Corona virus ... this sounds sensible to me

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fabindia
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Corona virus ... this sounds sensible to me

Post by fabindia »

There's been a lot of rubbish about the corona virus circulating just lately and here is something else I gathered from the internet.

This however seems to come from someone with a medical background who is trying to put things in perspective. In other words, this corona outbreak isn't going to be the end of the world as some are making but rather we as a society could be mislead into making the wrong choices.

Abdu Sharkawy
5 March at 22:45
I'm a doctor and an Infectious Diseases Specialist. I've been at this for more than 20 years seeing sick patients on a daily basis. I have worked in inner city hospitals and in the poorest slums of Africa. HIV-AIDS, Hepatitis,TB, SARS, Measles, Shingles, Whooping cough, Diphtheria...there is little I haven't been exposed to in my profession. And with notable exception of SARS, very little has left me feeling vulnerable, overwhelmed or downright scared.

I am not scared of Covid-19. I am concerned about the implications of a novel infectious agent that has spread the world over and continues to find new footholds in different soil. I am rightly concerned for the welfare of those who are elderly, in frail health or disenfranchised who stand to suffer mostly, and disproportionately, at the hands of this new scourge. But I am not scared of Covid-19.

What I am scared about is the loss of reason and wave of fear that has induced the masses of society into a spellbinding spiral of panic, stockpiling obscene quantities of anything that could fill a bomb shelter adequately in a post-apocalyptic world. I am scared of the N95 masks that are stolen from hospitals and urgent care clinics where they are actually needed for front line healthcare providers and instead are being donned in airports, malls, and coffee lounges, perpetuating even more fear and suspicion of others. I am scared that our hospitals will be overwhelmed with anyone who thinks they " probably don't have it but may as well get checked out no matter what because you just never know..." and those with heart failure, emphysema, pneumonia and strokes will pay the price for overfilled ER waiting rooms with only so many doctors and nurses to assess.

I am scared that travel restrictions will become so far reaching that weddings will be canceled, graduations missed and family reunions will not materialize. And well, even that big party called the Olympic Games...that could be kyboshed too. Can you even
imagine?

I'm scared those same epidemic fears will limit trade, harm partnerships in multiple sectors, business and otherwise and ultimately culminate in a global recession.

But mostly, I'm scared about what message we are telling our kids when faced with a threat. Instead of reason, rationality, openmindedness and altruism, we are telling them to panic, be fearful, suspicious, reactionary and self-interested.

Covid-19 is nowhere near over. It will be coming to a city, a hospital, a friend, even a family member near you at some point. Expect it. Stop waiting to be surprised further. The fact is the virus itself will not likely do much harm when it arrives. But our own behaviors and "fight for yourself above all else" attitude could prove disastrous.

I implore you all. Temper fear with reason, panic with patience and uncertainty with education. We have an opportunity to learn a great deal about health hygiene and limiting the spread of innumerable transmissible diseases in our society. Let's meet this challenge together in the best spirit of compassion for others, patience, and above all, an unfailing effort to seek truth, facts and knowledge as opposed to conjecture, speculation and catastrophizing.

Facts not fear. Clean hands. Open hearts.
Our children will thank us for it.
Michael
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Re: Corona virus ... this sounds sensible to me

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Keep Calm and Wash Your Hands!
Gwenoakes
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Re: Corona virus ... this sounds sensible to me

Post by Gwenoakes »

That is THE most sensible thing I have seen in print since this whole escapade started Michael.
I have been looking on the net today and noticed that the Queen has been out and about as usual and I have no doubt in my mind that if there was any real reason to worry she would not have been. Bearing in mind she is older and obviously more frail and according to what I have read should be most vulnerable along with patients in ill health which the Duke of Edinburgh is/has been. I doubt very much she would be out and about if she or the health officials that advise her thought there was this enormous risk to her and her family.
I have also been thinking about the bird flu and did wonder if this could have come from that in some muted form. No logic to these thoughts, just muddling through in my mind.
I have decided I am not going tot knowingly put myself at risk, but I will still be out and about and take greater care with hygiene, personal and otherwise, but no masks for me.
Thanks for putting this up, Michael.
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albertajune
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Re: Corona virus ... this sounds sensible to me

Post by albertajune »

I had also read this and thought how great to see someone writing with common sense. )like(
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manda
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Re: Corona virus ... this sounds sensible to me

Post by manda »

I'm the infection control rep on our ward....washing hands is the most sensible thing everyone can do....although I think stock piling hand sanitiser is unnecessary...soap and water is more effective and following hospital hand washing process so get in all the nooks and crannies.
I'm going to be very unpopular at work as a lot of our nurses (in mental health) wear false nails....bit transmitter of pathogens...in my opinion a no no but up until now no one has bothered...I'm bothered.
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Re: Corona virus ... this sounds sensible to me

Post by Gwenoakes »

I totally agree with you about the false nails, Manda. I used to be a manicurist way back and I was taught that nails need to breathe, a bit like horses hooves, so covering them in all that gunk for want of a better word is a big no, no with me. What is wrong with growing your own nails? I speak from someone who used to bite theirs and now have quite good nails even if I do say so myself. All you need is an emery board, non of these stainless steel files that shred the nails and a little bit of patience.
There is nothing imho better than good old soap and water either and it is a lot cheaper than the sanitisers you buy, so cost wise it is a goer and a lot more eco friendly. )like( )like(
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Re: Corona virus ... this sounds sensible to me

Post by bikesandbirdsbob »

Hi I think what is happening today in , 40 years time will be a landmark in history that people will talk about .
Now you could imagine the older people saying to their children , I was there cutting up paper squares . They reply why did not have a robot doing it for them ……. What I will leave to your greater imagination than mine.
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Re: Corona virus ... this sounds sensible to me

Post by Gwenoakes »

I have just read on google that there are 57 cases of corona virus in 'unknown locations'.
How the heck do they know there are 57 cases and not know where they are? If they know there are these cases then someone, somewhere is reporting them and surely to goodness they are asking where about in the country they are, unless of course I am more than a bid fuddled with age.
It is like they make/say that there are so many illegal immigrants in this country. Excuse me, are they really expecting us to believe that all these illegal are putting there hands up to be counted? Such nonsensical gobbledygooch unless of course I have clearly missed something.
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Re: Corona virus ... this sounds sensible to me

Post by kitla »

I found a very interesting article on how soap & water destroys the virus far more efficiently than hand sanitizer. I wonder if it would be better to carry a soapy flannel in a bag than a bottle of h/s ?
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/deadl ... 2020-03-08
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Re: Corona virus ... this sounds sensible to me

Post by Gwenoakes »

The way we are all supposed to wash our hands now I do not think a soapy flannel would work.
Also, if you did touch something with the virus on I believe it would stay to some extent on the flannel. especially if soap does not kill germs immediately. Not too sure about that one, Kitla.
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lancashire lass
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Re: Corona virus ... this sounds sensible to me

Post by lancashire lass »

Gwenoakes wrote:The way we are all supposed to wash our hands now I do not think a soapy flannel would work.
Also, if you did touch something with the virus on I believe it would stay to some extent on the flannel. especially if soap does not kill germs immediately. Not too sure about that one, Kitla.


reported in the Guardian a couple of days ago

you can’t, even for a million dollars, get a drug for the coronavirus – but your grandmother’s bar of soap kills the virus.

So why does soap work so well on the Sars-CoV-2, the coronavirus and indeed most viruses? The short story: because the virus is a self-assembled nanoparticle in which the weakest link is the lipid (fatty) bilayer. Soap dissolves the fat membrane and the virus falls apart like a house of cards and dies – or rather, we should say it becomes inactive as viruses aren’t really alive.
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Re: Corona virus ... this sounds sensible to me

Post by Gwenoakes »

I understand the soap directly on hands, but do you think on a flannel it would be enough, LL?
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kitla
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Re: Corona virus ... this sounds sensible to me

Post by kitla »

I was thinking of it for when out & about instead of hand gel (which we cant buy atm) not as a replacement for a proper hand wash.
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Re: Corona virus ... this sounds sensible to me

Post by Gwenoakes »

kitla wrote:I was thinking of it for when out & about instead of hand gel (which we cant buy atm) not as a replacement for a proper hand wash.


In that situation anything would be better than nothing, Kitla.
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lancashire lass
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Re: Corona virus ... this sounds sensible to me

Post by lancashire lass »

Gwenoakes wrote:I understand the soap directly on hands, but do you think on a flannel it would be enough, LL?


honestly, I don't know. But if soap itself is effective in killing the virus, then being on a flannel, I'd imagine the effects of the soap will continue to work while on the flannel. Providing it is only used a couple of times before being thoroughly washed and rinsed in hot water, I think it may be better than nothing.

However, don't forget that your skin also harbours loads of bacteria even when washed - most are harmless and some are pathogens we pick up from anything we touch. So when using a flannel, some of those bacteria will end up on the flannel and the soap might have no effect (they will have a different outer cell wall which are resistant to the environment - even when we wash ourselves with soap which dislodge dead skin layers containing the bacteria and then rinse them off but at the same time, there is so much bacteria still on the skin that remains) In a previous job I worked as microbiology technician in a pharmacy course (leading to preparing sterile products like medications) and one of the practicals was to get the students to place their finger tips on a culture media plate, then wash their hands and place the same finger tips on another media plate. After incubation, the plate touched after washing actually contained more bacteria but tended to be the same culture (Staphylococcus aureus) whereas the first plate had fewer colonies but were different species. We also swabbed the soap and incubated it and again, it was an eye opener to find the plate covered in different bacterial colonies that clearly survive being on soap. Hence my concern when deciding to use a single flannel - yes, it may help to protect against the virus but bear in mind the bacterial load. So my advice would be to always wash your hands properly with soap and water before eating or food preparation rather than rely on the flannel alone (I know most people would and hopefully I've answered the original question of using it while out and about)
Last edited by lancashire lass on 14 Mar 2020, 14:45, edited 1 time in total.
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