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COVID-19

The Weekly Meme Round-Up: 19 COVID-19 Memes — Ohh Deer Blog

First, let me just say how impressed I've been with how everybody has been acting.  That outpouring of support I've seen from people being concerned about their close friends and family members, the general public, and even myself and my family, has been surprising and comforting.  

 Second, just know that I'm here for any questions that pop up.  I'm not always at the computer anymore as they have us working in a lot of different spots right now and I also run camp at home for the kids at least once a week, but will do my best to keep getting back to you when things come up.

 This has been a tough thing to fully comprehend, even for me.  The practicalities it boils down to as I understand it are:

 - we have this new very contagious virus that can cause severe disease and death in a lot of people because it's brand new and nobody has pre-existing immunity to it like they do many strains of influenza

 - we also are having epidemic levels of influenza and it's still regular cough/cold season and there is no good way to delineate viruses from each other based on symptoms.  You can say 80% of people with COVID-19 (coronavirus) have a fever, but that means a good chunk don't, and also people with the other viruses usually have a fever, but not always.

 - We generally don't test people for viruses most years because if there is treatment, which is just for influenza, it usually isn't very effective.  Stuff like tamiflu is modestly effective and most of the benefit is seen in people at risk for dying who are being admitted to the hospital.  So it rarely effects what to do if you know what virus it is - it's usually staying home away from other people and taking care of yourself as best able until your body gets rid of the virus.

 - Given how bad COVID-19 (coronavirus) is, everyone wants to know if they have it.  But we don't have the resources to test everybody.  The first problem was that the tests weren't available.  Now they are and the turnaround time is pretty quick.  So the problem now is testing supplies.  I've heard of a number of cities that only have about 2 weeks of masks and supplies left.  Personally, when things started last week, they were having us change our masks and gowns much more frequently - I stood outside for 8 hours yesterday testing people and staying in the same outfit to help save supplies.  We're also running out of actual swabs - we have stopped testing for anything except COVID-19 (coronavirus) right now.  

 - So given that we don't have the ability to test everybody, that's where the shelter/stay-in-place orders have come in.  Basically everybody just pretend we've already been infected and wait it out.  

 - You will hear "breaking news" frequently about the virus.  All of this is preliminary because all of this is new.  Already the mortality risk has varied by a couple percent, which is a lot, and then you keep hearing things like maybe people do worse who are regularly taking ibuprofen or certain types of blood pressure medications or do better if they're taking chloroquine.  Feel free to ask me if you have questions, but currently there's no reason to say anyone should change their blood pressure medication, in general you should be limiting your ibuprofen intake anyway so if you need something for aches and pains then use Tylenol (acetaminophen), and the chloroquine thing sounds more like a hail mary for people who are very sick in the hospital, again because we don't know how effective it really is and also there isn't that much chloroquine out there to begin with.

 - If you're feeling sick and going out, if you have access to a mask (or bandana or scarf or really anything), it's good to use to keep from transmitting to others.  But as long as you're keeping your distance from other people, they are basically useless in keeping you from getting sick, except as an aide to keep you from touching your face with unwashed hands because that's the main way this stuff gets transmitted.  Please, keep active and get out of the house for a little bit if you're able, or you are going to go crazy.  There is lots of space outside to keep 6 feet of distance from other people.  

 - Currently, our facility is basically on lockdown if at all possible because this is a high risk area to catch viruses so we are trying to handle everything with telephone and video visits if possible.  If you don't have the My Doctor Online app, it's the easiest way to do video visits if you need one.  If you have rashes, email me pictures - our dermatologists have pretty much taken over reviewing pictures while their office is shut down.  If something sounds urgent, we can see you, but again right now it's about balancing risks and benefits of everything.  

 Here is the info about COVID-19 (coronavirus) from Kaiser Permanente that we try to keep regularly updated.  
EXERCISE is going to be crucial for your body and mood if you are feeling well, so a few options from outside resources

 1)  A bunch of different things you can do - I think yoga is a good option now if you're able to.  Focus on the breathing aspect and it's a great mental release too

 2)  Some general guidelines and suggestions to try out 

 3)  This fitness regimen I've been recommending for years because it's pretty simple and doable at home for the most part.  You can augment it with a towel workout if you don't have anything to pull on.

ENTERTAINMENT

 Outside of reading, if you need some fun distractions - (Though you can also read with RuPaul) 

 - I think LOST was a great show, especially the last 3 seasons.  And watching it takes an eternity so go for it.  I liked the ending, if you didn't, then you are just wrong.  

 - Idiocracy was a stupid movie ahead of it's time

 - Bojack Horseman is an amazing look at depression and substance abuse through the lens of a pretty funny cartoon with great voice acting and puns.  It gets much better after the first season.

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