The Shaving Cadre
Welcome to The Shaving Cadre, a forum dedicated to gentlemanly discourse about wet shaving and other topics of common interests. Membership is always free so register today and join in the fun
Corona Virus
- Thread starter Cvargo
- Start date
- Status
They've closed all bars and restaurants (except for take-out) in some of the neighboring counties but not mine. We're just getting a jump on the inevitable.
I thought this was really interesting! Get your Vitamin D in!
Yes, there is a thing as too much. But fresh air never hurts anyone!
HMan
Doften Savant
Our Co-Founder is an MD in VA. I asked if he'd write a practical post for our members on how to deal with COVID-19. Which his permission I'm sharing it here in hopes some of you might find it helpful.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey guys, Dr. Naterman here. Like many other places, my hospital has confirmed cases of COVID-19.
This thread will be a place for updates, not so much discussion because I want important information to be easy to find. There will be a separate thread for discussion of the ongoing updates, which will really only be made as new information is confirmed, so maybe check for updates once every week or two and don't be surprised if there aren't any because we already know most of what we need to know.
The Scoop:
If you don't remember anything else, remember this: Coronaviruses are the second-most common cause of the common cold.
To avoid getting COVID-19, you do all the things you do to avoid catching a cold.
-Wash your hands regularly
-Stay 6+ feet away from people who are coughing
-Wear a standard droplet mask if you need to go out in public, and yes you ideally should use a new mask each time
***VERY IMPORTANT: When you take off the mask, you must NOT touch the mask itself! ONLY touch the straps.
The mask itself is where the tiny droplets that contain the virus will be stuck and if you touch that and then touch your face or anything else then congratulations, you will probably end up with COVID-19 (just like you'd probably get a common cold).
Details about the virus and who is most at-risk:
COVID-19 is a coronavirus, and is very similar to the novel coronavirus from 2003, which some of you may have heard of: SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). There are some sciency differences between them, like receptors, but they cause the exact same problems, infect the exact same cells, and cause the most problems in the same groups of people.
The virus specifically infects the cells in the airways that have cilia, or hair-like structures, which are responsible for getting junk out of your lungs. When these cells are infected, our body kills them. Like any other skin, it takes several days for this to happen and around another 7 days or so for our bodies to replace the damaged areas with functional cells.
The degree of clinical illness, or how sick you feel, depends on two things:
1) How many of your cells are affected
2) How strongly your immune system reacts
As we get older, our immune systems tend to over-react and have a harder time calming down, which is why older people have much more serious symptoms than younger people.
In general, chronic illnesses make this worse. This includes:
-Hypertension
-Diabetes
-Inflammatory Autoimmune Conditions (Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn's Disease, Celiac Disease, etc)
On top of that, ANYBODY who has significant lung disease is going to be much more severely affected. This includes:
-Long-time smokers
-People with COPD
-People with restrictive lung disease
-People who are breathing significant amounts of dust or other particulates regularly because they don't wear masks when they mix cement, drywall paste, flour, animal feeds, etc
The more of those issues somebody has, the more likely they are to develop a severe respiratory illness, and guess what: You don't know what the people around you have done with their lives, or what chronic medical conditions they may have.
Wearing masks, washing your hands, and participating in social isolation for the next 4-8 weeks is the best way to protect both yourselves AND the people around you.
Unlike the flu, children often do not show any symptoms at all... but they are still getting infected at the same rate as adults, so DO NOT assume that children who seem totally healthy cannot give you COVID.
Unlike most grown-ups, kids get their slobber and snot all over the place all the time, so if they might be able to touch something you should go ahead and assume it is contaminated.
Yes, this absolutely DOES mean you should keep your kids away from older adults and anyone with chronic medical conditions for the next 4-8 weeks.
Not hugging grandpa or auntie for a month or two is infinitely less terrible than burying them.
Will everyone do this? Of course not. People generally do not take good advice until they can see with their own eyes that there are serious problems and they are now in immediate danger, so it is best to assume that everyone around you is slipping up and that you should be on your game.
Again, "being on your game" is pretty simple, it's just washing your hands, wearing masks in public places, staying away from large groups and people who cough, using a paper towel to avoid direct contact with public sinks/toilet handles/door handles, and changing clothes when you get home (remember to turn your potentially-contaminated clothes inside!).
You can do that, I promise. Will you be perfect? Probably not at first, and that's ok: just make sure that you always wash your hands with soap before touching your face and you'll wash away the vast majority of your mistakes before they get a chance to cause problems.
If, by chance, you are worried you might have had gotten COVID-19 remember these famous words:
DON'T PANIC.
You will probably feel like you have a cold. DO NOT call emergency services or go to the hospital unless you are actually having significant respiratory distress!
Going to the hospital or doctor out of fear, without serious symptoms, is how Italy ended up with too many simultaneous cases for their health system to handle, and now a lot of their older folks are going to die.
The precautions above are your best defense, and if you don't belong to one of those high risk groups then you really don't have anything to worry about even if you DO get the bug... but you could pass it on to someone who might die as a result, so stay on your game even if you know you're going to be fine.
Additional Info:
Just like the mask can have droplets on it, so can your clothes. Do not hug your family with clothes you wear on public transportation, especially if you were around people who were coughing.
No need to burn anything, just go to the bathroom and take your shirt and pants off so that they are inside-out, then do laundry like a normal person. Obviously you should wash your hands after you do this, and probably your face as well. Regular soap is fine, you don't need any crazy super-cleanser solution because the soap is literally going to trap everything from your face and take it down the drain.
Key details:
1) When you wash your hands the recommendation is to actually work the soap all over your hands for 20-30 seconds.
2) It IS a good idea to actively rub your face with the soap suds for 20-30 seconds before you rinse as well.
3) It is common to find high levels of the virus particles in bathrooms, specifically on doorknobs and toilet flush levers/buttons as well as the bathroom sink knobs. To avoid accidentally contaminating yourself, just keep 1 or 2 sheets of toilet paper or a paper towel in your hand so that you aren't directly touching the knobs/levers/buttons.
That's it!
Safety during Workouts:
The virus can persist on surfaces for several hours, even in the sun, so to be safe you should wipe the bars or handles that you use while working out.
Here's the twist: You can't just wipe and go to work... you need for the sanitizer to be in direct contact for 3-4 minutes to be sure that it is actually killing the virus particles.
An alternative is soap and water (which physically removes the particles), but this isn't a real option in gyms so you're stuck with the wipes.
To avoid all that hassle, you can just wear gloves. I'm going to recommend the grip gloves with rubber on the palm and fingers but cloth on the backs, because you can keep those on the whole workout and they are easy to clean afterwards.
Cleaning is as simple as putting them in the wash with your dirty clothes! Yea, you might need a new pair every month but that's just a few bucks.
If you have a group who works out together, make it mandatory for everyone to wear a mask and to wash your hands with soap and water as a group. Make it a ritual, turn the 30 second count into a team-building thing!
The additional advantage of doing this is that you can then all use the same equipment, but you might still want to wear gloves to be extra safe.
If a member of the group gets sick, stay 6+ feet away from them and require them to wear a mask just like the rest of you, and consider having them use a different bar than the rest of you if that is available.
If not then you may want to have them be the last person on the bar and then disinfect the bar between sets as above, or simply change your workout times so that you only have to sterilize the bar once.
Also remember to keep your water bottles separated from everyone else's by 6 feet, and to consider something simple like keeping a bag or a shirt over your bottle so that if someone does sneeze or cough near it the droplets aren't getting on your bottle. Just make sure you don't accidentally put the contaminated side of the bag or shirt onto the bottle!
Remember: Social Distancing doesn't have to mean complete isolation. Just pay close attention to the general precautions listed above (gloves, masks, sterilization) and stay 6+ feet away from people who are obviously sick, even if it just seems like allergies or a slight cold.
Yes, it's a little extra work for most of us, but it really isn't that bad. That little bit of extra preparation and attention to detail will keep you AND everyone else safe, so think of it as nothing more than a little extra pre-hab!
More updates if/when they are needed.
Dr. Naterman, signing off!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey guys, Dr. Naterman here. Like many other places, my hospital has confirmed cases of COVID-19.
This thread will be a place for updates, not so much discussion because I want important information to be easy to find. There will be a separate thread for discussion of the ongoing updates, which will really only be made as new information is confirmed, so maybe check for updates once every week or two and don't be surprised if there aren't any because we already know most of what we need to know.
The Scoop:
If you don't remember anything else, remember this: Coronaviruses are the second-most common cause of the common cold.
To avoid getting COVID-19, you do all the things you do to avoid catching a cold.
-Wash your hands regularly
-Stay 6+ feet away from people who are coughing
-Wear a standard droplet mask if you need to go out in public, and yes you ideally should use a new mask each time
***VERY IMPORTANT: When you take off the mask, you must NOT touch the mask itself! ONLY touch the straps.
The mask itself is where the tiny droplets that contain the virus will be stuck and if you touch that and then touch your face or anything else then congratulations, you will probably end up with COVID-19 (just like you'd probably get a common cold).
Details about the virus and who is most at-risk:
COVID-19 is a coronavirus, and is very similar to the novel coronavirus from 2003, which some of you may have heard of: SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). There are some sciency differences between them, like receptors, but they cause the exact same problems, infect the exact same cells, and cause the most problems in the same groups of people.
The virus specifically infects the cells in the airways that have cilia, or hair-like structures, which are responsible for getting junk out of your lungs. When these cells are infected, our body kills them. Like any other skin, it takes several days for this to happen and around another 7 days or so for our bodies to replace the damaged areas with functional cells.
The degree of clinical illness, or how sick you feel, depends on two things:
1) How many of your cells are affected
2) How strongly your immune system reacts
As we get older, our immune systems tend to over-react and have a harder time calming down, which is why older people have much more serious symptoms than younger people.
In general, chronic illnesses make this worse. This includes:
-Hypertension
-Diabetes
-Inflammatory Autoimmune Conditions (Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn's Disease, Celiac Disease, etc)
On top of that, ANYBODY who has significant lung disease is going to be much more severely affected. This includes:
-Long-time smokers
-People with COPD
-People with restrictive lung disease
-People who are breathing significant amounts of dust or other particulates regularly because they don't wear masks when they mix cement, drywall paste, flour, animal feeds, etc
The more of those issues somebody has, the more likely they are to develop a severe respiratory illness, and guess what: You don't know what the people around you have done with their lives, or what chronic medical conditions they may have.
Wearing masks, washing your hands, and participating in social isolation for the next 4-8 weeks is the best way to protect both yourselves AND the people around you.
Unlike the flu, children often do not show any symptoms at all... but they are still getting infected at the same rate as adults, so DO NOT assume that children who seem totally healthy cannot give you COVID.
Unlike most grown-ups, kids get their slobber and snot all over the place all the time, so if they might be able to touch something you should go ahead and assume it is contaminated.
Yes, this absolutely DOES mean you should keep your kids away from older adults and anyone with chronic medical conditions for the next 4-8 weeks.
Not hugging grandpa or auntie for a month or two is infinitely less terrible than burying them.
Will everyone do this? Of course not. People generally do not take good advice until they can see with their own eyes that there are serious problems and they are now in immediate danger, so it is best to assume that everyone around you is slipping up and that you should be on your game.
Again, "being on your game" is pretty simple, it's just washing your hands, wearing masks in public places, staying away from large groups and people who cough, using a paper towel to avoid direct contact with public sinks/toilet handles/door handles, and changing clothes when you get home (remember to turn your potentially-contaminated clothes inside!).
You can do that, I promise. Will you be perfect? Probably not at first, and that's ok: just make sure that you always wash your hands with soap before touching your face and you'll wash away the vast majority of your mistakes before they get a chance to cause problems.
If, by chance, you are worried you might have had gotten COVID-19 remember these famous words:
DON'T PANIC.
You will probably feel like you have a cold. DO NOT call emergency services or go to the hospital unless you are actually having significant respiratory distress!
Going to the hospital or doctor out of fear, without serious symptoms, is how Italy ended up with too many simultaneous cases for their health system to handle, and now a lot of their older folks are going to die.
The precautions above are your best defense, and if you don't belong to one of those high risk groups then you really don't have anything to worry about even if you DO get the bug... but you could pass it on to someone who might die as a result, so stay on your game even if you know you're going to be fine.
Additional Info:
Just like the mask can have droplets on it, so can your clothes. Do not hug your family with clothes you wear on public transportation, especially if you were around people who were coughing.
No need to burn anything, just go to the bathroom and take your shirt and pants off so that they are inside-out, then do laundry like a normal person. Obviously you should wash your hands after you do this, and probably your face as well. Regular soap is fine, you don't need any crazy super-cleanser solution because the soap is literally going to trap everything from your face and take it down the drain.
Key details:
1) When you wash your hands the recommendation is to actually work the soap all over your hands for 20-30 seconds.
2) It IS a good idea to actively rub your face with the soap suds for 20-30 seconds before you rinse as well.
3) It is common to find high levels of the virus particles in bathrooms, specifically on doorknobs and toilet flush levers/buttons as well as the bathroom sink knobs. To avoid accidentally contaminating yourself, just keep 1 or 2 sheets of toilet paper or a paper towel in your hand so that you aren't directly touching the knobs/levers/buttons.
That's it!
Safety during Workouts:
The virus can persist on surfaces for several hours, even in the sun, so to be safe you should wipe the bars or handles that you use while working out.
Here's the twist: You can't just wipe and go to work... you need for the sanitizer to be in direct contact for 3-4 minutes to be sure that it is actually killing the virus particles.
An alternative is soap and water (which physically removes the particles), but this isn't a real option in gyms so you're stuck with the wipes.
To avoid all that hassle, you can just wear gloves. I'm going to recommend the grip gloves with rubber on the palm and fingers but cloth on the backs, because you can keep those on the whole workout and they are easy to clean afterwards.
Cleaning is as simple as putting them in the wash with your dirty clothes! Yea, you might need a new pair every month but that's just a few bucks.
If you have a group who works out together, make it mandatory for everyone to wear a mask and to wash your hands with soap and water as a group. Make it a ritual, turn the 30 second count into a team-building thing!
The additional advantage of doing this is that you can then all use the same equipment, but you might still want to wear gloves to be extra safe.
If a member of the group gets sick, stay 6+ feet away from them and require them to wear a mask just like the rest of you, and consider having them use a different bar than the rest of you if that is available.
If not then you may want to have them be the last person on the bar and then disinfect the bar between sets as above, or simply change your workout times so that you only have to sterilize the bar once.
Also remember to keep your water bottles separated from everyone else's by 6 feet, and to consider something simple like keeping a bag or a shirt over your bottle so that if someone does sneeze or cough near it the droplets aren't getting on your bottle. Just make sure you don't accidentally put the contaminated side of the bag or shirt onto the bottle!
Remember: Social Distancing doesn't have to mean complete isolation. Just pay close attention to the general precautions listed above (gloves, masks, sterilization) and stay 6+ feet away from people who are obviously sick, even if it just seems like allergies or a slight cold.
Yes, it's a little extra work for most of us, but it really isn't that bad. That little bit of extra preparation and attention to detail will keep you AND everyone else safe, so think of it as nothing more than a little extra pre-hab!
More updates if/when they are needed.
Dr. Naterman, signing off!
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
I alresdu fid
Good stuff Cole!
Sounds like you have a cold...... keep your distance man!
I just saw this article about kids on spring break in Miami. Self centered, entitled and ignorant. Now I'm angry.
www.yahoo.com
'Ain't that serious': Miami spring breakers party on
It's one of many public health questions facing the United States: how to convince party-hungry spring breakers to take the coronavirus seriously and opt for social distancing, instead of the beach. In Miami, bars, restaurants and nightclubs will close from 11 p.m. local time on Tuesday night...
Maybe the good Darwin will take care of it.I just saw this article about kids on spring break in Miami. Self centered, entitled and ignorant. Now I'm angry.
'Ain't that serious': Miami spring breakers party on
It's one of many public health questions facing the United States: how to convince party-hungry spring breakers to take the coronavirus seriously and opt for social distancing, instead of the beach. In Miami, bars, restaurants and nightclubs will close from 11 p.m. local time on Tuesday night...
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
I see stuff like this and always think, "Where are their parents and what are they thinking?" Obviously they aren't !I just saw this article about kids on spring break in Miami. Self centered, entitled and ignorant. Now I'm angry.
'Ain't that serious': Miami spring breakers party on
It's one of many public health questions facing the United States: how to convince party-hungry spring breakers to take the coronavirus seriously and opt for social distancing, instead of the beach. In Miami, bars, restaurants and nightclubs will close from 11 p.m. local time on Tuesday night...
The parents signed off when they allowed their kids to go on the trip in the first place. But at the age of between 18 and 21, these kids should have the intelligence to understand what is involved here based upon all the news that is available about it and what they hear by word of mouth to make appropriate decisions. The ones that have elected to just go anyway were never taught how to think or be considerate of others by their parents. And their parents are probably the ones who can be found hanging out in large groups at the parks that are supposed to be closed. Irresponsible, selfish and ignorant. These are the people who will face blame if this thing ramps up significantly in spite of the guidance and precautions imposed by municipalities.
Dave in KY
Shave Newbie
Thanks for saving me typing all of that. I'm a hunt and peck kinda guy
Wait...you weren't angry before?I just saw this article about kids on spring break in Miami. Self centered, entitled and ignorant. Now I'm angry.
'Ain't that serious': Miami spring breakers party on
It's one of many public health questions facing the United States: how to convince party-hungry spring breakers to take the coronavirus seriously and opt for social distancing, instead of the beach. In Miami, bars, restaurants and nightclubs will close from 11 p.m. local time on Tuesday night...
- Status