I appreciate this thread, especially the potentially good news ones like @Nrdsb4 posted. I realize it is anecdotal, but I will cling to any good news that is available. All my hopes are with the brilliant minds out there working tirelessly to find an effective therapeutic to help with this global nightmare.
Use the drapery?
A friend was able to buy the Wypall material aka âblue shop towelâ from a NAPA, AutobParts store locally. At first, she made masks out of them. It is good for a short trip outâŠ
Later, she did more research and found that itâs better to make a fabric mask with a pocket for filter and fill it with 2 layers of blue shop towel. She makes them for maintenance crew and elderly residents in the building.
Also, a Japanese friend told us this morning that the medicine called Avigan is found to be effective to treat COVID 19.
Japanese government is trying to rush to produce this medicine. I googled Avigan and found several articles about this news. This is good news.
Wife is a CRNA at a suburban hospital in the Mid-Atlantic area. All elective surgeries canceled but theyâre open for critical cases.
Sheâs been commandeered to work the ICU if necessary. Intubation skills are in-demand. She was a critical care nurse at a large university hospital before becoming a CRNA. Luckily itâs only been a few shifts so far. The ICU is currently holding steady from last week. Praying it stays that way. The last I saw for our state is a peak around April 15th.
The PPE situation is pathetic. Thatâs all Iâll say about that. Theyâve all pretty much resigned themselves to the fact that theyâll be exposed.
Everyone wearing a dust mask or bandanna is a nice thought as long as it doesnât give a false sense of security. How much they help is debatable. The best thing is to stay home.
A cousin who is a nurse has left her son with her parents for the duration of this epidemic. She did not want to risk bringing the virus home. Our nurses and doctors are really making sacrifices.
Retired physician here. No bandanas in our house either. Not going to buy any either. btw- masks like this are to protect others from your germs- they do nothing to prevent you from contacting the virus in the air. H, also a retired physician, saw a video online about using underwear (clean!) for a mask. We took pictures of him with the Hanes logo showing at his neck. I wondered if his big head and small body would mean a fit- but size small does. I suspect menâs knit boxers in colors are more visually more appealing than many ladiesâ panties- as well as workable.
Mixed feelings about needing to wear a mask since I have been sociallly isolated except for groceries and the like. I spent many years wearing a surgical mask most of my day as an anesthesiologist. Retired a long time ago (woman in a male surgeon world decades ago) plus age and health conditions mean I wonât be volunteering. Not even talking to people from a distance in stores either.
There is caution/being prudent and there is paranoia. Then there are those who gather in groupsâŠ
Friendâs semiretired radiologist H is down to maybe one day per week instead of 2-3 and gets his temp taken et al. Usually no patient contact. The digital age has been wonderful- scans on the computer instead of dealing with films touched by various people.
@wis75. However if everyone has to wear a mask, wouldnât that be beneficial? Seems that is what we want to strive for. I think the more people wear them, the more others will want too, also. Many perhaps thinking it helps themselves.
Unfortunately I am seeing many posts on my social media of people who are not wearing the masks correctly (ie pulling it up to take a drink of something putting it back down, touching other stuff after), people not knowing to wash the mask after every trip out etc. I wonder if the masks might do more harm than good⊠Who knows?
On The Today Show, those on location, i.e. outside, were âwearingâ masks. While they were reporting their story, their mask was pulled down. But as soon as they finished speaking, they used their hands to pull the mask up to cover their face. How is that helping? Thereâs a lot of cross contamination there.
Quite frankly, I just used it as entertainment, because what else do I have? ?
I had that quandary when I went for a walk today. I was going to wear a mask, but then DH asked how I was going to drink water. Good question. I knew if I had the mask on it would do no good to move it so I could take a drink. I opted not to wear the mask since we donât see many people on our walks, and can be 6â away from people we do pass. Not sure what I will opt to do in the future.
Right, and since people can be asymptomatic, they should be protecting others by wearing a mask in case they are a carrier.
My wife has walked me through her mask/scrubs protocol at work. Unless you do it every day the âmuscle memoryâ isnât there to remember not to drink, not to set it down, etc. Then thereâs storage and proper disposal.
Sheâll wear one to the store just to put everyone else at ease but sheâs basically said theyâre useless. They donât filter the virus unless N95 or higher and people donât know how to use them.
Thatâs pretty much how I feel â Iâm not wearing a mask to go out to walk the dogs. I live in a suburban neighborhood where the streets are pretty much deserted these days - so itâs easy to keep at least 10-15 feet distance from the very few people I encounter. But I can see how the people who work at the grocery stores will feel a lot better if their customers are wearing masks.
I am a physical therapist who works in home care. We have to monitor our temperature two times a day and we are no longer allowed to be in the home care office. If we need supplies, someone brings them to us in the parking lot. We have to wear a mask and gloves with each patient. We reuse our masks, one per day unless you only see a couple of patients, then we use them the next day. We store the mask in a brown paper bag between visits.
They have designated a team of nurses and therapists who will see patients who test positive, to minimize the number of people who are around the virus. These team members will be supplied with gowns and N95 masks and are able to shower at the hospital afterwards if they desire.
We have had a number of patients decline care due to covid 19. We have also seen a decrease in the number of referrals as elective surgeries have been canceled.
I did have a routine medical appt with my primary physician. It was done by telehealth.
Has anyone else seen the information/video posted by Dr. Cameron Kyle-Sidell? Thoughts?
Fascinating that German and Italian doctors agree with Dr Kyle-Sidell about hypoxia instead of ARDS and that ventilator settings should be based on physiological findings.
New articles in Medscape and American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine.
Hereâs an article about Cameron Kyle-Sidellâs idea that doctors should cut back on ventilator use: https://www.statnews.com/2020/04/08/doctors-say-ventilators-overused-for-covid-19/
Stat is a reliable publication, not some fringe lunacy. I canât evaluate Kyle-Sidellâs idea, although Iâm sure weâll know in about two weeks whether itâs right. If it is right, that would be tremendous news for patients.
Australia has warned all its doctors, nurses and other HCW not to wear scrubs or other clothing that might suggest their profession out in public after several nurses and a midwife were attacked. A nurse was punched in the face twice by an older woman in grocery store because the woman said the nurse had coughed. Others report having been spit on, slapped, pushed and screamed at. A pregnant midwife in NSW who driving her car home after attending a birth was rammed from the rear by man in a truck who said that the woman should not be about in public spreading the coronavirus.
D1 and D2 are both reporting that there i a stigma against all HCWs right now. D1âs OB office has canceled all her appointments for ultrasounds, bloodwork and physical exams because D1 is a physician who has treated to coronavirus patients. She has been prohibited from coming to the OBâs office. Sheâs not quite sure what sheâs supposed to do about getting her pre-natal care.
^ awful