Coronavirus - Health and preparedness aspects - II

[TromboneAl]

Ok, I'll go first on the preparedness subject:

DW and I just returned from a trip to Costco. No more crowded than usual without obvious signs of more than a couple of folks stocking up in preparation for a big hunker down.

However, the lady checking off our purchases at the door looked at our two bundles of TP and said we were lucky we came in today as yesterday they sold out of TP, bottled water, canned chicken, canned corn, canned green beans, etc...

Today our local Costco had toilet paper up the wazoo.

Yes, we got some Spam.

 

[Mdlerth]

You can't spell FI without TP... Well, maybe you can

Today our local Costco had toilet paper up the wazoo.

Good place for it.

 

[Nemo2]

Today our local Costco had toilet paper up the wazoo.

"....no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should."

Max Ehrmann

Desiderata

 

[ls99]

Seems like a good time to consider installing a bidet.

 

[ocean view]

Somethings we’ve done that I have not seen mentioned:

We checked the batteries in our digital thermometers. Also check for adequate supply of covers.

We bought the huge Costco bottle of Tylenol. Probably more than we’ll need but didn’t want to go to another store.

We bought “flu foods” such as chicken broth, crackers, Gatorade

Although we stocked up on canned goods, I may consider using a grocery delivery service for some fresh foods. Especially if those foods would be cooked before consumption. I’m still thinking about the risks of this though.

 

[jfn111]

I stopped by Walgreen's tonight to get some hand sanitizer. I like to keep it in the car to use after I show houses. The shelves were bare. The wife tried to order some from Amazon and most vendors were out of stock.

 

[Chuckanut]

There are sanitizer recipes on the internet. How many are useful against a virus is questionable.

 

[ocean view]

Today I noticed that my dishwasher as a “sanitize” setting that we have never used. Of course, this begs the question, are our dishes not sanitized from other cycles? Nonetheless, should one of us get sick we would start using this feature. We also restocked dishwasher pods, as we may run the dishwasher more frequently if we went into quarantine mode.

Our dryer also has a “anti-bacterial” cycle that we also have never used, but would if we were on lockdown.

 

[garyt]

I didn’t find the other threads as panicking. They were just adult discussing the virus.

I agree

 

[Bestwifeever]

We stopped at a Target on the way home from downtown. Usual Saturday crowds. Lots of cleaning supplies, TP, paper towels, etc. No shortages, no panicking. No one wearing masks. We're handwashers vs hand sanitizer users, so didn't look for hand sanitizer.

I probably wouldn't wear a mask if I had one, and we didn't check for them (although I think DH has a few on hand from painting or something). Maybe I'll whip up some fashion masks on my sewing machine from fabric remnants I have on hand and put them on Etsy--a couple of layers of colorful silk, some cotton quilt batting, sequins here and there, ribbon ties.

 

[jfn111]

There are sanitizer recipes on the internet. How many are useful against a virus is questionable.

My wife was actually looking at those tonight. I go into some weird houses and I can't wash my hands between each showing when I have 5 showings for a client.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

I stopped by Walgreen's tonight to get some hand sanitizer. I like to keep it in the car to use after I show houses. The shelves were bare. The wife tried to order some from Amazon and most vendors were out of stock.

You can make an alcohol based sanitizer using rubbing alcohol (the higher the percentage the better - I would guess 91% or up) or grain alcohol. Add some aloe vera gel and perhaps something to make it smell nice (e.g. peppermint oil). Mix rubbing alcohol and aloe to the consistency you want - BUT make sure the % alcohol stays high enough to be effective. (At least 70% after dilution. For example, using 91% rubbing alcohol, you could mix 10 oz rubbing alcohol = 9.1 plus 3 oz aloe vera gives 9.1/13 = 70%. If you wanted it to be closer to 80%, 10 oz rubbing alcohol + 1 oz gel = 9.1/11 = 82.7%)

Disclaimer: I haven't done this (but have done plenty of other DIY crazy stuff).

ETA: Removed mention of vodka as most are 80 proof (40% alcohol by volume)

 

[Zathras]

Here is a (IMHO) good guide.

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/...EFmH-EZGTQmqQbOerndgBetSVvoESCVyu8NWnGwPTgcIo

As for masks, from everything I have heard, they do very little, to nothing for preventing you from getting ill. They are useful if you are sick and don’t want to spread it around.

Noticed a bit more activity than usual at Target this morning as we were stocking up.
It isn’t so much a fear of shortages, but more enabling us to minimize our time in crowds should the virus hit our area.

 

[jfn111]

You can make an alcohol based sanitizer using rubbing alcohol (the higher the percentage the better - I would guess 91% or up) or grain alcohol. Add some aloe vera gel and perhaps something to make it smell nice (e.g. peppermint oil). Mix rubbing alcohol and aloe to the consistency you want - BUT make sure the % alcohol stays high enough to be effective. (At least 70% after dilution. For example, using 91% rubbing alcohol, you could mix 10 oz rubbing alcohol = 9.1 plus 3 oz aloe vera gives 9.1/13 = 70%. If you wanted it to be closer to 80%, 10 oz rubbing alcohol + 1 oz gel = 9.1/11 = 82.7%)

Disclaimer: I haven't done this (but have done plenty of other DIY crazy stuff).

ETA: Removed mention of vodka as most are 80 proof (40% alcohol by volume)

Thank You!
I show this to the wifey.

 

[NW-Bound]

You might want an Oral Rehydration Solution - you might need 4 to 8 gallons per day in a critically ill situation. Gatorade G2 powder plus 1/2 tsp salt per quart is cheap insurance on your shelf.

4 to 8 gallons per day? That's a huge volume of water.

Even when one has diarrhea, is it possible to pass that much water through the body? Ugh, that would hurt.

 

[tmm99]

I purchased several big bottles of isopropyl alcohol (91%) and hydrogen peroxide (3%) at a local Walmart. Even if we don't use them for a long time, they should be OK as I don't think they go bad.

I also bought Lysol wipes although I don't know how effective it is. I wiped door nobs and light switches at home as well as my Chromebook keyboard and screen just for the sake of wiping off something.

I also ordered 400 vinyl gloves from Costco online.

DH thinks I'm being silly, but those will be used sooner or later, so it's OK.

And oh, I bought a box of N95 masks (10 per box) the other day from eBay, paying probably 4x the normal cost. I couldn't find any locally at this point, so I figured that having them at hand would make me feel better, so I went ahead with the purchase. The cost was a little higher than offered by other sellers, but I chose this seller as it already had other historical sales listed and the rating was good.

 

[GenXguy]

I live alone, so I'm not concerned about touching things in my own house unless I have a visitor. And then, there's the mail / mailbox.

The biggest concern for me is that I work in a large building with a lot of people. At least I have my own office. I already have hand sanitizer at work that I'll need to get in a habit of using consistently. We have a cafeteria at work, which I often eat breakfast in, so I'll need to end that. Life is really going to be different for a while.

 

[Gumby]

I purchased several big bottles of isopropyl alcohol (91%) and hydrogen peroxide (3%) at a local Walmart. Even if we don't use them for a long time, they should be OK as I don't think they go bad....

Hydrogen peroxide eventually does lose its effectiveness, especially if you open the bottle. Here is a good article discussing its shelf life.
https://www.thoughtco.com/hydrogen-peroxide-shelf-life-3975974

 

[tmm99]

Hydrogen peroxide eventually does lose its effectiveness, especially if you open the bottle. Here is a good article discussing its shelf life.
https://www.thoughtco.com/hydrogen-peroxide-shelf-life-3975974

I was not aware of that! Thank you, Gumby. I have one open bottle that's been under my kitchen sink for a couple of years, which is most likely ineffective by now. I should have bought smaller bottles, but I guess I will try to use it up once I open it.

 

[MissMolly]

Actually, the 70% alcohol is better than the 99%.

The presence of water is a crucial factor in destroying or inhibiting the growth of pathogenic microorganisms with isopropyl alcohol. Water acts as a catalyst and plays a key role in denaturing the proteins of vegetative cell membranes. 70% IPA solutions penetrate the cell wall more completely which permeates the entire cell, coagulates all proteins, and therefore the microorganism dies. Extra water content slows evaporation, therefore increasing surface contact time and enhancing effectiveness. Isopropyl alcohol concentrations over 91% coagulate proteins instantly. Consequently, a protective layer is created which protects other proteins from further coagulation.


https://blog.gotopac.com/2017/05/15/why-is-70-isopropyl-alcohol-ipa-a-better-disinfectant-than-99-isopropanol-and-what-is-ipa-used-for/

 

[NW-Bound]

The US Surgeon General has urged people to stop buying masks. He said that it would dry up the supply for medical staff who need them to care for patients.

I find it surprising that suppliers do not set aside some for healthcare providers, or to give them priority over the general public. Perhaps this takes a special mandate that does not currently exist.

I don't have any masks, and will not look to buy them. It's because I do not plan to be among crowds or take public transportation any time soon.

 

[Yoheadden]

Maybe I'll whip up some fashion masks on my sewing machine from fabric remnants I have on hand and put them on Etsy--a couple of layers of colorful silk, some cotton quilt batting, sequins here and there, ribbon ties.

This could very well be the definition of the phrase “ Luck is what happens when Preparation meets Opportunity”

 

[brewer12345]

If you have not stocked up, I would do so real soon. There are starting to be sporadic accounts of frenzied buying in spots in the US. More readily observed is the Ebay market for MREs. Why you would go nuts and stockpile these I really do not know, since they have lots of somewhat junky calories and are on the expensive side, but that seems to be what is going on. I decided to restock my supply for camping and hunting trips on Tuesday and ordered 2 cases of menu A and B with a late 2020 inspection date. I paid $140 for the lot, delivered. It looks like prices on Ebay have roughly doubled.

 

[Bongleur]

Maybe I'll whip up some fashion masks on my sewing machine from fabric remnants I have on hand and put them on Etsy--a couple of layers of colorful silk, some cotton quilt batting, sequins here and there, ribbon ties.

I don't know if "tissue paper" means Kleenex or the stuff you wrap delicate presents in.

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong...9/how-make-your-own-mask-hong-kong-scientists

The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital worked with the Science Park to devise the do-it-yourself method
...

Joe Fan King-man, the institution’s assistant hospital chief executive, said the home-made masks had undergone laboratory tests by City University and were proven to have achieved 80 to 90 per cent of the function of regular surgical masks in terms of their filtration of aerosol and droplets.

How to make your own masks and protective shield at home.

Required items: kitchen roll, strong tissue paper, elastic bands, a hole punch, paper tape, scissors, plastic-coated steel wire, a pair of glasses, plastic file folders and binder clips.

Preparation:
For the mask:
Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and clean your items
Put one piece of kitchen roll, with proper hygiene certification, on top of another
Place a piece of tissue paper, which will act as the bottom layer of the mask, on top of the two pieces of kitchen roll
Cut the stack of paper into two
Use the paper tape to seal off the two sides of the mask
Make two holes at each sealed side with the punch
Attach the metallic wire with paper tape to the top edge of the mask to make the nose bridge wire
Tie four rubber bands through the holes on the mask’s sides

For the protective shield:
Cut the file folder into two pieces
Attach one piece on the edge of the glasses with binder clips
The shield can be reused after disinfection for each usage
Note: The hospital said other materials such as cling film, air conditioner filter paper, and cotton cloth were not suitable for making the masks.

 

[Brat]

What is "kitchen roll"? Ah, paper towels sold on a roll.