By: Dr. Sharyn A. Laughlin, MD

Coping with COVID-19: My adult children are separated from my husband and myself across Canada and the US.  I’ve been worried about my grandchildren especially.  I see how much their daily lives have been disrupted and how they are coping as best they can.  I’ve learnt first-hand the importance of keeping your routine.  This is my second brush with disaster- it was last September 2019 that I was trapped in my vacation home during Hurricane Dorian.  We were blasted by this Category 5 Hurricane for a never ending 36 hours and then were marooned for four days.  I’ve learned that in moments of crisis, keeping a semblance of a normal routine is so important for your mental health.  To that end, this is what I’ve been up to these past several weeks.

Morning Routine: 

I’ve been sleeping in during these self-isolation days and I’m now up at 7:30 AM later than my usual 6:15 AM on workdays. No matter where I am in the world, the first thing I do is have my whole fresh orange.  It stimulates your metabolism and is the one part of my routine that never changes.  Even when I travel, I will find a local corner store and buy oranges to keep in my hotel room. I then have a coffee (black) for a fast pick-me-up, then my ‘superfood’ breakfast.   I have my whole high fibre bran (flakes+buds) cereal with almond milk and berries while catching up on the news.  This is another essential for me- I even travel with my bran buds and my own bowl so that I’m never without it.  My granddaughter calls my Bran Buds “Nana’s cereal” and will share a bowl with me when I visit.  

My skincare and shower routine is pretty simple.  I love Dove bar soap for sensitive skin, Dove Avocado shampoo and Live Clean conditioner.  I look for products without fragrances, essential oils, parabens and other No No’s like methylisothiazinolone.  I apply on damp skin either Eucerin Complete Repair, Dove Derma Spa Goodness cream or Dove Derma Spa Uplifted Lotion.

For my face, I’ll start with CyberDERM’s Nu-Shroom Hydrafill Serum for “plumping” and smoothing lines especially around the eyes.  I’ll then apply a layer of Natrèceutique Calm in the Evening for extra moisturizing, and decreasing redness. I am a proud Irish/Scottish mix but my Celtic ancestry makes me rosaceous.  

I then finish with a sunscreen (as you probably guessed!).  I’ve always liked the CyberDERM Every Morning Sun Whip SPF 25 as a nice daily option if I’m just commuting to work and even when I’ve been staying at home. I like it for the hydration and because it feels silky on the skin.  I’ve also been using the new Ava Isa Sun-è-Serum SPF 35.  I like that it’s so thin and light-weight. It has the literal consistency of water.  I’m the guinea pig for all of the products that we come up with.  The company doesn’t test on animals, just me. As you can imagine, I’m a pretty big advocate of daily sunscreen use.  It really is the deciding factor in how people preserve their skin over time.  As a teenager, I used baby oil and iodine and would burn. It’s taken a lot of dedicated work to reverse that damage and I wish people would understand how much easier it is to prevent damage instead.  

Exercise Routine:

My new uniform has been exercise clothes instead of my usual scrubs. It sets my frame of mind. I’ve been using the Elevate App to do my “brain training”. I then exercise most days at 11-12 pm.  I play “I Got this Feeling” by Justin Timberlake as my exclusive warm up tune, then using apps, I work out with Emi WONG or Bailey BROWN. I also do virtual training with a personal trainer 3X per week.

Afternoon:

I’m known among my staff for my standard lunch of pickles, cheese and ham at the office.  I’m normally really busy at the office so I’ll at best get 10-15 minutes in between patients.  At home, I stick to what is called the Montignac diet, it’s a French variation of ones like the Atkins diet.  I’ve kept to it now for almost 20 years.  I combine protein and fats and avoid mixing in regular carbohydrates.  I’ll only have complex carbs like grains, beans and lentils. I’ve been able to maintain the same weight now over the years and it’s also what feels good to me. I’ve been occasionally adding in a small glass of red wine these days, something I normally reserve for dinner.  It aids digestion! Work is normally pretty intense- it’s busy and I need steady hands and constant concentration. A little wine with dinner just helps mellow me out and unwind

During this break- I have taken up the piano again. My husband was getting tired of Moon River and Fur Elise – my two go to pieces.  I started with some music apps that did not work too well so I went back to some old music books that my daughter used to use. 

I’ve been doing Webinars almost every day. Yesterday, I listened to Dr. Mauricio de Maio the Brazilian Plastic Surgeon who developed MD codes for injectables (and Fillers). Even after forty years of being a doctor, I still love learning from other experts and keeping my skills and knowledge fresh.  I’ve been doing injectables since 1983 and I trained under the first inventors of cosmetic injections Dr. Jean and Alastair Carruthers. I’ve also been listening to the latest on Broad Band Light (BBL) and resurfacing.  I’m exciting to share everything I’ve learned with my patients and team once this is all over.

Having said all of this, sleep is my real favourite pastime. I always nap in the afternoon on vacation and weekends. I’ve been enjoying the ability to take a daily nap.  I’ve also been catching up on reading, so far I’ve read “Exit Music” (Ian Rankin), “Good Girls Lie” (JT Ellison), “Knife” (Jo Nesbo).  I’ve been watching a lot of Netflix too – I just re-watched one of my all time fave series – Prime Suspect – about Detective Superintendent Jane Tennyson.  Helen Mirren plays this British super sleuth and a female in “man’s world”.  It reminds me a bit of my early days when I first started to work in the sub-speciality of laser dermatology. I was confident that this was the future but there was a lot of apathy and skepticism from other dermatologists.

Finally, I cherish my daily Facetime with my kids and grandkids.  I also connect with my staff once a week on Zoom.  This is definitely the best part of digital technology- that it lets us connect with each other.  I also wind down every night with a hot bath. I like it very, very hot and have passed on this love to my kids.  I’ll use a cap of olive oil in the water and have also been loving alternating with this oatmeal soak that my daughter gave me for my birthday from Bathorium, a local Ottawa company.  At night, I use my Bakuchiol Building Blocks for skincare. I hop into my vibrating bed that uses vibra-acoustic sensory input as a natural sedative and to relieve muscle tension.  

I miss my family, my staff and my patients and I can’t wait to get back to work. I’ve been privileged to take care of my patients for the past forty years and it remains one of my all time favourite things.