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Corona Virus

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HMan said:
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.

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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!
Click to expand...
Thanks for posting this! The good Doctor should be a writer. I'm a reluctantly retired nurse, and that is probably the best, most practical thing I've read about this virus. Bravo!
 
Another good, insightful post.....

This is long, but read it all the way through. It will help you understand what we’re up against and why you should be diligent (and scared).

Shared from a friend: “Best explanation I have read about the corona virus: Feeling confused as to why Coronavirus is a bigger deal than Seasonal flu? Here it is in a nutshell. I hope this helps. Feel free to share this to others who don’t understand...

It has to do with RNA sequencing.... I.e. genetics.

Seasonal flu is an “all human virus”. The DNA/RNA chains that make up the virus are recognized by the human immune system. This means that your body has some immunity to it before it comes around each year... you get immunity two ways...through exposure to a virus, or by getting a flu shot.

Novel viruses, come from animals.... the WHO tracks novel viruses in animals, (sometimes for years watching for mutations). Usually these viruses only transfer from animal to animal (pigs in the case of H1N1) (birds in the case of the Spanish flu). But once, one of these animal viruses mutates, and starts to transfer from animals to humans... then it’s a problem, Why? Because we have no natural or acquired immunity.. the RNA sequencing of the genes inside the virus isn’t human, and the human immune system doesn’t recognize it so, we can’t fight it off.

Now.... sometimes, the mutation only allows transfer from animal to human, for years it’s only transmission is from an infected animal to a human before it finally mutates so that it can now transfer human to human... once that happens..we have a new contagion phase. And depending on the fashion of this new mutation, thats what decides how contagious, or how deadly it’s gonna be..

H1N1 was deadly....but it did not mutate in a way that was as deadly as the Spanish flu. It’s RNA was slower to mutate and it attacked its host differently, too.

Fast forward.

Now, here comes this Coronavirus... it existed in animals only, for nobody knows how long...but one day, at an animal market, in Wuhan China, in December 2019, it mutated and made the jump from animal to people. At first, only animals could give it to a person... But here is the scary part.... in just TWO WEEKS it mutated again and gained the ability to jump from human to human. Scientists call this quick ability, “slippery”

This Coronavirus, not being in any form a “human” virus (whereas we would all have some natural or acquired immunity). Took off like a rocket. And this was because, Humans have no known immunity...doctors have no known medicines for it.

And it just so happens that this particular mutated animal virus, changed itself in such a way the way that it causes great damage to human lungs..

That’s why Coronavirus is different from seasonal flu, or H1N1 or any other type of influenza.... this one is slippery AF. And it’s a lung eater...And, it’s already mutated AGAIN, so that we now have two strains to deal with, strain s, and strain L....which makes it twice as hard to develop a vaccine.

We really have no tools in our shed, with this. History has shown that fast and immediate closings of public places has helped in the past pandemics. Philadelphia and Baltimore were reluctant to close events in 1918 and they were the hardest hit in the US during the Spanish Flu.

Factoid: Henry VIII stayed in his room and allowed no one near him, till the Black Plague passed...(honestly...I understand him so much better now). Just like us, he had no tools in his shed, except social isolation...

And let me end by saying....right now it’s hitting older folks harder... but this genome is so slippery...if it mutates again (and it will). Who is to say, what it will do next.

Be smart folks... acting like you’re unafraid is so not sexy right now.

#flattenthecurve. Stay home folks... and share this to those that just are not catching on.”
 
So here is your laugh for the day. I spread the corona at the Walmart today!

so if you read my journal you realize I was looking for some sea scallops to cook for my wife, her favorite. Decided while I was in LaFollette Tennessee working I would pop in their Walmart and see if they had any by chance. Lo and behold they do and so I grab a bag and then I think I've never really cared for Corona beer but see that KJ @Spider has been drinking it lately. Maybe I should pick some up just as a joke so I go to look for a six pack. after getting that I had to the self-checkout and I get slow down behind another guy and a gentleman who must either be security for Walmart or a detective for the police department as he had no labeling but looks the part and was open carrying. Once I get past him who's just looking through the glass doors in cases on the way into the registers I get my purchase made.
IMG_20200319_100618769.jpg
now I pick up the six pack by the handle and the bag that has the scallops in it and start walking out and get about the just about to get out of the register area and the bottles just drop to the floor POP! I look up and see everybody looking at me including mr. Security whom I tell don't get trigger-happy! the girl comes over and says don't worry about it honey just go get you another one, it happens all the time. I tell her I did not drop it it just fell and I show her that I'm still holding the handle to the six pack in my hand. of course everybody has a laugh and says now you've done it you spread the corona at Walmart! No worries I got my sea scallops and a six pack of Corona to try later. Here's the whole ugly mess
IMG_20200319_101053729.jpg
 
Spider said:
Another good, insightful post.....

This is long, but read it all the way through. It will help you understand what we’re up against and why you should be diligent (and scared).

Shared from a friend: “Best explanation I have read about the corona virus: Feeling confused as to why Coronavirus is a bigger deal than Seasonal flu? Here it is in a nutshell. I hope this helps. Feel free to share this to others who don’t understand...

It has to do with RNA sequencing.... I.e. genetics.

Seasonal flu is an “all human virus”. The DNA/RNA chains that make up the virus are recognized by the human immune system. This means that your body has some immunity to it before it comes around each year... you get immunity two ways...through exposure to a virus, or by getting a flu shot.

Novel viruses, come from animals.... the WHO tracks novel viruses in animals, (sometimes for years watching for mutations). Usually these viruses only transfer from animal to animal (pigs in the case of H1N1) (birds in the case of the Spanish flu). But once, one of these animal viruses mutates, and starts to transfer from animals to humans... then it’s a problem, Why? Because we have no natural or acquired immunity.. the RNA sequencing of the genes inside the virus isn’t human, and the human immune system doesn’t recognize it so, we can’t fight it off.

Now.... sometimes, the mutation only allows transfer from animal to human, for years it’s only transmission is from an infected animal to a human before it finally mutates so that it can now transfer human to human... once that happens..we have a new contagion phase. And depending on the fashion of this new mutation, thats what decides how contagious, or how deadly it’s gonna be..

H1N1 was deadly....but it did not mutate in a way that was as deadly as the Spanish flu. It’s RNA was slower to mutate and it attacked its host differently, too.

Fast forward.

Now, here comes this Coronavirus... it existed in animals only, for nobody knows how long...but one day, at an animal market, in Wuhan China, in December 2019, it mutated and made the jump from animal to people. At first, only animals could give it to a person... But here is the scary part.... in just TWO WEEKS it mutated again and gained the ability to jump from human to human. Scientists call this quick ability, “slippery”

This Coronavirus, not being in any form a “human” virus (whereas we would all have some natural or acquired immunity). Took off like a rocket. And this was because, Humans have no known immunity...doctors have no known medicines for it.

And it just so happens that this particular mutated animal virus, changed itself in such a way the way that it causes great damage to human lungs..

That’s why Coronavirus is different from seasonal flu, or H1N1 or any other type of influenza.... this one is slippery AF. And it’s a lung eater...And, it’s already mutated AGAIN, so that we now have two strains to deal with, strain s, and strain L....which makes it twice as hard to develop a vaccine.

We really have no tools in our shed, with this. History has shown that fast and immediate closings of public places has helped in the past pandemics. Philadelphia and Baltimore were reluctant to close events in 1918 and they were the hardest hit in the US during the Spanish Flu.

Factoid: Henry VIII stayed in his room and allowed no one near him, till the Black Plague passed...(honestly...I understand him so much better now). Just like us, he had no tools in his shed, except social isolation...

And let me end by saying....right now it’s hitting older folks harder... but this genome is so slippery...if it mutates again (and it will). Who is to say, what it will do next.

Be smart folks... acting like you’re unafraid is so not sexy right now.

#flattenthecurve. Stay home folks... and share this to those that just are not catching on.”
Click to expand...
Excellent post!
 
There goes the neighborhood. Sac just handed down mandatory “stay at home” order (except essential outings) midnight and possibly through April 7.
 
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