Coronavirus - Health and preparedness aspects - II

[brewer12345]

So is all the everclear sold out to home hand sanitizer makers? Asking for a friend.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I bought alcohol from the dollar store, aloe vera gel from Amazon and I already had essential oils to make my own hand sanitizer -

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hand-sanitizer-coronavirus-make-your-own/

 

[Nemo2]

I hit the grocery store at 8AM this morning. A few more people than I expected.

We did the same.....store opens at 8:00, (we arrived about 5 minutes to); we had kinda figured that, with the DST thrown in, we'd be about the only ones there. It wasn't crowded, but we certainly weren't alone.

 

[tmm99]

The problem is that rubbing alcohol is bad for your skin. It can dry your skin out and cause it to crack, leaving it even more susceptible to viruses. The aloe keeps your skin soft and adds enough moisture to offset the drying effects of the alcohol. Getting it in just the right proportions is the tough part. That’s why Purell is completely sold out. They have the formula nailed down.

With frequent hand-washing, using hand sanitizers, etc, I have been using my hand moisturizer much more frequently. Instead of mixing aloe vera gel, you can use aloe vera gel afterward (or any other hand moisturizer.) That way, you won't have to dilute the alcohol, which means you don't have to wait as long. Even Purell is very hard on my skin IMO, especially when I have to use it often.

 

[tmm99]

I bought my 91% isopropyl alcohol at Walmart last week...

 

[Fermion]

We should start a new thread on quarantine preparedness. Not personal quarantine but something like what they are doing in Italy. Italy is not China, and if they can do it there, they might try doing it in the USA so we could ponder ways to make our lives a little safer and easier if that does happen.

Step one would be to convince my wife to stay away from crowds. That is probably harder than timing the market.

 

[brewer12345]

Speaking of preparation and stocking up, there is a run on ammunition all of a sudden. Doesn't matter what kind, it is selling like hotcakes.

 

[Just_Steve]

Speaking of preparation and stocking up, there is a run on ammunition all of a sudden. Doesn't matter what kind, it is selling like hotcakes.

Maybe I should sell some of my stock for a big profit.

 

[NW-Bound]

I watched the 2011 movie "Contagion" a few years ago. Two weeks ago, checked it out of the library to watch it again. There was no waiting list.

Just received an email from the library saying that the DVD is due soon, and cannot be renewed due to other library patrons requesting it. I went online, and found out that there were 9 DVD copies, and they were all checked out. And there was a queue of 7 requests.

Apparently, some people are just waking up to the news of this virus.

 

[Fermion]

I mentioned the virus to a few people on Friday in our little mountain town and they mostly had blank stares or "it is a China thing, right?".

It just hasn't really hit the local population yet.

 

[Sunset]

I've been searching online for hand sanitizer now for the past week. There is literally none in stock anywhere in the country, other than a few bottles being listed for hundreds of dollars by price gougers.

I tried making my own yesterday. 2 parts alcohol 1 part aloe vera gel. Unfortunately what I ended up with is a liquid so thin that it really isn't any thicker than just the alcohol. So it's basically like pouring rubbing alcohol all over your hands. It's nothing like Purell or the other products.

Costco never has water, toilet paper or paper towels anymore. But Trader Joe's had plenty of water, and Amazon has plenty of paper goods.

So all in all, I haven't really had any problems stocking up on anything other than the sanitizer.

Try hydrogen peroxide, its easy on the hands, cheap, kills viruses. it is runny like water, but a quart is about $3. You could put some in a small (eyeglass type) spray bottle for use when you go out.

 

[Chuckanut]

Here is the Ars Technica COVID-19 guide. .

I appreciated the discussion on the symptoms and the percent of people who show each one..

https://arstechnica.com/science/202...ensive-ars-technica-guide-to-the-coronavirus/

“This is a rapidly developing epidemic, and we will update this guide regularly to keep you as prepared and informed as possible.
March 8: Initial publication of the document.”

 

[GenXguy]

Speaking of preparation and stocking up, there is a run on ammunition all of a sudden. Doesn't matter what kind, it is selling like hotcakes.

I hate to hear that. I don't have a gun, and I'm stocked up with no defense.

 

[audreyh1]

I mentioned the virus to a few people on Friday in our little mountain town and they mostly had blank stares or "it is a China thing, right?".

It just hasn't really hit the local population yet.

Wow!

Even I who avoid broadcast, cable, and local news like the plague am not that out of touch. Of course on this topic I’ve been actively seeking information.

Little mountain town sounds like a good place to be if they don’t get many visitors.

 

[brewer12345]

I hate to hear that. I don't have a gun, and I'm stocked up with no defense.

It is possible that this is a reaction to the election cycle (people hoard every time we get close to a presidential election), but I think it is more likely that the herd is getting nervous over the pandemic and the potential for social unrest/looting/whatever.

 

[tulak]

I’m with GenXguy. If shtf, I’m screwed. I guess I’m betting it won’t come to that?

Out of TP again at the local grocery store. Lots of basic staples are low or out. It could be that it’s late sunday so it hasn’t been restocked yet. Maybe I’ll go by tomorrow and see if it’s better.

 

[JoeWras]

It is becoming apparent that many people truly have mild symptoms and just go about life unknowingly spreading it, based on the one account from the lawyer family in NY. The wife and kids have nothing more than a slight cough, and their dad is in critical care.

Seems to be all or nothing. Well, not really nothing. Just enough of a cough to spread the germs.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

We should start a new thread on quarantine preparedness. Not personal quarantine but something like what they are doing in Italy. Italy is not China, and if they can do it there, they might try doing it in the USA so we could ponder ways to make our lives a little safer and easier if that does happen.

Step one would be to convince my wife to stay away from crowds. That is probably harder than timing the market.

That was our plan...I had been saying that I rarely get within 6 feet of people most days, since I either telework or work in an office where we talk to each other from the doorway, and then yesterday we had tickets to a high school concert. I didn't want to disrupt the life of our high schooler prematurely, so we went, figuring we're under 50 and very healthy...and the people on BOTH SIDES of me were sneezing!! (They covered their faces, at least!)

 

[timo2]

I hate to hear that. I don't have a gun, and I'm stocked up with no defense.

It really doesn't matter what you have or don't have IMO, as there is always someone else with a bigger gun.

 

[Dtail]

It really doesn't matter what you have or don't have IMO, as there is always someone else with a bigger gun.

True, but could be shooting blanks....

 

[timo2]

Seems to be all or nothing. Well, not really nothing. Just enough of a cough to spread the germs.

It will be interesting to compare the Italy stats with the China stats. The coarse summary from China (from my reading) appears to be that children and women fared much better than men, especially older men. But such a large percentage of men in China smoked, and that might skew the results.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

A bit of good news?

With all of the negative news flow and stock market futures limit down, I thought I would post a little bit of good news. A while back (when the forum was close to being shut down for wild panic posts), I posted that I was watching South Korea closely as a better test of the viruses progression and death rate. (Even got some praise from a mod - sort of like "that kid" in class that the teacher praises )

Anyway, the news from South Korea is a bit encouraging. They are seeing new cases drop:

SEOUL: South Korea, which has one of the world's largest coronavirus totals outside China, on Monday (Mar 9) reported 96 new coronavirus cases, taking the country's total infections to 7,478, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

The updated numbers added to the 69 recorded earlier in the day, showing the rate of increase slowed to its lowest in 11 days.

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/coronavirus-covid-19-south-korea-cases-deaths-12517102

They have tested "most" of the 200K followers of the church that was ground zero in terms of their outbreak.

One of the lessons from there is:
1) Test test test
2) CANCEL events associated with large gatherings (in their case K-pop concerts, sporting events, ...)

It isn't clear that we've gotten there in terms of the social distancing required to slow the spread. I was skiing this past Saturday at a NE area resort and was shocked at how many people were in the lodge - it was packed. (I went in to use the bathroom and then exited stage left. I booted up in the parking lot but still felt uneasy being there.)

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

It really doesn't matter what you have or don't have IMO, as there is always someone else with a bigger gun.

True, but it is better to have a little gun or no gun?

Like equity allocations, this is a good time to assess your true feelings. If you are sitting there wishing you had a means of protection and losing sleep because of fear of what might happen, then remember that feeling if/when this passes to be ready for the next time.

 

[Aerides]

**Mod Note**

While this thread has of course devolved from the idea of a place for helpful health tips to something...else, please keep guns and elections out of it to allow it to have a chance to continue.
***

Speaking of preparation and stocking up, there is a run on ammunition all of a sudden. Doesn't matter what kind, it is selling like hotcakes.

I hate to hear that. I don't have a gun, and I'm stocked up with no defense.

It is possible that this is a reaction to the election cycle (people hoard every time we get close to a presidential election), but I think it is more likely that the herd is getting nervous over the pandemic and the potential for social unrest/looting/whatever.

It really doesn't matter what you have or don't have IMO, as there is always someone else with a bigger gun.

True, but could be shooting blanks....

True, but it is better to have a little gun or no gun?

 

[Nemo2]

The coarse summary from China

We prefer the refined summaries...