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

[blackemerald1]

On the 7.30 (ABC news) last night there was a report by Dr T Oxley - Mt Sinai hospital regarding a trend he's observed in young patients presenting with stroke as a complication of covid19.

Though it is quite early he has published an article regarding the effects of covid19 on human blood.

I'll put the link in here.

Stroke research & covid19

I guess remembering FAST when it comes to stroke is really important.

Face -
Arms -
Speech -
Time -

If you have covid19 symptoms and notice problems with ^ don't wait around. Call the ambulance or get to the hospital. The sooner you attend & commence treatment if you are having a stroke the better the outcome.

 

[Freida]

I guess remembering FAST when it comes to stroke is really important.

Yes! Stroke is a 911 call. One thing they had us do is ask the person to say ....the early bird catches the worm. If they can't it's a strong sign of a stroke.

I never did find out why they use that particular phrase but I think it has something to do with how the words are formed.

 

[user27357]

The phrase was one of several that the majority of people knew and the best of those for being difficult to say over and over without slurring speech. That's what they told us anyway. If the person is known to you slurred speech may be easier to recognize without possibly causing anger/combativeness by asking them to say something they consider foolish.

My big takeaway from my field stroke assessment training was how easy/often stroke was missed when there was another injury associated- stroke caused a wreck or a fall or a dropped cigarette, the resulting injuries kept the responding EMT from recognizing the stroke.

 

[lostforgottensoul]

Went out for the first time in weeks. No bleach at Walgreens but we had some cheap toliet paper (4 packs) so got two of those and then cheap paper towels. Got one 6 pack of those. I can live without bleach for a while but will need some soon. I have to wash the in the shower mat that I have, which is washable, without bleach. Will have to clean the tub where it went without bleach. Leaving like the cup or two that I have of bleach for disinfectant. ETA: No lysol or any other disinfectants.

I do still have like a bit less then half of the 32 oz bottle of disinfectant left. I dont disinfect as much as I did when I worked outside of the house. But, cleaning without bleach SUCKS! Especially the shower!

I disinfect everything that comes in. I have 4 flu masks that my dad sent me. Using those before trying to make my own. At least I have something that covers around your mouth. A bandana just doesnt do it.

There are more on the road then a few weeks ago. And there are a lot more wearing masks. But still not everyone. Two being the maintance men who walked less then a foot from me, without masks. f*ck! Cover your damn mouth and arms length or more! Damn!

Walgreens is asking you to use the drive up pharmacy if you can and if you feel sick. Way less people in there. I was the only one getting meds filled inside and thats cause I needed some supplies.

 

[Muttly]

^So since they've (health departments & testing clinics) have widened the scope for eligibility for testing to include just about anyone who wants to rock up & ask... and I think the actual tests themselves, if done by a qualified person rarely show a false negative - it would seem to suggest that we are not far from eradication in terms of community transmission.

Hmm... my doctor was talking to me about issues with false negatives. Even when given by trained personnel there seems to be an issue with false-negatives. Here's one article about that but there's plenty of others too.

 

[DharmaGirl]

My 95 year old stepfather broke his hip the other day, on the opposite side of the hip he broke in 2017, went to the hospital and now he has pneumonia. They won't test him for Covid because it won't change his plan of care. Boy am I pissed. If he has it, my mom could have it!! Not only that, but they have to find a rehab for him and no rehab will take him when he has symptoms of covid. He has to be tested first, but they won't test him because, blah, blah, blah.

 

[Justmehere]

The hospital likely doesn't want to keep a 95 year old there any longer than needed and would likely be eager to send him out to a rehab if he was breathing well enough for one. Right now they are saying the plan of care would not change with or without covid, which must mean he is too sick to transfer anyhow. There are a lot of things that can quickly turn to pneumonia for someone his age and rehabs for orthopedics don't always take 95 year olds fighting pneumonia of any type. That might be why they are using covid levels of hesitancy. Also, if he wasn't exposed before, he may be now in the hospital, so test or not, the hospital may be presuming positive - clearly the rehab is assuming it unless they get a negative test.

At the end of the day, it may actually be better for him to be where he is now. Rehabs and nursing homes generally have less PPE and much higher deaths and facility acquired infections of covid 19. If my family member had to be in a rehab or a hospital, I would push for a well equipped hospital. Knowing people working in both, rehabs are in much worse shape for preventing catching covid from the setting than a hospital.

That being said, hospitals make mistakes and the rehab might be the better place in your local area. Perhaps someone could call the charge nurse or social worker on hand and advocate for the test to prove him negative to get him moved over when he is past the pneumonia, or an explanation as to why they are keeping him. Or call the doc that could order the test and ask it be done. Even if they don't have releases in place, you can always give them info, they just can't give it back.

 

[Sideways]

advocate for the test to prove him negative to get him moved over when he is past the pneumonia,

Give it a few days.

At 95, he'll likely be on some strong antibiotics being post-surgery. If he has a bacterial pneumonia, those are the same antibiotics they would use to treat a bacterial pneumonia, and you'd be hoping to see some degree of recovery from the pneumonia within a few days.

Which could well be what's happened. Bacterial pneumonia is one of the reasons we like to keep 95 year olds away from hospitals wherever possible. But it's the best place to treat a bacterial pneumonia (because antibiotics can be given intravenously, and the doctor can monitor progress closely).

The alternative is that he has a 'community acquired' pneumonia. A viral one. Which may or may not be covid. Either way, they will be treating him about the same way. He'll still be getting his post-op antibiotics, he'll still be getting assistance with oxygen and mobilising asap, he'll still be having his situation closely monitored.

So, it's now a wait and see situation. And a scary one. Because a post-op 95 year old is one of our vulnerable people.

So, I hope he's getting good care. And I hope he recovers as quickly as possible, both from the pneumonia, and his hip operation. Sometimes keeping in touch with the nursing staff on his ward is helpful - keeps the staff (including his treating physician) as accountable as possible when they know that there's family who's checking in regularly.

 

[Justmehere]

Give it a few days.

I agree. Maybe even a week or more.

 

[blackemerald1]

Even when given by trained personnel there seems to be an issue with false-negatives.

^I guess if you are sick & have turned up at the doctor and told him you have taken a covid19 test and it's negative - well you're still sick? From something? Cos that's why you're at the doctor in the first place? So do as he says?

So... though false negatives do happen & even with trained personnel I reckon they'd be more likely to happen with untrained personnel.

So what are the choices Muttly?

Don't do tests at all?
Do tests and don't believe them?
Or.
When sick just stay home unless you really do need medical assistance.
Not sure I'd be thinking I've got covid19 if I tested negative. If I was that sick & they idk just needed to know what the hell was going on with me? I guess do the test again.

I mean we test and retest people repeatedly here when they have tested positive to determine when they become negative which really just means that the rate of the virus is so low in them that we cannot detect it.

Idk.. this is all new to me too.

@lostforgottensoul - alternatives to bleach since it's a bathroom and not an operating theatre lol :cautious: :sneaky:
Vinegar & citrus oil & a million other ways of making homemade cleaner?
Our knowledgeable friend google has thousands of recipes.
Cheap & better for your health and smells waaay better than bleach too.
I take it you use soap in the shower? That's what kills the virus. Cleaning the shower probably doesn't need bleach?

 

[Justmehere]

Do not inject your lungs with disinfectant despite what some presidents might ramble on about.

Trump suggests using light, heat as coronavirus treatment

 

[somerandomguy]

We're calling that the Clorox Cure. And it gets rid of Covid, and everything else, 100% of the time if administered in large enough quantities.