Play Book Tag discussion
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OT CORNAVIRUS from my dad, MD, who doesn't worry a lot about every virus
PART II"What I have stocked in preparation for the pandemic spread to the US:
"1) Latex or nitrile latex disposable gloves for use when going shopping, using the gasoline pump, and all other outside activity when you come in contact with contaminated areas.
"Note: This virus is spread in large droplets by coughing and sneezing. This means that the air will not infect you! BUT all the surfaces where these droplets land are infectious for about a week on average - everything that is associated with infected people will be contaminated and potentially infectious. The virus is on surfaces and you will not be infected unless your unprotected face is directly coughed or sneezed upon. This virus only has cell receptors for lung cells (it only infects your lungs) The only way for the virus to infect you is through your nose or mouth via your hands or an infected cough or sneeze onto or into your nose or mouth.
2) Stock up now with disposable surgical masks and use them to prevent you from touching your nose and/or mouth (We touch our nose/mouth 90X/day without knowing it!). This is the only way this virus can infect you - it is lung-specific. The mask will not prevent the virus in a direct sneeze from getting into your nose or mouth - it is only to keep you from touching your nose or mouth.
3) Stock up now with hand sanitizers and latex/nitrile gloves (get the appropriate sizes for your family). The hand sanitizers must be alcohol-based and greater than 60% alcohol to be effective.
4) Stock up now with zinc lozenges. These lozenges have been proven to be effective in blocking coronavirus (and most other viruses) from multiplying in your throat and nasopharynx. Use as directed several times each day when you begin to feel ANY "cold-like" symptoms beginning. It is best to lie down and let the lozenge dissolve in the back of your throat and nasopharynx. Cold-Eeze lozenges is one brand available, but there are other brands available.
I, as many others do, hope that this pandemic will be reasonably contained, BUT I personally do not think it will be. Humans have never seen this snake-associated virus before and have no internal defense against it. Tremendous worldwide efforts are being made to understand the molecular and clinical virology of this virus. Unbelievable molecular knowledge about the genomics, structure, and virulence of this virus has already been achieved. BUT, there will be NO drugs or vaccines available this year to protect us or limit the infection within us. Only symptomatic support is available.
I hope these personal thoughts will be helpful during this potentially catastrophic pandemic. You are welcome to share this email. Good luck to all of us! Jim
James Robb, MD FCAP
Most of this is great info! Wash your hands often and for at least 20 seconds, stop shaking hands, try to stand at least 6 feet away from people. Things we should probably do on a regular basis anyway! A couple of things though:
Masks: The surgeon general has asked us NOT to buy masks. They are not effective for the general public and there is a real shortage for people who need them, like medical health professionals responding to patients with coronavirus in close quarters. Just stop touching your face.
Lozenges: Zinc has not been tested on COVID-19. Zinc does help with other coronavirus because zinc interrupts viral replication, but Zinc can also have side effects. Even if you take them, it is not a cure or magic bullet. Just a disclaimer.
Thanks for posting this! Wearing gloves is a good reminder for me. I have allergies and I tend to sneeze and touch my eyes a lot, and I catch colds easily. Zicam has really helped shorten colds, so I’ll keep taking that at the first sign of symptoms. Eat first. Cold-eze didn’t work as well for me and just made me nauseous.My mom has COPD and a trach tube, so we have to very careful.
The last time my husband’s colleagues had the flu, we both got it and despite all our precautions, it almost killed my Mom. She was in the hospital for months.
We’re also avoiding all healthcare settings right now if we can avoid it at all. And airports of course. I guess I might as well avoid libraries right now too. I have enough to read at home or on my computer.
Great advice other than the mask. I get that it keeps you from touching your face but you can do that with a bandana or something instead of taking masks away from the health care professionals that need them.I live really close to the epicenter in WA and a lot of what is in the email has been on the news here. Most people have been told to work from home, businesses are closing. They cancelled classes at Univ of WA. Events are all being cancelled or postponed. People are testing positive left and right. I feel so terrible for people that have family at the nursing home where most of the people who have died are from.
My mom lives next door and although she has no underlying health conditions, she's 73 so we've told her that we would do all the shopping and get her everything she needs. My husband and I aren't avoiding things per se, we've never been ones to enjoy crowds or anything. We went skiing yesterday and figured our chances of catching something there were slim :)
Charlotte wrote: "Great advice other than the mask. I get that it keeps you from touching your face but you can do that with a bandana or something instead of taking masks away from the health care professionals tha..."I haven’t been watching the news so I didn’t know it was affecting your area so strongly. Good luck. I like the bandana idea.
NancyJ wrote: "Charlotte wrote: "Great advice other than the mask. I get that it keeps you from touching your face but you can do that with a bandana or something instead of taking masks away from the health care..."I have not been watching it either Nancy-but this thread just sent me down a rabbit hole from the CDC to nearly every country in the world effected. It's stunning, truly.
Charlotte-I had not realized Washington State was effected so badly either-Omg, that nursing home! Was just reading some local news from there- How did it get in there? I know no one knows at this point, but my brain is just saying How?
Masks: The surgeon general has asked us NOT to buy masks. They are not effective for the general public and there is a real shortage for people who need them, like medical health professionals responding to patients with coronavirus in close quarters. Just stop touching your face.I'm feeling like a hoarder, I have an almost full box of a dozen face masks. I ordered them during the fire, although I didn't get them until the evacuation was over, I was using one for at least a week . I was planning on passing them over to my son if he insisted on going on that cruise, but I'm glad that won't be necessary.
Joanne wrote: "Charlotte-I had not realized Washington State was effected so badly either-Omg, that nursing home! Was just reading some local news from there- How did it get in there? I know no one knows at this point, but my brain is just saying How? ..."Yea... I'm uber aware of how coronavirus has been impacting the US because we've had our local news broadcasting special reports almost daily due to how bad it is here.
The first person that they reported having it had travelled back from Wuhan and was interacting with people for a week before he was diagnosed and it's just snowballed from there. Seattle is a major hub from people traveling from Asia. I live about an hour outside of Seattle in Snohomish County and the first case in the US was a man from my county. The county that Seattle is in (King) and my county have a combined 70 positive cases and 11 deaths, more than any other state. And the case in NC is someone that visited the nursing home that is kind of at the epicenter of a lot of it and then travelled home to NC. I know the national news has been telling people not to panic, but I'm not going to lie, it's hard not to when it's so prevalent around you.
Charlotte wrote: "Joanne wrote: "Charlotte-I had not realized Washington State was effected so badly either-Omg, that nursing home! Was just reading some local news from there- How did it get in there? I know no one..."I understand, I would absolutely be in a panic mode. Here in Michigan there are 400 people being monitored, but no confirmed cases.
Nicole R wrote: "Most of this is great info! Wash your hands often and for at least 20 seconds, stop shaking hands, try to stand at least 6 feet away from people. Things we should probably do on a regular basis any..."Good points for both of them. The masks are to stop you from touching your nose BUT if you are doing all of the other things it shouldn't matter if you touch your nose. Also, a bandana works fine as well, of course, but it might look like you're an old time bank robber ;)
As for the zinc, we have to be careful not to take too much. Due to my food allergies I take a safe amount daily because my MD told me to take certain supplements, but that's a good point.
ALSO if you feel you need a mask, you can use PARTICLE masks you find at hardware stores--they don't have to be disposable, either. Or silk masks or you can make your own out of things you already have if you can sew.
Charlotte wrote: "Great advice other than the mask. I get that it keeps you from touching your face but you can do that with a bandana or something instead of taking masks away from the health care professionals tha..."At my husband's hospital, they put out boxes of masks for visitors, and people just stole the entire box . . .this was weeks ago before the real anxiety set in.
Charlotte wrote: "Joanne wrote: "Charlotte-I had not realized Washington State was effected so badly either-Omg, that nursing home! Was just reading some local news from there- How did it get in there? I know no one..."This probably won't make you feel much better, but 75 people died from the flu in Washington state so far this season (from week 40 of 2019) . . .It is hard not to panic because the media has to make money, and this is a clicking bonanza so every other article is about the coronavirus. Your area is really the epicenter so I'm sure it's even worse.
Other coronaviruses have slowed down in the warm weather, so hoping this one follows the same pattern. Fingers crossed.
I do find it ironic though that people don't get flu shots, and tons of people die from the flu - - although I guess it is slightly less transmissible?
Hi, I'm in Seattle and would echo what Charlotte said - things feel really strange here right now, but as others have said, it's not so much that the disease itself feels scary as that the level of disruption it's causing is really unsettling. My husband (like most office-workers in the city) is working from home, and my 7-year-old is currently off school with a fever. There are lots of illnesses going around at his school, but nobody's getting tested since tests are currently only being used for people who've travelled to e.g. China or Italy or people who are ill enough to be hostpitalized. It's a very strange time.
Ugh, the disruption part does sound upsetting. Not much has happened in Maryland yet so things don't seem as frightening here.
Nikki wrote: "Hi, I'm in Seattle and would echo what Charlotte said - things feel really strange here right now, but as others have said, it's not so much that the disease itself feels scary as that the level of..."I agree it is a very strange time. I'm currently looking for a new job and talked to a recruiter today who told me the whole interview process would be virtual because of the coronavirus concerns.
I'm personally not as worried as me as I am about my mom. The morbidity rate for her age group is really high. I do realize that it may be a bit skewed since the main thing hit here is a nursing home and most of the deaths are due to that.
I have quite a few family members in Seattle- area and many of them are working remotely, companies are having people work from home wherever possible, I heard the Comicon was completely postponed. Yet, here I am- 5 hours South, and nothing has really changed. I still went to the theater (capacity about 3,500- theater was full) on Saturday, and still went to the university's basketball game on Thursday (capacity around 14,000- ended up with about 8,000 in attendance, but it was a Thursday night 8pm). I'm not worried about myself, considering my demographic- but I am starting to get worried about the "doomsday preppers". Do you REALLY NEED 126 rolls of toilet paper?!!
If there is one thing I've learned- is that is I touch my damn face all day every day, and it is SO HARD to stop.
Joi wrote: "If there is one thing I've learned- is that is I touch my damn face all day every day, and it is SO HARD to stop.."100% this. And I have learned that my pre-coronavirus handwashing was pathetic.
6 more days to SAT. Please no school shutdowns until after Monday! Holding steady. May everyone be well beyond my selfish laser focused interest.
Nicole R wrote: "Joi wrote: "If there is one thing I've learned- is that is I touch my damn face all day every day, and it is SO HARD to stop.."100% this. And I have learned that my pre-coronavirus handwashing wa..."
Can't be as bad as my son with the 2-5 second handwash (but at least he uses soap). I think he's working to improve that now.
Amy wrote: "6 more days to SAT. Please no school shutdowns until after Monday! Holding steady. May everyone be well beyond my selfish laser focused interest."Well, it's not elfish for you;t it's for ALL the kids taking the SATs :)
As most of you know, I work at a school and I’m quietly dreading schools being shut down here in Melbourne. I think we’re far away from that possibility for now, but the idea of being housebound with my sons, one of whom just HAS to get out every day, is more terrifying than the virus itself!
Joi wrote: "Do you REALLY NEED 126 rolls of toilet paper?!! ...."Agreed!!!! It's crazy!
LibraryCin wrote: "Joi wrote: "Do you REALLY NEED 126 rolls of toilet paper?!! ...."Agreed!!!! It's crazy!"
In a large family with lots of females you might if you had to stay quaranteed long enough.
At any rate, I order them in cases of 60 for a family of five and a case lasts quite a while, but then we're not home all day every day, either.
Susie wrote: "As most of you know, I work at a school and I’m quietly dreading schools being shut down here in Melbourne. I think we’re far away from that possibility for now, but the idea of being housebound wi..."Maybe your kids can keep going to school and just YOU can be quarantined. By yourself. With your books.
Nicole R wrote: "Maybe your kids can keep going to school and just YOU can be quarantined. By yourself. With your books."Wow, now that's a plan!
I want to be quarantined with my books!!!But with toilet paper too.
Anita wrote: "I want to be quarantined with my books!!!But with toilet paper too."
LOL!
Nicole R wrote: "Susie wrote: "As most of you know, I work at a school and I’m quietly dreading schools being shut down here in Melbourne. I think we’re far away from that possibility for now, but the idea of being..."You are a genius!
Anita wrote: "I want to be quarantined with my books!!!But with toilet paper too."
LOL!
Ugh. I just logged in to do online grocery shopping. I can normally arrange it for next day, but at the moment the wait is four days because everyone is online shopping to avoid going out in public. This is RIDICULOUS!
Be careful with gloves, everything you touch sticks to them then you start spreading that around.
Life is going on here as normal. Basketball playoffs and SAT’s and everything else. We all have to be very careful with her hygiene and be thoughtful, and we all have to make sure that we self Quarantine, if needed. We need to each do our part to help contain the spread. Be well everyone. Good for you Nicole, to be smart and careful. You are part of the solution.
Nicole D. wrote: "Be careful with gloves, everything you touch sticks to them then you start spreading that around."Yes, very true! But I already wear an old leather glove when I fill my gas tank so my hand doesn't reek of gas afterward; that said, I don't go using it to open doors. For me the glove idea would be if I washed my hands and then was headed off to eat and I knew I wasn't going to be able to put my hand in a pocket to manage the doors for some reason.
Weird day at work (library) today. We're in a sort of limbo where we're expecting it to spread soon but it's not yet, but we still have to take precautions ro prevent it. Some cancelled/ postponed activities at work due to preventing close crowds. And little things like taking some of the toys away in our children's area and making 4 jars of coulouring pencils to rotate over a 4-day period. Cleaning alcohol handy for surfaces. Hand sanitiser handy everywhere (especially where we handle the books and in the areas the public uses). Etc. So a sort of preparation before the storm, yet you still don't know when or how bad the storm is going to hit...
NY's governor just quarantined New Rochelle - a Westchester Suburb and the location of the first identified NY case of coronavirus -- a lawyer who exposed a whole lot of people to it before realizing he had it. I have real estate closings coming up --and we are offering to close 'in escrow' which is unprecedented here. NYC does sit down face to face closings unlike most areas of the US where 'in escrow' is the norm (all docs presigned and everything delivered to an escrow agent by a specific date who declares the deal closed when everything received). What the next hour (no longer the next day) will bring is everyone's hot button.
Our friends in New Rochelle are preparing for the 14 day quarantine that everyone’s about to start in a couple of hours. Or may have just begun at sunset. Meanwhile, Massachusetts governor baker just declared a state of emergency here. Conventional thinking is that they’re going to close all the schools just to get a hold of this thing. I pray they don’t close them until Monday. I know that’s selfish of me, I will do my part to do what we need to do. Apparently there are 92 cases here, and 78 of them are connected to the biogen conference. I know we will all keep each other posted. This is something to ride out, and come through together.
Anita wrote: "I want to be quarantined with my books!!!But with toilet paper too."
LOL!
Theresa wrote: "NY's governor just quarantined New Rochelle - a Westchester Suburb and the location of the first identified NY case of coronavirus -- a lawyer who exposed a whole lot of people to it before realizi..."That suggests that the virus can be spread by paper, unless the lawyer was coughing on everyone.
My last closing involved three people in a small room, handling, passing, and signing what seemed like 100 pieces of paper. Most of the bank paperwork (at the end) was done electronically with electronic signatures.
Can you do a lot of your work virtually now? Or have everyone wearing masks and gloves while they handle the paperwork?
Geez, I've been really sick all week (nothing like this virus), and I haven't been watching the news at all. It hasn't hit my area yet, but I'm not that far from Toronto. I've got Station Eleven in my head, imagining people trying to get across one of the bridges.
Amy wrote: "Our friends in New Rochelle are preparing for the 14 day quarantine that everyone’s about to start in a couple of hours. Or may have just begun at sunset. Meanwhile, Massachusetts governor baker ju..."Have you heard about the SATs yet?
Well, my 21 year old is upset because they might close her college and go online or something. She said, and I just checked their website and it's true, that Harvard is switching to online classes, but I wonder about their medical students who are in hospitals.I know that the school where I take voice lessons is only allowing students (I count even though I'm continuing education), staff and immediate relatives to campus concerts--it's New England Conservatory. So far my son's school who shares a significant number of music teachers with NEC is staying open and I hope it does--how on earth can music performance majors do all of their classes on line? Lessons, ensembles, etc.
My son's college is not letting the kids return and is doing the rest of the semester online. He is a second semester senior so it is pretty disappointing, and I think a huge overreaction. Luckily, he is one of very few kids with off campus housing so he can stay with his friends until May. But I truly feel more sorry for the engineering and lab science students. How are they supposed to do their work?
A giant bottle of hand sanitizer sits in the middle of the conference room table.It is unknown how the lawyer contracted it, and it went undiagnosed for days after he exhibited symptoms as medical establishment remained puzzled, allowing it to spread as he got sicker. Here is some coverage: https://nypost.com/2020/03/10/westche....
You can be a carrier and not get sick.
That is the scariest but also relieving part of this. That plenty of people are carrying this thing but are asymptomatic. That means it’s easy for some to recover, but also that the virulence is incredible. Seemingly, the only way for us all to get through this thing is just self confine. And have good hygiene. It’s just not easy to do. Literally everything around us is closing down and it’s canceled. It’s actually quite sad, and it seems to be disappointing everywhere. But everybody is trying to do their part just to keep the spread from happening. I feel really selfish about my worry about the SATs. Literally everything is getting canceled around, just to make sure this thing doesn’t go further. We all want it to pass, and have everyone recover healthily. No word yet. Everyone suspects governor baker will soon close all the schools, just to get a hold of this thing before we have no chance to. But no word yet. I just have to believe for my own self-absorbed situation, that everything will be okay. I have held faith this long. I have to believe this kid will get into a college that is good for him and will be happy. There has been so much struggle here. Just two weeks ago, the test prep tutor parted ways with our family, mutually. He felt we were wasting our money and that the kid doesn’t have the ability to learn. That he shouldn’t even be trying to do better over these next 3-5 tests. I cannot tolerate anyone who doesn’t have faith in my kid. I hired a prayer coven for last months ACT, and the spiritual experiences and support around that were incredible. The kind of thing where
Whoops! Technology! The kind of thing where you cannot bomb. He didn’t do much better, but I feel the whole process is blessed. I just want this kid to feel good about himself. He cries because he tries so hard and feels he doesn’t get much farther. We are also fighting through grades. History test Thursday, biology after that. We are not where we were, but not yet arrived. He just wants to prove his is late blooming. He needs that opportunity, more than other kids do. That’s why I am so crazy. Thanks for asking, Nancy. I have to believe it’s going to be okay whether the test gets cancelled or not. I have believed in him thus far. New fabulous verbal tutor, and his math teacher is working hard with him - believes in him and is going to the mat for him. I want him to have a breakout Spring and he will. Or won’t and it still will be okay. Haven’t slept in weeks. I spend my life trying to launch this kid. The best is yet to come for him. Anyway, this is why I am so crazy. If it happens, wish us luck. And love to everyone, for whom this affects in different ways. Blessings, Amy
Anita wrote: "My son's college is not letting the kids return and is doing the rest of the semester online. Henis a second semester senior so it is pretty disappointing, and I think a huge overreaction. Luckily,..."What a mess that's going to be. For classes with labs or performance reqs, they might have to allow them to retake the class again later without tuition costs. Or give everyone an A. Videotaping is a possibility for presentations or performances.
I don't think I've ever seen anything like this. This seems like an overreaction now, but I wonder how it will be evaluated in a year or two. Better safe than sorry?
@Amy, From my experiences, your son will find his way. I believe that his wish and motivation to succeed will help him. The path he takes to this success is yet unknown, due to his age.
As far as I understand it, it's all about flattening the curve of the spreading speed, so the hospitals will have sufficient space and equipment like respirators for the ones who need it. I don't want to think about how it is for you in the US and elsewhere with lots of people without healthcare, and places without access to doctors and hospitals. That's not really a new concern to me, this just puts a real focus on it.
Play Book Tag
Books mentioned in this topic
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (other topics)Frankissstein: A Love Story (other topics)
Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol (other topics)
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PART I
"Here is what I have done and the precautions that I take and will take. These are the same precautions I currently use during our influenza seasons, except for the mask and gloves.
NO HANDSHAKING! Use a fist bump, slight bow, elbow bump, etc.
Use ONLY your knuckle to touch light switches. elevator buttons, etc.. Lift the gasoline dispenser with a paper towel or use a disposable glove.
Open doors with your closed fist or hip - do not grasp the handle with your hand, unless there is no other way to open the door. Especially important on bathroom and post office/commercial doors.
Use disinfectant wipes at the stores when they are available, including wiping the handle and child seat in grocery carts.
Wash your hands with soap for 10-20 seconds and/or use a greater than 60% alcohol-based hand sanitizer whenever you return home from ANY activity that involves locations where other people have been.
Keep a bottle of sanitizer available at each of your home's entrances. AND in your car for use after getting gas or touching other contaminated objects when you can't immediately wash your hands.
If possible, cough or sneeze into a disposable tissue and discard. Use your elbow only if you have to. The clothing on your elbow will contain infectious virus that can be passed on for up to a week or more!