Just the Facts, the Crown virus.

[doc henderson]

we really do not need them unless the whole country is rapidly ill.  we do not need them for the sniffles.  The media seems to think they are smart by running the numbers, and it is good to be prepared, but also causing panic.  the government (including the military)  have hospital tents and supplies.  these can go where needed.  the government is well prepared.  the shortage will be trained staff to use the equipment.  they made a bill to practice medicine across state lines.  great efforts were made after 9-11 to organize the country.  many of our healthcare folks have trained at FEMA in Aniston Al.   To explain the first comment, we really need for people who are worried but not sick to stay home.  one issue is that going to the ED for anything is now a habit.  I think people are listening.  but all the folks who came with a little cough, sob, or cp, were all worried it was covid 19.  Few folks alive now have ever experienced anything like this (New York et. al. 9-11).  we are used to all things being well controlled and all convenience available.  This is why toilet paper is on short supply.  This will ultimately make us stronger, and able to handle future disasters.

[Ljohnsaw]

also the red Cross is worried since blood drives are being cancelled, and blood is down 25%.

I give 3 units of platelets and a unit or two of plasma every two weeks.  Whole blood can only be donated once every 8 weeks.  Whole blood can be spun out to get platelets and plasma but it takes between 6 and 8 units of whole blood to make one unit of platelets.  That ups the risk to the patient many fold for blood-born infections.  I believe Covid19 has not been shown to be transmitted via blood.

So, long story short - call and make an appointment TODAY to give blood!  Not many people there, unlike blood drives where there are lines.  Platelet donation (3 units) takes up to 3 hours door-to-door.  Whole blood is something like 30-45 minutes.

[krusty]

The big word of the week here is social distancing....and all I could think about was just more time alone in the woods  8)

The snow is almost gone and can start cleaning up the tree tops/brush. Kids will be helping and exploring like kids should.

Yesterday drove from ONT into NY and back to pick up a DD 53 fuel pump I ordered online. The US customs guy was wearing gloves, the CAN customs lady was in a half a hazmat suit. It sure would suck to be living in a high density residental area.

[Sedgehammer]

Here's an ewe tube of a guy talking about the Chroloquine cure and the piece from the laura Ingram show. I had mentioned this over 6 weeks ago that there was a cure. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah-LwndWYxA&feature=youtu.be&t=64

[thecfarm]

I have 25 gallons of diesel,5 gallons of chainsaw gas. Bring it on!!! I am ready to stay home.  :D 
Plenty of flour to bake with too.  ;D
My wife has known me for about 25 years. She has only seen me down once and that was an ear infection. I just hope this thing stays away from me. 
Schools are closing, banks, drive thru only. Mc D you can go in and order, but can't eat inside. But all this can change. 
I work in a hardware store and am exposed to a lot of people.

[Don P]

A friend sent this today, hopefully its accurate info, take a look Doc, I'll pull it if its NG;

No good, pulled.

[SwampDonkey]

Ontario premier Ford pretty much shut the social life down in Ontario, bars and restaurants and stuff, gatherings of 50 or more not to take place. Details in video.

Ontario declaring state of emergency amid coronavirus pandemic, says Premier Ford - YouTube

[DMcCoy]

Portland's best garden center closed for 2 weeks.  Garden events are also cancelling.  Gardening classes cancelled.  Went out and stocked up on garden seeds today.  The next panic buying???
We are SLOW, slow, slow,
Added 18 new covid-19 cases in the last 24 hrs in Oregon, 65 total now.  Almost 1/3 of all cases in the last 24 hrs.  Here we go...
Corned beef, cabbage, red potatoes, chocolate cake and Guinness for dinner tonight.  8)
Maybe an "Irish Car Bomb" if we have any Jameson.  Enough Covid for 1 night!

[Sedgehammer]

@Don P I think #1 has been proven false. I saw a article on it a while back. Also they are reporting in Italy, no Ibuprofen. It increase symptoms. The UK is saying paracetamol as it has a secondary effect of reducing fever. I've also read not to use Acetaminophen, as they claim it reduces your immune systems effectiveness. Hopefully Doc can Chime in.

[JJ]

maybe bad to suppress body temp.
With flu, I usually sweat it out, but been a long time since I was that sick.

       JJ

[21incher]

One possible scary problem arising from the virus that I just read about is a shortage of 150 prescription drugs that depend on their main ingredients that are manufactured in China.  Apparently manufacturing them has slowed related to the virus shutdowns and the Chinese are cutting export volumes.  India also supplies ingredients for drugs and starting to see widespread Corona now. The FDA will not name the drugs for fear of a run on them. This could be worse then the virus itself if drug companies can't find other sources.

thecfarm relatives know I  have a root cellar with enough canned food for 6 months plus 40 gallons of hard cider and say they are heading out here if it gets any worse finding food in their area. Is it bad that I told them that have to spend the first 14 days quarantined in their cars in my driveway before I would let them in.

Stay safe everyone.

[Don P]

@Don P I think #1 has been proven false. I saw a article on it a while back. Also they are reporting in Italy, no Ibuprofen. It increase symptoms. The UK is saying paracetamol as it has a secondary effect of reducing fever. I've also read not to use Acetaminophen, as they claim it reduces your immune systems effectiveness. Hopefully Doc can Chime in.

Pulled, a NP friend just said "don't share that"

[doc henderson]

here I am.  yes working and reading/replying when I can.  I hope the chloroquine turns out to be helpful.  things are not usually that simple and we need a larger study to know.  I am sure with info out there and if world renowned guys support it, then it will be known soon.  There should be warehouses of the stuff in the military.  the drinking water and other stuff, is good for you, but there again is no way studies have been done to prove it works on such a new virus.  same with zinc, prob. works some but not a cure. we will see.   we are told to avoid ibuprofen, but acetaminophen ok for now.  I tried to upload a single page summary but the file was too large.  we get daily updates.  our state lab is back logged so testing is up to over 24 hours from 2 to 6 hours.  sepsis requires tons of fluids, but corona with lung involvement, state to be judicious.  be safe out there.  

[thecfarm]

We really don't "stock" up on food. We do it to save money. We will buy a case of canned veggies on sale, frozen mixed veggies, pasta, hamburg, chicken, pork and so on. Wife will go over the grocery store flyer and figure out what to buy. Seems to kinda come in a cycle. We start to get low on something and there it is on sale again. Cans gets marked so we know when we buy it. 

[Sedgehammer]

maybe bad to suppress body temp.
With flu, I usually sweat it out, but been a long time since I was that sick.

      JJ

Agreed, used only when it gets too high here. 

[Sedgehammer]

Here's some more info on blood types and the virus. I had posted this about 6 weeks ago, but didn't know the percentages. It's not a huge difference, but it's some info for individuals with either.

While 31.16 percent of Wuhan residents had type A blood, 37.75 percent of surveyed coronavirus patients at the local Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital were of the same blood type.
And of the same sample of coronavirus cases at the hospital, 25.8 percent had type O blood, compared to 33.84 percent in the general population.
The study also examined 206 patients who died from the virus, finding 85 victims, or 41.26 percent, had Type A blood. Just 52 of the deaths, or about a quarter, had Type O.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Gov Justice of WV announced at 6:00 pm briefing yesterday we have our first case in WV - a patient over in the eastern Panhandle (Near Maryland border). WVU advised people to empty their dorm rooms and leave and not scheduling classes till next Fall.

    Our daughter in Charlotte says getting hard to get supplies. Her biggest concern is diapers for out 13 month old gd. She has been getting them from Amazon and they took order but won't promise delivery date and now sent notice only delivering "essentials" and we don't know what that means. I hope diapers are on that list. We will see soon enough.

@sledgehammer,

   I think it was Larry the cable guy who said 85% of all statistics were made up on the spot. FWIW. :

[Sedgehammer]

@WV Sawmiller Might be true and these were...... The hospitals in Wuhan....

she should be looking at going old school with the dipes. Plastic panty over clothe diapers. 

[Greysonvalleyrr]

Stay safe out there everyone, grab a chair head for the woods with your dog and sit and drink moonshine till it's all over.   

[DMcCoy]

I never thought about diapers, oh boy that can't be calming if you have little ones.
All this hand washing and alcohol based hand sanitizer is causing the backs of my hands to crack. >:(
State of OR closed schools until the end of April now.
Went to town and there was a lot of school age children out walking their dogs which seemed good and then it's the why that comes into it.
Some of my bigger customers are closing, delaying opening, and others have a buying freeze. I can get to the other side of this and I certainly hope they can as well.  We are extending terms from 30 to 90 days to help out.  With interest rates so low it doesn't really matter.   We are all going to have to bend a little or a lot.
Moonshine, er-homemade hand sanitizer?

[Greysonvalleyrr]

Best hand sanitizer I found is dry gas antifreeze. 99% alcohol and methanol  still 79 cents.  

[JJ]

I found this article in the Washington Post interesting.  Neat graphics.
 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/

[Jeff]

Seems like this topic is wandering from the intent. Think before you post hey look what i found stuff. We are absolutly blessed to have two working doctors helping us understand on this forum. Don't  be blurring the lines here.

[Bandmill Bandit]

Best hand sanitizer I found is dry gas antifreeze. 99% alcohol and methanol  still 79 cents.  

Read an artical from health Canada a few days ago Re hand cleansing. 

Hand sanitizer is a great second choice but does not top a good scrub with soap and water. The sanitizers kill the bacteria BUT they dry it securely to your skin in stead of sending it down the drain. It is STILL recommended by Health Canada that you wash your hand thoroughly ASAP after using the sanitizer products when washing wasn't an option. BASICLY the word was; DO NOT use santizer as a first line of defense.  As a temporary 2nd choice stop gap till you can get to hot water soap is prudent. Do not use Cloth towels unless your the only one using it and change daily. Air dry is best.   

My understanding is that there is not suffcient data yet as to the effect the dead virus may present in the spread of the disease. It is being worked on. 

[kantuckid]

We really don't "stock" up on food. We do it to save money. We will buy a case of canned veggies on sale, frozen mixed veggies, pasta, hamburg, chicken, pork and so on. Wife will go over the grocery store flyer and figure out what to buy. Seems to kinda come in a cycle. We start to get low on something and there it is on sale again. Cans gets marked so we know when we buy it.

FWIW, canned goods and most consumables all have use by dates already and by law. Our home canned gets a magic marker date, freezers the same.

As for prescription drugs and sources this is related to a post above but not covid-19 specifically, other than a source to stock up from.  I'll share this tidbit in the interest of trying to be helpful to others: Acid reducers are used by millions and the most popular one of all was jerked from OTC sales months back. I have hiatal hernia/acid reflux and had some issues with Prilosec/omneprezol (which made Larry the cable guy some $$$), then I discovered, by accident that Zantac/Ranitadine was still available by Rx. My new supply came via my mailbox, not trips to catch a virus plus cheap and easy done. The mfg on the Rx container is "Strides", whom I googlded and found to be in India where many of our pharma comes from, besides China, Puerto Rico and Mexico.
Zantac is currently being sold by gougers such as the guys from TN in the news of late, no need to buy it though!