@bamamom2021
I’m not buying because I’m afraid of the virus though. I’m buying because we were going to need it very soon and everything is being picked up.
I’m due any time between now and April 13. I assumed I could go get them once baby was here but if it comes next week and the stores are empty because of preppers, I’m in doo doo.
Case in point: I needed to buy handsanitizer and it was out EVERYWHERE. Even amazon and other online shops. I ended up having to go through a commercial bulk place and now can honestly say I’ll never have to buy it again.
@“Cardinal Fang”
Yes and that’s precisely one of the reasons I didn’t want to buy until baby got here. If we go to term, baby will be fine with size 1. If I go next week, baby will absolutely need newborns.
You may very well be right. Our government could still screw up big time. Given how much food we produce here in the States and most of those everyday items (such as toilet papers) that people are stocking up are made here locally, I find it hard to believe that there will be a shortage, unless we all rush to stockpile.
We live in the Tampa Bay area and we are over-run with tourists, many from Canada, UK, Germany and Italy. They are all in the restaurants and shops coughing and sneezing. There is a high incidence of flu in the area. I received my flu shot and pneumonia shot but was pretty sick about 3 weeks ago-fever for a week, chills, headache, cough. Strep and rapid flu tests were negative. So…we usually stock non-perishables in May for hurricane season, (donate it to a food pantry in November if not used) and decided to do it now. Restocked tylenol, advil, cough meds, nasal saline, flonase, claritin, sambucol lozenges, tissues, clorox germacide wipes, purell, (used these up during recent illness.) Added more broth, frozen veggies, chicken to freeze, and nitrile gloves. We aren’t shaking hands or drinking from chalice at church, but we usually avoid this during flu season anyway. The only think we added are the gloves and making sure we refill any meds as soon as they are able to be filled.
I used the wipes when I was sick for counters, door handles, toilet handle, sink handles, refrig. door handle. Tried to make sure I used purell for my hands everytime I used a tissue or wiped my eyes.
@romanigypsyeyes - I guess that was my point. I imagine that everyone else is also buying newborn and size 1 diapers because they are going to need it very soon or already need it now – not the type of thing driven by panic buying. It is wise to purchase necessary supplies in advance, and it is something many people do always - not just during times like now. It is just curious the thought that you need these items but feel that others who would be purchasing the same items might not need them – but are losing it and hoarding or something. Same with the hand sanitizer - many people who use it regularly who are fighting many different illnesses, conditions, or ailments need to restock regularly, especially in the winter when virus abound and people are in close contact indoors. Much the same as you are.
I am not out shopping for hand sanitizer because I always have a large supply (elementary school teacher) but I know many who have been. I know that many of my coworkers are running short on their supplies due to the bad flu season around here. This has been a particularly hard winter with illnesses and many teachers were running out. The restocking had little to do with the coronavirus and more to do with dwindling supplies from the flu (which took the life of a nearby student) and typically colds. Supplies were thin around here for a few weeks, certainly before most people were worried/talking about coronavirus.
Stores around here have always been generous about returning unopened diapers, formula, and baby things. We had a large baby at nearly 24" long and over 10lbs so many newborn items were returned. Very common for babies to be born early or late and large. You will have no problem returning or reselling in a mom’s group.
Well, as Costco members, we are always prepared for any zombie apocalypse or Captain Trips pandemic.
My husband is a physician at a major medical center and nobody there is on edge or worried. (Of course HE has an N95 respirator which is refitted every year and for which he receives yearly updates/training on how to use properly.)
We have a trip to Hawaii still on the books for mid April, and a trip to Napa in June. Everything could be cancelled but we are still planning to go as I write this.
Mostly I am irritated on an almost hourly basis by illogical hoarding (I’m all for logical hoarding - see above Costco membership) and misinformation floating around the internet.
Example: a completely healthy empty nester friend who recently quit her job, and whose husband has the ability to work from home, so they could easily self quarantine if necessary, just spent a day tracking down and ordering N95 respirators. She has no idea how to use them correctly, and no need to do so. But she has them, just in case, because they calm her nerves. However because she and her husband can’t stand “stuff” in their cupboards they have only their usual three day max supply of food, toilet paper, etc., which is stuff they could actually need, and can use.
A Facebook group recently posted “advice” on dealing with the coronavirus, which included this gem: “Drink warm water as It is well known that viruses can not survive warm liquids.”
I’ll probably die from an irritation induced stroke.
I am thinking about how I am going to deliver my course material online if we cannot have class meetings. I use our online platform (e-campus) as an announcement center and materials file cabinet. But I can also record and post lectures and require students to post in discussion boards if we have to go virtual.
PS I tried to buy some hand sanitizer today but all the supermarkets and Walgreens were out. I read that you can make your own with rubbing alcohol and aloe vera gel.
My Mr. never feels comfortable without a 24-month supply of toilet paper. Even though we have not bought any lately, I am sure we’ve got that aspect covered. ?
My local doc friends here are just the opposite - very worried. In fact, they all started stocking up on supplies a bit over a week ago. But so much of this is based on your location. Some locations are at greater or lesser risk and some are more or less prepared. We’re in an area that has a disproportionately large number of old people and tourists. We were out to dinner tonight and in the parking lot were license plates from 10 states and we heard 4 different foreign languages being spoken (Korean, Spanish, French and German.) So the tourists are likely to bring the virus sooner rather than later and then our huge numbers of older people are expected to get sick and quickly overwhelm the local ICUs and other facilities.
Med school lad said he’s getting updates - kind of like a “watch it” I suppose, but they aren’t yet super concerned there. That’s officially. I have no idea what individuals are doing.
I can understand the use of hand sanitizers for certain situations like on airplanes, or when around known sick people, or when it’s impossible to access soap and water but this across-the board use of it it creating more super-resistant super viruses and hurting us all in the long-run. Plus, there are health-related long-term side-effects of these chemicals applied to our skin on a regular basis.
I have multiple serious food allergies so I will be stocking up a bit on the non-perishables I would need in case of quarantine or shortages as I can’t be as flexible in that regard as most people. For my H and D, we will possibly stock up a little bit (as in, we won’t get low in things like rice, dried legumes, pasta, frozen foods, cooking oil, eggs and flour) but nothing close to a hoarding level.
I like to disinfect and clean almost everything around the house (Including a splash of it in my laundry) with good old fashioned vinegar as I’m really, really sensitive to Clorox fumes). Wondering now if the vinegar kills viruses as well as bacteria… Hmmm. vinegar doesn’t smell great until it clears out, but it sure beats the headache I get around bleach.
We have stocked up on non-perishable foods, plus a freezer full. I think that having a rolling self-quarantine to slow down the progress and give the medical providers a chance to handle things in a slower way may become a good idea. I think it would be easy for me, if asked to, to stay home for a few weeks or a month. Lots of time to make soup, beans, and rice, or pasta and sauce. Honestly, my only issue is that kind of food is so carby!
This isn’t going to be a popular statement. And I may feel totally different in a month or two or any period of time - I hope not!
How many people have jobs that could even allow them to stay home for a month? The outside world still has to function!
Who can afford to stay home for a month or for many, have the funds to buy a month's worth of stuff - food, diapers or whatever - if they don't even have $$ to feed their family through Wednesday of this week?
I can't help but feel like some people (SOME) are treating this like possibility like an extended "snow day" - it's almost like SOME people are preparing to have a month off like it's a vacation! (not saying anyone here - but on other social media I just get this "off" vibe that people are jumping on a bandwagon - rather than just clear headed thinking ahead of time.)
At my last respiratory committee meeting teleconference, I told them I wasn’t sure I would be attending the annual international conference (involving long flights from HI, and where I invariably go home sick). They said they understood and gave me to conference contact people to talk to about concerns.
Those of us with chronic respiratory conditions are very concerned and doing our best to avoid crowds and stay healthy. I’m also keeping a 90 day supply of as many if my meds as possible (most were running out).
I’ve noticed clorax and hand sanitizers are our at CVS, Walgreens and local market.
I already posted on the other thread about mounting medical bills for these families, even the negative but quarantined ones. Even middle income families can’t afford an unexpected month of day care - IF they can even find someone to take them.
I’ll do fine because I work from home and we can get by on my income. But Mr R? He is a behavioral tech and can’t work remotely. No one at his place can. They’ve already talked about possibly shutting down during an outbreak, because they do clinical and in home care, and most of the people at his work absolutely cannot afford that.
The homemade hand sanitizer recipe is 3/4 C. rubbing alcohol whisked into 1/4 c. aloe vera gel, stored in a pump bottle. I went on Amazon and saw that an 8 oz. pump bottle of Purell is going for $49. Ridiculous.
