID-19 and its many variants. (Valley Medical offers convenient telemedicine visits to provide Paxlovid for COVID-positive patients.)
Even if your symptoms are minor, you still need to take care of yourself and let the virus run its course. That means getting plenty of rest, drinking plenty of liquids, and not over exerting yourself. This is the time to stay inside, get under the blankets, and binge watch that show you’ve been meaning to watch. (And remember to take plenty of naps!)
If you do have to be around other people, like the pizza delivery guy, wear a medical-grade mask—and make sure they do, too. You should continue masking for at least 10 days after the first onset of symptoms. That’s right, you need to wear a mask even when it’s okay for you to leave the house and go back to work. You should also avoid close personal contact and crowded spaces for the same period of time.
Some workplaces require that you get a second COVID test before you go back to work. Even if not required, this is a good idea, just to make sure you’re not still contagious. Valley Medical offers PCR COVID testing with same-day results—take the test the day before you go back to work so you can show the results to your boss when you return.
Whether you’re experiencing COVIID symptoms or have been exposed to someone with COVID, turn to the COVID-19 experts at Valley Medical. We offer highly accurate RT-PCR COVID testing that delivers results the same day. Just make an appointment online, drive up at your designated time, and one of our expert staff will come to you—you never have to leave your car. The test is a simple nasal swab and you’ll receive test results by midnight that evening. If you test positive, we can schedule a convenient telemedicine visit to prescribe the Paxlovid COVID treatment.
Valley Medical and Wellness offers COVID and flu testing and treatment for people of all ages. Test results are typically available the same day, and we accept all major health insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicaid. Flu and COVID testing is available at our Burnsville, Minneapolis, and Woodbury locations. Over the course of the pandemic, we’ve administered tens of thousands of tests to the public and are proud to be a registered testing center with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Valley Medical is also a premier chronic pain management and addiction treatment practice with offices in Bemidji, Burnsville, Minneapolis, Rochester, and Woodbury, Minnesota. We strive to improve the quality of life for those suffering from pain and/or addiction through a comprehensive approach focusing on overall wellness, along with progressive and knowledgeable medical treatments. We work closely with our patients and recognize that dealing with pain and/or addiction can impact every aspect of their lives, including their self-worth, physical health, jobs, relationships with friends and family, finances, and mental health.
For more information about our services and to keep up with the latest events happening at the clinic, check us out on:
