Coronavirus, Covid 19 Discussion and How It Has Affected Your Daily Life Chat Thread

[IamRainey]

FYI on the "Doctor's Info." When we first came down with covid, I asked every medical person I knew or could find for information ... and got lots of vagaries. My pharmacist nailed it when he told me, "You can't find any reliable information because there isn't any!"
So ...

• Hydration is key. Not only does it keep your body healthy, but it washes the virus into your stomach, where the temps and acids kill it. Everyone else in the house needs to do the same thing - lots of warm, room temp drinks - just a sip or two every fifteen minutes helps.
• Gargle with plain, warm salt water - again, this is for everybody in the house.
• Mucinex is your Friend! (generic is fine - it's just guaifenesin)
• Get one of those finger oximeters, like the one your med tech puts on the end of your finger. A little battery powered one designed for sports is great. Monitor the %. If it gets to 92, call the doctor. If it drops below 90, go to the ER.
• Steamy showers and hot tea are wonderful!
• Tylenol - no Ibuprofen or Naproxen - and the usual "cold remedy" stuff. DS lived on generic NyQuil.
• REST! If he wants to sleep all day, let him. Just make sure he's eating (we did LOTS of chicken soup) and drinking.

DON'T PANIC. Most people come through this just fine. It's not fun, but it's survivable. Aside from the flu-like fatigue, it's like no other illness I've ever experienced. I kept waiting for something dramatic to happen, but the beast just kept revolving around lots of uncomfortable symptoms ... one right after another.

So sorry, diedreg. Check out all MROO's excellent suggestions from the list above.

 

[IamRainey]

So sorry, sourland. Your niece's husband doesn't need your support anymore but your niece does. ...tho I'd be willing to take bets she's probably felt it from you all along.

Call her and see if she thinks an in-person visit is important to her. If she does, why not make it to her home (outside, that is) next week when the circus has moved on and she will still be reeling from her loss.

 

[aart]

"You can't find any reliable information because there isn't any!"

Hear Hear!!
Not sure I trust the tests either.

 

[roosterhavoc]

Hear Hear!!
Not sure I trust the tests either.

This doesn’t exactly instill a lot of confidence in testing.
https://www.nj.com/news/2020/12/fbi...yone-who-got-coronavirus-tests-at-nj-lab.html

 

[ChocolateMouse]

It's pretty hard when we don't have any sort of national consensus or guidance on what is or isn't good practices.

In any case, G's test was DEFINATELY a nasal swab. And false negatives definitely happen. Just because someone has been tested negative doesn't mean they are but if they test positive they very much are.

 

[aart]

This doesn’t exactly instill a lot of confidence in testing.
https://www.nj.com/news/2020/12/fbi...yone-who-got-coronavirus-tests-at-nj-lab.html

I've heard several stories from personal family/friends that caused my mistrust.

That article would fall under....

"You can't find any reliable information because there isn't any!"

 

[sourland]

So sorry, sourland. Your niece's husband doesn't need your support anymore but your niece does. ...tho I'd be willing to take bets she's probably felt it from you all along.

Sad family situation here. Many years ago I severed all contact with her mother - that was a good thing. Problem is that my interaction with my 7 nieces and nephews has been very limited since then. The deceased actually served as a conduit for information between the two families.

 

[IamRainey]

Oh! Families can be so complicated!

 

[IamRainey]

This doesn’t exactly instill a lot of confidence in testing.
https://www.nj.com/news/2020/12/fbi...yone-who-got-coronavirus-tests-at-nj-lab.html

Not saying this stuff doesn't happen but my husband's company relies on the tests they do on people up to 3x a week to protect their workforce. The fact of the matter is that testing, contact tracing and PPE absolutely DO work.

His workforce of about 300 is still under a dozen positives -- none of which have been between co-workers -- since August when they returned to work. This despite the fact that they're in Los Angeles which consistently ranks as one of the hotbed counties in the country and some of them work, by necessity, in very close proximity.

Pay attention to news stories BUT put them into context with the larger phenomena and don't be persuaded to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Testing, contact tracing and good hygiene protocols are still our very best assurance that we can contain infection.

 

[roosterhavoc]

Not saying this stuff doesn't happen but my husband's company relies on the tests they do on people up to 3x a week to protect their workforce. The fact of the matter is that testing, contact tracing and PPE absolutely DO work.

His workforce of about 300 is still under a dozen positives -- none of which have been between co-workers -- since August when they returned to work. This despite the fact that they're in Los Angeles which consistently ranks as one of the hotbed counties in the country and some of them work, by necessity, in very close proximity.

Pay attention to news stories BUT put them into context with the larger phenomena and don't be persuaded to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Testing, contact tracing and good hygiene protocols are still our very best assurance that we can contain infection.

I wasn’t giving my opinion on the whole deal just that particular test site and the fact the FBI didn’t disclose what the issue was at that particular lab. Don’t read anymore into it than it was.