News Worldwide impact of the novel coronavirus (covid-19)

[osiris]

Yep @blackemerald1 I have just been doing a lot of reading!

 

[Friday]

Because our cells have a lipid based membrane.

So by that logic, any soap or other body product used to remove grease (shampoo, facewash, bodywash, etc) is "ripping apart" our cells. Our entire epidermal layer would be comprised of torn up cells, and that just isn't the case.

That’s because the epithelial cells are designed to be destroyed. Our entire skin surface and GI tract is constantly replenishing itself. Because they’re being rubbed off, scraped off, acids and bases melting them off, irradiated, burned, frozen, infected, drowned, (et cetera)... and sloughed off. Our skin isn’t made up of shredded cells, because those shredded cells are making the dust in our homes. When a cell gets damaged? It detaches. Well. Except calluses. Calluses are mostly made up of dead/damaged skin cells that are piled onto places experiencing extreme amounts of cell death, in order to protect living cells. Which is a bit gruesome, yet effective.

Ever seen what happens to a body (or tissue of any kind) doused in lye? (Alkaline hydrolysis)

Soap = lye+fat (IE lye stabilised by fat). At varying levels. The harshest soaps cause chemical burns from the lye, because the fat balance is low / not all the lye is bonded slowing down its reaction to cells / and these days are rarely found outside of industrial applications. Dish soap used to be fairly middling... and people still had to wear gloves because their hands would become red and blistered from extended contact with it. These days most dish soaps are “gentle on hands” because they either don’t have soap in them, or use glycerine to create a super slippery layer between skin and cleaning agents, as well as a shit ton of fat chains to dilute/stabilize, as well as ph balancing agents. Soap makes hands slippery because it’s melting your skin off (base). Cleansers, meanwhile, use slippery stuff on top of your skin.

People who make soap (usually with either lye itself, or with wood ash+water extracting the lye) have to use some seeeeerriously anticorrosive gloves, and breathing apparatus... and still usually end up with a few chemical burns here and there. Lye is incrediably “melt it!” :woot: “melt it now!” when it comes to living cells. <I’ve now got Ace of Bass stuck in my head> Strong bases act like strong acids. Shrug. At least on living tissue. Which is why you’ll find lye in drain cleaners, but very rarely (these days) in cleaners designed to be used on the human body.

Most things like shampoo, hand wash, etc.? Both don’t contain real soap, much less harsh soap/unbounded lye but “cleansers”; and their Ph is engineered to be at a happy human 7.2. Meanwhile normal soap is ph of 9-10, and lye at ph 13-14.

***

<rueful grin> I’m pretty certain you know most of this... but you can tell I’m sick (or struggling with my TBI) when instead of being like <cough> epithelial cells <cough> Alkaline hydrolisis... I start waffling on about shit I think is cool :bag:

 

[Justmehere]

I’ve been thinking about trying to reframe this experience not as a end or loss, even though that is a huge part of all of this, but as the whole world taking a pause, a big breath, to protect healthcare systems and the most vulnerable (and even the strongest) in societies that will get very sick. A big collective action. Minus the percentage of fools and idiots out there.

I’ve been surprised in the US this hasn’t been called the “war on Covid 19” because we have had the war on poverty, drugs, etc, etc...and good many actual wars... but that language has shifted over the past few years anyhow. Yet all the same, this feels different.

There is a type of wartime solidarity we need. Only the enemy isn’t each other or another nation but this damn virus.

There isn’t yet the unity in the US, the culture banding together, that it seems to be starting to happen in other nations, but we are not as far along yet in this disaster as Italy and others. I hope that people will get through this initial shock and adjustment and band together more and more to pull each other through this.

I have had a few experiences connecting online in groups and been struck with how much people without PTSD are really struggling. Moments of tears, stress, leaking through. There are lots of financial and practical worries, but the biggest source of mental health struggles is, “I need people. This is hard. I don’t know how I will get through weeks or months of this.”

This will change society as we know it. On the other side, I hope that connection and hugs and eye contact and all those things... and watching out for the vulnerable... might become more popular things to do. Of course, society could break down more and life much worse. Equally possible. :( But I try to not think of that because well, hasn’t happened yet, and nothing I can do about it.

But I miss hugs. I struggle with hugs. But being forced by a damn virus without hugs or handshakes or even sitting in a coffee shop on a sunny day with passerbys to decompress... yep, this is hard. Super hard.

It’s also quite the human experiment. Sometimes feels like something out of the Twilight Zone or Black Mirror. So surreal.

 

[Deanna]

It’s also quite the human experiment. Sometimes feels like something out of the Twilight Zone or Black Mirror. So surrea

Everyone is wondering what day they will get the virus, and live or die. There, I said it.

 

[Sideways]

@Justmehere - odd benefits? A very sudden and massive reduction in tonnes of carbon released into the atmosphere from air travel worldwide.

That's a temporary hug that we're giving our atmosphere. But some of the changes may linger. If people decide they're quite happy to work from home more often, or use teleconferencing over travel more often, that's a great big win environmentally.

It's not all bad news. Our natural environment in particular is doing really well out of humans' sudden, massive lifestyle changes.

There's always going to be more bad news than good news in a pandemic. But the point is there is still good news if you go looking for it:)

ETA @Friday for non-science boffins like me, your post made me go cross-eyed! Since I have no idea how much lye is in my soap, I'm now scrubbing like Greys Anatomy surgeon?

 

[Friday]

ETA @Friday for non-science boffins like me, your post made me go cross-eyed! Since I have no idea how much lye is in my soap, I'm now scrubbing like Greys Anatomy surgeon?

Sorry!

Basically, soap DOES do the exact same thing to our skin cells as it does to microbes. But we’re bigger. Made up of zillions of cells, instead of just one. So we don’t notice, much.

Not unless we’ve got a cut, or get it in our eyes. Skin cells are designed to be destroyed, but muscle tissue, blood vessels, eyes, etc.? Aren’t. They get grumpy when things start melting them. Hence the yowch!

:sneaky: Still good practice to wash up!

 

[Justmehere]

This might be helpful to some. How to disinfect your home when cleaning products are sold out

 

[bellbird]

There is actually a debate in science as to if they are alive or not.

Yep, I'm very much in the "not alive" camp.

I always hated working with them in the lab. Freaky little stealth things.

Granted, intellectualizing the sh*t out of things is one of my go-to coping skills. :)

you can tell I’m sick (or struggling with my TBI) when instead of being like <cough> epithelial cells <cough> Alkaline hydrolisis... I start waffling on about shit I think is cool :bag:

I'm in good company then :)

being forced by a damn virus without hugs or handshakes or even sitting in a coffee shop on a sunny day with passerbys to decompress

Yep, I'm really really starting to struggle with this.

My boyfriend and I both go to the same university, and today we met up on campus. When we said goodbye, we (jokingly) gave each other a very firm handshake. It was bizarre... who knew a handshake could feel so risqué.

 

[mamachick]

Chris-duck this is much more than a cold, and our health care workers are at risk as they are not being provided with items to keep them safe. This is not something they have experienced before, and we are in unknown territory. They have to push forward until they are infected and then quarantined, then there will be a shortage of health care workers.

Lostforgottensoul-It seems like you are going to need to make that trip out for food and get as much as you can to hold you in the event it gets much worse in your are. I had to make a trip yesterday and should be set for a couple of weeks I hope. I had not gone out for over a week and limited contact. It feels like starting over that 14 day period.

Justmehere, I totally agree with the stress cup being full during this time. I see it hard to manage although I am not in a panic. Since 2008 I have had severe "sense of foreshortened future" that has been quite paralyzing. The past couple years it has been getting a bit better. (trying to challenge thoughts and be more rational). For me, being high risk, it is like the left shoe dropping. I feel like this is never going to end well for me. It brings back feelings of doom. I am also worried about family, some high risk and some not. But just because someone isn't high risk is no guarantee. Guess my stress cup is boiling over. (also have many other stressful things going on)

 

[siniang]

Some days, I really despair for humanity. Some days I see all the coming together in this crisis, the singing from balconies, and the helping each other, and my heart is full. And then there are days like today where I see articles like this one: Racist Attacks Against Asians Continue to Rise as the Coronavirus Threat Grows

We had a local protest today. Locals want the politicians to close the airports and prevent tourists from coming in (ALL our cases so far have been tourists or people coming back from travels). One sign literally said "You are the virus".

Disgusting.

Fear leads to panic. Panic leads to hate. Hate leads to violence.

I've seen an article that apparently Americans ramp up buying guns (As the coronavirus pandemic grows, gun sales are surging in many states). I'm worried - not about the virus but about what things might become.... it's already nasty.

 

[Ronin]

On another hand...

Americans are like *always* buying guns. Might as well fit in the margin of the usual behavior.

Or elections craze normal.

//

@berlinda Nah, plans to leave him not canceled at all. What the virus situation is doing is giving you more time to proper plan up leaving that miser, and showing you you are awesome and patient and *will* survive him, as you *already have* for so long.

Don't let that particular bastard even think of grinding you down. ;)

 

[Sideways]

Locals want the politicians to close the airports and prevent tourists from coming in (ALL our cases so far have been tourists or people coming back from travels

This may happen for a while. But that's okay.

Australia closed its borders today to all non-citizens or residents. Which is jaw-dropping.

But we're on islands. The only way for the virus to get to our population is from people bringing it in. If we can slow the spread to a trickle of new cases then our hospitals have a chance of coping.

Once in a century type stuff (actually I'm not sure Australia has shut our border ever before - not sure). And temporary. It will be okay. Some unexpected steps that become necessary to manage the situation, but they're temporary.

Too many people want to descend on your island for the border to remain shut indefinitely. And likely it would be unconstitutional to close the border to other American citizens (certainly its not permitted under our constitution).

It will be okay.

As for the racism - people need someone to blame. It gives them a sense of control. Don't buy into it - don't start adding to the judgment and anger and hatred going on like "These people need to behave different". Even if they're being unreasonable. The only person you can control is you. If things are upsetting you, use the tools you have on board to manage that. But otherwise? Be the person who shares positivity, compassion and kindness:hug: