Prepping for a Pandemic... 15

[FuckThisWind]

A lot of us have been here before. We Prepped for Brexit. Some of us are Heathcare workers. We prepare for the worst every day. It's difficult to predict what will happen in our lives. In our lifetime. Will we get Cancer? Will a huge meteorite wipe the world out?

One thing is for sure, this new virus is either affecting us, or is going to affect us all very soon. You are all already onboard. I hope you are prepared and much as you can be. And in the meantime this thread is here to support us all.

This week will bring many new challenges. We are almost certain to have some sort of lockdown. Like other parts of Europe. We aren't special. We aren't different. We are all
fragile souls. But I hope we live to tell the tale.

God Speed.

Is anybody actually sleeping? I honestly feel like I’d be so much better able to deal with this if I could just f’ing sleep. I’m losing my mind - but so much of it is sleep deprivation.

Thanks for the kind comments. Her temp has dropped to 37.8 this morning but she's definitely not well. I've decided to set her up on one sofa as far away as possible from the other one. So will keep the 3 year old 2m away by keeping him over one side, her the other. I can't confine her to her room for the week, and they have been jumping around with each other all weekend so I'm sure DS had already been exposed. I've rung school and nursery to advise that keeping them both off for 7 days (DS as a precaution).

@itsnotjustflu you can use frozen, tinned, canned , dried fruit and veg which will count towards five a day.

So perhaps a handful of dried fruits with some porridge could be one , tinned sweet corn with lunch, carrots and veg of your choice with dinner perhaps a stew , frozen berries with something for pudding.

@Pinkerpellosa I preferred to wash at 60 (but I was also washing nappies too) But you can pre soak them in something like Napisan then wash at 40.
www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/273643086

@legoandloldolls that's why most peppers keep it secret because once shft happens instead of taking responsibility for their own inaction they turn on us.
I can't stand the 'think about the vulnerable ' be they split what are THEY doing about it. Nothing usually. As a prepper I am able to take care of some of the vulnerable in my community because I have secured my own families needs I am able to look outwards.

@bobbbbby I'm so sorry your DD is poorly Its so unfair our government wasn't to purposely infect children.

Thanks
@AWryGiraffe and @84TinsOfBeans for the info on wipes

Thanks for the 5 a day tips

Delurking again to pass on my thanks to everyone for their calmness and sense on this thread. I was at home from Wednesday to Sunday due to an infection (nothing to do with CV) and found it stifling and dull being at home. I have two young DC who are at school and I fear for our ability as a family to hold it all together if we are at home for an extended period of time especially as DH and I will need to simultaneously WFH and do childcare. I have DP's who are super vunerable to it especially DM who it would kill without a doubt. I worry about civil unrest and the breakdown of society as we know it coupled with global economic collapse. I know my thoughts are no different to most of you, but it feels like a big weight to carry round.

DS feels really quite warm to the touch and I’m beginning to worry. Obviously my prepping didn’t include a thermometer have I heard on here that the Braun ones are best? Might be time to utilise amazon prime...

@bobbbbby i hope that your dd gets better soon and that your family stays healthy.

Well folks lets have our fingers crossed that the UK gov pulls its fucking socks up and starts to listen to WHO, other countries and the scientists rather than their tory lackies with their bullshit

@kundalini they are listening to scientists. They’re literally following scientific advice.

@Legoandloldolls honestly I feel totally the same. My dh told me to “get a grip” he is coming more round to the idea of how bloody awful things could be but only things that affect him. I’m sad and cross, with dh, with Boris, with the world generally. Actually I’m most cross and sad with dh.
Ds has a concert at school on Wednesday and I’m really contemplating pulling him out but he’s worked so hard and I know dh won’t agree. There is an icy wind in the orchid house today.

Could someone help me on my thinking to availability of things in the coming months. I can’t get it worked out in my head and could do with some perspective.

So cv will spread across the world. It is already, it’s inevitable. With quarantines, people off sick, less traffic between countries etc factories and shops will either shut down temporarily or continue possibly on a more skeleton basis or go out of business. So not just in the upcoming immediate quarantine but after that, am I right in thinking there WILL certainly be huge gaps in availability in every day things? Yes we hopefully won’t starve and will have enough to get by, but we may not be able to have what we would like when we want it. Is that a fair assumption? I’m also thinking about things like fresh fruit and veg. Even if supermarkets stay open on a basic basis with limitations, is it likely the farmers and workers, say in other countries, will still be picking and packaging things to import to us? Will range be hugely affected?

In my mind I see huge gaps of many things we now have but I think dh thinks I’m just mad and am planning for some kind of zombie apocalypse that’ll never happen.

I’m also wondering about variety of shops that may remain open soon. Ds will likely need his first pair of shoes in the next couple of months. Yes, I know we may well be quarantined at home and not able to go out much but he’d be able to go in the garden. Should I be buying him some now and guess the size on the assumption I may not be able to later?

@AlohaMolly

Please do get a thermometer quickly. Fever is a common symptom of cv.

@Reastie you are certainly right. Plant some seeds now if you can so at least u can supplement ur stash. Re shoes etc, can u make a guess on his size? Get him Measured now and maybe asda for some cheap canvas shoes in incremental sizes to see u through. You can buy a foot measure from. Clarks and start rite online. Sometimes u can get them on ebay.

Informative thread on symptoms by a man whose partner has the virus

twitter.com/Narrowthefield/status/1238969032528855041?s=19

Thermometer on Amazon here

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B073RC3GVQ?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

@WrapTrap we went and got various seeds yesterday to plant. We already have fruit trees and bushes (not sure bushes is the right term...) but have also got seed potatoes as well as lots of lettuce seeds so at least we can relatively quickly and easily grow something fresh and keep sowing more to last us. Today I’m freezing ripe bananas as I’ll miss those if they are out of stock!

I’m also confused about how quarantine is working in other countries. Are people still going out to work (other than doctors and nurses etc)? If you can’t wok from home do you just carry on as normal, if you can? I assume lots of people can’t if most shops etc are shut so are out of work atm and staying home. Are delivery drivers still working? Or is it more life as normal for work just stay at home when not working? I’m trying to imagine what our life will be reduced to eventually.

@Reastie oh first pair of shoes is a hard one! I can guess my DD show size accurately based on her usual rate of growth but first pair is tricky.
I would look to see what the average size for his age is then measure his feet to see how close he is to it. Remember it will be warmer by that point so shoes like sandals are more forgiving. My DC first pair of shoes were saltwater sandals but we did live in Middle East.

@Reastie also clarks outlet website great for kids shoes. Start rite often have heavily discounted shoes online.

Transport is weird today hardly anyone around , off to get some more nappies as one of my little ones has had an upset stomach all weekend :( that's not a symptom though is it? Can't wait to get back into my home.

@AlohaMolly - I bought a forehead thermometer (actually temporal lobe). Much less invasive and doesn't wake a sleeping child.

Thermometer advice different areas will give different temperatures. Look up a chart for the area you test. The forehead will be 1 degree (IIRC) than the ear.

Get an app. Record every temp you take. Find out their healthy temperature. Day and night. Night fevers are common and have a biological basis in hormone fluctuations so kids will seem worse at night.

I can tell when my DC are hot / cold without a thermometer. When I'm well. So in these circumstances you really need to check. When we were all ill it was just relative temperatures I could feel - DS2 was hotter than me, DS1 cooler, but we were all ill.

This was an interesting read. Translated by google so not perfect.

HERE THE FULL INTERVIEW FROM THE DOCTOR HEALED BY COVID-19

When I couldn't breathe anymore, I feared I wouldn't see my wife and our four children again. Until that moment I had cured the others attacked by the coronavirus. I've seen patients die, I know his aggression. So I thought that maybe the moment of leave had come for me too ". Angelo Vavassori, 53 years of Treviolo, CPR in Bergamo hospital, tells from his sub-intensive therapy bed how he rushes into the Covid-19 nightmare. and how to get back to life. " In a few hours - he says to Republic - I went from 15 to 40 breaths per minute. I couldn't get air in my lungs anymore and I almost lost my sight. If I'm here I owe it to my fellow doctors, non-rhetorical heroes. During the toughest times they made me feel peaceful. My story, in black hours, can help many not to let go ".
How did he know he was infected?
" Since February 22th I have treated the first infected. Since 28 my CPR has been reserved for them. Saturday the 29th I got a bit of a fever, but it's hard days and I finished my midnight shift too. Monday morning I was fine, by night I already had 38,9 fever ".
How did he react?
" Paracetamol was useless. I did two math: if the Covid-19 had attacked me, it couldn't have done it when I was protected, I treated others infected. It happened before: in contact with my surgical patients. ICU was bursting, locked myself in a home room ".
Didn't his family fear contagion?
" For two days they left my food in front of the closed door. I used to pick it up with gloves and mask, then disinfect everything. We were communicating on the phone. It wasn't enough: my wife and 18 year old son got infected. 14 year old twins and 11, not yet ".
When did the situation go down?
" On Wednesday 4 March I was swabbed, Thursday the positivity was confirmed. Fever stayed around 39. In the evening I barely started breathing. In a few minutes I lost smell and taste, I could see less and less. Headaches and dysentery have also risen due to oxygen deficiency ".
Who took her to the hospital?
" I phoned, but there was no room. I knew I couldn't hold on long. I was breathing, but oxygen was lost in my lungs. At 23 a colleague called me to tell me that a bed had cleared. X-ray confirmed pneumonia had burst ".
How was he treated?
" Dyspnoea totally takes your breath away. They put me in my Peep helmet with positive end of breathing pressure. I tried to make it without being sedated and intubated. You lose consciousness anyway, it wasn't easy ".
What's the toughest moment?
" The beginning. In the ventilation helmet the noise is deafening, oxygen flow is hot. You sweat and it feels like choke even more than before. Instead a little at a time you feel that if you throw, air comes in. I'm a CPR, for days I treated the infected: knowing their reactions helped me resist ".
What meds did they give her?
" The antiretroviral cocktail provided for in protocol. It's about giving time to antibodies, which integrate and block the virus before it compromises the lungs. Macrophages then absorb both dead virus and antibodies ".
How long did it take to get back to life?
" For a couple of days I was absent. Notice in your sleep that doctors and machines give you oxygen and hydrate you. Time focuses in an instant: now I know it's this acceleration that erases past and present, the boundary between life and death ".
How was the awakening?
" I thought I was home, just asleep. Instead in the bed next to mine was a patient I treated for Covid-19. Like children, everything looks new and extraordinary. This drama teaches us the value of every little thing ".
Where is he now?
" I'm in gastroenterology, converted to Covid-19. Breathing with a 70 % oxygen mask, about 12 litres per minute. Next to me are my sick people: they are surprised when they understand that I've turned into one of them ".
What do you want to say to those who are struggling, like you, to survive?
" Not to be paralyzed by fear. We need to stay calm and rely on doctors. They pull you out, every pneumonia regresses. My concern though is another ".
Which one?
" When I think of doctors and nurses in our country, I'm moved. We are at the end and we know that the battle remains long. I ask everyone to help us by staying in the house. This is how you get close. Since Monday I hope to go back to work ".

FROM THE REPUBLIC SITE

@Reastie here in Italy anyone can go to work as normal. You sign a self declaration which you carry every time you make a journey.

Non-essential shops are shut. Cafes and bars are shut. Restaurants are takeaway only. But many places are open - newsagents, DIY places, garages, supermarkets and pharmacies. Deliveries are possible.

So transmission isn't going to stop. All we are doing is flattening the curve. That said, many are off work. My DH has plenty of holiday left so won't return until at least early April.

We are entering our 4th week of remote / home schooling.

Thank you for the link to the thermometer. I’ve just cried in the kitchen by myself reading that doctors account. The next few months really are going to be terrible aren’t they?

@VenetoResident sounds like life is continuing in a restricted but somewhat a semblance of normality.