Coronavirus

[Belugaloo]

im trying to decide what I will do if my doctor hasn't agreed to write me a note before this upcoming Monday. I spoke with the office this morning and she's usually good about emailing me quickly, but I really want to play it safe. I always get hit hard with respiratory illness. I was sick 4 times between august and December. I should limit my contact for a bit, I think.

[Ozlsn]

@Belugalooas the parent of a child who was medically high risk when we were getting home services I just wanted to say thank you for thinking about your clients and trying to minimise risk. 

5 hours ago, louisa05 said:

Yesterday she shared a “medical study” that “proves” burning sage in a room “clears bacteria” and told us where to buy sage which will be all we need. 

Thank you for making me laugh out loud, even while simultaneously banging my head against the wall. I will definitely check the herb section in the supermarket today to see if that important scientific breakthrough has caused panic buying in that aisle too.

Having said that I suspect vodka- and other high concentration alcohol may well be selling out as people buy them for, ahem, purely medicinal purposes.

@therulesofjinx what you are doing is exactly what Australian government advised people to do. Buy 1-2 extra of essential items and stock up - which some people apparently took to mean "Buy the entire supermarket aisle", sigh. 

This made me laugh:

Spoiler

Trying to work out how to make "working from home" sound suitably mysterious.

[Silas]

I have a son with severe anxiety, OCD, and ASD. He isn't very verbal either so explaining this to him is well...hard. Don't get me wrong, I'm so relieved that kids his age aren't at risk like they sometimes are with other things but, I'm still stressing. He has a very strict routine, which includes going out and about to certain places, and he's also a restrictive eater. We're currently in the process of stocking up on the select foods he will eat but it's been hard. Because it's the only things he'll eat we always buy a lot at once anyway, but right now I can't find his juice anywhere in town. 

Again, I'm extremely thankful we don't have it worse. He isn't at high risk, I'm not, his dad isn't...even if we caught it. I've also never been happier that my mother had us as a teenager because she's young too so while I worry more for her than myself, I've never felt so blessed to have a young mom.

But this is going to cause so many random problems for so many people for all kinds of reasons. For the past few days I've been obsessing over my son's OCD obsessions, trying to figure out which ones he's gonna have to do without and how best to prepare him for it. That probably sounds ridiculous it's true. ? I know my problems could be so much worse and I'm thankful but I just needed to word vomit this somewhere, I'm sorry.

[Kailash]

@Silas Trying to deal with obsessions on a “normal” day is hard enough. Changing basically the entire routine? Rough times ahead. It can feel so overwhelming when day to day life is a struggle, and then adding something else on top can make a person want to quit. But as parents that’s not an option. *sigh* I’m thinking of you and yours and hoping things go as smoothly as possible.

[irish_dancing_canadian]

I live in Western Germany. All schools have shut down for the next month. All large sporting events cancelled. I was supposed to compete in the World Irish Dance Championships next month, however its been cancelled. Yes it sucks but its understandable at this point. 

My German classes and dance classes have been cancelled for the next month too. Most people starting to work from home now. Hand sanitizer is sold out everywhere, thankfully I have some.

I work at a pub in a city centre, there are talks of us closing for a couple weeks and I really think we should at this point.

Still seeing people going on with their daily lives, but everyone is taking their precautions. 

Just keeping myself home as much as possible at this point, and being aware of my hygiene at all times. 

Lets see how this next month plays out. 

[indianabones]

I woke up from a really vivid nightmare this morning that I was being chased, and then attacked by a pig that I initially thought was totally harmless. According to this website, "If the pig is attacking and chasing you within the dream, and you are running or hiding away, it is a sign that you need to focus on the sanitary conditions of your household and work. There are unclean parts of your life’s environment that may cause infectious diseases."

Sounds about right. And I like pigs... ?

I had a small breakdown this morning when my family wasn't around. I felt so overwhelmed by all the new news that's coming out. Now that it's not just my neighborhood and my city being affected it feels even more surreal and disastrous. I keep trying to look on the bright side but it's hard. And even when I try distracting myself by watching TV or reading books I get taken out of the story by people shaking hands or going to work or being in a crowd, which is REALLY annoying. I need to work on my suspension of disbelief, apparently!

People on the news are starting to talk about food shortages, which is definitely not helping anyone. I had to go to Trader Joe's today (if I didn't go, my 65 year old mother would have gone and definitely spent way more time there than necessary) and it was PACKED. People have started panic buying here again.

[Ozlsn]

@Silas I don't know if you've seen this resource for talking with ASD kids about corona virus? (hoping that link comes up OK - if not it's a public post by Autistic Kitty on Facebook, and there's a number of pages explaining about the virus and asking how the child feels as well as talking about prevention.) If I find more I'll post them. 

Ah, you can download as a .PDF from www.mindheart.co/descargables

Edited March 14, 2020 by Ozlsn
Should look at last picture as well as the others!

[Glasgowghirl]

Here in the UK most sporting events are now cancelled. Mikeal Arteta, the Arsenal manager and a Chelsea player tested positive for the virus. 

The remaining 6 Nations rugby games prosponed, a similar thing happened in 2001 when the foot and mouth outbreak happened. 

In Scotland originally the plan was to cancel all major events after Monday but now all games are cancelled including the Celtic and Rangers game. 

My University UWS is closing all campus's next week, my Campus, Lanarkshire had a student test postive last week. 

[Italiangirl]

Via Twitter a message from Minister of Health Olivier Véran:

Taking anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, cortisone, ...) could be a factor in worsening the infection. If you have a fever, take paracetamol.
If you are already on anti-inflammatory drugs or in doubt, ask your doctor for advice.
 

Edited March 14, 2020 by Italiangirl

[Loveday]

2 hours ago, Italiangirl said:

Via Twitter a message from Minister of Health Olivier Véran:

Taking anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, cortisone, ...) could be a factor in worsening the infection. If you have a fever, take paracetamol.
If you are already on anti-inflammatory drugs or in doubt, ask your doctor for advice.
 

Oh, no. That won't be good for me if I get the virus. I can't take paracetamol (acetaminophen in the US) due to liver issues. I'm not supposed to take ibuprofen due to blood pressure issues, but I take a little most days to keep my arthritis from becoming unbearable. I figure my bp is controlled by meds, so a little won't hurt. But looks like if I get the virus I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't! 

*washes hands for the 20th time today*

[Italiangirl]

i'm sorry to hear it @Loveday i understood that this is more a possibility than something they are certain about, maybe is better for you to ask to your doctor just to be safe? it will also help your stress, please stay safe 

[Loveday]

15 minutes ago, Italiangirl said:

i'm sorry to hear it @Loveday i understood that this is more a possibility than something they are certain about, maybe is better for you to ask to your doctor just to be safe? it will also help your stress, please stay safe 

Thank you, yes, I'll call my doctor if it becomes necessary. He does think I shouldn't take ANY ibuprofen, but concedes that the little I do take is probably all right. And I can take the tiny bit of Tylenol that's in Vicodin whenever I get prescribed that for something (which is almost never, thankfully!)  I can't take regular dose amounts, though, so I do wish they'd get on it and create a new pain reliever/anti-inflammatory that doesn't cause these side effects. What on earth do people do who have far worse arthritis than me but can't take Motrin or Tylenol. and their doctors won't prescribe opioids for obvious reasons? I know there are a couple other pain relievers out there, but they don't work for everyone, including me. I feel awful for people with lifelong, chronic pain issues.

[laPapessaGiovanna]

Personally I'd like to see some studies or at least a good scientific explanation for this recommendation.

[Italiangirl]

i know @laPapessaGiovanna you are right but I thought it was still important and useful to post it. i trusted more than other time because It comes from an official account of a health minister...

[klein_roeschen]

6 hours ago, irish_dancing_canadian said:

I live in Western Germany. All schools have shut down for the next month. All large sporting events cancelled. I was supposed to compete in the World Irish Dance Championships next month, however its been cancelled. Yes it sucks but its understandable at this point. 

My German classes and dance classes have been cancelled for the next month too. Most people starting to work from home now. Hand sanitizer is sold out everywhere, thankfully I have some.

I work at a pub in a city centre, there are talks of us closing for a couple weeks and I really think we should at this point.

Still seeing people going on with their daily lives, but everyone is taking their precautions. 

Just keeping myself home as much as possible at this point, and being aware of my hygiene at all times. 

Lets see how this next month plays out. 

The news of the schools and daycare closings catched us cold. Our work schedules for the next weeks will definitly change, so we can catch up for the coworkers with small children and no one to care for them. My boss has 3 pharmacies and the largest of us has half the stuff with small children and working from home isn't possible for us. And even if the public life will be more and more closed down, we have to remain open to our full hours until we hear something official otherwise. And no info about plans in making, so we think that will come as a surprise, like the school closings.

@laPapessaGiovanna The anti- inflammatory effect of ibuprofen comes by leveling down that part of the immune system that's causing inflammations. That's very usefull for arthritis, but bad for virus infections since that system is needed for fighting off the infection. Generally speaking, taking ibuprofen for symptoms of the cold or the flu is not recommended, so your immune system can properly fight off the virus. This article is helpfull.

[LilMissMetaphor]

Today, my sister said that she can't afford to get the coronavirus, because she works with the elderly, and "if they get it they'll all die."

So do your magical EOs work or don't they?

[thoughtful]

Randy Rainbow has come through, with the perfect choice of song:

 

[indianabones]

The dog park was PACKED this morning. It was strange seeing so many people in one place, but it's a huge (40 acres) park so we were still able to keep our distance from other for the most part. I actually ran into two people I know, which has never happened to me there before! One of them was a client- her dog jumped up on me to lick my face from out of nowhere (and she's a black lab, so it was quite a jump) and it was quite a shock! But really nice seeing them, particularly since I'm supposed to sit for the dog in May and really hope they keep their travel plans. I brought the puppy I'm currently watching and he had so much fun and got so muddy!

My parents needed groceries and I had to beg them not to go to the store. The stores here are way too crowded during the day- everyone's buying all the canned items, flour, pasta, toilet paper, and frozen vegetables possible. And garlic. So much garlic.

I went out tonight (starting at 9:30) and hit up Fred Meyer first. They were hit pretty hard today and there were barely any employees restocking, which was weird. Target was the same way though I did score a bunch of garbanzo beans from the "ethnic" aisle since no one ever checks for beans there. Haggen had the best selection of everything, should have gone there first. I got a bunch of rice to make my mom feel a little more food-secure (they don't ever eat rice but ?) and I ordered a bunch of Rancho Gordo beans for them because I do love my heirloom Corona (lol) beans! I got home around midnight. Barely anyone was at the stores so it was worth it.

I tried doing grocery delivery yesterday with Instacart and Amazon Fresh but it turns out that when everyone has the same idea there ends up being nothing left in stock on the apps. I hope the companies figure out how to keep up with the demand. As soon as we get more restrictions- and they're coming- it would be really nice to not have to worry about going out for groceries.

[laPapessaGiovanna]

12 hours ago, klein_roeschen said:

The anti- inflammatory effect of ibuprofen comes by leveling down that part of the immune system that's causing inflammations. That's very usefull for arthritis, but bad for virus infections since that system is needed for fighting off the infection. Generally speaking, taking ibuprofen for symptoms of the cold or the flu is not recommended, so your immune system can properly fight off the virus. This article is helpfull.

True, but a powerful antinflammatory drug for arthritis, namely Tocilizumab, is on trial right now both in China and in Italy to treat COVID patients. At the moment results seem promising.

Seriously people, lots of things have been said by people who should have known better (see all the experts who said "it's just a bad flu" or "it's trasmitted only by symptomatic people"). It doesn't matter if someone is the minister of health, blanket statements without a study supporting them (or at least a very good scientific explanation, not generic "you shouldn't take antinflammatory drugs if you don't really need them") can do a lot more harm than good. People who survive thanks to antinflammatory drugs need to keep taking them. My lungs survive thanks to antinflammatory drugs, should I stop taking them I wouldn't be exactly improving my situation in case of a possibile coronavirus infection for example. Let's trust the doctors who care for us and know our medical history and general conditions before stopping taking meds.

[raspberrymint]

A silver lining to working alone for most of my work day (night) and having years ago cut off contact with older relatives is that so far I've had to make no real changes.  And for that I feel guilty, go figure.

Oh, question.  How are schools handling coursework for students with no home internet or library access?

Edited March 15, 2020 by raspberrymint
Question. My district's website pretty much just said "we will try".

[clueliss]

Since anti inflammatories were discussed here

 

[adidas]

@clueliss I was only just telling my husband about this! Thanks for the link, he wanted to read more but I couldn’t remember the details. 

[clueliss]

Someone alert the nutjobs

 

And I found this on Facebook yesterday.  They’ve set up a YouTube channel for free art lessons. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2nzX48Ucr1MIEpg0fCOJ6A

[smittykins]

My county in Upstate New York just declared a state of emergency, and schools will be closed starting Wednesday until at least April 14.

[Italiangirl]

good news it seems they have found the way the virus has pass from animal to humans