Tuesday, February 16, 2021

It's not the crud, it's COVID-19

 

I reported last week that I was coming down with some bug or other.  I had a couple of bad days, but thereafter things have been improving slowly but surely.  Miss D. also got it, and is a couple of days behind me on the healing curve.

Sadly, it's almost certainly COVID-19.  We're in the process of arranging for tests (the big storm over the weekend kinda blocked access to that), but three of our circle of friends have been diagnosed with confirmed cases, so I think there's not much doubt about it.  It looks as if the "infection vector" started with one man at Miss D.'s place of work.  They now have at least three people out of the office, which for a small business is a huge burden.

Fortunately, we've been keeping up our doses of zinc, Vitamin D and other supplements, which gives our bodies a good foundation from which to fight the infection;  and we have plenty of cold and flu medication, which has kept our chests and sinuses largely clear.  I've no doubt we'll be prescribed some COVID-specific medicines as well, but what we have has kept it under control so far.

One of our friends was admitted to hospital last night.  Apart from confirming his COVID diagnosis, he also has viral pneumonia in both lungs, and they've put him in an oxygen tent until his condition improves and his blood oxygen levels return to more satisfactory measurements.  Two more are quarantined at home, including an expectant mother who was to give birth by C-section this week.  She's now had that postponed, in the hope that she can shake off COVID before surgery.

I'll keep you posted if there are any more developments concerning Miss D. and myself, but so far it doesn't look like we've been hit too hard.  Please keep us all in your prayers, if you're so inclined.  Thanks!

Peter


30 comments:

Aggie said...

Day 5 is the pivot point, I am told by my doctor; watch out for any deterioration then and report it to your docs. Keeping up the zinc, the D, the C and the fluids is a great idea and all the best for a quick and painless recovery.

My wife and I lost taste and smell the same day last October. She was in quite a bit of back pain, I really didn't notice - aside from this weird no-taste, no-smell thingy.

But after recovery, you might expect bouts of a certain weariness that overtakes in the afternoons, prompting naps. We've both had those episodes.

Again, get well soon.

Andrew Smith said...

Hey Peter, do you have access to asthma meds? This just published Oxford Uni paper will be of interest to you. https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2021-02-09-common-asthma-treatment-reduces-need-hospitalisation-covid-19-patients-study

If you can get some Betadine drops then this will be of huge benefit to you. Again, a published paper in a medical journal. https://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2021/01/betadine-earnose-drops-mouth-gargle-reduce-covid-hospitalizations-by-84-mortality-by-88.html

Best wishes with the crud.

Cedar said...

Hope you both feel better - and the One that is in the hospital, well, I shall be praying. And give him a hard time in person later this year, darnit!

Aesop said...

COVID-19 is a hoax. I read it on the internet, so it must be true.

That said for the Lunatard Coalition of Internet Idiocy, be aware that it plugs along for about a week, give or take, then commences to thoroughly kick your @$$, respiratorily.
1) Get a finger-tip pulse ox at the local drugstore, if such can be had. Establish what your baselines are for you and the Mrs. for pulse ox reading.
(The number is usually 95%+ for normal adults.)
If you're over 92%, you're probably okay.
Write it down and track it on paper over time.

2) If you notice a quickly (95%) come out the other side little the worse for wear. Prayers to a merciful God for exactly that outcome.

Aesop said...

I dunno what happened to the back half of that, but let's try it again:
2) If you notice a quickly (less than a day) worsening of shortness of breath, esp. coupled with a pulse ox of below 90%, hie thee to the ER. That's the point at which it's probably transitioned to a case of bilateral pneumonia, which kills people over 50 with a tedious regularity, left untreated.
Your CXR will look like London on a foggy day, on both sides.
Hopefully, yours doesn't do that, and you'll likely...
(95%) come out the other side little the worse for wear. Prayers to a merciful God for exactly that outcome.

The Raving Prophet said...

By the time I figured out I had COVID, it was pretty much over. Had fatigue for a week that I chalked up to stress. It came down like a hammer on a weekend and I had a day and a half of fever and feeling pretty miserable. Had a test the following Tuesday, got results Fri am. By the time results came back, it was all over but for running out the clock on my isolation. I lost sense of smell but not taste, that took a few weeks to come back. Never had anything chest related, but sinuses were kept clear with Sudafed and Mucinex.

Here's hoping your bout is as mild as mine was. I feel very fortunate mine was that mild and I didn't infect anybody else- not even the wife.

Carteach said...

Seconds on the blood O2 meter. Aesop said what I would say. Thoughts and prayers with you both.

NITZAKHON said...

First, B"H for a full recovery for you both.

I was convinced we'd all had it back in late February. Mysterious fevers, lethargic... I'm not normally a day-napper and I was wiped out every day for a week.

But the wife had to get tested as a part of pre-employment, and came back negative.

Chip Anderson said...

Best wishes and prayers for a full and speedy recovery.

Erich Schwarz said...

Best of wishes to you and your wife!

If you have a smartphone, you can download an app that will turn it into an oximeter. I highly encourage you to do this and to check you and your wife's blood O^2 levels; "real" oximeters can be hard to find in stores, but a free app takes seconds to download.

An unfortunate feature of Covid-19 is that it can sometimes reduce infected people to a state of strong chronic oxygen shortage without their feeling it. This is suspected to be one of the ways that people get long-term physical damage from Covid-19 without realizing it. Don't let this happen to you.

I have a iPhone; the oximeter app that I have installed on it is "Pulse Oximeter".

Good luck!

Erich Schwarz said...

P.S.: I concur that 95% blood oxygen is great; 92+% is probably OK; anything less than that, start worrying.

The Freeholder said...

Good luck with the recovery for all concerned. Prayers are on the way.

Dan Lane said...

May the Good Lord bless and keep you both, sir, in good health and happiness. Amen.

John Cunningham said...

An O2 meter is mandatory, in our house we've been using it since last April. My chiropractor gave me a prescription for overmectin on Dec. 30, but I must have already had China virus. Overmectin has proven success in many countries. Of course vitamins C, D, and zinc are mandatory.

Keyser Soze said...

Green tea. Drink it daily also. It helps your body absorb zinc into your cells. The zinc inhibits the RNA of the virii from hijacking the cells and replicating.

Orvan Taurus said...

On the oximeter... I have a model that beeps in complaint in two conditions:

1. If my pulse rate drops below 50 bpm. (I have a normally low rate, so I get this fairly often when relaxed. It's No Big Deal.)

2. If my oxy drops under 90%. I have seen hat *EXACTLY ONCE* (when I was Quite Ill last year about this time, with what I thought was a gastro-bug given the 2-hour clockwork porcelain perchings...) THAT was SCARY. I was lucky - a bit of deep breathing solved it. And DAMN RIGHT, I kept monitoring - and no, I was *NOT* relaxed at all!

John D said...

Ivermectin is an effective treatment. https://covid19criticalcare.com/medical-evidence/ivermectin/. It's also readily available, and just very recently got a grudging approval from NIH for treatment in humans.

I'll let you figure out the why of it taking so long to get approved.

Anyway, very safe drug that has been used (and is still being used) in humans for a long time. your doctor may prescribe it if you point him to the NIH notice. Alternately, it's available at Amazon and any farm store without a prescription for use in livestock.

John

Jim said...

We've been through it as well. In my case, there was nothing to it. I had a cough for a few days and that was all. The wife, on the other hand, lost her senses of taste and smell and had some breathing issues. No fever for either of us. We're both fine now other than chilly from this weather.

Borepatch said...

Oof. Get well soon!

AJ said...

I'll second John's suggestion of Ivermectin. Both my wife and I started presenting symptoms after her mom tested positive. Took the Ivermectin at the recommended doses for our respective weights and within a day or 2 we were completely fine. It's very, very effective. We also kept up out daily supplementation of Zin, Vit D and Vit C

Rev. Paul said...

Ditto on all the good advice & wishes, thoughts, and prayers. May your cases be mild and short-lived. Lord, hear our prayer! Amen.

zdogk9 said...

Heal quickly.

LindaG said...

As Reverend Paul said, praying for you all. May God heal you quickly.

Jeff F. said...

Prayers, kind thoughts and good wishes up from San Francisco!

MrGarabaldi said...

Hey Peter;

I had the Covid last Month; What we did was treat the symptoms, I took a lot of "Mucinex" to keep it from settling in my lungs, and of course cough drops. I also used "Emergenc C" and stayed wrapped in a blanket as I ran a low grade fever for 5 days. still haven't gotten my sense of smell back and my sense of taste has recovered partially. I drank a lot of "Gatorade". Our Dr just said " Take OTC medication to control the symptoms."

Unknown said...

Suicide has been on a roll...stress levels are highest since Volker raised rates to 18 percent...and we have a few hundred thousand extra deaths this year...hmmm....yeah, it's an epidemic...300k/300m...anyone know what kind of percent increase this is?...Well, if it were 3m/300m it would be 1 percent increase...so...you shut down the world for POINT 1 PERCENT INCREASE in the softest country in the world...but I got exxon for 35 bucks...

warren buffet rubs hands...

God bless you and yours...I had it...made me sleepy for a week...and tired...kinda like a cold...

lee n. field said...

"I got the 'Rona."

I was wondering if that might be it.

I had it in mid-December. Was out 12 days, from when I first felt sick.

Dr. recommended C, D, zinc and lycine. My brother the nurse told me to add melatonin. Doc. also had me on a short course of an asthma drug. And watch for shortness of breath.

In my case, it was a "pretty bad flu".

John in Indy said...

God bless you and Miss D. Our prayers are with you both.
Good advice above. Watch your oxygen levels as a leading indicator.
John and Priscilla Sage

Simon Derricutt said...

Peter - the function of Ivermectin is to stop (or at least make difficult) the replications of the virus, so it really helps early on and gives your immune system a bit more time to kill the virus before there are so many of them it overwhelms your body. Dosage seems to be around 3mg per 20kg of body weight, and though you can get it in pills those can cause stomach/gut upsets, so maybe better to avoid that and use the drench as sold for cattle/horses. It's also used on kids for headlice, so it's pretty safe. It sounds like you're over the main hump and on the way to recovery, but this virus can do some nasty things so it seems better to me to not "let nature take its course" but to give the body as much help as possible to kill the virus and stop it lingering. If you can't get the official medicines that work to stop replication of the virus (Hydroxychloroquine HCQ, Ivermectin IVM) then drink a lot of Tonic Water - this contains 63mg of Quinine per litre, and that also impedes replication of the virus. Make sure it's real Quinine since some tonic mixes now contain other stuff to make them bitter. This passes out of the body quickly, so needs a daily dose (a litre per day would be useful) but will slow the virus enough to help. Gin optional....

I've been surprised that the official advice is to stay home until things either get bad enough to need to go to hospital or it gets better on its own. The need for extra vitamin D and Zinc should have been published officially. IVM and HCQ have been ignored officially, except in other countries, and the official trials used them far too late and without Zinc, almost as if they were designed to fail.

I hope you and Miss D get well soon. Also best wishes for your friends, who may not have taken the same precautions you did.

Whoever thought that inserting the HIV genes into a coronavirus from bats was a good thing to try out? In a way, it reminds me of Stephen King's "The Stand" except for the fatality rate. It doesn't take a big mistake to allow the escape of a virus that's only around 20nm diameter.

John T. Block said...

Prayers inbound, weapons free...take care, guys!