Coronavirus prep

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Replies

  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited January 2022
    33gail33 wrote: »
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    I’m a healthcare worker and I am asking that everyone tell all their friends and family to stop coming to the ER for minor illnesses and for testing. Make an appointment for a test and if you can’t get one, just stay home.

    The hospitals are getting overwhelmed and the wait times are insane because of all the frivolous ER visits for tests in people with minor illness or no symptoms. Nurses and doctors are getting burnt out with the insanity of it all.

    Unless you’re very sick, stay home!!

    Great PSA.

    Here in Massachusetts, 91% of the total population has had at least one shot and 75% are fully vaccinated, yet our little suburban hospital is overwhelmed and looking forward to help from the National Guard.

    None of us have symptoms, but wanted to know how to get tested in case we develop some. I'm with the VA, so checked for my other family members. Possibly they'd use the free test service at CVS. We can't get same day, or next day, or at the closest store, but there are appts available two days out in the next town over.

    https://www.cvs.com/minuteclinic/covid-19-testing

    I also ordered a two kit test from Amazon, which will arrive in a few weeks.

    https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B09KZ6TBNY/

    And now I see I can request a free at-home kit from my state:

    https://www.ondemand.labcorp.com/ma-testing

    The thing is, many are coming in for unnecessary tests. For example, a mom with her 2 toddlers who have barely any symptoms came in yesterday. She tested positive and wanted her kids tested. They are not in school or daycare, just at home. I told her that they don’t need to be tested. If someone in the home tests positive and others have symptoms, then they have it too but knowing won’t change the treatment at all. It is still just let it run its course for the most part unless you’re sick enough to require oxygen and hospitalization.

    Also, there are a lot of false negatives going on especially if someone tests too early. There is no point coming in and clogging the ER for a test when one barely has symptoms. They should get an appointment for a test even if they have to wait a while. Waiting a few days will lead to a more accurate test result. Coming in one day one or two of symptoms and testing negative when that person had close contact in the home with someone positive……is dangerous. That person might think they don’t have to quarantine because they are negative but in reality, they are still contagious and tested too soon.

    I’m trying to educate my patients about these things.

    I will say that I have yet to have to hospitalize a single vaccinated person, even the elderly ones with multiple medical issues.

    We recently had a young (39) year old otherwise healthy married man and father pass away from Covid and he was unvaccinated. I have had to admit several very sick, young, otherwise healthy unvaccinated patients this past week. It is insane to me how some people are still not vaccinated.

    In the previous waves there were quite a few people dying at home or shortly after admission due to silent hypoxia - so I can understand people being concerned enough to go to the hospital if they are aware of that complication even if their symptoms weren't that severe. Not sure if that is an issue with this variant, or in vaccinated people, but I have been hearing all along not to wait too long to go to the hospital, so can't really blame people who are worried.
    That was my main concern throughout this, my family didn't even really get any "severe" symptoms, but I still checked them daily with the pulse oximeter to make sure. Those of us who aren't doctors or nurses only know what we have read/heard in the media, and what I heard is that people with Covid were underestimating how sick they were and were presenting at the hospital too late with dangerously low blood oxygen levels.

    People are coming in with no symptoms at all. The emergency room is for emergencies.

    I was responding to your post regarding the people who came in with "barely any" symptoms. My point was that symptoms that seem like "barely any" to a healthcare professional can still possibly be worrying to a lay person. Especially one who has been exposed to media reports, possibly out of context, for the last two years.

    I mean we have had it drilled into our heads the last two years that we need test, isolate and mask - and now suddenly we are being told to just stay home and we will be fine. I get that in your position you think that those seeking healthcare are doing so frivolously - but personally I am empathetic to where their fears may be coming from.

    Maybe it was different in Canada, but here in Chicago where we were hit hard in spring '20, we were told from the beginning to just stay home and isolate from those who lived with us as much as possible (and that they should quarantine too) if we had symptoms, since unless we had a bad case (such as trouble breathing), there wasn't much that could be done and going out was more risky and hospitals would easily become overburdened.

    Tests weren't available then, of course. When they did become available, it was still never a "you must test" unless you wanted to not quaratine, and it was never expected that one would go to the ER just to test. Of course we were also told (when not sick) to mask and social distance, but I'm not sure what that has to do with the ER stuff.

    I do think it's been pretty understood -- in the US, at least -- that having a case for most people wasn't going to need medical intervention.
  • 33gail33
    33gail33 Posts: 1,155 Member
    edited January 2022
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    I’m a healthcare worker and I am asking that everyone tell all their friends and family to stop coming to the ER for minor illnesses and for testing. Make an appointment for a test and if you can’t get one, just stay home.

    The hospitals are getting overwhelmed and the wait times are insane because of all the frivolous ER visits for tests in people with minor illness or no symptoms. Nurses and doctors are getting burnt out with the insanity of it all.

    Unless you’re very sick, stay home!!

    Great PSA.

    Here in Massachusetts, 91% of the total population has had at least one shot and 75% are fully vaccinated, yet our little suburban hospital is overwhelmed and looking forward to help from the National Guard.

    None of us have symptoms, but wanted to know how to get tested in case we develop some. I'm with the VA, so checked for my other family members. Possibly they'd use the free test service at CVS. We can't get same day, or next day, or at the closest store, but there are appts available two days out in the next town over.

    https://www.cvs.com/minuteclinic/covid-19-testing

    I also ordered a two kit test from Amazon, which will arrive in a few weeks.

    https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B09KZ6TBNY/

    And now I see I can request a free at-home kit from my state:

    https://www.ondemand.labcorp.com/ma-testing

    The thing is, many are coming in for unnecessary tests. For example, a mom with her 2 toddlers who have barely any symptoms came in yesterday. She tested positive and wanted her kids tested. They are not in school or daycare, just at home. I told her that they don’t need to be tested. If someone in the home tests positive and others have symptoms, then they have it too but knowing won’t change the treatment at all. It is still just let it run its course for the most part unless you’re sick enough to require oxygen and hospitalization.

    Also, there are a lot of false negatives going on especially if someone tests too early. There is no point coming in and clogging the ER for a test when one barely has symptoms. They should get an appointment for a test even if they have to wait a while. Waiting a few days will lead to a more accurate test result. Coming in one day one or two of symptoms and testing negative when that person had close contact in the home with someone positive……is dangerous. That person might think they don’t have to quarantine because they are negative but in reality, they are still contagious and tested too soon.

    I’m trying to educate my patients about these things.

    I will say that I have yet to have to hospitalize a single vaccinated person, even the elderly ones with multiple medical issues.

    We recently had a young (39) year old otherwise healthy married man and father pass away from Covid and he was unvaccinated. I have had to admit several very sick, young, otherwise healthy unvaccinated patients this past week. It is insane to me how some people are still not vaccinated.

    In the previous waves there were quite a few people dying at home or shortly after admission due to silent hypoxia - so I can understand people being concerned enough to go to the hospital if they are aware of that complication even if their symptoms weren't that severe. Not sure if that is an issue with this variant, or in vaccinated people, but I have been hearing all along not to wait too long to go to the hospital, so can't really blame people who are worried.
    That was my main concern throughout this, my family didn't even really get any "severe" symptoms, but I still checked them daily with the pulse oximeter to make sure. Those of us who aren't doctors or nurses only know what we have read/heard in the media, and what I heard is that people with Covid were underestimating how sick they were and were presenting at the hospital too late with dangerously low blood oxygen levels.

    People are coming in with no symptoms at all. The emergency room is for emergencies.

    I was responding to your post regarding the people who came in with "barely any" symptoms. My point was that symptoms that seem like "barely any" to a healthcare professional can still possibly be worrying to a lay person. Especially one who has been exposed to media reports, possibly out of context, for the last two years.

    I mean we have had it drilled into our heads the last two years that we need test, isolate and mask - and now suddenly we are being told to just stay home and we will be fine. I get that in your position you think that those seeking healthcare are doing so frivolously - but personally I am empathetic to where their fears may be coming from.

    Maybe it was different in Canada, but here in Chicago where we were hit hard in spring '20, we were told from the beginning to just stay home and isolate from those who lived with us as much as possible (and that they should quarantine too) if we had symptoms, since unless we had a bad case (such as trouble breathing), there wasn't much that could be done and going out was more risky and hospitals would easily become overburdened.

    Tests weren't available then, of course. When they did become available, it was still never a "you must test" unless you wanted to not quaratine, and it was never expected that one would go to the ER just to test. Of course we were also told (when not sick) to mask and social distance, but I'm not sure what that has to do with the ER stuff.

    I do think it's been pretty understood -- in the US, at least -- that having a case for most people wasn't going to need medical intervention.

    I'm not saying that people should go to the ER just to test. I am saying that after being bombarded for many months with media reports of deaths, and enduring forced lockdowns and mask restrictions to keep from contracting a "deadly" illness - someone with what a health professional might consider "barely any" symptoms may feel that they are sick enough to seek care.

    I guess "trouble breathing" is kind of subjective. As I said before in the first waves there were people who didn't realize how much trouble they were actually in and by the time they got to the hospital it was too late. And those are the ones you hear about on the news. I know we had a couple of young people during the Delta wave die at home because they didn't realize how sick they were. Not saying that everyone should go to the hospital - just saying that if a parent is worried about their child I can see why they would.

    Fwiw my family got over their Covid cases at home without medical care or emergency visits :smile: so I am not talking about myself here. Just expressing some empathy and compassion for those who are trying to access care that they obviously feel that they need. It's been a long two years of mixed and ever-changing advice.

    And aren't most anti-viral treatments supposed to be given at the beginning of the illness? Wouldn't that mean before you have severe symptoms? If you wait until you are sick enough to be admitted to the hospital then isn't it too late for the antibodies and the new Pfizer pill?
    I don't think we even have any early treatments available here in Canada, but I think the US does.
  • Theo166
    Theo166 Posts: 2,564 Member
    edited January 2022
    I suspect more people are flooding the ER lately because other test options are too backed up. They have symptoms and just want to get tested, not admitted. I was very fortunate to get drive through testing same day I was showing symptoms after being exposed.

    I think everyone is going to get covid, whether you've had one or ten boosters. any saying otherwise is likely lying. The jabs we have reduce severity but NOT infection. Getting everyone vaxxed reduces ICU strain but doesn't eliminate COVID.
  • SModa61
    SModa61 Posts: 2,847 Member
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    SModa61 wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    paperpudding wrote: »
    SModa61 wrote: »
    paperpudding wrote: »
    sarah7591 wrote: »
    SummerSkier wrote: »
    It is starting to feel like I am in the minority for NOT having contracted Covid for the past 2 years... I wonder what the stats are going to look like for the US after this current Omicron wave goes past - even without the home test positives not being in the data most likely.

    I imagine the stats are much, much higher. I had it (fully vaxxed) and other family members had it and we did not report it just stayed home and got through it.

    what do you mean you didnt report it?

    Don't you have to report positive RATS tests and/or follow up with official PCR test?

    genuine question - we certainly have to do that here in Aust but I understand rules in different countries are different.
    If you dont have to do so or people are not, even though they are meant to - then yes, your official stats will clearly be under what is actually happening





    And Yes, PaperPudding, IMO the totals are very under-reported because of all the home testing.

    Yes that would definitely be the case then if you don't need to report positive RATS or follow up with PCR if positive.

    Totals are underreported (as they have always been), but positivity percentage may be higher than it otherwise would be, as here I know lots of people who are home testing and doing nothing if it is negative and then going to get an official test only if they test positive (or continue to have more serious symptoms).

    I completely agree that there is underreporting of the total cases due to the home kit testing, but, whether there is a higher or lower percentage of positive, that sounds unclear to me. For example, I have had three negative Covid tests in the past month and my husband two. None of those negatives are counted.

    Well, exactly -- if you had had those tests somewhere where they were reported, they would lower the positivity percentage. That's what I was saying. Among those I know, they are more likely to confirm a positive result than a negative one, especially if only mild or no symptoms. And more to the point, if not for the home test option, more people who end up testing negative would likely have sought out a test elsewhere.

    @lemurcat2 Thanks for your second response. I am definitely failing at reading comprehension.
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    Redordeadhead wrote: »
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    Some people test positive long after they are contagious, sometimes months later. This happened to my sister. So it is kind of pointless to require a follow up negative test. People who are sick just need to quarantine for an appropriate period depending on their symptoms.

    People test positive months after the contagious period? With the same infection that they had those months earlier?

    Yes they do. I do think 5 days of quarantine is too short though.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,974 Member
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    paperpudding wrote: »
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    COGypsy wrote: »
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    paperpudding wrote: »
    sarah7591 wrote: »
    SummerSkier wrote: »
    It is starting to feel like I am in the minority for NOT having contracted Covid for the past 2 years... I wonder what the stats are going to look like for the US after this current Omicron wave goes past - even without the home test positives not being in the data most likely.

    I imagine the stats are much, much higher. I had it (fully vaxxed) and other family members had it and we did not report it just stayed home and got through it.

    what do you mean you didnt report it?

    Don't you have to report positive RATS tests and/or follow up with official PCR test?

    genuine question - we certainly have to do that here in Aust but I understand rules in different countries are different.
    If you dont have to do so or people are not, even though they are meant to - then yes, your official stats will clearly be under what is actually happening

    I didn't have to report my positive results but I did get a call from the test and trace corps. They keep track of positive cases here in NYC. But that's only because I got tested at a NYC site. Home testing has no requirements to report. But there aren't many home tests available in stores here.

    Did they tell you to retest after symptoms resolved? I tested at a county site and when I spoke to the person from the health department, they specifically told me I didn't need to test again for 6 months--including for things like surgery. That was a bit of a surprise. The old guidance was that you needed 2 negative follow up tests to confirm you were over the infection.

    T&T didn't tell me to retest after quarantine. My job which pays separate covid pay said specifically I didn't need to be retested to come back to work. It is strange but I guess they are considering the lack of testing available right now.


    I think it is not so much the lack of testing but the fact that antibodies show up, therefore you test as positive even though you are recovered and no longer infectious.

    My son who has Covid in Australia was told isolate for 10 days, no need for a clearance test or re testing, if asymptomatic for last 3 days of the 10, can just come out of isolation.

    https://wi.mit.edu/news/new-research-reveals-why-some-patients-may-test-positive-covid-19-long-after-recovery

    Has nothing to do with antibodies.

    well, ok, not antibodies then - but the point of what I was saying is still the case, as others have ratified - ie tests can show up as positive long after person has recovered and is no longer infectious - therefore no point in requiring a negative test in order to get return to work/ come out of isolation clearance

    The reason for this is not the lack of available testing but that positive results would be meaningless.

  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,974 Member
    33gail33 wrote: »
    ythannah wrote: »
    paperpudding wrote: »
    what do you mean you didnt report it?

    Don't you have to report positive RATS tests and/or follow up with official PCR test?

    Here in Ontario, public health testing is becoming overwhelmed and the latest guideline restricts eligibility for PCR tests. Contact tracing and testing is out the window at this point. So, no, a positive rapid antigen test will not be followed up with a PCR for the majority of people.

    I haven't seen or heard of any requirement to report rapid test results, unless there is something to that effect in whatever literature accompanies the test itself (I've never seen one).

    eta I have no idea where Sarah7591 resides, just reporting the current state of testing here

    The instructions on the rapid test tell you to follow up with a PCR test, but there is nothing about reporting it. We did follow up with PCR tests - mostly because my rapid tests kept coming back negative even though I obviously had extensive exposures - I wanted to confirm with a more sensitive test. (Our PCR tests were on December 24 so we were using the guidelines at the time - I know they have changed since then.)

    Of course my PCR test got lost and never was uploaded to the system. The pharmacist checked with the lab and told me verbally it was negative, but he also said it would be uploaded within 24 hours and it never was so who knows.

    well, no, there is nothing about reporting it in patient instructions here in Aust either - patients don't have to report PCR tests, their medical service does so.

    They are meant to follow up any positive RATS tests with PCR test though - which if positive then gets reported to Communicable Disease branch by your medical provider

  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,974 Member
    I correct myself - just announced today - You no longer have to follow up a positive RATS test with a PCR test - however you are told you should let you medical provider know of your positive results and they will report it as they would for positive PCR tests.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,646 Member
    paperpudding wrote: »
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    paperpudding wrote: »
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    COGypsy wrote: »
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    paperpudding wrote: »
    sarah7591 wrote: »
    SummerSkier wrote: »
    It is starting to feel like I am in the minority for NOT having contracted Covid for the past 2 years... I wonder what the stats are going to look like for the US after this current Omicron wave goes past - even without the home test positives not being in the data most likely.

    I imagine the stats are much, much higher. I had it (fully vaxxed) and other family members had it and we did not report it just stayed home and got through it.

    what do you mean you didnt report it?

    Don't you have to report positive RATS tests and/or follow up with official PCR test?

    genuine question - we certainly have to do that here in Aust but I understand rules in different countries are different.
    If you dont have to do so or people are not, even though they are meant to - then yes, your official stats will clearly be under what is actually happening

    I didn't have to report my positive results but I did get a call from the test and trace corps. They keep track of positive cases here in NYC. But that's only because I got tested at a NYC site. Home testing has no requirements to report. But there aren't many home tests available in stores here.

    Did they tell you to retest after symptoms resolved? I tested at a county site and when I spoke to the person from the health department, they specifically told me I didn't need to test again for 6 months--including for things like surgery. That was a bit of a surprise. The old guidance was that you needed 2 negative follow up tests to confirm you were over the infection.

    T&T didn't tell me to retest after quarantine. My job which pays separate covid pay said specifically I didn't need to be retested to come back to work. It is strange but I guess they are considering the lack of testing available right now.


    I think it is not so much the lack of testing but the fact that antibodies show up, therefore you test as positive even though you are recovered and no longer infectious.

    My son who has Covid in Australia was told isolate for 10 days, no need for a clearance test or re testing, if asymptomatic for last 3 days of the 10, can just come out of isolation.

    https://wi.mit.edu/news/new-research-reveals-why-some-patients-may-test-positive-covid-19-long-after-recovery

    Has nothing to do with antibodies.

    well, ok, not antibodies then - but the point of what I was saying is still the case, as others have ratified - ie tests can show up as positive long after person has recovered and is no longer infectious - therefore no point in requiring a negative test in order to get return to work/ come out of isolation clearance

    The reason for this is not the lack of available testing but that positive results would be meaningless.

    Yup. But the CDC already admitted that the reason they don't require a test after 5 days is partially because of lack of testing. 🤷‍♀️
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,454 Member
    SModa61 wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    SModa61 wrote: »
    Question for you all.

    I am fully vaxed through booster with Pfizer, and as I mentioned I had that lousy long-lasting cold. If I ask my PCP for an antibody test to see if that cold was something more despite my negative home tests. Will the antibody test tell anything of value given my vaccination status?

    I was originally thinking it could tell if I did have COVID, now I am wondering if the vaccination would blur that information.

    You would need a Nucleocapsid test.

    https://www.labcorp.com/tests/164068/sars-cov-2-antibodies-nucleocapsid

    Thank you @cmriverside Let's see what my PCP says at my physical on Jan 22. I wonder if insurance will support my interest.

    What would be the medial need? If can't identify that highly doubt insurance would pay.
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,454 Member
    33gail33 wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    I’m a healthcare worker and I am asking that everyone tell all their friends and family to stop coming to the ER for minor illnesses and for testing. Make an appointment for a test and if you can’t get one, just stay home.

    The hospitals are getting overwhelmed and the wait times are insane because of all the frivolous ER visits for tests in people with minor illness or no symptoms. Nurses and doctors are getting burnt out with the insanity of it all.

    Unless you’re very sick, stay home!!

    Great PSA.

    Here in Massachusetts, 91% of the total population has had at least one shot and 75% are fully vaccinated, yet our little suburban hospital is overwhelmed and looking forward to help from the National Guard.

    None of us have symptoms, but wanted to know how to get tested in case we develop some. I'm with the VA, so checked for my other family members. Possibly they'd use the free test service at CVS. We can't get same day, or next day, or at the closest store, but there are appts available two days out in the next town over.

    https://www.cvs.com/minuteclinic/covid-19-testing

    I also ordered a two kit test from Amazon, which will arrive in a few weeks.

    https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B09KZ6TBNY/

    And now I see I can request a free at-home kit from my state:

    https://www.ondemand.labcorp.com/ma-testing

    The thing is, many are coming in for unnecessary tests. For example, a mom with her 2 toddlers who have barely any symptoms came in yesterday. She tested positive and wanted her kids tested. They are not in school or daycare, just at home. I told her that they don’t need to be tested. If someone in the home tests positive and others have symptoms, then they have it too but knowing won’t change the treatment at all. It is still just let it run its course for the most part unless you’re sick enough to require oxygen and hospitalization.

    Also, there are a lot of false negatives going on especially if someone tests too early. There is no point coming in and clogging the ER for a test when one barely has symptoms. They should get an appointment for a test even if they have to wait a while. Waiting a few days will lead to a more accurate test result. Coming in one day one or two of symptoms and testing negative when that person had close contact in the home with someone positive……is dangerous. That person might think they don’t have to quarantine because they are negative but in reality, they are still contagious and tested too soon.

    I’m trying to educate my patients about these things.

    I will say that I have yet to have to hospitalize a single vaccinated person, even the elderly ones with multiple medical issues.

    We recently had a young (39) year old otherwise healthy married man and father pass away from Covid and he was unvaccinated. I have had to admit several very sick, young, otherwise healthy unvaccinated patients this past week. It is insane to me how some people are still not vaccinated.

    In the previous waves there were quite a few people dying at home or shortly after admission due to silent hypoxia - so I can understand people being concerned enough to go to the hospital if they are aware of that complication even if their symptoms weren't that severe. Not sure if that is an issue with this variant, or in vaccinated people, but I have been hearing all along not to wait too long to go to the hospital, so can't really blame people who are worried.
    That was my main concern throughout this, my family didn't even really get any "severe" symptoms, but I still checked them daily with the pulse oximeter to make sure. Those of us who aren't doctors or nurses only know what we have read/heard in the media, and what I heard is that people with Covid were underestimating how sick they were and were presenting at the hospital too late with dangerously low blood oxygen levels.

    People are coming in with no symptoms at all. The emergency room is for emergencies.

    I was responding to your post regarding the people who came in with "barely any" symptoms. My point was that symptoms that seem like "barely any" to a healthcare professional can still possibly be worrying to a lay person. Especially one who has been exposed to media reports, possibly out of context, for the last two years.

    I mean we have had it drilled into our heads the last two years that we need test, isolate and mask - and now suddenly we are being told to just stay home and we will be fine. I get that in your position you think that those seeking healthcare are doing so frivolously - but personally I am empathetic to where their fears may be coming from.

    Maybe it was different in Canada, but here in Chicago where we were hit hard in spring '20, we were told from the beginning to just stay home and isolate from those who lived with us as much as possible (and that they should quarantine too) if we had symptoms, since unless we had a bad case (such as trouble breathing), there wasn't much that could be done and going out was more risky and hospitals would easily become overburdened.

    Tests weren't available then, of course. When they did become available, it was still never a "you must test" unless you wanted to not quaratine, and it was never expected that one would go to the ER just to test. Of course we were also told (when not sick) to mask and social distance, but I'm not sure what that has to do with the ER stuff.

    I do think it's been pretty understood -- in the US, at least -- that having a case for most people wasn't going to need medical intervention.

    I'm not saying that people should go to the ER just to test. I am saying that after being bombarded for many months with media reports of deaths, and enduring forced lockdowns and mask restrictions to keep from contracting a "deadly" illness - someone with what a health professional might consider "barely any" symptoms may feel that they are sick enough to seek care.

    I guess "trouble breathing" is kind of subjective. As I said before in the first waves there were people who didn't realize how much trouble they were actually in and by the time they got to the hospital it was too late. And those are the ones you hear about on the news. I know we had a couple of young people during the Delta wave die at home because they didn't realize how sick they were. Not saying that everyone should go to the hospital - just saying that if a parent is worried about their child I can see why they would.

    Fwiw my family got over their Covid cases at home without medical care or emergency visits :smile: so I am not talking about myself here. Just expressing some empathy and compassion for those who are trying to access care that they obviously feel that they need. It's been a long two years of mixed and ever-changing advice.

    And aren't most anti-viral treatments supposed to be given at the beginning of the illness? Wouldn't that mean before you have severe symptoms? If you wait until you are sick enough to be admitted to the hospital then isn't it too late for the antibodies and the new Pfizer pill?
    I don't think we even have any early treatments available here in Canada, but I think the US does.

    Spend $20 and get an oximeter to check breathing levels to objectively measure.
  • 33gail33
    33gail33 Posts: 1,155 Member
    paperpudding wrote: »
    33gail33 wrote: »
    ythannah wrote: »
    paperpudding wrote: »
    what do you mean you didnt report it?

    Don't you have to report positive RATS tests and/or follow up with official PCR test?

    Here in Ontario, public health testing is becoming overwhelmed and the latest guideline restricts eligibility for PCR tests. Contact tracing and testing is out the window at this point. So, no, a positive rapid antigen test will not be followed up with a PCR for the majority of people.

    I haven't seen or heard of any requirement to report rapid test results, unless there is something to that effect in whatever literature accompanies the test itself (I've never seen one).

    eta I have no idea where Sarah7591 resides, just reporting the current state of testing here

    The instructions on the rapid test tell you to follow up with a PCR test, but there is nothing about reporting it. We did follow up with PCR tests - mostly because my rapid tests kept coming back negative even though I obviously had extensive exposures - I wanted to confirm with a more sensitive test. (Our PCR tests were on December 24 so we were using the guidelines at the time - I know they have changed since then.)

    Of course my PCR test got lost and never was uploaded to the system. The pharmacist checked with the lab and told me verbally it was negative, but he also said it would be uploaded within 24 hours and it never was so who knows.

    well, no, there is nothing about reporting it in patient instructions here in Aust either - patients don't have to report PCR tests, their medical service does so.

    They are meant to follow up any positive RATS tests with PCR test though - which if positive then gets reported to Communicable Disease branch by your medical provider

    Yes our PCR tests are reported by the provider as well. I was talking about the rapid tests you do at home. Unless you follow up with a PCR (which we can't even do now) they do not get reported anywhere.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
    Just a PSA for anyone having trouble with testing. I just discovered Vault Health and they will overnight you a testing kit...I'm not sure if all states are the same, but it was free for me. They have a limited number per day that they send out so get on early to order...once those orders are full, you can pay or I think also they will just put your order in a que for later. You have to send it in for results, but I just ordered 2 to have on hand in the event I need to test for work as my work will only accept tests from a few places...basically DOH, Curative, and Vault Health. It looks like Vault Health also works for travel requirements.

    My wife is home sick today and unfortunately she sent all of our in home rapid tests away with her mother and father after Christmas. None are available in store and places like CVS and Walgreens are booked two weeks out for testing which is pointless. The soonest she can get tested is at a Curative site on Friday which means we won't get results until Monday at the earliest and probably Tuesday is more likely...which again, worthless at that point.
  • SummerSkier
    SummerSkier Posts: 4,778 Member
    Speaking of oximeters. I have one of the little finger ones I bought online also. I also have a feature on my apple watch which will take my blood O2 on my wrist. I don't think either of them are extremely accurate but what is funny was when I went to my PCP last fall I told him about my watch and he hoohawed it saying "that is not a medical equipment valid test". Then he proceeded to bring out one of the online ones for my finger and use it as if it was "medical equipment". :D
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
    edited January 2022
    SummerSkier wrote: »
    Speaking of oximeters. I have one of the little finger ones I bought online also. I also have a feature on my apple watch which will take my blood O2 on my wrist. I don't think either of them are extremely accurate but what is funny was when I went to my PCP last fall I told him about my watch and he hoohawed it saying "that is not a medical equipment valid test". Then he proceeded to bring out one of the online ones for my finger and use it as if it was "medical equipment". :D

    The finger ones are actually medical equipment. My Dr. uses pretty much the same exact one I have at home when I go in for my annual. It's actually a pretty basic piece of medical equipment that uses infrared light refraction to to measure how well oxygen is binding to your red blood cells in your pulse. The key is the infrared light...which I don't know that an apple watch has. It is likely combining other data in an algorithm to get a proxy, much how they do for calorie expenditure. But the finger devices with infrared light will actually measure oxygen in the blood.
  • RetiredAndLovingIt
    RetiredAndLovingIt Posts: 1,394 Member
    My allergist uses the same one, too. 😂

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