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Coronavirus in the UK

Discussion in 'Health and Fitness' started by aposhark, Mar 4, 2020.

  1. Anon220806
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    Anon220806 Well-Known Member

    Exciting news.
  2. Mattecube
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    Mattecube face the sunshine so shadows fall behind you Trusted Member

    A lot of what you have said, although dismissed at the time is ringing true.
  3. bigmac
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    bigmac Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    funny that....
  4. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    One of the effects of vitamin D3 in larger doses is to moderate and reduce the strength of the immune response, the people who are dying the most are suffering a cytokine storm which is a kind of autoimmune response where your own immune system is attacking you.

    This steriod drug dexamethasone is very welcome news for late stage patients on ventilators and those on oxygen, but I am starting to think that ventilators are not such a great idea after all, looking at the numbers about 50% of patients on mechanical ventilation are dying in the UK and that is really terrifying.

    For information, on Monday when I got to talk to the anaesthetist they started out by asking about my teeth did I have any crowns were any of them loose and then they moved on to the covid-19 release form where I was supposed to tell them that I absolved them of all blame if I got covid-19 from the intubation and ventilation for the general anaesthetic, thank god they also explained that I had the option of a spinal block as well.

    So I went for the spinal block (single injection between specific vertebrae as opposed to epidural which involves a catheter in the spine) fully awake all through it and had a nice natter to one of the anaesthetists, an Indian lassie, throughout the operation which took double the time they had planned at one hour.

    When I had thought about it prior to the operation I realised that they would have to raise my legs to get access and that it would be like a birthing delivery table with my legs up in stirrups :D apparently a lot of people are scared when that happens to them I was just frikin relieved that I was not going under and being ventilated, they were trying to get me to go for that though.

    Anyway this drug is really good news as that probably cuts the death rate by a third for the most critical cases which is very welcome.

    (I got out of hospital yesterday about 4pm by the way).
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2020
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  5. Anon220806
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    Anon220806 Well-Known Member

    Well my plan of attack or should I say defence, is to keep the nutritional approach in place to try and keep up high levels of immunity. And when the winter months kick in include a concerted effort to avoid vitamin d deficiency. I haven’t yet worn a mask as I haven’t yet been in a position where I have been in closer proximity to members of the public for longer than just a few seconds but if the social distancing is reduced significantly or I find myself using public transport or similar then I might well use a mask then. While I am still mostly at home with visits to shops and the occasional day trips I won’t be using a mask.

    We noticed that in our local Asian stores there is hardly any covid 19 security measures in place ( don’t know how they get away with that ) and so I am seriously considering a mask venturing in there or even avoiding going in altogether. I recall the well known COSHH hierarchy which includes “Eliminate” as the ultimate control measure and PPE as the last resort. Which kind of translates into avoiding those situations where you might be more at risk so if Asda have poor Covid 19 security then don’t use them and use another store if they have better Covid 19 security. Same for pubs and restaurants once they open.

    I am expecting Covid 19 to ramp back up in the autumn / winter as it appears to be seasonal in the higher latitudes.
  6. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/transmission/

    upload_2020-6-17_11-19-34.png

    A couple of weeks ago I got interested the topic of humidity and transmission as a result of finding the above text on Worldometer, we think of the Philippines as being very humid but when I was there in December I had a hygrometer with me and humidity was about 45% I then spent a bit of time looking at tropical countries average humidity over each month of the year, it's hard to corelate but I think there might be something in this regards the lower transmission rates in some more tropical countries.

    Just a thought and it would support the notion of seasonality and also of the dangers of air conditioned environments.
  7. bigmac
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    bigmac Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    great to read your back out
    are you able to get around ?
  8. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    Thanks Malcolm yeah I can walk, I drove home, the Seton has been installed and seems to be working but I am taking a few days to make sure that the drainage is working properly.

    Mine is a tight Seton (fitted tightly to the skin on the outside and tied off) and it goes much higher up into the intestine about 2.5 times further up than the one shown here, my fistula goes through the muscle above the pelvic floor and that was why they were so worried about operating on it.

    Still in quite a bit of pain so I'm taking a couple of days to recover and to make sure that it is draining properly.

    upload_2020-6-17_11-36-55.png
  9. bigmac
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    bigmac Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    woaah--way too much information for me !
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  10. Mattecube
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    Mattecube face the sunshine so shadows fall behind you Trusted Member

    Whatever happened to patients confidentially?

    Good to see you are recovering@oss
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  11. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    Thanks John.

    There's no need to be embarrassed about stuff like this and I'm an anonymous name on here anyway :D plus it's the doctor's that have to maintain the confidentiality :D
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2020
  12. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    Sorry Malcolm :D
  13. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    I've had the fistula for more than twenty years but it kept getting re-infected and the the surface on my bum would seal over so the abscess would grow there was only relief when it burst, for the last 5 years it never healed over until recently and also there was a deeper pocket of infection which is why I got confused about the symptoms twelve weeks ago.

    This is the first treatment I've ever had for it and the purpose of the Seton is to keep the fistula open so that it constantly drains, it stays in for good, it's a soft plastic loop tied off on the outside.
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2020
  14. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    One of my concerns has been that my condition probably qualifies as an underlying health condition when it comes to the risks of Covid-19 as the fever and infection are using up a lot of my immune system resources, this fix should hopefully reduce my risk.

    Also I got rid of nearly half a stone in weight during the last 8 days in hospital and that's while they were keeping me fully hydrated and well fed, I never refused a meal once, so I am well pleased with that and will be trying to continue on that path to reduce the obesity risk re covid-19.
  15. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    This is the earliest confidence range for a gene sequence and zoonotic jump I've seen recently, 2019-09-25 or late September 2019.

    This supports possible earlier emergence of the disease in China.

    upload_2020-6-17_12-21-42.png
    • Informative Informative x 1
  16. Mattecube
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    Mattecube face the sunshine so shadows fall behind you Trusted Member

    There was a hint there
  17. Anon220806
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    Anon220806 Well-Known Member

    I have always said that a good stint in hospital is a great opportunity to lose weight.
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  18. Anon220806
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    Anon220806 Well-Known Member

    The U.K. has a humid climate too though Oss. Just colder.
  19. bigmac
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    bigmac Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    you're leaving yourself wide open for all manner of ribaldry from now on--typical could be--hi mate--hows yer bum ?
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  20. Anon220806
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    Anon220806 Well-Known Member

    Yes the ventilators are the last resort. Hopefully we will find ways of preventing symptoms getting that far and this drug seems to be one weapon in the arsenal.
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2020

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