Another interesting piece:
A friend in WI is reporting symptoms. 
She is self employed and, I believe, without insurance.
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A different cousin in England is reporting symptoms, but his NHS is t testing so hes just quarantined luckily young and healthy
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:hug: through the ether to you and your friend
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Horrifying. Please donāt read if youāre already taking appropriate steps and have a lot of anxiety right now. Please DO read if you need to send it to someone who thinkS the media is overblowing this or itās ājust like the fluā.
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Someone already shared that on my Facebook feed without your trigger warning, and now I want to go hide in a closet.
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I just read that and I am going to go hide under the covers now. Today I have been extremely anxious about my parents, who live in New Orleans, and are not taking this shit seriously. I have been drinking tequila all afternoon ( I mean, not really, just two drinks) to turn the volume down on the anxietyā¦but itās not workinggggg.
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Ibuprofen advice continuing to update: https://www.sciencealert.com/who-recommends-to-avoid-taking-ibuprofen-for-covid-19-symptoms/amp
They are back to NOT recommending against ibuprofen. No evidence to suggest it worsens things.
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Itās fun because the nurses on the phone are all ātake lots of advil and heatmpacks because otherwise you will go from awful clogged ducts to mastitisā and so Iām all about the advil
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Have been taking about this elsewhere on the internet but I am torn about the whole homemade masks thing. I have had a few people approach me saying I should make some since I sew but I keep seeing more and more people posting DIY masks in a āmake these for yourself and your family!!!11!!!1ā way and it makes me uneasy. If a healthcare org asked, with guidelines on materials, design, proper use, etc, Iām cool with that. Iām not cool with idiots of the general public thinking they can throw a paper towel inside 2 sheets of muslin tied together around their face and feeling protected enough to keep their brunch reservation.
I fully understand how dire the shortage is, but I donāt want this to be the thing that makes it even worse because people think itās some magic amulet to protect them, or not washing them properly for the teeny bit of protection they do provide or whatever.
Long story short I am angry that we are so woefully unprepared and that our front line workers are left without the equipment they need.
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I donated some fabric to a local crafting group thatās working with hospitals and using designs they approved. I feel uneasy about it because it seems so inadequate but it seems like a stopgap measure to allow them to make the most of the PPE they do have.
Someone else in my neighborhood is testing out 3-d printing some sort of mask that you can put cut up pieces of HEPA(?) filters in. A nurse in our neighborhood put him in touch with the hospital to see if theyāre suitable for medical use. It seems so insane but desperate times and all that.
Iām hoping it at least buys them some time. Iām not planning to make any masks for myself and I didnāt buy any. I also didnāt buy any extra wipes or hand sanitizer. Since Iām able to do so, Iām holing up at home and leaving equipment and supplies for people who need them.
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Yeah I mean maybe homemade is better than nothing but the point of a mask is so much more than fabric covering your face and I worry that having absorbent fabric catching things and holding them there is just a bad idea. There is a reason medical masks are made from the materials they are.
And in no way am I trying to demean your donation at all, weāre all trying to make it work and help where we can. This just makes me so nervous that it is more harm than good on the whole
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Yeahā¦ this is a tricky one. I think peoples hearts are in the right place, but right now itās largely just a feel good measure it seems. The hospitals that I know the details of (so, 2 systems, encompassing probably 12-16 hospitals?) are NOT to the point of accepting homemade supplies.
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The design that the local hospital approved is like a pouch that an N95(?) mask goes into, I think designed to help them last longer. I guess the hospital wouldnāt waste their time coordinating donations if they werenāt helpful. Or at least Iād hope so.
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Yep, this is where I am. Hās hospital system is the biggest in our area. If they ask for them I will be all over making them, I just donāt feel that it is helpful outside of making ~me~ feel like Iām doing something
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My understanding: The biggest issue is particle size permeability. Thatās what N95 refers to- the size of particles that can get through.
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Exactly, which means my stash of woven fabrics of all kinds of fiber types is zero good. Theyāre zero good for probably any kind of contagious particle really, given that on a microscopic level the weave is huge.
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This makes way more sense. The suggestions Iāve seen have been utter nonsense (fold a paper towel and stick it in! Use Saran Wrap!)
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This reminds me I have a small store of N 95s that I got for fire season.
I should probably donate those, fuck.
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My friend who is a nurse is pro-those masks only because itās better than nothing. I know her mom is making them for her and all her nurse friends. Itās crazy though, I definitely understand what youāre saying.
ETA: Should have said, she is not in a hospital treating COVID. Sheās a hospice nurse, so theyāve basically given all their supplies to the hardcore ER nurses, so now they have nothing. So I think theyāre using the fabric masks to just see regular patients who might be contagious with other things? IDK.
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