Personal connections with the pandemic

[greymatter]

I know one person personally who tested positive and had an extremely mild case. She was asymptomatic except for losing her sense of smell and they didn't want to test her. She insisted and tested positive. Kudos to her for getting tested or she could have easily infected others had she continued to work (in healthcare). She quarantined herself even before her test, when she suspected she had it. That was in March before it was well known and accepted that loss of smell can be an indicator of Covid 19.

I know people who think it's not as big of a deal as it is being made out to be. I'm taking it seriously myself, wearing a mask when I go out, even to exercise, and am being as careful as I can be. I'm cleaning my hands properly, not touching my face, working from home, only going out when necessary. 

It won't be a surprise at all if there are 2nd and 3rd and 4th waves of this. 

It's hard to sort out what is true. We hear reports that it's a lot more widely prevalent than we know, especially since not testing is still not being done widely. There are also reports that 90% of Americans (not trying to exclude those from other countries) have still not been exposed to it and are likely to be hit by the next waves of this. Then there are the reports of it mutating already, which will likely continue as this is how viruses can behave. No one really knows but I am certainly always most interested to hear from infectious diseases experts over anyone else.

Edited May 7, 2020 by greymatter

[amaysngrace]

I know one person who died from covid.  We taught CCD together.  Her family members have been tested and all are fine.

[Woggle]

Our friends who caught it are now officially negative. Let's hope they stay that way. 

[dangerous]

I am strict in isolation and therefore haven't come across the illness directly. However, I have a friend whose family all caught it: her brother, both parents: they are young/ish and healthy and got through it. However both grandparents got it, one died already and the other will probably too! It is  worth adding though that they are elderly, and other illnesses already, so although they will go down as casualties of Covid, they had underlying health conditions.

[Redhead14]

4 hours ago, dangerous said:

 so although they will go down as casualties of Covid, they had underlying health conditions.

It doesn't matter if they had underlying conditions or not.  They contracted Covid and simply didn't have a chance because of the underlying conditions they couldn't fight it off.  They died because of Covid.  They were still alive and living with those underlying conditions until they contracted Covid.

[amaysngrace]

So apparently the Board of Health is requiring broad testing starting next week for all employees at my daughter’s hospital due to the spike in numbers there.  

People are coming in negative and contracting it while there.  

My daughter still believes she may be the host simply because she’s taken lunch with two nurses who have it yet remains asymptomatic.   

I feel like I’ve fought it off three times already and my daughter lives with me.  When the first patient came back positive she asked me if I wanted her to quarantine in the house but I told her no, we’ll get through whatever together just like always.  

Still I had to take a hair dryer to my throat on two separate occasions trying to blast what I felt could be in there out.  

I also switched out the zero alcohol listerine in the bathroom for the one with the alcohol in it figuring it can’t hurt.

I’m glad she’s finally going to get tested though.  She feels bad not knowing if she’s the reason. 

[Redhead14]

55 minutes ago, amaysngrace said:

So apparently the Board of Health is requiring broad testing starting next week for all employees at my daughter’s hospital due to the spike in numbers there.  

People are coming in negative and contracting it while there.  

My daughter still believes she may be the host simply because she’s taken lunch with two nurses who have it yet remains asymptomatic.   

I feel like I’ve fought it off three times already and my daughter lives with me.  When the first patient came back positive she asked me if I wanted her to quarantine in the house but I told her no, we’ll get through whatever together just like always.  

Still I had to take a hair dryer to my throat on two separate occasions trying to blast what I felt could be in there out.  

I also switched out the zero alcohol listerine in the bathroom for the one with the alcohol in it figuring it can’t hurt.

I’m glad she’s finally going to get tested though.  She feels bad not knowing if she’s the reason. 

Why zero alcohol listerine?  And, a hairdryer?

[amaysngrace]

39 minutes ago, Redhead14 said:

Why zero alcohol listerine?  And, a hairdryer?

I swapped out the zero alcohol which we ordinarily use for the one I had in the closet that I bought by mistake because alcohol kills it.  

Same thing with the heat of the hairdryer.  A couple times I felt it in the back of my throat, something was making it sore - probably allergies but it felt different than them - so I opened wide and hit it way back there with the highest setting heat before it could travel.  

[Ruby Slippers]

My mom's 72-year-old sister had Coronavirus and pneumonia at the same time and went to the hospital. She went home a few days ago. Last I heard, her husband was negative.

[Redhead14]

28 minutes ago, amaysngrace said:

I swapped out the zero alcohol which we ordinarily use for the one I had in the closet that I bought by mistake because alcohol kills it.  

Same thing with the heat of the hairdryer.  A couple times I felt it in the back of my throat, something was making it sore - probably allergies but it felt different than them - so I opened wide and hit it way back there with the highest setting heat before it could travel.  

Why wouldn't you just gargle with hot salt water?  A hair dryer sounds odd.  I haven't heard anything about that being a preventative tool but I have heard of gargling with salt water.  I don't think there is anything we can rely on for this kind of thing really though. 

[amaysngrace]

9 minutes ago, Redhead14 said:

Why wouldn't you just gargle with hot salt water?  

Cause it tastes like the Atlantic Ocean.

[d0nnivain]

At this point I have lost 15 different people to this virus!  It's no joke.  I know I have 5 friends who got it & recovered:  3 of them were hospitalized, 2were on ventilators, & 1 developed blood clots that required rehospitalization after he was discharged.   I still have 2 friends who are presently sick.  

[Redhead14]

1 hour ago, amaysngrace said:

Cause it tastes like the Atlantic Ocean.

Drink hot tea, hot coffee, hot toddies

[clia]

I learned the other night that more people I know have had it, so I know 10 people.

4 had minimal symptoms -- a few days of fatigue

1 had symptoms for about three weeks -- excessive fatigue, fever

5 had symptoms for about 7-10 days -- mainly fever and fatigue.  

All recovered at home, no hospitalization required.  Those that work from home continued to do so while they were ill.

All are age 35-55.  I'm not sure about underlying conditions, but none are obese.  

[mark clemson]

6 hours ago, amaysngrace said:

I swapped out the zero alcohol which we ordinarily use for the one I had in the closet that I bought by mistake because alcohol kills it.  

Same thing with the heat of the hairdryer.  A couple times I felt it in the back of my throat, something was making it sore - probably allergies but it felt different than them - so I opened wide and hit it way back there with the highest setting heat before it could travel.  

Disclaimer: I'm not a medical professional:

I'm not sure about the hairdryer, but you could always consider gargling with hydrogen peroxide (per the bottle directions). Not sure if that's been officially tested, but I suspect it would have an impact. Not something I would do too regularly or anything, but if I thought I might have it and wanted to reduce risk and/or slow the disease progress down a bit it might make sense.

 

[mark clemson]

As for personal connections, a work colleague's elderly mother died from it, and another one's 30-something son caught it and recovered.

[amaysngrace]

My daughter is getting her test tomorrow.  She’s very relieved to finally know if she’s infected or not.

The thought of spreading it around was really bothering her.

[Fletch Lives]

I have heard that if you drink fluids (such as water) it will wash it past vulnerable areas like the lungs into the stomach where it will be killed.

My neighbor's relative died in Queens. She was 40.

[Art_Critic]

18 hours ago, amaysngrace said:

I swapped out the zero alcohol which we ordinarily use for the one I had in the closet that I bought by mistake because alcohol kills it.  

Same thing with the heat of the hairdryer.  A couple times I felt it in the back of my throat, something was making it sore - probably allergies but it felt different than them - so I opened wide and hit it way back there with the highest setting heat before it could travel.  

I'm sorry you feel like you might have it, maybe go get a test done so you have peace of mind, in GA they have the drive up testing and anybody can go with an appointment.

https://www.listerine.com/covid-19-update#which-germs-does-listerine-antiseptic-kill

Listerine doesn't kill the virus, the alcohol content isn't high enough and if your throat is already sore hitting it with a hair dryer would most likely be ineffective as a sore throat is a symptom which would mean it's already in your system.

Hopefully it's allergies..I  have had allergies this year real bad and it freaks me out, my wife had an antibody test this week and was negative for both type of antibodies.. I was hoping she had them, that way I would know I had them since when we got sick in March I gave it to her, but it seems it was only a cold that I got from the Baseball dugout.. figures..

 

 

[Eternal Sunshine]

I had a blood test recently and I have antibodies. I am pretty sure I had it back in March when I posted here about flu like symptoms after an interstate scuba diving trip.

Mine was like a moderate flu. I was fatigued and had a fever for a week but only took 1 day off work (I work from home). I feel like I can now freely go whenever I want when recreational activities open up. My doctor said to be cauitous as not much is known about how long immunity will last. I read that it lasts around 1-2 years for similar viruses.

[greymatter]

2 hours ago, Eternal Sunshine said:

I had a blood test recently and I have antibodies. I am pretty sure I had it back in March when I posted here about flu like symptoms after an interstate scuba diving trip.

Mine was like a moderate flu. I was fatigued and had a fever for a week but only took 1 day off work (I work from home). I feel like I can now freely go whenever I want when recreational activities open up. My doctor said to be cauitous as not much is known about how long immunity will last. I read that it lasts around 1-2 years for similar viruses.

Hi ES. I work at a major hospital and here is what I'm reading about antibody testing, if helpful:

A positive test may not mean you are protected from the virus in the future or that you are no longer infectious. It should not be an “immunity passport” to be around others as there is still no data whether people are truly protected. 

A positive test may not mean you were infected by COVID-19 virus; it may detect antibodies to Coronaviruses that cause the harmless ‘common cold’ to other viruses, or simply be false (‘false positive’). 

A negative test does not mean that you have not been exposed to the virus or that you can’t infect others. 

The results of this test should not be used to decide if you can safely be around others.
 

[elaine567]

4 hours ago, Art_Critic said:

...my wife had an antibody test this week and was negative for both type of antibodies.. I was hoping she had them, that way I would know I had them since when we got sick in March I gave it to her, but it seems it was only a cold that I got from the Baseball dugout.. figures..

This is a big problem.
Respiratory viruses are common everywhere, they don't die out just because this new Coronavirus is around.

I guess many are assuming they had Covid -19 when all they had was a cold or less likely the flu.
I don't think many can rest on their laurels and assume they are safe.
Seems to me these antibody tests are very variable in their accuracy too.
UK Govt. have had many antibody tests from labs that have failed to meet official accuracy standards

[amaysngrace]

My daughter’s test came back positive. 

[amaysngrace]

It’s fine.  We’ve all had symptoms a little bit here and there, my daughter, my son and myself, for the past couple months starting in March.

I go for my covid test Monday and they’ll also be testing me for antibodies at the same time to see if I’ll be able to donate my blood for plasma.  

 

[Ellener]

On 5/14/2020 at 12:34 PM, d0nnivain said:

At this point I have lost 15 different people to this virus!  It's no joke.  I know I have 5 friends who got it & recovered:  3 of them were hospitalized, 2were on ventilators, & 1 developed blood clots that required rehospitalization after he was discharged.   I still have 2 friends who are presently sick.  

Sorry to hear that. 

There are few cases in Texas for such large cities so I don't know anyone affected. My heart goes out to the places badly hit.