Coronavirus: Advice from ME organisations

JemPD said:
@Invisible Woman The clinell alcohol wipes that luna mentioned on the other thread would be good for IM at work for keyboards etc? or just soak & wring out the bleach solution Trish mentioned above & put in a plastic tub to take to work?
Hope he can stay away really though
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Not a snowball-in-hell's chance of getting him to remember I'm afraid.

You can get stuff specifically for keyboards so I'm hoping maybe they'll have got some of that in.

I've just been chatting to him about - apparently they had an office move so his desk & keyboard is shared with just one other person. He's 60 & a smoker so hopefully he'll be vigilant himself.

He was talking to someone who's been in over the weekend and they've put alcohol based hand sanitizer on every desk etc.

Fingers crossed.
 
nutritionally clueless question: what does "electrolytes" mean in practice?

i know certain nutrients are electrolytes, and i know it refers to chemical properties, but what does one DO when told "electrolytes"?

get lots of gatorade? ugh, unnecessary ingredients. ok, get potassium supplements? take with mg and salt? soak in an electrolysis tank to develop a metal skin?

take in what combination?

etc.

i'm not sure i'm "electrolytes"-ing at the moment. i put salt on my food.

also, any recommendations for e.g. gmp-approved multivitamin/multimineral supplements?
 
Samuel said:
nutritionally clueless question: what does "electrolytes" mean in practice?
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'Electrolyte' is used to mean simple elemental ions like sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride. Its meaning is historical in medicine and bot very clearly defined. Bicarbonate might be an electrolyte because it is a charged ion.

I am not sure what you mean by being told electrolytes. Maybe being told to make sure you take in electrolytes? Generally speaking there is no need - you get them easily enough. Dumbed down advice for the populous tends to include making sure you get electrolytes but in practice it is irrelevant. If you are close to heat stroke in Dubai then having some salt with your water intake might be a good idea but it might also be a bad idea if you are just water depleted.

Edit: I guess you are referring to the list quoted by Trish. Forget the electrolytes there. there are plenty in food.
 
Jonathan Edwards said:
Forget the electrolytes there. there are plenty in food.
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This only applies if you are eating adequately. If you are too unwell to cook or eat, which a combination of ME and a viral infection could easily do, then its an issue. So is vomiting.

In addition I am doing intermittent fasting, and fasting regimes can result in a higher need for electrolytes, plus lower intake.

Furthermore I live in an unit super hot in summer. Most desert dwellers have it good.

Most people, most of the time, do not need electrolytes. Sick people might, particularly if they are vomiting.
 
Trish said:
We don't know yet about whether someone can get reinfected or whether people are generally immune once they have had it once.
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If they could then presumably there would not be a 80% worst case infection rate? There would be no infection-immune "buffer zone" emerge? The infection rate would limit at 100%?
 
Barry said:
If they could then presumably there would not be a 80% worst case infection rate? There would be no infection-immune "buffer zone" emerge? The infection rate would limit at 100%?
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Wits_End said:
I thought I'd seen something (here?) about a Japanese woman who'd caught it a second time? Possibly because the virus had mutated?
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That might have been my comment. I got it from a doctor being interviewed, by mainstream media I think, and posted on YouTube. This is an isolated event. Maybe it means that it mutated and she got infected by a different strain. Maybe she was immune compromised. Maybe this is the norm, though I really hope not. Right now we don't know.

Roughly, and please correct me if I got it wrong as my math is dodgy on my best day, every percent of the population infected will lead to roughly two million deaths globally. They most important unanswered question is how many will be infected? The next is how fast will it mutate, causing wave after wave of new infections?

On a good note, there was a story, that I have not confirmed, that an Israeli company was working on a vaccine to something similar and hopes to have one for Covid-19 on the market later this year. I am sceptical, but its something to hope for.
 
Wits_End said:
I thought I'd seen something (here?) about a Japanese woman who'd caught it a second time? Possibly because the virus had mutated?
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I remember hearing something like this too. Not sure of the nationality though.

I don't think they're terribly sure what happened there. Whether there was an issue with the test, whether she was reinfected with the same strain or whether it was a slightly mutated strain.

It doesn't seem to be happening that commonly though, so fingers crossed.
 
Mij said:
Severe diarrhea requires fluid and electrolyte replacement to correct dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, and acidosis.
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I believe infants and young children are especially at risk of this problem, which is why there are products like Pedialyte (or store-brand versions, aka, generics) and ORS (oral rehydration salts?) packets that can be mixed with water.
 
I had to see my doctor this morning. I used two sheets of paper towelling to open the main door into the surgery and then immediately put it into a plastic bag and sealed it. Payed for the visit with the correct amount of change. I was aware not to touch the counter or put my purse on it. I then sat down and sanitized my hands with the small bottle of Dettol hand sanitizer. I made sure not to touch the arms of the chair I was sitting in.

My door to my doctor's room was open so I didn't need to touch the handle. I let him open it when I left. On my way out of the surgery I pushed the main entry door open with my foot and then back.

I'm also trying not to touch hand rails in the bus and am using the knuckle on my finger to push the bell. I think I will continue to do this during the winter months when cold and flu are around.
 
Such behaviour is forbidden here - constant loud screeching will be heard if you disobey (but also if you obey) - "please hold the handrail when using the escalator" - at supermarkets, underground stations - virtually everywhere - if someone's taken the trouble to put in a hand rail then it might as well be illegal not to use it.

You'll be telling people to stand in front of the line and talk to the bus driver next :p
 
Wonko said:
Such behaviour is forbidden here - constant loud screeching will be heard if you disobey (but also if you obey) - "please hold the handrail when using the escalator" - at supermarkets, underground stations - virtually everywhere - if someone's taken the trouble to put in a hand rail then it might as well be illegal not to use it.

You'll be telling people to stand in front of the line and talk to the bus driver next :p
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@Wonko I've read your post too many times now and still don't really understand it :rolleyes:
 
Rosie said:
@Wonko I've read your post too many times now and still don't really understand it :rolleyes:
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It's sort of a variation on an old british joke - the 'dogs and small children must be carried' on a escalator - and how people who don;t happen to have ready access to such things cannot use an escalator.

Just altered for the situation I found myself in yesterday where the speaker, and signs, on an escalator informed me that I MUST hold the rail - given the current situation that seemed a somewhat inappropriate pronouncement, and then I recalled that a lot of escalators have the same message/warning - presumably so that if someone gets hurt they can say 'well we said to hold the rail so it's clearly not our fault that you got hurt when it exploded/whatever'.

It's an assumption that everyone who is responsible (i.e. a good citizen) will follow any rules posted, these days it seems it's more than that, that it's virtually a legal requirement as a condition of carriage that you will obey any instructions, and that failure to do so makes the company that put up the sign except from any consequences should things not go perfectly.

No matter how inappropriate the instructions are, and holding a handrail, unless you absolutely have to, is currently inappropriate.
 
Wonko said:
It's sort of a variation on an old british joke - the 'dogs and small children must be carried' on a escalator - and how people who don;t happen to have ready access to such things cannot use an escalator.

Just altered for the situation I found myself in yesterday where the speaker, and signs, on an escalator informed me that I MUST hold the rail - given the current situation that seemed a somewhat inappropriate pronouncement, and then I recalled that a lot of escalators have the same message/warning - presumably so that if someone gets hurt they can say 'well we said to hold the rail so it's clearly not our fault that you got hurt when it exploded/whatever'.

It's an assumption that everyone who is responsible (i.e. a good citizen) will follow any rules posted, these days it seems it's more than that, that it's virtually a legal requirement as a condition of carriage that you will obey any instructions, and that failure to do so makes the company that put up the sign except from any consequences should things not go perfectly.

No matter how inappropriate the instructions are, and holding a handrail, unless you absolutely have to, is currently inappropriate.
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@Wonko I have difficulty following this kind of reading and didn't understand this part quoted below either:
Wonko said:
You'll be telling people to stand in front of the line and talk to the bus driver next :p
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I realise what I wrote probably sounded regimented but with my kind of brain function I write in a basic way and it can come across that way.
 
On buses in the UK there is a sign saying something along the lines of 'please don't stand in front of this line or talk to the driver'.

There is no line, and never has been to my knowledge.

The implication is that people should not distract the driver, not even if they want to get off, or when they get on and want to buy a ticket (as this would both be in front of the 'line' and also involves talking to the driver to tell them where you want a ticket to), or just to say 'thank you'.

It used to be a necessity to do so, and still is on some busses coaches, as the 'I want to get off' bell din;t work on a lot of buses - even these days when it does work some drivers pay no attention and the only way to get him to stop is to speak to him.

But this is forbidden, as all signs must be obeyed according to the conditions of carriage.

Unfortunately I notice such things, and I have a tendency to take things literally until I decide that exceptions are permissible.

Also unfortunately I am a little fried tonight due to having gone out yesterday, and encountering some nonsensical situations. I spent over 3 hours earlier, on the sofa in front of the TV, trying to watch a 1 hour program and not only did I not see more than 5 minutes of it I can't remember even that, so a little fried.

So if I make no sense I apologize.
 
Wonko said:
It's sort of a variation on an old british joke - the 'dogs and small children must be carried' on a escalator - and how people who don;t happen to have ready access to such things cannot use an escalator.

Just altered for the situation I found myself in yesterday where the speaker, and signs, on an escalator informed me that I MUST hold the rail - given the current situation that seemed a somewhat inappropriate pronouncement, and then I recalled that a lot of escalators have the same message/warning - presumably so that if someone gets hurt they can say 'well we said to hold the rail so it's clearly not our fault that you got hurt when it exploded/whatever'.

It's an assumption that everyone who is responsible (i.e. a good citizen) will follow any rules posted, these days it seems it's more than that, that it's virtually a legal requirement as a condition of carriage that you will obey any instructions, and that failure to do so makes the company that put up the sign except from any consequences should things not go perfectly.

No matter how inappropriate the instructions are, and holding a handrail, unless you absolutely have to, is currently inappropriate.
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Kind of reminds me of my sister. She reported to jury duty today and stayed there for six hours in a tiny room with 35 others. And then went before a judge to declare her excuse ("I cannot sit for two hours."). I would have left as soon as I saw the tiny room filled with people. Damn the consequences.
 
Trish said:
We don't know yet about whether someone can get reinfected or whether people are generally immune once they have had it once.
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We do know that you can't be 'reinfected' in the short term. The claim that people tested positive, then negative and then positive again is a consequence of the fact that the PCR tests only have 80-90% sensitivity.

There is strong evidence of seroconversion.
 
I'm lying awake trying to decide whether to self isolate yet. I don't go out, but I have carers and cleaner several times a week. When do I lay them off and attempt to get by without them for what would probably be at least a couple of months? My daughter and I would probably cope, thought the house and I would get dirtier! I'm not really expecting answers. Just wondering what others are doing, and what you think. Obviously people who are more severely affected don't have a choice, as they need help to survive.
 
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