Merged 2019-nCoV / Corona virus

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Distracted1 said:
right after washing my hands, I am often frustrated that I must use the newly cleaned hand to grasp the door handle to the restroom.
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The last few years, it seems like more and more restrooms are putting another wastebasket at the door, so that you can use a paper towel to open the door and then discard it on your way out.
 
People get the hand washing thing backward. It's primarily to keep everything else clean of whatever you've got on your hands.
 
Here's the question I'd like to see the answer to. If anyone finds something like an answer, or an ongoing effort to find the answer, or knows the answer, please clue me in. The question is, if you get sick, and corona virus 2019 seems a likely cause, what home care should be applied to minimize the chance that the illness will become a severe case that requires hospitalization?

Specifically:

Should the patient lie down for maximum rest, or (if capable) sit up for more effective coughing?

Should over the counter decongestants (e.g. Sudafed) or expectorants (e.g. Mucinex) be taken or avoided?

Should a fever (assuming it's below a temperature that would be dangerous in and of itself) be reduced with NSAIDs or other means, or should it be left alone?

If no appetite, should taking in calories be encouraged anyhow?

And if none of that makes any difference, it would still be worth knowing so.
 
Beelzebuddy said:
People get the hand washing thing backward. It's primarily to keep everything else clean of whatever you've got on your hands.
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Well, yeah, but "everything else" includes your own eyes and mouth. So washing makes it less likely you'll catch it yourself after you've got it on your hands, in addition to preventing its spread to other surfaces.
 
Belz... said:
Virizombies!
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Noroviruses are the same, they've been found to be viable after multiple thawing and freezing to -80C for up to 120 days. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3505500/

Belz... said:
If the trashcan is close to the door, use the paper to open the door and then throw it away (the paper, not the door).
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I did a contract of a couple of months last year where I had to work in an office of 50 people, all but three of them male.

The only spare desk was about 10 feet from the toilet door.

I could always tell when one of the managers had been to the toilet, because he was the only one who used the tap and drier afterwards. Every other one of them flushed and walked straight out.

I used to really enjoy shaking hands there.
 
Myriad said:
Should a fever (assuming it's below a temperature that would be dangerous in and of itself) be reduced with NSAIDs or other means, or should it be left alone?
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I'll leave the first couple for Ginger, but the latest evidence seems to point to not trying to reducing fever, because the fever may actually be helping defend against infection. I would therefore let it run - I haven't seen any evidence that fevers have been high enough to cause harm on their own.

https://www.aappublications.org/news/2019/05/03/idsnapshot050319

Myriad said:
If no appetite, should taking in calories be encouraged anyhow?

And if none of that makes any difference, it would still be worth knowing so.
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Food is unlikely to matter, but drink is essential. It doesn't appear to cause vomiting, so I'd say drinking water, clear fluids and electrolytes might be the best defence. The fact that people with poor kidney function are dying faster suggests that getting the little bastards out of your system might be part of the issue.
 
Myriad said:
Here's the question I'd like to see the answer to. If anyone finds something like an answer, or an ongoing effort to find the answer, or knows the answer, please clue me in. The question is, if you get sick, and corona virus 2019 seems a likely cause, what home care should be applied to minimize the chance that the illness will become a severe case that requires hospitalization?

Specifically:

Should the patient lie down for maximum rest, or (if capable) sit up for more effective coughing?
Click to expand...

In general lungs work better in an upright position. So if breathless sitting up helps.
Myriad said:
Should over the counter decongestants (e.g. Sudafed) or expectorants (e.g. Mucinex) be taken or avoided?
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Decongestants probably irrelevant as not much in the way of runny nose or blocked nose expected. Coughing up phlegm will reduce risk of secondary infections and improve breathing so expectorants good.

Myriad said:
Should a fever (assuming it's below a temperature that would be dangerous in and of itself) be reduced with NSAIDs or other means, or should it be left alone?
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Debatable. High fevers make you feel bad, but some argue they may be important in clearing infection. Use paracetamol (acetaminophen if you are in the USA), especially if high temperature >39C (no idea what that is in US units, but for traditionalists >13 Newton). If possible avoid NSAID as they may cause gastritis and increase risk of renal damage if dehydrated. Traditional damp sheets may also be helpful with high fever. Remember you feel cold as the temperature rises and hot as it comes back down, you need to give the paracetamol* when the shivering is happening not the sweating.

Myriad said:
If no appetite, should taking in calories be encouraged anyhow?
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Probably more important to maintain fluid intake as you may lose a lot in sweating and heavy breathing with pneumonia. But yes, you can lose a lot of body mass with a fever, you burn body mass to make heat, so trying to maintain some calorie intake is good. Chicken soup seems traditional and not a bad idea.

ETA * not more than 4g a day for normal adults or whatever that is in US units (Ounces / week?).
 
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Belz... said:
Virizombies!



If the trashcan is close to the door, use the paper to open the door and then throw it away (the paper, not the door).
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I does surprise me how difficult it is to use suitable "sterile technique" in most public accommodations. Not only is one presented with the dilemma of how to open the rest room door after washing one's hands without re-contaminating them, but in many cases the same problem arises earlier from how to shut off the sink faucet after washing. The best solution are those faucets that turn off and on using a photo sensor.

Plus of course even getting into and out of the building itself. In most cases I just try to remember to wash my hands or to use "hand sanitizer" afterward.
 
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The Atheist said:
I could always tell when one of the managers had been to the toilet, because he was the only one who used the tap and drier afterwards. Every other one of them flushed and walked straight out.

I used to really enjoy shaking hands there.
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From what I understand paper is better than a drier to get rid of whatever you've got on your hands, so I use the paper if I can.
 
Belz... said:
From what I understand paper is better than a drier to get rid of whatever you've got on your hands, so I use the paper if I can.
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Quite right. The toilets in question were so modern they'd done away with paper and only had driers.

Which are pretty damned useless when 49 guys have opened the door straight after using the toilet.
_______________________

Meanwhile, I don't know whether it's hopeful news, a lack of information, or just the lull as the next wave builds, but the increase in cases outside China dropped by 40 yesterday.
 
Myriad said:
Here's the question I'd like to see the answer to. If anyone finds something like an answer, or an ongoing effort to find the answer, or knows the answer, please clue me in. The question is, if you get sick, and corona virus 2019 seems a likely cause, what home care should be applied to minimize the chance that the illness will become a severe case that requires hospitalization?

Specifically:

Should the patient lie down for maximum rest, or (if capable) sit up for more effective coughing?

Should over the counter decongestants (e.g. Sudafed) or expectorants (e.g. Mucinex) be taken or avoided?

Should a fever (assuming it's below a temperature that would be dangerous in and of itself) be reduced with NSAIDs or other means, or should it be left alone?

If no appetite, should taking in calories be encouraged anyhow?

And if none of that makes any difference, it would still be worth knowing so.
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Thank you, its amazing how hard this is to find right now!
 
angrysoba said:
A Spanish friend of mine here in Japan is utterly Pooh-poohing the significance of this. He reckons the response to this should be no different to that of the flu, and he was furious at the school closures. I have tried to explain as calmly as possible that you don’t have to lose your mind to treat this seriously.
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A few of my neighbors have posted woo and disregard for staying home when sick. Well gee, they just have to take their sick kids with them when shopping. And they don't have enough money to take off work when they are sick.

novaphile said:
So...

Breaking news.

It is now being estimated that the virus can exist on hard surfaces (which have not been sterilised) for up to nine days.....
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There are two other articles posted on this. Here's another one with excellent information: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2863430/
Effects of Air Temperature and Relative Humidity on Coronavirus Survival on Surfaces

angrysoba said:
In that photo of Lincoln hospital with the tents for the overflow, is it the wheelie dumpsters next to them that is the most disturbing sight?
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Those might be laundry bins waiting for pick up by a laundry company.

Belz... said:
Can you explain how freezing the virus does not kill it, considering the expanding water-ice will burst the virion? Am I wrong there?
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That's the thing, it doesn't. There is no water in the virus capsule. You are thinking of bacteria and some of those can survive freezing too.

Darat said:
As is mine.

All they are doing is slowing the rate of infection.

If the predictions I've read by the virologists that up to 70% of the world population will get infected then all we can do is to slow the spread so we can "cope" with the infections. Having a million infections in a month is very different to having a million infections but over 12 months. The Chinese do seem to have been able to stop the million in a week scenario and thus total collapse.
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Slowing also makes more time to develop drugs and vaccines.

eeyore1954 said:
So far 6 people have died from the ship out of about 700 infected. I believe all were elderly.
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The fatality rate outside of China is much much lower than 2%.

eeyore1954 said:
The virus has been around in the northeast US probably for at least 6 weeks. It appears there were no deaths until it reached a nursing home.

The virus has probably been making it rounds in the US since early January but no reported cases of severe illness. I am sure there have been severe cases that were misdiagnosed but how many. Before any travel restrictions how many people flew out of Wuhan. Surely some were infected.
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In retrospect there will be deaths belatedly recognized as being due to COVID 19. They just found another one here. A patient from the same nursing home died in early Feb at Harborview, now they find it was unrecognized COVID 19. There was unrecognized severe disease.

We're up to 27 cases and 9 deaths today. Turns out a number of people with symptoms at the nursing home still aren't being tested because they have to be transported to the hospital for the test. That sucks. Means we still aren't going to get a handle on this thing anytime soon.

Beelzebuddy said:
People get the hand washing thing backward. It's primarily to keep everything else clean of whatever you've got on your hands.
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It does both. And that bathroom door has all the crap on it from people that left and didn't wash their hands.

The Atheist said:
I'll leave the first couple for Ginger, but the latest evidence seems to point to not trying to reducing fever, because the fever may actually be helping defend against infection. I would therefore let it run - I haven't seen any evidence that fevers have been high enough to cause harm on their own.

https://www.aappublications.org/news/2019/05/03/idsnapshot050319...
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That over-generalization is dangerous. Fever can indeed kill you when it gets much over 103-104 F. It interferes with a lot of your body chemistry such as nerve impulses. That's why people have seizures with high fever. And for pregnant women fever can cause damage to the fetus.
You don't need to treat lower fevers unless you are pregnant.
 
The Atheist said:
Thanks mate!

What gets me is how administrations can't be aware of it all - the numbers have been out for a while, as under
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Hope our lot are doing more than being "positive" and "inspirational".

The Atheist said:
It'll be like that everywhere and it'll be ugly.
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"Beware the ides of March" ;)

Shouldn't the cleanliness campaign and less international and domestic travel result in less flu this coming season?
 
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