Covid isn't the only game in town

[Walnut Beast]

That's interesting and amazing! 

[doc henderson]

At my age you write it off if you do not feel great for a few days. 8) so, who knows?  
I would feel most protected if I had been both vaccinated and had the disease.  they are saying moderna works better against omicron, but it may just be the way any research was done.  

[HemlockKing]

Vicks vapo-bath is available with the irritant eucalyptus smell.  the rub had an oil Vaseline base, and it could migrate into the airway and cause an oil pneumonitis theoretically.  never saw a case.  we put Vaseline in the nares for dry nose/bloody nose.  this is why mineral oil is no longer used for constipation.  have you ever noticed when you are trying to sleep and have a stuffy nose (congest nasal mucosa) and hear a noise that startles you like someone is messing with your front door?  you get a burst of adrenaline, and it constricts the capillaries in the mucosa, and you get sudden opening of the nares within seconds of the sound.  It is part of the fight or flight response.  the lower side is usually more congested due to gravity.  roll to the side that puts the stuffy side up.  hot and spicy makes you nose water.  smell is a form of taste.  think about that next time you get a whiff in the powder room.  

I get that what I’d call “sudden jolt to life” right before sleep and I had just figured it was instincts from back when we slept in the woods as cavemen, if you heard a threat, you needed to be awake fast and ready. Good to know the science behind it too .  The smallest little sound right before I sleep shoot electricity right through me it’s amazing

[kantuckid]

Thats a today's new item on the jolt before you fall asleep. I get no such jolts. Sometimes when my book falls on my face hard I'll sort of wake up :D
As to was it covid when I recently dealt with a tight chest and globs of gook from my throat-I'm cured as we speak and never had much in the way of covid symptoms anyway. 
What I do have is the stir-crazy disease until this snow is gone and gets out of single digits so I can heat my shop, get to FL with the trailer stuff loaded and down the hill which at this time is not possible. 
Snow and cold is the game for now  other than my KC Chiefs play today along with U of KY cats play GA. 

[Stephen Alford]

   Earlier in this thread Black elderberry was mentioned. Because there are lots of folks visiting the forum  thought I should mention that it is a medicinal plant. It is poisonous to humans. It requires a process to be safe for consumption.  

[SwampDonkey]

Black elderberry is safe, when cooked, red elderberry is not. If it weren't I'd be long dead by now. ;D I don't eat bark, seeds, wood or green berries. Berries are cooked, not eaten raw, that is all that is required.

[Chuck White]

Wondering, is this the same Elderberry that grows in my area?

I've eaten these and have a friend that makes wine with them!

[SwampDonkey]

Wondering, is this the same Elderberry that grows in my area?

I've eaten these and have a friend that makes wine with them!

There's a couple of wild species between east and west coast and cultivars sold in nurseries. The black variety doesn't grow wild near home here, but I have found it 30 miles south of here along woods road berms. It flowers in summer, where as the red variety here blooms before the snow is all gone.

[SwampDonkey]

They told us ostrich fiddlehead ferns were carcinogenic a few years ago. What a crock, been eaten for centuries.

[HemlockKing]

They told us ostrich fiddlehead ferns were carcinogenic a few years ago. What a crock, been eaten for centuries.

We eat those here. I hear people call them "monkey meat" around here

[SwampDonkey]

And back on topic, yes there have been influenza cases throughout the pandemic in Canada. And you only get the reports of ones where folks are so sick they need attention, that's when you become a case. Your not a 'case' until you see a doctor. Mild illness, just get your Buckley's and Tylenol as usual. Thus, no case, no tally because your not laying in a hospital or waiting 6 hrs for treatment.

By the second week of Jan 2020 over 12,000 accum. cases in Canada, by the end of Feb 35,000 cases, end of March over 45,000 accum. cases.

By the first week of Jan 2021, 14,811 accum. cases in Canada, by the end of Feb 38,355 accum. cases, end of March 49,641 accum. cases.

By the second week of Jan 2022, 474 accum. cases thus far, the only time cases significantly dropped during the pandemic. And that's with increased testing.

[jrsloan1]

I have not had it that I know of, but I think I will get the capsid antibody test to fine out.  over a year of in my face work with it.  I may have been asymptomatic.  

Doc, it would probably be interesting for you to know if you had it. Might even put some of the puzzle together.  I had it in January 21 and was over it with very mild symptoms in a few days. Not like the out of the blue extremely low playlets count I just spent 4 days in the hospital getting over and then the sinus infection dang near before I  got home!!   But, 2 test in 8 days are negative for Rona and flu! You stay safe and healthy Doc.