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PRECAUTIONS AGAINST COVID-19

30/03/2020 Issue: 11

İKÜ Virtual Counter is Open to Service

As the İstanbul Kültür University, a new service system called “IKU Virtual Counter” was put into service as part of the efforts to combat the New Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). Virtual Counter; With the completion of separate virtual office preparations for our Student Affairs Department, Financial and Administrative Affairs Department, International Relations Unit and Institutes, it was put into use on Monday (March 30, 2020). With the support of the Corporate Information Management Department, İKÜ Virtual Counter, which is carried out by the Information Systems and Technologies Department, will work to find solutions for the topics that students who need to continue their education remotely due to the pandemic.

Within the scope of İKÜ Virtual Counter project;

-Student affairs

-Financial affairs

-International relations

-Kültür Point

-Library

-Graduate Education Institute

- Infirmary (Student)

-Guidance and psychological counseling virtual offices are opened for service.

-Infirmary (Personnel)

-Human Resources Studies for virtual offices are ongoing.

As Istanbul Kültür University, we will double our virtual classroom capacity on April 01, 2020.

We are quadrupling our VPN (Virtual Private Network) capacity for telecommuting

Message from our Head of the Board of Trustees Dr. Bahar Akıngüç Günver

Head of the Board of Trustees of Istanbul Kültür University Dr. Bahar Akıngüç published a message regarding the IKU agenda that changed with New Corona Vırus Disease (COVID-19).

To read the explanation…

IKU Distance Education Studies

Note: The statistics belong to Monday, March 30 - 16.00.

Sleep and Immunity

The exam given by the world and our country with COVID-19 has affected all our habits and our lives. This process has shown us how important it is for us and our environment to take care of our private life. Being a bio-psycho-social entity, human beings are affected by the process socially and psychologically with the measures taken to protect their biological health. During the quarantine days, we take various precautions with our research and expert suggestions to strengthen our immune system.

Our immune system is affected by factors such as age, diet and activity habits, sleep and stress levels. In addition, chronic diseases affecting immunity make us weak against epidemics such as COVID-19, and it is recommended that individuals identified in the risk group avoid as much social contact as possible and stay at home.

The strength of our immune system is associated with the physiological and behavioral balance of our body, called the circadian rhythm. The sleep-wake order is one of the important factors of this balance. Sleep can mean different things to individuals. Some see sleep as a daily task and a waste of time, while others wait for the moment to fall asleep. Changes in working and daily life routines during quarantine days, lack of working hours limits and excess free activities during the day can affect our sleep patterns and weaken our immune system.

Melatonin hormone level is important in sleep and wakefulness. The production and release of this neurohormone begins with darkness (20.00-23.00), reaches peak levels in the middle of the night (02.00-04.00) and ends with brightness (07.00-09.00). The release and absorption of the hormone melatonin is associated with the level of immunity and is affected by sleep patterns. Various animal studies have shown that thymus gland, which is effective in antibody production with decreased melatonin level, has atrophy, that is, its performance decreases. Melatonin level is associated with seasonal occurrence of cancer. In the winter months when the nights are long, the production of melatonin is higher than the spring and summer months, it decreases the tumor development. It has been found that stress, viral diseases, bacterial diseases or secondary developing immune system deficiencies can be prevented with melatonin, a powerful antioxidant.

Recommendations for a quality sleep and balanced hormone melatonin

-Not to stay around technological equipment for long periods of time and in intense light conditions

-Avoiding caffeine consumption.

-No smoking, alcohol and joyful drugs.

-To be physically active and exercise regularly.

- Regular sleep (if possible to sleep and wake up at the same time with all night sleep and not have a nap during the day).

- To protect the sleep environment from environmental stimuli such as sound and light (silent and dark environment).

-Apply approaches to stress control and relaxation.

-Balanced diet.

The National Sleep Agency recommends an average of 7-9 hours per day (no less than 6 hours and no more than 10 hours) for young adult (18 to 25 years) and adult (26-64) individuals; an average of 7-8 hours (no less than 5 hours and no more than 9 hours) sleep for older individuals (65+ years). During this period, apart from all these recommendations, it is also important that individuals maintain routine habits that do not involve social contact and do not pose any risk to health.

I wish you peaceful and healthy days.

Research Assistant Halenur EVRENDİLEK

Faculty of Health Sciences

Physical Therapy And Rehabilitation

What should people who have to travel to countries with high patient density such as the People's Republic of China do to prevent disease?

The basic principles proposed to reduce the overall risk of transmission of acute respiratory infections also apply to the New Coronavirus (COVID-19). These are;

-Hand care should be paid. Hands should be washed with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and alcohol-based hand antiseptics should be used in the absence of soap and water. There is no need to use soap with antiseptic or antibacterial, normal soap is enough.

- The mouth, nose and eyes should not be in contact without washing hands.

- The patient should avoid contact with people (if possible, be at least 1 m away).

-Hands should be cleaned frequently, especially after direct contact with sick people or their environment.

-If possible, it should not be visited to health centers due to the presence of patients, and contact with other patients should be minimized when it is necessary to go to the health institution.

- During coughing or sneezing, the nose and mouth should be covered with a disposable tissue paper, in cases where there is no tissue paper, the elbow should be used, if possible, should not be entered in crowded places, if it is necessary to enter, mouth and nose should be closed, and a medical mask should be used.

-Eating raw or undercooked animal products should be avoided. Well-cooked foods should be preferred.

-High-risk areas in terms of general infections such as farms, livestock markets and areas where animals can be slaughtered should be avoided.

-If there are any respiratory symptoms within 14 days after travel, a mask should be worn to the nearest health institution, and the doctor should be informed about the travel history.

It is recommended not to travel abroad as much as possible. When traveling abroad is mandatory, the following rules should be observed: