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

[Ninjasquirrel]

That quilt is lovely, what a nice gift!
I used to machine quilt, and it's made me want to get started again...
Mary

Thank you. Ive sat on that project for a while. Now to start planning a covid mask quilt!

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

This year, since about April and to this date I have seen adults and elderly becoming severely ill with diseases that, under normal conditions, should not result in hospitalization. I have noted periodic surge patterns to some, namely Lyme carditis, myocarditis pericarditis, and acute coronary events in people without heart conditions. Mix of ages but majority are well under 60, and it has me concerned.
Viral competition is a proposed reason we are not seeing high influenza rate. It was theorized in the 1930s/40's with what is now known as influenza A. At that time Inf A seemingly disappeared for a few years once a new strain (now known as Inf B) emerged and out-competed, so to speak the other.
Epidemiologists today believe Covid out competed influenza in 2020-2021.
My gut feeling is that influenza will hit with vigor this season.

Whats lyme carditis? Is that caused by lyme disease? Ive seen more and more ticks this season then usual

 

[Folly's place]

Another good reason to keep wearing those face masks! And hope that this year's flu vaccine is a good one.
MANY more ticks here too this year. And not only Lyme disease, also Anaplasmosis, and Erlichia, because dogs are tested for all three tick borne diseases along with their heartworm test. Too bad us humans don't have the same testing done for more than only Lyme disease...
Lyme disease can cause carditis, yes. Never a good thing.
Mary

 

[casportpony]

Another good reason to keep wearing those face masks!

Still wearing mine, and I gotta love my poultry customers that pull into the driveway wearing a mask! Others wait to see if I have one on, and a few don't wear them.

 

[Folly's place]

Mask wearing is poor here, often I'm one of the few having one on. And then the folks wearing one on their chin, useless! Why masks 'don't work'! N95 masks, like I wear, are good. Less than that, especially when poorly worn, are not so good.
Makes me want to hide out again, not happy about it at all.
Mary

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

Whats lyme carditis? Is that caused by lyme disease? Ive seen more and more ticks this season then usual

Lyme carditis is caused by the bacteria from black legged ticks, aka deer tick. Tick must have been attached, usually for more than a day, but these ticks are so small they can easily be overlooked. It primarily impacts the electrical conduction system of the heart resulting in unusual slowing of heart rate. Most often it will run it's course over a couple of weeks, needs close monitoring for symptoms (dizziness, passing out, palpitations, chest pain) and it is uncommon to result in need of a pacemaker.
I live in heavy deer tick territory and have seen a handful of these cases over the last 5 years. This year there were dozens with many needing pacemakers. It makes me wonder what has changed because the tick population is always high here and they did not suddenly become more virulent.
You cannot get Lyme from a dog tick or wood tick, but most ticks can spread some other kind of bacteria that may not necessarily cause notable illness in most ppl.
Prevention is key. Treat your dogs. I use Brevecta for them. I am always in the woods and pick dozens off my dogs. If a tick bites them it is killed so it can't crawl away in my house. For myself and fam I use a product called Ranger Ready. Off seems less effective and permetherin is a little scarey to apply directly to skin. I tuck pants in high socks, spray outer clothing and around sleeve holes, waistband, inside of hat..I found only a few on me this year. I swear by that stuff but it is a little pricey, but then so is Lyme disease treatment.

 

[casportpony]

And then the folks wearing one on their chin, useless!

Here it's usually the men that do that! 9 out of 10 times it's a man doing it. Why? lol

N95 masks

We have boxes of them.

 

[Folly's place]

About ticks; it's not wrong to think that any tick can carry any of the tick borne diseases! And ticks travel, thanks to us, and climate change both. We have a couple of new ones in the USA, carrying at least one new nasty disease.
Here in southern Michigan, Lone Star ticks have arrived from the south. Lovely!
Getting a MD, even an infectious disease specialist, to test for more than Lyme disease is at least very difficult! And so 'we don't have those diseases in Michigan' is probably just not true. We see them in dogs, who live in our environment.
More venting here: Bartonella, carried by fleas on cats, can be a problem for us, and for some cats, and there's one lab in the USA who tests effectively for it. Speaking about heart issues... Can't get that test run either.
Mary

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

Here it's usually the men that do that! 9 out of 10 times it's a man doing it. Why? lol

We have boxes of them.

Nice. N95 if worn properly will protect YOU from airborne disease. I can't even get them at work bc they are saved for the hosp nurses and staff, despite the fact that I do hospital rounds
When I see someone misusing an N95 (on the chin or nose out) I want to pull it far back and snap it back on their faces. That mask could be used in a healthcare setting rather than be wasted that way.

 

[Folly's place]

After a time when N95 masks were unavailable, they are now on Amazon, where we've bought our latest supply. Be careful when buying, only get the ones approved, because there are poor knock-offs available too.
They aren't offered where I work either, so I buy my own. Safety matters!
Mary