Coronavirus prep

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  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    try2again wrote: »

    I am certain, that she does this when turning book pages & counting cash, as well.

    My question is, how does a person acquire this nasty habit in the first place? I have never in my life had the urge to lick my fingers to help separate papers.

    But then again, I've never had the urge to put a burning stick in my mouth and inhale the fumes, either.

    I do it, but don't know where I acquired the "nasty habit". I assume I saw my parents do it, or something.

    I am, however, very conscious and conscientious about when/with what I do it, for example, not ever when about to hand the papers to someone else. That's not polite.

    In general, I'm kind of the reverse of germophobic. One can take either side of this (germophobe or anti-germophobe) to an irrational level. IMO, the extremes of some modern obsessions with cleanliness and disinfection have caused as many problems as they've solved. We evolved squatting in the dirt in caves (and yes, not living very long at the time). An immune system with too little work to do gets up to mischief sometimes, and overdoing our attacks on micro-organisms creates stronger micro-organisms. There's a happy medium in there someplace, though I'm not sure rationally exactly where it may be.

    You're not wrong at all. I follow some of the top R&D scientists when it comes to Microbiome research. They all pretty much say we're underexposed in the modern world, especially when it comes to outdoors. The one scientist posts up all the time how he encourges his kids to play in the mud. It's also why people with dogs are healthier. Dogs bring the outdoors inside with them. We've all gotten too sterile. It's likely why I get sick easily. I work from home and my exposure to stuff is minimal. I'm like the bubble boy!

    I grew up playing in the woods, camping, working outdoors, and my mom had some rather antiquated views on cleanliness, so I know I was exposed to all sorts of things as a child. I know I ate with dirty hands as a kid. My brother, sister, and I were, however, healthy as horses, and the healthiest kids our pediatrician had ever seen. My sister has a tendency to pick up strep rather easily, but other than that, the three of us rarely catch more than the common cold once or twice a year.

    I like to think that some exposure, especially when young, to some germs is very beneficial to the immune system in making it stronger and more resilient. And my mother always had cats that were indoor/outdoor when I was growing up, so I was exposed to things, that way, too. But I fully admit that I think genetics had a part to play in the robustness of myself and my siblings; my parents and extended family all tend to be on the resilient side.

    Though I do remember reading a while back that kids grew up on farms tended to be amongst the healthiest of children, and the article seemed to allude to it being due to the types of germs and bacteria they were exposed to in that environment.


    I fully admit I'm a face-toucher; its an ingrained habit and I don't even realize I'm doing it most of the time.

    Also a face toucher. I rub my eyes, itch, etc.

    The common cold once or twice per year? Is that normal? I get it once or twice per decade.

    Yes, that is typical but as a person gets older, they get fewer and fewer. The common cold is something you get once and are immune to it. The problem is that there are so many different viruses that cause a cold that you can never become immune to all of them but the more you get the more immunity you build.

    During my school and working days I would get 1 in the winter and 1 in the summer. Now that I am 63 and retired I get one about every other year and they are usually pretty mild.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    While the main panic concerning daily necessities're customers, where I am via business & government here, causes it as well. Prior to the Blizzard of 1996, I took the bus to school whilst it was snowing. There were no delayed openings, ½ days, early release or snow days.

    After we were coddled by many snow less winters, shovels & sleds, weren't sold here. Now I know better than to take the bus anywhere, unless I know that I'll be able to walk home because they'll cancel the buses & our government, orders vehicles off of the roads because of just a dusting, of snow.

    Just out of curiosity, is the use of the apostrophe intentional here? necessities're

    If so, what English word are you contracting with necesseties?
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    NovusDies wrote: »
    My company just cancelled all domestic travel (we're in the US) unless it is absolutely business critical. I didn't think we were at that point, but I guess they're being extra-cautious.

    I have personal travel scheduled for this weekend. I'm still going to go, even though it is to an area with one confirmed case. I just plan to be extra cautious with the usual stuff -- face touching, hand washing, etc.

    I know a lot of companies doing this. It makes sense from a business perspective. While I am sure they are concerned about employee deaths the bigger threat is having a large number of people out sick. It could decimate departments and potentially bring the entire business to its knees.

    I get the logic. First you have the risk of someone bringing it back to the main office, along with the perception if people feel pressured to travel and then wind up getting sick.

    My company cancelled all large meetings/workshops, non essential travel and (intl and domestic US) and employees returning from any of the higher risk zones including China, Iran, Italy and now France and Germany are asked to work from home for two weeks before returning to the office.

    They also set up a 24 hour hotline by country for employees to ask questions - not sure what answers the people on the other end of the line have maybe I need to think of an obscure question and ask! Anyone got anything they want to know?
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    Also a face toucher. I rub my eyes, itch, etc.

    The common cold once or twice per year? Is that normal? I get it once or twice per decade.

    I know folks who seem to get it or something like it every time the weather changes. My best friend, for instance - that poor girl stays sick it seems!

    I worked in a small financial planning office (4 staff). 2 of the staff would wipe down everything at their desks with bleach wipes once or twice a day and use hand sanitizer constantly. Me, I would wash my hands after using the bathroom or before touching food and let the cleaners keep my desk clean (which the part time staffer also did)

    Guess which two were always sick?
  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
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    Last week, my son's class had a demo where they had to choose what sort of music class they were taking next year: it could be choir or they could choose an instrument. To help them choose, the school brought in a company with all of the available instruments.

    Yes, you guessed it, the kids got to demo all the instruments: so 90 kids put their mouths on saxophones, trumpets, tubas, flutes, etc. I about had a stroke when I heard - the flu and strep throat have been sweeping through the school for months, and now the coronavirus is looming - what better time for an entire class to swap spit????

    Oooo brother. Stephen Colbert did a skit, he's going to use Jack Daniels to brush his teeth. :#
  • bearly63
    bearly63 Posts: 734 Member
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    I have to admit....I was just doing the "lick my fingers" thing yesterday at work - they tasted like hand sanitzer. It is a crappy habit but I have to pull check stock from large piles of checks for work - its really hard to separate them when my hands are dry. I need to get those little rubber finger things, unless they are sold out.

    I have rarely been sick in the past few years....except for that time in December that I got shingles, just a day after getting the flu and MMR shot in advance of a trip. I questioned the connection. I will be getting a shingles vaccine soon - it really sucked.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,943 Member
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    my dad was just admitted to the hospital. two weeks of flu symptoms, dipping oxygen levels, difficulty breathing. there haven't been any confirmed cases in my area yet. i'm trying not to get scared here but *kitten* it might end up hitting me close to home after all.

    update: so thankfully oklahoma is still (that we know of) coronavirus-free. my dad was let out a few minutes ago with an upper respiratory infection, apparently caught just in time before it became pneumonia. i'm sure corona fears helped get him out of the waiting room a lot faster though. definitely had me sweating.

    Did they test him for COVID 19?
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,943 Member
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    my dad was just admitted to the hospital. two weeks of flu symptoms, dipping oxygen levels, difficulty breathing. there haven't been any confirmed cases in my area yet. i'm trying not to get scared here but *kitten* it might end up hitting me close to home after all.

    update: so thankfully oklahoma is still (that we know of) coronavirus-free. my dad was let out a few minutes ago with an upper respiratory infection, apparently caught just in time before it became pneumonia. i'm sure corona fears helped get him out of the waiting room a lot faster though. definitely had me sweating.

    Did they test him for COVID 19?

    honestly i'm not sure. i'm stuck at work so i haven't been with him in the hospital, just receiving updates by text. he's been the most paranoid person in my family about it though, so i'm sure he would have asked unless the price tag scared him off.

    I'm glad he is out of the hospital, regardless. I hope he feels better soon. :flowerforyou:
  • DecadeDuchess
    DecadeDuchess Posts: 315 Member
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    Last week, my son's class had a demo where they had to choose what sort of music class they were taking next year: it could be choir or they could choose an instrument. To help them choose, the school brought in a company with all of the available instruments.

    Yes, you guessed it, the kids got to demo all the instruments: so 90 kids put their mouths on saxophones, trumpets, tubas, flutes, etc. I about had a stroke when I heard - the flu and strep throat have been sweeping through the school for months, and now the coronavirus is looming - what better time for an entire class to swap spit????

    I am 39 years old, thus I was within 6th grade during the early 1990's & they were removing/replacing reeds, between demonstrations then.
  • DecadeDuchess
    DecadeDuchess Posts: 315 Member
    edited March 2020
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    WinoGelato wrote: »
    While the main panic concerning daily necessities're customers, where I am via business & government here, causes it as well. Prior to the Blizzard of 1996, I took the bus to school whilst it was snowing. There were no delayed openings, ½ days, early release or snow days.

    After we were coddled by many snow less winters, shovels & sleds, weren't sold here. Now I know better than to take the bus anywhere, unless I know that I'll be able to walk home because they'll cancel the buses & our government, orders vehicles off of the roads because of just a dusting, of snow.

    Just out of curiosity, is the use of the apostrophe intentional here? necessities're

    If so, what English word are you contracting with necesseties?

    Yeah it's intentional, necessities're = necessities are. It's a habit to combine & shorten words because of low character limits elsewhere.
  • mamadon
    mamadon Posts: 1,422 Member
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    WinoGelato wrote: »
    If anyone is interesting in a fascinating dystopian fiction book that seems eerily relevant right now, Station Eleven, about a global pandemic that wipes out >99% of society is really good, it's about what happens 5 years later with the survivors and all the ways you would have to rebuild technology, culture, etc.

    I read it a few years ago and it haunted me then, now with this COVID19 situation I am reminded more and more of that book.
    I read it a few years ago too. I actually didn't even think of this book though, when all this started, I could only think of the Stand. Someone else may have mentioned this, as I haven't read all the comments, but it is being made into a show.

  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,454 Member
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    I think I've built immunity to the coronavirus. At least once a week the bathroom at work floods due to clogging/backup issues. They clean it but still. Today they were changing out a soda machine and the guy cleaning the area where it was had on a hazmat suit.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    edited March 2020
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    New CDC guidance is for those over 60 and those with severe chronic medical conditions to stay home as much as possible, including avoiding shopping and crowds. An adviser to the CDC recommends avoiding things like air travel, movie theaters, family events, malls, and weekly religious services.