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pekasairroc · 9 months ago

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This is the nuanced post I vagued about writing earlier this winter and then didn't.

Hi y'all, I am literally one of the people who does the reporting of hospital case count data from the start of the pandemic to now. I have seen the ebb and flow up close and very personal from a poor hospital in NYC. Where we are is far different now than it was in 2021, 2022, and even 2023. Hospital case counts are really low. They're often used as a measure of community case counts by knowing that not everyone gets hospitalized but with higher case counts you'll see people who need hospitalization more and more. This means that the severity is getting lower.

Precautions for immunosuppressed people have always been difficult since there are so many viruses and bacteria and fungi not only in other people but also the environment. It's tough, and the world should absolutely take far more precautions than there currently are in place to protect them (and also everyone else since no one likes getting sick). These precautions are as mentioned: better ventilation, better food/water safety protocols, paid sick leave, free testing for many illnesses, better healthcare, better disability benefits, remote work options, masking when under the weather, surgical masks being part of standard precautions at hospitals, and probably a bunch of other things I could elaborate on. It's not fair! But it's not only because of covid. I hope that covid will be able to show the world more about these issues and make good changes.

There are MANY other viruses that cause respiratory symptoms. We have a respiratory viral panel (RPV) that tests for about 12 or so. Some are major like influenza (which can be very severe and is not the stomach flu!) or common cold viruses like rhinovirus. These viruses rise and fall during the seasons and we'll get patches of parainfluenza vs human metapneumovirus vs RSV vs (non-covid) coronaviruses vs covid vs flu. It's really interesting seeing how they come and go and how a person can get back to back sick with all of these in one season. When I ran the report on Thursday for the last year of RVP results (aka, when the covid/flu PCR came back negative) it was.... mostly rhinovirus, a minor cold. And that's one of the difficult parts about covid: it can present as a minor cold or worse than influenza.

Long covid is my main hesitation, since it is bad! I have seen multiple incidences of it. I don't have a solution or answer or rebuttal against any argument made concerning it besides that post-viral syndromes already being A Thing at small percentages multiplied by an ABSOLUTELY ENORMOUS NUMBER OF INFECTIONS is bound to make A BIG NUMBER. I assume everyone factors long covid into their personal risk assessments, whatever that ends up being. And I push for better protections for everyone like ventilation and healthcare and paid sick leave etc.

I think it's also important to know that if we wanted to eradicate or eliminate covid, we'd have to do far more than 2020 lockdowns. We'd have to do more than what China was doing in 2020 and 2021 and they had really strict lockdowns that didn't fully work. This isn't giving up, but until we have a vaccine that prevents all future infections (which I really want!!!!!).... we have to deal with it as we can. Covid will always be here, like it or not, and I hope that we can make it just another respiratory infection. I don't think we're at that point yet, where it's just another one, but we're getting there.

The world is different now, and while covid's still here and will remain so, it's so much better.

-Holly, MPH CIC

Friends, I think we need to talk about Covid.

I want to get a few caveats out there before I start:

I am aware that there are people who need to exercise extreme caution about Covid; I live with someone who has two solid organ transplants and who is at the most immune compromised level of immune compromised. *I* have to be extremely cautious about covid.

Masking does prevent a certain level of transmission, and people who think they may have covid should mask and people who are concerned that they may be at high risk for covid should mask.

You should be vaccinated and boosted with the most recent vaccines that are available to you; covid is highly transmissible and very serious, you do not want to get covid and if you do get covid you don't want it to be severe and if you do get covid you don't want to give someone else covid and up-to-date vaccinations are the best way to reduce transmission and help to prevent severe cases of Covid.

We should be testing before going to any gatherings, and informing people if we test positive after gatherings, and testing if we suspect we have been exposed.

It is bullshit that there aren't good protections for workers who have covid; you should not be expected to go to work when you are testing positive

It is bullshit that people who are testing positive are not isolating for other reasons; if you have Covid you should not be going out and exposing other people to it even if you are experiencing mild symptoms or no symptoms.

We do need better ventilation systems for many kinds of spaces. Schools need better ventilation, restaurants need better ventilation, doctor's offices and hospitals and office buildings need better ventilation and better ventilation can reduce covid transmission.

I want to make it clear that Covid is real and there are real steps that individuals and systems can take to prevent transmission, and that there are systems that are exerting pressures that needlessly expose people to covid (the fact that you can lose your job if you don't come in when you're testing positive, mainly; also the fact that covid rapid tests should be ubiquitous and cheap/free and are not).

All of that being said: I'm seeing some posts circulating about how we're at an extremely high level of transmission and the REAL pandemic is being hidden from us and, friends, I'm pretty sure that is just incorrect and we're spreading misinformation.

I'm thinking of this video in particular, in which the claim is made that "your mystery illness is covid" in spite of negative tests. The guy in the video says that there's nothing else that millions of people could be getting a day, and that he predicted this because a wastewater spike in December meant that there was a huge spike in cases.

I've also seen people saying that deaths are where they were in 2021-2022, and that we're still at "a 9/11 a week" of excess deaths and friends, I'm not seeing great evidence for any of these claims.

I know that we (in the US, which is where the numbers I'm going to be citing are from) feel abandoned by the CDC and the fact that tracking cut off in May of 2023. But that only cut off for the federal tracking.

I live in LA county and LA county sure as shit is still tracking Covid.

If you want a clearer picture, you can see the daily case count over time compared to the daily death count:

Okay, you might say, but that's just LA.

Alright, so here's Detroit:

Right, but maybe that's CDC data and you don't trust the CDC at this point.

Okay, here's fatalities in New York tracked through New York's state data collection:

It's harder to toggle around the site for South Dakota, but you can compare their cases and hospitalizations and deaths for early 2022

To cases and hospitalizations and deaths from early 2024

And see that there's really no comparison.

Okay, you might say, but people are testing less. If they're testing less of course we're not seeing spikes, and they're testing less because fewer tests are available.

Alright, people are definitely testing less than they were in 2021 and 2022. Hospitalization for Covid is probably the most clear metric because you know those people have covid for sure, the couldn't not test for it.

Here are hospitalizations over time for LA:

Here are hospitalizations over time for New York:

As vaccination rates have gone up, cases, deaths, and hospitalizations have gone down. It IS clear that there are case spikes in the winter, when it is cold and people are indoors in poorly ventilated spaces and people are more susceptible to respiratory infections as a result of cold air weakening the protection offered by our mucous membranes, and that is something that we will have to take precautions about for the forseeable future, just as we should have always been taking similar precautions during flu season.

So I want to go point-by-point through some of the arguments made in that video because I'm seeing a bunch of people talking about how "THEY" don't want you to know about the virus surge and buds that is just straight up conspiracism.

So okay, first off, most of what that video is based on is spikes in wastewater data, not spikes in cases. This is because people don't trust CDC data on cases, but I'd say to maybe check out your regional data on cases. I don't actually trust the CDC that much, but I know people who do tracking of hospitalizations in LA county, I trust them a lot more. Wastewater data does correlate with increases in cases, but this "second largest spike of the entire pandemic" thing is misleading; wastewater reporting is pretty highly variable and you can't just accept that a large spike in covid in wastewater means that we're in just as bad a place in the pandemic as we were in 2022. We simply have not seen the surge of hospitalizations and deaths that we would expect to see in the weeks following that spike in wastewater data if wastewater data was reflective of community transmission.

The next claim is that "there is nothing else that is infecting millions of people a day" and covid isn't doing that either. The highest daily case rates were in January of 2021 and they were in the 865k a day range, which is ridiculously high but isn't millions of cases a day.

But what we can see is that when people are tested by their doctors for Covid, RSV, and the Flu, more tests are coming back positive for the Flu. Covid causes more hospitalizations than the other two illnesses, but to be honest what the people in the video are describing - lightheadedness, dizziness, exhaustion - just sound like pretty standard symptoms of everything from covid to the cold to allergies. There are lots of things your mystery illness could be.

The video goes on to talk about the fact that people aren't testing, and why their tests may be coming back negative and I'd like to point out that the same things are all true of Flu or RSV tests. People might be getting tested too early or too late; getting a negative test for the flu isn't a good reason to assume you've got covid, getting a negative test for covid isn't a good reason to assume you've got the flu, and testing for viruses as a whole is imperfect. There are hundreds of viruses that could be the common cold; there are multiple viruses that can cause bronchitis; there are multiple viruses that can cause pneumonia, and you're not going to test for all of these things the moment you start feeling sick.

He then recommends testing for multiple days if you have symptoms and haven't had a positive test (fine) and talks about the location of the tests (less fine). Don't use your rapid tests to swab your throat or cheek unless it specifically says that they are designed to do so. Test based on the instructions in the packet.

He points out that the tests probably still pick up on the virus because they're not testing for the spike protein, they're testing for the RNA (good info!)

The video then discusses something that I think is really key to this paranoia about the "mystery illnesses" - he talks about how covid changes and weakens your immune system (a statement that should come with many caveats about severity and vulnerability and that we are still researching that) and then says that it makes you more susceptible to strep or mono and that "things that used to clear in a day or two now hit you really hard."

And that's where I think this anxiety is coming from.

Strep throat lasts anywhere from three days to a week. A cold takes about a week to clear. The flu lasts about a week and can knock you on your ass with exhaustion for weeks depending on how bad you get it. Did you get a cough with your cold? Expect that to take anywhere from three to eight weeks to clear up.

I think that people are thinking "i got a bad virus and felt really sick for a week and haven't gotten my energy back" but that just sounds like a bad cold. That sounds like a potent allergy attack. That doesn't even sound like a bad flu (I got a bad flu in 2009 and thought i was going to straight-up die I had a fever of 103+ for three days and felt like shit for three days on either side of that and took six weeks to feel more like myself again).

Getting sick sucks. It really, really sucks. But if you're getting sick and you're testing for covid and it's coming back negative after you tested a few times, it's almost certainly not covid.

The video then says "until someone provides evidence that it's not covid, it should be assumed to be covid because we have record levels of covid it's that simple" but that's not simple. We don't have record levels of covid and he hasn't proved it. We have record high levels of wastewater reports of covid, which correlates with covid cases but the spike in wastewater noted in december didn't see a spike with a corresponding magnitude of cases in terms of either hospitalizations or deaths, which is what we'd have seen if we had actual record numbers of covid.

He says that if you want to ignore this, you'll get sick with covid, and that about 30-40% of the US just got sick with covid in the last four months (which is a RIDICULOUSLY unevidenced claim).

He says that we need to create a new normal that takes covid into account, which means masking more often and testing more often and making choices about risk-avoidant behaviors.

Now, I don't disagree with that last statement, but he prefaces the statement with "it doesn't necessarily mean lockdown" and that's where I think the alarmism and paranoia is really visible here. We are so, so far away from "lockdown" type levels that it's absurd to discuss lockdown here.

What I'm seeing right now is people who are chronically ill, people who are immune compromised, and people who are experiencing long covid (which may not be distinct from other post-viral syndromes from severe cases of flu, etc, but which may be more severe or more notable because of the prevalence of covid) are talking about feeling abandoned and attacked and left behind by society because covid is still out there, and still at extremely high levels.

I am seeing people who feel abandoned and attacked because the lgbtq+ events they are attending don't require masking. I am seeing people who are claiming that it is eugenicist that their schools don't have a negative test policy anymore.

And this comes together into two really disconcerting trends that I've been observing online for a while.

The claim that the pandemic is still as bad as it's ever been and in fact may be worse but we can't know that because "they" (the CDC, the government, capitalist institutions that want you back in the office, the university industrial complex that wants your dorm room dollars) are covering up the numbers and

Significant grievance at the fact that people are acting like number one is not true and are putting you at risk either out of thoughtlessness (because they don't realize they're putting you at risk) or malice (because they don't care if the sick die).

And those things are a recipe for disaster.

I think I've pretty robustly addressed point one; I don't think that there's good evidence that there's a secretly awful surge of covid that nobody is talking about. I think that there are some people who are being alarmist about covid who are basing all of their concern on wastewater numbers that have not held up as the harbinger of a massive wave of infections.

So let's talk about point number two and JK Rowling.

Barnes and Noble is not attacking you when it puts up a Hogwarts Castle display in the lobby. Your favorite youtuber isn't trying to hurt you when they offhandedly mention Harry Potter.

If you let every mention of Harry Potter or every person who enjoys that media franchise wound you, you are going to spend a lot of your time wounded.

People are not liking Harry Potter at you.

Okay.

People are also not not wearing masks at you.

You may be part of a minority group that experiences the potential for outsized harm as a result of majority groups engaging in perfectly reasonable behaviors.

There are kind, well-meaning, sensible people who go out every day and do something that may cause you harm and it's not because they want to hurt you or they don't care about whether you live or die, it is because they are making their own risk assessments based on their own lives and making the very reasonable assumption that people who are more concerned about covid than they are will take precautions to keep themselves safe.

We are not at a place in the pandemic where it is sensible to expect people with no symptoms of illness to mask in public as a matter of course or to present evidence of a recent negative test when entering a public building in their day-to-day life.

I think now is a really good time to sit down and ask yourself how you expect things to be with covid as an endemic part of our viral ecosystem. I think now is a good time to ask yourself what risk realistically looks like for you and for people who are unlike you. I think now is a good time to consider what would feel "safe" for you and how you could accomplish feeling safe as you navigate the world.

I'm probably going to continue masking in most indoor spaces for years. Maybe forever. There are accommodations that SHOULD be afforded to people who have to take more precautions than others (remote learning, remote visits, remote work, etc.), and we should demand those kinds of accommodations.

But it is going to poison you from the inside out if you are perpetually angry that people who don't have the same medical limitations as you are happy that they get to go shopping with their faces uncovered.

So now I want to talk to you about my father in law.

My father in law had a bone marrow transplant in 2015. That's the most immune compromised you can get without having your organs swapped out.

The care sheet for him after the transplant was a little overwhelming. The list of foods he couldn't eat was intimidating and the limitations on where he could go was depressing. It cautioned against going to large events, it recommended outdoor gatherings where possible but only if he could avoid sunlight and was somewhere with no history of valley fever. It said that he should wear masks indoors any time he was someplace with poor ventilation and that he should avoid contact with anyone who had an illness of any kind, taking special note to avoid children and anyone recently vaccinated for measles.

It was, in short, pretty much what someone immune compromised would need to do to try to avoid a viral infection. Sensible. Reasonable. Wash your hands and social distance; wear masks in sensitive contexts and don't spend time in enclosed places with people who have a communicable illness.

This is what life was always going to be like for people who are severely immune compromised, and it was always going to be incumbent upon the person with the illness to figure out how to operate in a society that is not built with them in mind.

It is not the job of every parent I encounter to tell me whether their child has been vaccinated against measles or chicken pox in the last three months. That isn't something that people need to do as part of their everyday life. However it IS my responsibility to check with the parents I'm hanging out with whether their children have been vaccinated against measles or chicken pox in the last three months so I know if it's safe for my immune compromised spouse to be around them.

If you want an environment in which you feel safe from covid, at this point in the pandemic (when the virus is endemic and not spreading rapidly as far as we can see from case counts) it is your responsibility to take the steps necessary to make you feel safe. Some of those steps will involve advocating for safety improvements in public spaces (again, indoor ventilation needs to be better and I'm personally pretty extreme about vaccination requirements; these are things we should be discussing in our school board meetings and at our workplaces), some of those steps will involve advocating for worker protections, guaranteed sick time, and the right to healthcare. But some of the things you're going to need to do to feel safe are going to come down to you.

If you are concerned about communicable diseases you have to be realistic about the fact that our society doesn't go out of its way to prevent communicable diseases - norovirus among food service workers pre-pandemic is pretty clear evidence of that. You are going to have to be proactive about your safety rather than expecting the world to act like Covid is at 2021-2022 levels when it is measurably not.

#long post #now to be called a eugenicist #after getting eye rolls from some people at work simply because I suggested some precautions are Good #I will take whatever precautions are asked of me in order to attend events or visit and I ALWAYS mask with patients #I used to take every person not masking as a direct middle finger and spitting on me personally #it is a poisonous mindset and you have to get out of that way of thinking

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petinfocage · 7 months ago

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Top 7 Persian cat haircut styles

Although we are talking about Persian cat haircut styles, most cats don't need to be trimmed because they look so cute with their natural hair. They wear a lot of suits but their hair needs to be cut for grooming. If it's summer, they feel hot, so their hair is cut short and more styled. And that's why we want to tell you about different popular haircut styles that will enhance your cat's beauty if you like them. Here are the top Persian cat hairstyles.

1. Comb Cut

This haircut is the most common method of cat haircut styles. It trims the coat of a long-haired cat by an inch, which has the advantage of helping to reduce the mat and the cat's hair. The risk of infection is reduced, and it also improves the condition of the cat's skin. If you do a comb, you can also check its best skin and if it has any wounds, etc., you can treat it. can also be planted and by doing this cutting it also looks beautiful especially during the change of weather in summer the chances of them getting hot are reduced so they fail better.

2. Belly Shave

Cat grooming is very important for cat grooming and if we talk about belly shave cutting, it involves trimming the hair between the cat's belly and its hind legs, these areas are often used by long-haired cats. If they are not trimmed, the cat does not feel comfortable, which makes it uncomfortable if your cat does not tolerate regular grooming sessions. If you do, you should take it to a pet expert so that they can trim your cat's fur to make your cat feel more comfortable, as calming is very important for any cat. Persian cat haircut is very important for your cat's grooming and cat health.

3. Lion Cut

Among the most popular cat haircuts, the line haircut is very popular and many people style their cats because it has the advantage that it makes the cat look beautiful and mostly because it allows you to trim a cat's body hair and leave hair on its face, legs and tail makes it look just like a baby tiger and is a great way to show everyone that you are easy to talk to. You can tell that it is the cub of a share if she does not make her voice, then no one can recognize it like the rest of the lion cub or a cat. It won't offer benefits because it's only for aesthetics and your cat's beauty will certainly increase.

4. Hygiene Cut

Prussian cat haircut styles are most concerned with not affecting their health and most haircut styles are done because there is no hindrance in grooming. So it is trimmed as some long-haired cats get matted and messy hair around the anus which makes it difficult for them to groom the area easily. It is also said to get rid of dirt trapped in the blue coat. This Hygiene Cut is very comfortable for cats and is a good option for overweight and older cats who have limited mobility because they sit in one place.

5. Dragon Style

The dragon haircut style is another purely aesthetic haircut. It doesn't benefit your cat very much because most of your cat's coat is cut on their body and only below their bone. A single strip is left out and the Roman also shapes the strip into dragon scales. In the winter this cat will feel quite cold as it has also seen devastating vision. have to choose your groomer because if it feels too hot in summer it can't stand the heat which will have a profound effect on its health and I can get very sick so this haircut Grooming your cat is very important, especially the Persian cat haircut is highly recommended.

6. Ripple Cut

It is important to find an experienced groomer to perform a ripple cut because the line needs to be sharp which is difficult to achieve on a lighter cat so this haircut works best on short-haired cats. When it is seen that your cat If the cat is having a problem, clipping is necessary, that is if he is feeling confused. when he is clipped, his beauty increases, and most of all when his body is removed. If the sails are trimmed, even one of their burdens is reduced, and for any bat, its burden is reduced, it is a big deal for him, and he is in this cutting and makes himself very easy.

7. Butterfly Cut

Among the feather cat haircut styles, the butterfly cut requires a very careful hand and an experienced groomer because it is cut so finely that if not cut by an experienced groomer. It can also cut a cat's limbs because the very fine hairs on its tail can cut into its bobbles, which are so small that even a small cut can hurt the cat. And so it can style up a cat's grooming and look cute, this pattern won't look good on a multi-colored cat like a tabby or a wean, and most of them The benefit is that your cat's body weight is greatly reduced.

Why Always Use a Professional Groomer

A professional groomer knows which cut will best suit a particular cat and which style is best for its health, and also evaluates the cat's health. His skin is more delicate, thick, and able to withstand a lot because the organs of the cat are very delicate. If even a small cut gets on them, it can cause great damage to them. A professional groomer does the cutting with a thorough check and with his expertise and it is very important to have a professional groomer in Persian cat haircut.

Conclusion about Persian cat haircut

If you're a cat owner, taking care of your cat's health is very important to you, so in this article, we've discussed the top 7 persian cat haircut styles that will add a lot to your cat's grooming routine. It can and it has one by one complete details and it also explains which haircut will suit the cat best and also explains a little bit about the professional groomer. Hope you liked this article. If you have any questions, please leave your questions in the question section above and we will answer it for you. Read the full article

#Persiancathaircutstyles

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rebuilding-paradise · 3 years ago

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Vampire outbreak au headcanons because I feel utterly sick currently but I'm still going to school

- Reason why vampire lost it was a combination of finally getting the taste for jam and the deep realization(sober somehow) that his SOs would die naturally before he would.

- characters like Dr. Bones, cherry choco, etc that aren't infected or somewhat sane are trying to find a cure.

- Children cookies that get infected are much faster transformed than teens or adults

- Most legendary and ancient cookies are fine! Only a few got infected. Rabid vampire golden cheese anyone?

- The vampires can't tolerate too cold of weather so the Black citadel is safe! For now.. The vampires can wait until spring comes.

- Some of the sane vampires actually figured out how to hunt victims. Some pose as survivors. Others pretend to be hurt. Like, if Earl grey was turned, as soon as someone entered the hotel, They ain't leaving normal.

- vampire cookie himself didn't intend for this to happen. He just couldn't stop it! He asked the cookies like Dr. Bones to try to develop a cure before it's too late.

@kaylikestodrawlittlenightmares @r0ug3f0rt-c00ki3-simp

#vampire outbreak

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snoopy-dyke · 2 years ago

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i don't know all that much about the exact use of zinc but like most metals in your body (zinc is most common after iron) it's important for enzyme function (different oxidation levels, can accept/donate electrons) and also takes part in gene expression (transcription) [also - and this is not to do with the immune system - zinc is important for synaptic plasticity which i find also really scary because like.. what if i don't get enough zinc? does my brain just. stop learning?]

anyways: zinc is often used to treat colds (which is why zinc is a common additive in multivitamin juice/immune booster juice or whatever those are called. most people will just think of Vitamin C or maybe even Vitamin D when they think healthy juice but who thinks "i feel under the weather, go fetch me my zinc"). zinc does this by (and yes i have started researching this just now, you got me hooked) inhibiting the inflammatory response caused by bacterial infections. when you get sick essentially what happens is some bits of bacteria that swim around in your bloodstream bind to monocytes (or other parts of your innate immune system) which leads to a signal cascade that essentially results in a big inflammatory reaction (phlegm, fever etc). zink can keep that inflammation in check (you know how fever really isn't good for your body? it's best we do ,, not. do that and instead have our immune stystem do the work against the infection) by inhibiting the activation of the metabolic pathway by the bacteria-molecules. that means that you will have less severe cold-symptoms or that they will go away sooner. without (or with less zinc than necessary) the inflammation will get stronger so you would have more severe symptoms. no worries though, zinc-deficiency is really uncommon here and you only really get in trouble when you're a mouse in a lab that is deliberately given exactly no zinc over extended periods of time to prove the point that yes in those mice the infection lead to a sepsis that was more lethal than the infection would normally be if you had zinc available.

i don't like that there's nitrogen just banging around inside my cells. nitrogen is way too intense an element to just be in my body. i'm okay with oxygen and carbon and what not but nitrogen?? you've got to be kidding.

#i want to get deeper into this once i've got the time. might do a little research day tomorrow #not sure if all of that text is 100% true btw i just looked at some articles i found just now

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where-s-all-blue · 4 years ago

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Okay so I've entered the Alabasta Arc now (I am actually pretty close to the climax in my rererewatch) so here's some thoughts:

Reverse Mountain:

I personally adored the mishaps the crew has on their way to the GrandLine, and the entire reverse mountain is very intriguing to me to this day. One day, I'll figure out just how on earth that thing works.

Laboon's story, tear jerking, absolutely devastating. Luffy being able to talk sense into a WHALE tells all you need about his ability to befriend beings. He also was the first one to hear Laboon, foreshadow for his later on found ability to Hear All Things or Haki?

Whiskey Peaks:

Ahh the time Vivi tried to be a villain. And Mister 9 is an absolute sweetheart. Honestly they made a pretty good team even if neither of them actually knew how fighting works. Personally I would've loved to see more of them, Mister 9 and Miss Monday seemed like interesting characters.

I keep forgetting about Zoro having supersonic speed in these, I kind of miss him just disappearing only to reappear right in middle of the group to mock their reaction of looking at the place he just was sitting on. The speed of him and his ability to momentarily cut through things he later on can't pretty much just tells you that he does have it in him, but it just isn't conscious thing yet. Also unconscious usage of haki spotted?

Vivi being The Vivi Nefertari is one of the more interesting and intense sequences in the pre-timeskip era, even if it takes less time than for example the Arlong Park does and shows just how devastatingly strong both Luffy and Zoro are. I can't believe that these idiots would retort to a fist fight mid battle.

Mister 5's ability is very unhygienic and I'd like to drown him in sanitizer, Miss Valentine needs to be silenced forever, her laughter creeps me out and she honestly doesn't add any value into the conversation. This is a duo I'd like to murder slowly.

Igram blowing up still gets me, the reactions of the characters, the devastated facial expression of Vivi, the sound design, the shocked looks, it's just so well executed.

Vivi's reaction of mixed feelings regarding Miss All Sunday/Robin, albeit just, is very confusing for me. I remember when I met her the first time and all I could think of was "She's a nice person" just based on her facial expression and the words she used.

I forgot that Luffy broke the eternal log pose Robin gave them. Not because he didn't trust her but because the choice Vivi would've been forced to make after the shock of loosing Igram would've been too much. Also because he didn't want anyone to dictate HOW they get there, he's the captain and as such it's his job to make the final decision, he also appears to have been convinced that this way Vivi would be safe.

Little Garden:

Aah, Little Garden, the island I'd simultaneously love and hate. Love because dinosaurs, hate because loud and probably insects large enough to use me as a quick caffeine filled pick-me-up. I might have a problem.

The fact that I can understand the thought process of these giants concerns me greatly. Is this the power of the Monkey Brain?

Mister 3 would be an amazing character if only we could see his self proclaimed genius in action and hear him go through plans etc. I feel like he's just trying to compensate on his lack of battlefield knowledge and experience. Miss Golden Week is highkey a mood and I love her. I, too, want to paint whatever I want and get paid for it.

Zoro actually started to hack through his own leg because he wanted to fight so badly, what a mad lad. Usopp honestly is flexing with his quick thinking and reflexes here. We love that for him. Go you funky little sniper.

Luffy might've used observation haki instinctively in the Mister 3 crowd.

Sanji managing to outright fool Crocodile to believe that he is Mister 3 indicates that Crocodile has never heard the voices of his underlings before and just assuming that the man who answered is Mister 3. The two also apparently have similar sense of humour. That Crocodile is aware of based on what Robin has told him.

Sanji both taking down the Unluckies without any hesitation nor stopping to think about where they came from really tells volumes about him. He also apparently lied so convincingly that Crocodile was 100% sure that it was Mister 3 fighting Luffy and not a chef beating up his long distance murder pets.

Nami was bitten by a bug, which was the carrier of a rare, nearly dead disease. Based on the amount of time one would usually need to wait for the sickness to develop, I'd say that they were about a week on the ocean before Nami developed the fever.

None of the crew members, Vivi included, thought about doing a full body check on her to see if there were any other symptoms than fever, ie her body actively fighting against the infection/sickness. Also her sickness isn't apparently something that spreads, so it's very unlikely for it to be virus based or spread similar to flu.

Drum Island/Sakura Kingdom:

Nami is capable of sensing the weather, and act upon her feelings, under 40C fever. If I have any level of fever, I am rendered near vegetative state until my fever either goes down or raises past certain level. What I'm saying is that Nami is some sort of Goddess or superhero because of being able to do anything with that fever.

Vivi needing to think about whether or not she can afford waiting extra days for being taken to Alabasta or to change the course to find a doctor is one of the stupidest things ever especially since the person who is sick with such a high fever happens to be the navigator.

Warm welcome by residents is warm. And by warm I mean freezingly cold. I can't believe that Luffy thought about yelling to the person before Vivi bowed her head prompting Luffy to do the same (though heavily "encouraged" by Vivi). Vivi saying that Luffy isn't fit to be the captain reflects very strongly her own views and beliefs, but she keeps forgetting something very simple, yet important. Background. She has no idea about Luffy's past nor how he grew up, she hasn't been long enough with the crew to be able to tell just why people follow Luffy, nor is she aware of how he communicates with people. She doesn't realise that when it comes to Luffy, humility isn't a word to describe him with nor that he would be able to set his own pride aside just yet, Luffy is a 17 year old, a mere child, who has just set out on the sea few months ago, who only knows the harshness of the world, where to survive, you must take things with force or be aggressive. She also isn't familiar with Luffy's way of helping others and going all in no matter the situation.

It's interesting to see how from the time Vivi is with them, Luffy is clearly paying attention to how she does things and how she presents herself, the mannerisms and the likes. It's not as clear idolisation and wish for being equal/better than someone as it was with Katakuri's use of haki, but he is striving to learn. If not because he acknowledges how important manners and humility are, but because it makes things easier on certain places. He especially starts to pay more attention to it once Ace joins them.

By the way the sickness Nami is struck with? It's most likely the same as the one that cost the life of Captain Yorkie of the Rumbar Pirates. After all, the ship doctor couldn't heal it, he didn't know how to, he could only prolong his death for a little while, few days max.

Chopper is a joy to have around and I'd physically fight Doctor Kureha at first sight because WOMAN! YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ATTACKING YOUR PATIENTS JUST BECAUSE THEY GOT OUT OF THE BED! What if they need to use the restroom. I don't care if you're a youthful 139 year old lady, you can't just do that. Also how the hell are you still able to move that well? Most people I see start to slowly loose their mobility at 60 as their joints are starting to wear out causing pain and their muscle mass is lowering due to the inability to move as much as during their prime.

I am surprised that a reindeer even cares about something like a blue nose. The devilfruit thing? Yeah sure, but not the blue nose. These local reindeer are dicks with human level of obsession to look like the "norm". News flash, there is no default anything. Your appearances are purely dictated by a set of genes that decide to either activate or deactivate as they please without any warning and genes can skip multiple generations. That's why I apparently look identical to my great grandmother.

Nami is kind towards other women and animals. Men not so much, my assumption is that she is carrying a trauma from the Arlong time that she hasn't yet processed and as such she is even now a bit guarded against the rest of the crew.

Hiriluk's character is closer to that of a mad scientist or a very enthusiastic chemist who keeps forgetting that people aren't test subjects. His curiosity and and enthusiasm are something to strive for even if his methods are questionable, all he does want is to bring people sense of hope, wonder and awe. Though I can't help but to wonder about his story. The thief (him) having a serious incurable heart condition and seeing cherry blossoms that cured him. A metaphor for his past self being relentless and uncaring while thieving, but the indescribable beauty of the scenery he saw changed his heart to be more generous and kind?

Hiriluk's death is one of the most important ones in the series if you ask me, it defined Chopper and who he became; Doctor hoping to be capable of curing any disease there is.

#one piece #onepiece #One piece rewatch #One piece commentary #one piece meta #long post #meta commentary #r talks #laboon #Reverse mountain arc #Whiskey Peaks Arc #Little Garden Arc #drum island arc #Sakura Kingdom Arc #op spoilers?#op spoilers

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elwingflight · 5 years ago

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Coronavirus: Information & Guidelines

What you can do now, and what to prepare for

There seems to be a lack of what-to-do suggestions on tumblr beyond handwashing, so I thought I’d put something together. I’ve never actually encouraged people to reblog something of mine before, but this might be the time. To be clear: I am not personally a public health expert of any kind. Both my parents are (epidemiology/global health degrees, worked for CDC) and I’ve run this by them. My information is coming from disease researchers on twitter and official public health guidelines online. Sources at the end of the post. This is mostly directed at people in countries where COVID-19 has been reported (I’m in the U.S.), but is not *yet* widespread in the community. Written Mar. 1st 2020, last updated 3/9 (shorter, helpful twitter thread here, helpful NPR article here)

General Info

Firstly, a lot of politicians are *still* trying to sugarcoat things, but it should be clear by now that the new coronavirus is spreading widely and will continue to do so. Because of the incubation period, and in the U.S. at least the delay in testing, the number of cases is almost certainly going to increase rapidly in the near future no matter what we do now. Official government sources are helpful, but its also good to look at what experts on viral epidemics who aren’t directly government-affiliated are saying. Their agenda is purely informing the public in the most constructive way possible, without politics getting in the way.

Two key points- COVID-19 can have a long incubation period (the time from when you catch the virus to when you start showing symptoms) and most people don’t get severe symptoms. Some are entirely asymptomatic, but most people get typical flu-like symptoms. Specifically, the early symptoms to watch out for are a fever and dry cough (meaning, a stuffy nose is probably just a regular cold). Its possible but unlikely to transmit the virus while asymptomatic, most transmission happens when you have heavier symptoms.

The most vulnerable people are the elderly (~ over 60) and those with preexisting health conditions (i.e. cardiovascular disease, respiratory condition, diabetes), or a simultaneous infection with something else (NOT kids in particular!) So far the mortality rate has been about 1-2% (compared to 0.1% for the general winter flu - yes, this really is worse). However, that might be an overestimate, both because people with mild cases aren’t getting tested (the denominator should be bigger), and because the early situation in Wuhan, where a lot of our numbers come from, was especially bad in regards to availability of healthcare.

This is an emotional, difficult situation. Don’t panic. The world didn’t end in 1918, and its not going to end now. But it is very serious, and we need to be thinking about it rationally, not pretending everything is just going to be okay, or uselessly pointing blame. Take care of your mental health, and check in with each other. Epidemics test our generosity and selflessness. Those qualities are needed right now, but don’t neglect yourself either.

What You Can Do Now

There is stuff everyone can do both to prevent yourself from getting infected, and to prepare if you do. ***The big picture to keep in mind is that the biggest risk of epidemics is that they overwhelm our system, especially our healthcare system. What I mean by this is that our society is built to deal with a certain volume of things happening at once- people buying groceries, getting sick, etc. If we suddenly all rush to do something, we overburden these systems and they won’t be there for the people who need them most. Therefore our goal is to slow down the spread of disease, buying time and lowering the overall burden on these systems. This is called “flattening the curve”. It looks like this, and I cannot stress how important this is.***

A very helpful thread on preparedness

Staying Healthy

Like similar viruses (think colds and flu), COVID-19 is mostly transmitted from person to person, usually by close contact but sometimes from an infected surface. More here.

Wash your hands. Everyone has heard this one- 20 seconds, soap all over your hands, wash the soap off. If you can’t wash your hands use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer (at least 60% alcohol). But handwashing is absolutely better. Also- cough into your elbow/shoulder, not your hand, and avoid shaking hands- try elbow bumps or maybe a polite nod instead! If you’re handwashing so much that you’re hands are threatening to crack and bleed though, consider washing more strategically or using hand sanitizer instead.

In combination with hand-washing- stop touching your face, especially while out! This takes practice, everyone does it all the time without thinking. A good practice is to avoid touching your face while out, then wash your hands thoroughly as soon as you get home.

Similarly, avoid touching surfaces as much as possible! Particularly bad are door handles, elevator buttons, that kind of thing. The virus can probably (based on studies of related viruses) last a while on these. Regular gloves can help a bit. Use a tissue then throw it away, use your elbow, etc.

Do Not buy face masks! There’s mixed evidence on whether they’re at all helpful when used by the general public to prevent catching a virus, but actual medical professionals who need them are facing shortages (that’s probably part of why so many healthcare workers got sick in Wuhan), so our buying them up is really bad. The only times you should be wearing them is if you yourself are sick (they do help then!) or if you’re looking after a sick person. Seek instruction in that case in how to use them properly. (Thread on why buying those fancy masks is not good).

If COVID-19 is in your community, try to stay 6 feet from people, which basically means going places as little as possible. See below.

Planning Ahead

Its also a good idea to prepare in case you need to self-quarantine. Self-quarantine is necessary if you’ve potentially been exposed to COVID-19, or if you’re sick but not enough to need to go to the hospital. Follow local guidelines- if there’s lots of transmission in your area, nonessential workers will probably be advised to stay home as much as possible.

If you’re able, get medication now. Don’t go crazy and buy out the drug store, just a reasonable amount. Try to get at least a month’s worth of any prescription medications. This can be hard at least in the U.S. - your doctor may well be able to prescribe more, but insurance companies and drug stores can be terrible. I’ve found trying a different drugstore can sometimes help. Try your best. They may also be reluctant to prescribe more to avoid causing shortages. Idk what the right answer is here.

Don’t go crazy and buy out the store, but start getting a little extra shelf-stable or frozen food. Even some root vegetables that will last a few weeks. You want enough for 2 weeks in case of self-quarantine, but you do NOT want to empty out stores. Panic buying is definitely a stress on the system. Just add a few extra things each time you shop. Don’t forget about pets. You can always eat the food and replenish it over time.

Make a plan with your family/community. If someone gets sick or needs to self-quarantine, is there a corner of the house they can stay in? Who can take care of them? etc. I haven’t focused on plans for schools/religious communities/workplaces etc but those are very important too! This is one place where keeping an eye on local and national news is important. In the U.S., for example, school systems are planning ways to make food available to kids if they’re not going to school.

If COVID-19 is starting to spread in your community, think about how else you can be a good community member. Cancelling nonessential doctor’s appointments, surgeries etc may be very important, for example. If schools are closed, can you help out neighbors with childcare? Do you have a cleaner who may need to be payed in advance if there’s a quarantine?

If You Might Be Sick/Need to Quarantine

See likely symptoms above. Remember, normal colds still exist, and if you go to the doctor for every one of those you will overwhelm the system.

Don’t just go to a hospital! Call ahead to your doctor/clinic/hospital and get instructions on what to do. Getting healthcare workers sick is something we really want to avoid. That said, DO get tested as soon as possible, and act as if you are contagious. The health coverage situation is the U.S. is not yet clear (and ofc its not something the current admin is eager to clarify). Hopefully testing will be covered financially by the government, but I can’t promise that at this time.

In the meantime, stay home and quarantined if you show any symptoms of illness if you possibly, possibly can. This is especially difficult in the U.S. if you don’t have sick leave/childcare, but please. Do your utmost.

Look after yourself. Skype/google hangouts/etc is great for keeping connected. Have some chocolate/chicken broth/other sick foods ready.

The Big Picture

Coronavirus/COVID-19 has not been declared a pandemic yet, but it probably will be before long. This is almost certainly going to get worse before it gets better. We don’t yet know if warmer weather will slow its spread, and a vaccine will probably take about 1-1.5 years to be developed and tested. As I mentioned before, the best thing we can do to keep the world working, minimize mortality, etc is to slow the spread as much as we can, and minimize the strain on the system. Hospitals are going to be overwhelmed. There aren’t infinite unoccupied beds or ventilators, or people to operate them, and supply chains could get disrupted. Thinking about these things is scary, and it will take time to adjust to what’s happening. Start that process now, and help everyone you know reach the point where they’re able to act, not panic. Another reassuring thing- if we slow the spread of COVID-19, in addition to fewer total people getting sick, you will soon have people who are recovered and almost certainly immune. These people will be invaluable as helpers in their communities.

Now that the practical stuff is out of the way, I want to say from a U.S. perspective that yes, our lack of social welfare other countries take for granted is going to hurt us. Lack of access to childcare, no guaranteed paid sick leave, and of course expensive healthcare are massive problems that will make it much harder to limit disease transmission. Help each other in any way you can, and vote for candidates that support implementing these policies! And of course, watch out for propaganda of all kinds, whether its using the virus as an excuse for racism, calls to delay elections, etc. So far my biggest concern is a lack of willingness to admit how serious this is, but we can do this. Lets put extra pressure on politicians to be honest and change policies to actually help people. But, yes, lets also stay united. We need each other now (just, you know, 6 feet apart).

A few sources

In general, the Guardian is a great, free, reliable source of news. In the U.S., NPR (website as well as radio) is another great source. The Washington Post and Seattle Times have made their coronavirus-related coverage open access, not sure about other national newspapers.

twitter thread from World Health Organization (WHO)

U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 homepage (not being updated in some ways it should be, like total # of tests)

A reality check from some non-Governmental experts (basically, what governments don’t want to say yet, which is that this virus is going to spread, and the goal now is to infect as few people as possible, as slowly as possible. Read this.)

Why you should act now, not when things get bad in your area (we’re always operating on outdated information)

If you want the latest technical info, The Lancet (major medical journal group) has all of their content compiled here, open access.

I can do my best to answer questions (i.e. ask my dad) but those or other reliable, readily find-able sources should have you pretty well covered. Do let me know if anything on here is wrong or needs to be updated! Stay safe, stay positive, we can do this.

#coronavirus #covid19 #covid-19 #healthcare #actually important shit

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thumbgarden · 4 years ago

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What causes apples to rot on the tree

After planting young apple tree seedlings, many gardeners tirelessly take care of them and wait for a steady harvest to weaken their attention. Something they forgot to do, something they didn't have time to do, and here the first problems have appeared.

One of them is the fruit rotting on the tree. It's impossible not to notice it, and naturally, the question arises - what is it and how to deal with it?

Why do apples rot on the branches and how to prevent this trouble? We will show you in the article.

The main cause of apple rot on trees is Candida. this is a fungal disease with a wide variety of species that affects fruit, stone fruits, and even ornamentals. The spores spread rapidly in the orchard, affecting both the fruit and shoots, as well as the leaves of various crops.

As for apple trees, the disease most often occurs on mature trees with a dense canopy. Fungal spores can get on the fruit by wind or by birds or insects. This usually occurs in mid-summer, when the first rotting fruits can be found. This form of Candida is called fruit rot.

The warm and humid weather promotes the rapid spread of the disease, and if no timely countermeasures are taken, a large portion of the crop will be lost.

It has been observed that fruit rot most often affects summer apple varieties with thin skins. In addition, fruits with damaged skins are particularly at risks, such as various or even tiny cracks or punctures caused by insects, and traumatic injuries caused by hail or branches in strong winds.

Candida is characterized by an incubation period of five days. Only after this period do the first signs of the disease appear on the apple, and they are not difficult to detect. A brown spot can be seen on the apple, which soon expands and covers the entire fruit.

In another five days, the disease will enter the sporulation period, and each affected apple will cause damage to all other apples, as well as to the tree.

A close look at the surface of the spots will reveal small gray bumps, which are the spores of the fungus. Wind and birds carry these spores to neighboring fruit, and within a few weeks, healthy apples can be counted on your fingers.

Candida spores easily withstand winter frosts, and if the fungus-infected fruit will remain under the apple tree until spring, you will encounter another form of the disease Candida. in the spring, diseased apple trees will develop shriveled buds, flowers, ovaries, and scorched leaves.

HOW CAN I PROTECT MY CROPS FROM FRUIT ROT? The appearance of Candida on apple trees does not bode well for the carefree summer of the gardener. It is not possible to defeat this disease with a few sprays because no such effective product has been invented yet. Therefore, it is better to tune in and fight seriously for a long time, first of all, to try to preserve this year's crop.

First of all, carefully inspect the whole tree and carefully collect diseased and suspicious fruits. This inspection and removal of damaged fruit should not be done on an ad hoc basis, but regularly and as often as possible.

For safety reasons, it should be clearly stated that such apples should not be composted, but only burned. It is advisable to spray apple trees with a fungicide solution at least 20 days prior to harvest. Alternatively, in the treatment of fruit rot, use Bordeaux mixture or preparations of similar composition and action, etc.

If the disease is detected immediately before harvest, apple trees can be treated with a number of biological agents. The drug action is based on the destruction of plant pathogenic cells by bacterial viruses. Biologically active substances inhibit the development of pathogenic fungi, cause the multiplication of antagonistic microorganisms, and increase plant resistance to fungal and bacterial diseases.

PREVENTION OF CANDIDA It is no secret that diseases and pests mainly affect sick and weak trees. Powdery mildew and scab may seem like minor diseases at first, but the affected fruit will later develop fruit rot.

The same is true for pests: the slogan "A good garden must have enough food for everyone" doesn't work here. Of course, wasps, leaf-eating insects, and fruit moths will not eat all the apples, but they will nibble on them, and that is enough to make mono-bush disease feel at home. Therefore, among the preventive measures, the main one belongs to the correct care of the orchard.

Its main elements are: 1. Regular inspection of the orchard. 2. timely feeding and watering. 3. pest and disease control. 4. the use of drugs to improve immunity. 5. preventive fungicide and insecticide treatments 6. qualified shaping and pruning to prevent excessive crown growth 7. Spring and autumn pruning. 8. Keeping the headlands clean.

Advocates of natural agriculture use special biological complexes to improve the immunity of plants. They help plants to cope with pest attacks and various diseases on their own and resist sudden climatic changes such as heat, cold, drought, and prolonged rainfall. In addition, the use of bio-complexes in plants reduces the stress caused by the use of various pesticides and chemicals.

Special attention should be paid to preventive measures for owners of old orchards and those with abandoned orchards nearby.

TREATMENT OF CANDIDA Candida control begins in early spring. During planting, several sprays of fungicide are applied. The frequency of treatment and consumption rates depend on the drug chosen. Manufacturers write in detail in the instructions.

For example, a biological solution is sprayed on apple trees several times, starting "before budding". This preparation is effective even at low air temperatures, and, importantly, it develops the plant's immunity to fungal diseases.

At the "pre-bloom" stage, treat apple trees with the favorite mixture of Bordeaux mixture, preparing a 3% solution, and then, on the "green cones", go a step further and use a 1% solution. During the season, this preparation can be used 6 times.

When spraying trees, be sure to treat the trunk, branches, and stems. The last treatment should be applied in autumn. Beforehand, it is necessary to clean the apple tree of any remaining fruit, leaves, dry and damaged branches, and remove all debris from the rhizosphere - everything into the fire.

Dear readers Candida is an unpleasant but not fatal disease of fruit trees. As with other fungal diseases, preventive measures can greatly reduce the damage caused by the fungus. If in spite of everything, an unpleasant occurrence occurs and the apple tree is infected, perseverance and persistence will overcome this disease.

#ThumbGarden #apples #applestree #rot #Diseases #Orchard #Urban #garden #OutdoorGarden #PlantCare #Care #Inspired #Treatment

Author: Ms.Geneva Link: https://www.thumbgarden.com/apples-to-rot-on-the-tree/ Source: ThumbGarden The copyright belongs to the author. For commercial reprints, please contact the author for authorization, and for non-commercial reprints, please indicate the source.

#thumbgarden #apples #applestree #rottmnt #rotten #rot #diseases plant #diseases #orchard #urban #gardening #garden #outdoorgarden #plantcare #plant care #care #inspired #treatment

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annychristine831 · 4 years ago

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SOME VITAL INTAKES TO BOOST YOUR KID'S IMMUNITY

Most of us are in nuclear families and feel anxious about the possibility of us and our children getting sick, especially if we are working. Children with developing immune systems are especially prone to catching such infections. The cold weather makes them susceptible to many diseases, which are usually associated with winters like the flu, throat infections, and stomach problems. Since children are more careless and mostly prefer to stay outside, they are definitely more susceptible to infections and health issues. Here we are suggesting a few foods and drinks that will help in building your child’s immunity:

Fruits and vegetables

All seasonal fruits and vegetables are incredibly rich in important antioxidants and vitamins. These food groups are low in calories; however, most of them are full of vitamins A and C which help in boosting the immunity of the child. The best fruits to include in the daily diet in the form of immune-boosters are guava, orange, papaya, berries.

Protein for defense

Proteins from animal sources contain satisfactory measures of all basic amino acids and are basic for immune cells. They are found in fish, eggs, cheese, and milk. Vegetarian people can get their protein in cereals and legumes such as chickpeas, soybeans, and beans, etc.

Curd

Probiotics in yogurt stimulate your immune system. Just make sure you are using low-sugar or un-added yogurt because sugar has the opposite effect on our immune system! Yogurt is full of probiotics, good bacteria that fight and prevent the colonization of bad bacteria in the stomach, and is a great immune booster for children.

Malt health drink

Beverages play an important role in maintaining health. Just staying hydrated is a great way to boost the immune system.

The body requires water to function effectively, and this is especially true for many and varied components of the immune system. Barley Malt is the richest source of fiber. It lowers cholesterol and enhances the functioning of the immune system. And, Maltwin is one of the best malt health drinks for children, drinking Maltwin regularly improves digestion, helps building immunity and supports growth and development as it is enriched with calcium, protein, vitamins, minerals and amino acids.

Vegetables

Green leafy vegetables are essential for your growing child. Green leafy vegetables are essential for your growing child. Greens are immune-enhancing foods that also help with DNA repair. They are important antioxidants that help build the immune system in children. To strengthen the immune system convinces your kid to eat more vegetables. You can give your baby in various forms, from raw to cook, boiled, or stir-fried.

Eggs, lean meats, pulses, and everything protein

Boiled, onion, fried, or in the form of omelets — eggs are superfoods — are a rich source of protein. Egg yolk is a storage house for significant nutrients, minerals, and cancer prevention agents. Zinc and other important minerals are found in high amounts in Lean meats and that helps in increasing white blood cells. For vegetarians, lentils are a great source of protein.

Why is a strong immune system important?

The immune system makes our body strong and capable of fighting diseases and gives every organism the ability to protect it from germs and microorganisms. In most cases, the immune system keeps people healthy and does a good job of preventing infection. But now and then issues with weaknesses in the immune system can cause illness and infection. The immune system secures the body against irresistible germs and other destructive microorganisms. Consequently, immunity-boosting foods and drinks are important not only for kids but every one of us.

How you can include all these nutrients in your kid’s diet

Now, the question arises against how can you include all these food groups in their daily diet? Try to balance the diet with freshly prepared foods and some healthy packaged foods. Make sure your child’s main meal is well prepared with ginger, garlic, and turmeric, including chapati or rice, a bowl of protein (pulses /eggs /lean chicken or fish), Barley Malt Health Drink, and Vegetables. To keep them healthy, powerful antioxidants are required which are rich in vitamin C. School snacks or pre-playtime snacks can be a nutrition bar (read food labels – avoid any products that contain more sugar), or packaged fruit smoothies or yogurt that provide day by day necessities of immunity-boosting. A small bunch of blended nuts can generally be the least demanding and the best bite to pack.

Maltwin contains pure malt extract from 100% naturally malted* barley that Retains nutrients in an easily digestible form, unlike un-malted cereal extracts used by other brands.

Its high protein and 24 Essential Vitamins, Minerals and Active Immuno-Nutrients like Copper, Selenium, Zinc, Vitamins A, B6, B12, C, E & Folic Acid that helps building immunity, supports and helps in growth and development of children.

Two Glasses of Maltwin in a day ensure most of your daily nutrition requirements.

Buy Now:

https://www.amazon.in/maltwin

www.maltwin.com

Source: SOME VITAL INTAKES TO BOOST YOUR KID’S IMMUNITY

#boost your kid's immunity

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janelledarling · 4 years ago

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You know what sucks?

(And this is going to sound ridiculously selfish but it is what it is.)

Taking care of someone sicker than you when you are also sick.

You don't get the time to recover for yourself because you're too busy making sure they are completely cared for. I have a journal I'm using to keep track of the symptoms that they are experiencing, when they took their meds, what meds were taken, etc. I'm making sure everything is disinfected, everyone is eating and staying hydrated. I'm the healthiest sick person in this house, but I'm still sick too. I need to recover also. I need rest also. I've only been getting 4 hours of sleep a night because not one single person in this house can make it through the night at this time without either a fever, meds needing administered, uncontrollable coughing or needing a bath to try and break said fever. I'm exhausted. I'm wheezing like the Wheezy toy on Toy Story when I cough. My chest is rattling when I exhale. I have to use my CPAP machine through the day sometimes when my lungs need some extra help not just during the night for my SA. My body is sore. I can't taste or smell anything. Sprite is like fuzzy nothing right now. It's all just a lot.

We are in an immuno-compromised home and we have followed every single precaution. We are avid mask wearers. We wash our hands. We we use click-list or have our groceries delivered. I work from home. Other than picking up groceries and picking my children up from their visitations with their father. We don't leave the house. Yet, here we all are with COVID. How did we get here you ask? Well, shitty story! Just because we followed all the protocols to ensure the safety of our home and others, didn't mean everyone else is doing the same. My children were exposed at their weekday visitation (a literal 2 hour window) by their father. Not only did he not inform me that he was feeling under the weather. He got tested 3 days later and low and behold, was positive for COVID-19. We immediately scheduled tests for all of us, all of which were initially Negative. $140 a piece. We started showing symptoms that same day. The Doctor said they feared they might be testing too early and to come back and re-test 3 days later (and pay the additional $140 per person). After going back to re-test my youngest who started showing symptoms first, he then (as expected) tested Positive. The rest of us started showing symptoms the following day. So now we're here! The whole house is infected. The children have been slowly on the mend. The adults are struggling. I wouldn't wish this shit on anyone. For me (it's effecting all of us differently) it's like a combo of pneumonia, the flu, and a horrible cold. If you pray, please pray for healing and strength for my household. If you don't, I'll take a strong order of good vibes, good juju, good whatever you call it to get us through this healthy, happy, and at 100%.

Thanks for your time. Happy New Year!

TLDR; I'm the healthiest sick person in this house, but I'm still sick too. I'm taking care of everyone and unable to take care of myself adequately. I'm exhausted. Wear a mask. Wash your hands. And if you aren't feeling 100% even if you think it's the fucking sniffles, keep your ass at home and don't go visit with anyone.

#i just needed to tell someone #word vomit #janelledarling #covid 19 #personal #covid #January 3rd

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nickylovesrefugees · 5 years ago

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Coronavirus myths and facts

I am writing this as a doctor with an interest in infectious diseases who is currently studying a masters of international public health. Myths and facts about COVID-19. Please share if you think this is worthwhile. References in link at the end.

MYTHS

Myth: “COVID-19 is just like getting the flu”

COVID-19 is not just like the flu! The symptoms are often similar, that’s true. But there are key differences:

Influenza

Mortality: 0.1%

Vaccine availability: Vaccine updated yearly

Scientific understanding: Excellent

R0: 1.2

COVID-19

Mortality: ~3%

Vaccine availability: Does not exist

Scientific understanding: Limited, highly unpredictable

R0:2-4

Note: R0 is the number of people that the average infected person then goes on to infect

So essentially - coronavirus is much more contagious, is many times more deadly, there’s no vaccine and it’s highly unpredictable.

Myth: “Coronavirus is killed by warm weather”

I saw this floating around in a chain email purportedly from “Stanford University”, which claimed that a temperature of 26 degrees would kill the virus. There is no evidence to suggest this. If this were the case, the virus would die inside our bodies (~36 degrees) and nobody would get sick… It is important to note also that the WHO points out that cold weather similarly does not kill the virus.

Myth: “Drinking warm water kills viruses”

Nope. Water doesn’t have any toxic effects, and warming it slightly doesn’t change that. Even if it did, the virus is in your airways, not your stomach.

Myth: “If you have a runny nose, you cannot have COVID-19”

Another ridiculous claim. In general, in medicine, never/always statements are rarely correct, especially when looking at symptoms. There are always variations in symptoms between different people in the real world.

Myth: “Hand sanitiser is better than soap and water”

False. It’s the other way around. Soap breaks down the fatty bilayer which forms the “envelope” or wall of the viral particle. It does this in a similar way to ethanol-based handwashes, but most commercial hand sanitisers have a lower ethanol content and are not as effective. To be effective against coronavirus, your hand sanitiser should have at least a 60% ethanol content.

Myth: “I’m young and healthy, if I get coronavirus I’ll be fine”

Many young people who get COVID-19 will suffer a flu-like illness and not need hospitalisation but there’s also strong evidence that young healthy people can also get very sick with COVID-19. For example, more than 50% of patients admitted to ICU in France were under 60.

Myth: “If you can hold your breath for ten seconds without coughing, you cannot have COVID-19”

If it were that easy to diagnose coronavirus, the hospital and GP system would be under a whole lot less pressure. Once again, these simple, “too good to be true” claims are exactly that.

Myth: “Antibiotics can treat COVID-19”

Antibiotics have no activity against viruses - they are used exclusively for bacteria. Occasionally, very unwell people with COVID-19 may develop superimposed bacterial infections in hospital, and is this setting antibiotics will be used. But this is to treat the bacterial pneumonia, not the COVID-19 infection. Currently, there are no WHO-recommended medications to treat COVID-19, although reports are coming out of some countries that some antivirals usually used in treatment of hepatitis or HIV may be beneficial.

FACTS

Fact: Ibuprofen should be avoided in patients with COVID-19.

Ibuprofen, sold under brand names such as nurofen or advil, is an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug). It’s used for a variety of inflammatory conditions, and is also sometimes used for fever that is not responding to paracetamol. However, a paper was published on March 11 in the Lancet linking increased ACE2 levels (an enzyme that coronaviruses use to bind to target cells) with COVID-19 infection. This is relevant because ibuprofen can increase levels of ACE2, at least in rats. More research is needed in this area, but for now the WHO has recommended avoiding ibuprofenin COVID-19, and instead using paracetamol. This also implies that theremay be an argument for withholding ACE-Inhibitors (a common blood pressure medication) but the European Society of Cardiology recommends that they are continued.

Fact: Healthcare workers on the front line are doing their absolute best in a very difficult time.

Many of my best friends are working on the front lines as junior doctors, GPs, emergency or medical registrars, nurses, pharmacists and other allied health professions. They are doing their best, but the situation is constantly evolving, and guidelines continue to do change. As such, they may not test you for COVID-19 when you are expecting a test, or otherwise treat you in some way that differs from your expectations. Rest assured that they are working very hard to keep up to date, and to behave in a manner that prioritises not only your health, but also public health and the best possible allocation of resources. Please be patient and honest with, and kind to, them in these challenging times. Speaking as one of them, we really do care about you.

Fact: Panic buying deprives vulnerable people of vital necessities, and is completely unnecessary.

I’ve touched on this earlier, but please do not hoard groceries. Many elderly or people with disabilities do not have the luxury or option of visiting multiple stores, so if they go to a supermarket that has had its shelves cleared out, they have no backup option and may be forced to go without. If everyone were to return to how they shopped a month ago, everyone would have enough food!! The supermarkets never run out of pasta or toilet paper normally, and they will stop running out if people just shop normally. The supermarkets are not going to close, there is no need to hoard food.

Fact: We still have a lot of control over what happens over the next few weeks.

Here, we must learn from the examples of other countries. If we continue to treat COVID-19 with the same cavalier attitude, continuing to attend large events, public places like gyms, churches etc, we will follow in the footsteps of Italy, which now has over 30,000 cases and over 2,500 dead. The death toll there is now climbing by hundreds per day. On the other hand, a combination of widespread closures and shutdown measures, combined with individuals taking responsibility to do their absolute best, will see us closer to countries like Singapore or South Korea, which have dramatically curbed their cases.

Fact: Social distancing will save lives.

Social distancing will dramatically reduce coronavirus spread. This works both because undiagnosed cases of COVID-19 have less opportunity to spread, and because uninfected people have less opportunity to encounter coronavirus as you go about your life. So please take it seriously, even if you are feeling perfectly well. Stay home unless it is absolutely essential that you leave the house. Wash your hands often, with soap and water. Avoid touching your face.

In summary, we need to make informed, evidence-based decisions to combat this pandemic. It poses grave public health risks if not taken seriously, but we can do a lot to mitigate these risks. This needs to be led by Government, but in the absence of decisive leadership there, we must take the lead ourselves. But our response needs to be one that continues to look after the needs of our most vulnerable members of the community.

#coronavirus covid-19 australia health medicine publichealth

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bscully · 5 years ago

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Protecting yourself against the Corona Virus

So the death toll reached 1300 people recently. I'm not here to spread panic but rather educate.

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Update: I originally created this post in 13rd February. It’s 23rd February now and there are 2300 dead and 77000 infected. The virus managed to take foot abroad:

[source]

It has become a real danger at this point.

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Infection rates strongly depend on our performance as collective. Currently it does still have potential to grow into a pandemia with today's international travel. (When I typed this out 3 days ago (Update: on 10th Feb), a day later the German Robert Koch institute voiced the same concerns... Lol) If we don't take this Virus outbreak seriously enough it's gonna spread even more. Taking it seriously does not mean panic. There are things you can do. You’re not helpless. Please protect yourself.

Also do not ever trust the government with this shit. THEY HAVE BEEN NEGLIGENT in handling this.

Update: What we currently know about the virus:

The virus spreads via droplet infection

Incubation time was corrected from 14 days to up to 27 days (consider that and think about how people from many different countries were sent home). To me it seems like the virus has a very long “dormant” phase and lingers inside of your body until it manages to destroy your immune system

The virus is sneaky because even if you are infected, you show no symptoms and can still infect others in that state

It multiplies inside the throat which explains its high infectiousness (the SARS virus multiplied in the lungs)

Symptoms include breathing troubles, coughing, fever. It causes the lung to transfer less oxygen into your blood which can lead to cardiac arrest.

The death rate is supposedly about 2-5%

Supposedly around 80% of coronavirus patients only have mild symptoms while 20% have the serious form which can potentially lead to death

(This is what I managed to read in my local, non-english news, I will provide english sources later)

How to protect yourself:

Avoid large groups of people

If you use public transport (metro, bus) you might be at a high risk due to the confined space. Even more so if those transport systems are connected to international airports. In that case make sure to wear appropriate breathing protection (see below)

Cancel your travel plans, especially regions affected by the Virus

Avoid travelling to China or countries bordering to China. Ideally avoid asiatic countries altogether. Cancel your travel plans if you have any. (There was this person from Britain who infected many people in many different countries, e.g. Spain/Mallorca)

In fact, the less people travel, the better.

Take care of yourself

Because the Virus appears to have a large incubation time and might be slowly draining out its host until they become sick, take breaks, take off from work, take care of yourself. Especially if you’re feeling signs of exhaustion, or are struggling with a cold or fever. You might be struggling with an infection, or worse, the corona virus itself. Do anything that helps you recover and spare yourself.

Boost your immune system

You can boost up your immune system by

a healthy, varied diet (lots of veggies and fruit e.g. broccoli, carrots, sweet potato, citrus fruits, tomatoes, to name a few healthy crops)

dietary supplements work as well, but a healthy diet is preferred

frequent outside activities, no matter the weather

taking cold showers and breathing exercises (e.g. a la Wim Hof method)

Wash your hands frequently

20 to 30% of influenza infections can be avoided by washing your hands frequently, e.g. after using the toilet or every time you go outside, use public transport etc. etc.. It might help against the corona virus as well.

Desinfect your electronics

Tablet, cellphone, keyboard and mouse are touching our hands frequently and we hardly ever clean them (at least I don’t). Now is the time to change that. However, make sure to use the right disinfectants (see below)

Wear Breathing Protection

If you get protection masks, make sure you get the right ones. Paper masks without filter won't help. There are filtering classes that protect against different particles and need to fulfill certain norms, EN 149:2001+A1:2009 in particular for europe. You will need at least FFP3 class masks to effectively protect yourself from viruses. Surgical masks also provide FFP3 class protection IF they fulfill that specific norm (very important!!!) If it’s not normed, its not gonna help you.

Most FFP3 masks go with a ventile and are meant for single shift usage (8hours), they are marked properly with a N in that case. I have seen FFP1/2 masks being sold out in my local craft stores - lol those aren't gonna help ya much... Maybe against large dust particles, e.g. from busy streets, at most.

Use Desinfectants

Just like with breathing protection, there are different grades of desinfectants. I personally do not think that desinfectant tissues or spray you can get at most grocery stores will also kill off the Corona Virus. Desinfectant supplies intended for medical usage (surgeries) most likely will, they particularly have to fulfill the norm EN14476 in order to protect against viruses. [more info]

Stockpile on Breathing Protection and Desinfectant Spray

I keep hearing in my local news that desinfectant spray is useless and there is no point in using it at all (lol the stuff at the grocery store maybe, yes). Don’t listen to that shit. Governments and News Agencies are trying to manage the high demand and control public perception. Protect yourselves. Breathing masks and desinfectant spray are usually sold out in many online stores and local stores alike and you should get them when you see them. You don’t have to buy a 5 months supply (yet), but they’re good to have until production rates meet the high demand.

#corona virus #covid-19 #news #politics #guide

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ineedrelationshipadvice · 5 years ago

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Is it okay that I dont see my boyfriend during this pandemic? He asks me to come over but I don't think it's the best idea to, because it's advised we isolate and my job (that I have to go to because we haven't shut down) is high risk because I'm a cleaner at a venue so I see multiple different people and clean up gross things everyday, but he says that because I can go out to work then I can go out and see him. I dont want to hurt his feelings but I dont think he's seeing the big picture

There really isn’t precedent for this sort of thing. So suffice it for me to say, but you should probably follow the laws. The county I live near just went on mandatory shelter-in-place, which generally means going out for any reason at all. If you’re in an area where that’s happening, just make sure you’re following the rules and regulations outlined by your local officials. Last thing you want is to go to meet your boyfriend and get a citation for breaking travel restrictions.

But let’s say that you’re not sheltering-in-place. Should you still see your partner?

I think that really comes down to preference. A cleaner isn’t inherently a high-risk job; the level of risk rises with the amount of people you’re meeting with, not just because you’re interacting with gross stuff. As long as you’re cleaning with appropriate attire on and not licking doorknobs and stuff, you will probably be fine on the front of getting sick, and seeing your partner won’t be that big of a deal.

The thing to take into account, however, is that Coronavirus is INCREDIBLY easy to transmit. And moreover, people can be asymptomatic for a very long time, and may not show any severe symptoms at all. This means that if you’re infected, but don’t realize it, you could be a risk to essentially everyone around you. How likely is that to actually happen? Again, depends on the generalized risk, depending on way too many factors.

It also needs to be reminded that young people are not immune to Coronavirus. Just because older folks are at the highest risk doesn’t mean the rest of us aren’t. Even if most of us just weather the virus and get on it, there are new figures rising that say young people who do get sick can get severely ill. Quoted from here:

But of the 508 patients known to have been hospitalized, 38 percent were notably younger — between 20 and 54. And nearly half of the 121 patients who were admitted to intensive care units were adults under 65, the C.D.C. reported.

Nobody wants to get sick with this. And your boyfriend may not be taking it seriously, but it is serious. At the same time, humans need connection, and it’s perfectly natural to want to see the people that care about you. You just have to go into doing such things with the full acceptance that something bad might happen, and decide whether that risk is worth it for you.

________

As a final note for this, because I’m sure there are many reading this who are in a similar position of wanting to see their loved ones, but are not sure what to do. I’m just going to assume that all of us are dumb monkeys with smartphones, because that’s what we are, and we’re very frequently going to make very stupid decisions in our own self-interest.

Thus, if you’re considering or planning to visit your romantic partner while self-isolating, here is a quick rundown of things to take into account.

First, when should you NOT see your partner?

Are you around sick people? This applies especially to anyone working in a hospital, grocery store, or with other essential services. You’re around a lot of people. Just don’t do it.

Are you feeling under the weather? It doesn’t matter if it’s the cold, a simple cough, the flu, or actual coronavirus. If you’re not feeling well, STAY HOME.

Have you been to a high risk area recently? This includes anywhere that a lot of people were. The beach, Disneyworld, foreign country, concert. Doesn’t matter. If you were recently around a huge number of people, STAY HOME and see if you develop symptoms.

Does the law say to stay home? Obey the law.

And then, assuming you ARE seeing your partner because you simply can’t help yourself, how can you make sure you’re not getting them sick?

WASH YOUR HANDS. You should already be doing this all the time anyway, and if you don’t know how, a video is here and down below. But first thing you do when you get to your partner’s house, WASH YOUR HANDS. No hugs, no spanks, no nothing. Straight to the sink with you.

STRIP. Man, who knew coronavirus was so sexy? But seriously, take off your damn clothes. If you drove from your house to theirs by yourself, it’s no big deal. But if you were out and about, interacting or nearby other people, or on public transit, why bother taking the risk of the virus being on your clothes? Bring a clean set of clothes with you, and change into them immediately. Leave them in a corner of the room or in your bag until it’s time to go home, and don’t interact with them. This way, if by some weird circumstance the virus IS on your clothes, you can get all cuddly without transmitting it from surface to your partner, or to yourself. Personally, being a bit of a germaphobe myself, this is the first thing I do any time I get home.

WASH AND SHOWER. Again, this mostly applies if you were in public or on public transport, especially at your work. But go ahead and take your shower first thing. If you have coronavirus on you, it could be on your skin, on your hair, on your face. It’s invisible, so there’s no way to know. So just take a shower! Easy peasy, and you’ll be smelling great.

SEXY TIME ANNOUNCEMENTS. Let’s be clear, coronavirus gets into the body through - usually - us dumb humans getting it on our hands, and touching our eyes, nose, mouth, ears, etc. So can you be sexy with your partner? GOOD QUESTION, and I don’t have the answer. So don’t take the risk with your dirty hands. If you want to be physically affectionate, follow the rules above: wash up thoroughly just to make sure. The other concern is if you have the virus, and you start making out or smashing your partner, you could be spreading the virus. Again, this is no guarantee, and I’m no healthcare professional. But just be aware that this is directly putting yourself and your partner at risk in the event either one of you have the virus. Just be careful, and don’t be a hero if one person’s sick, and the other’s like, “I DON’T MIND I LOVE YOU.” Not this time, player.

SHARING IS NOT CARING. Lots of partners will frequently share lots of things. Anything from cups and finger-foods, to as much weird stuff as toothbrushes, hairbrushes, and other stuff. Firstly, don’t share tooth or hairbrushes with people, that’s super unhygienic. But secondly, consider sharing less for now. If you or your partner share a cup of water, that’s one more opportunity for someone who has the virus in their system to pass it. Go reenact the Lady in the Tramp spaghetti scene later; right now, just use your own silverware, your own cups, your own plates, etc.

BE AWARE OF WHO THEY SPEAK TO. The whole point of social distancing is that we’re interacting with the minimum number of people possible. If you and your boyfriend are only seeing each other, and nobody else beyond your work, that’s an OKAY scenario. Not great, but not bad. But if either you or your boyfriend are also visiting family, visiting other friends, going to their own job, etc., this should be a hard no-go. Social distancing only works if we literally distance ourselves socially. That sucks, but it’s for the sake of everyone. If your boyfriend is visiting his other friends, his family, his coworkers, then you two should be highly aware of the web of people you’re interacting with. You’re already taking a risk by associating with one another; if you two are socializing as per normal, that’s just not good in any way.

Again, I’m not a healthcare provider. Listen to other people before me. But I know how hard it is to deny yourself contact with your significant other. It’s hard on everyone. And I know people are going to do it out of some romantic sense of love, and I can’t stop anyone from doing that.

My goal here is to minimize the damage. PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING, even when it sucks. Make sure you’re interacting with the minimum amount of people as possible while anyone around you might be sick. If that means that the sucky reality is you won’t get to see your partner very much, then that’s just life. Have internet dates, find other ways to associate. There are alternatives.

And wash your fuckin’ hands.

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faeratil · 5 years ago

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American Healthcare is a fucking joke

I’ve been avoiding going to the doctor since I got diagnosed with asthma, chronic migraines, chronic tendinitis, and celiac all within three months of each other when I was 15. Prior to that, I spent two years before in and out of doctors offices with strep, pneumonia, a hairline fracture from cheekbone to cheekbone, hyperextended joints, loose joints, chipped bone stuck in my joints (I did musicals and was very fragile), and broken noses (my nose is just super fragile and will break if it gets flicked...). When I was 16, I was still super sick despite having been treated for all of that. I was referred to a dermatologist, an allergist, a physical therapist, and a gastroenterologist. I also have been wearing glasses since I was 7 and frequently have to update my lens prescriptions because I have astigmatism in both eyes so I was regularly going to optometrists as well.

By 17 I was sick of all the doctors visits because we could only afford the most basic of care and sometimes I’d have to go without prescriptions because we couldn’t pay for all of it. I saw my mom cry talking to one of the nurses at the front desk at the last visit I went to before I graduated high school because she couldn’t even pay the visitation fee. I still have my wisdom teeth because we couldn’t afford to get mine out and I’m afraid they’re going to get infected, but there’s no way in hell I’d be able to afford the surgery to get them removed.

After I graduated, I didn’t go to the doctor unless it was an emergency. I’m almost 23 and I think I’ve gone 3 times to a general practitioner in the past 5 years. I’ve had the same glasses for 5 years and I don’t tell anyone but I can’t see very well out of them anymore. I still have my wisdom teeth. The tissue in my shoulder grew around the piece of chipped bone because I couldn’t afford the surgery to get the chip removed. My ankles are still loose because I can’t afford the physical therapy to strengthen them. My wrist is still too weak to support even half what my other wrist can because I can’t afford the therapy for that. I tried to find affordable therapy with a psychologist for my BPD but I can’t even afford their payment plan.

About a year ago, I noticed my body starting to shut down a bit. I didn’t have the same strength I used to. I woke up really stiff and my hands and feet would be in excess pain. I wrote it off as me just overworking myself and took a couple days off (losing pay for those days since I was an hourly employee), but they didn’t get better. Cold weather hit and the pain moved into my wrists and ankles. Every couple months it would creep further up. A few months ago, the pain was in my knees and wrists. My hands hurt so bad I couldn’t move them. So I went to the doc. Arthritis. And not juvenile or osteoarthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis. He told me he’d send me information about tests to take before they’d give me a referral to a rheumatologist, but I still haven’t even gone in for one test because the tests alone cost more than what I’m already paying for my other chronic problems.

This morning, I felt the pain creeping towards my shoulders and my hips, and maybe it was that I slept wrong, but I’ve been avoiding treatment for a problem that started years ago because even still I can’t afford to be healthy. I can’t afford painkillers that would make it easier to get up in the morning. That would let me walk around a park or a mall with friends and family for more than ten minutes without needing to sit down because my joints can’t carry me any longer. Since it’s been getting so bad, I decided to crunch numbers. For the medications I’m supposed to be taking but haven’t because I can’t afford it, I would be paying roughly $2000-3000 annually. That doesn’t include the visits, tests, physical therapy costs, surgery costs for my teeth and for my shoulder, hospital stays during the surgery, and even if I got new glasses which I’m supposed to get annually which would all come close to $3000 with insurance coverage if not even more. The annual cost of having RA is on average $5000. In health expenses alone, I’m supposed to be paying around $10,000 a year. As a full time employee with an hourly wage, I still only make $16,000-18,000 a year. With rent, groceries, gas, maintenance, etc. I can’t afford to both survive and be healthy. I either afford rent, groceries, gas, etc. and never take care of my health so I end up unable to work and on the street, or I take care of my health and end up on the street.

Either the healthcare industry needs to charge a fuckton less, or minimum wage needs to be raised to match the rising cost of healthcare. Or better yet. Why not both? Why are only rich people allowed to be healthy? It’s bullshit.

#long rant #long post #sorry for personal shit #personal shit #personal rant #fuck america #healthcare #cant afford to be healthy #american health system #its a fucking mess #yes i know i have a lot of health problems

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cibokilley · 6 years ago

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Consider This: Cat Edition

Also: How to Improve Relations With Your Cat

So, I’ve got a bit of a rant to make about how to better your friendship with your pet cat. I’m gonna outline some of the obvious stuff first before moving on to My Opinion™, which means I’m not an expert but probably better than the average layman when it comes to dispensing experiential wisdom.

Here we go~!

As a cat owner myself, I’ve sought out a ton of anecdotal advice as well as expert advice on the raising and treatment of pet cats. Some advice I’ve had to ignore, while others made life so much easier for me and my cat. Along the way, I subconsciously developed a set of standards for my interaction with my cat, which I feel like might benefit cat owners across the board, new or experienced.

Also, please be aware that this is MY take on this subject. Not all cats are the same. Nonetheless, accept the challenge of getting to you know your cat better by remembering these important rules:

(That said, I’m gonna address cats as ‘her’ because ‘it’ tends to create distance by dehumanizing or Othering others, not just your cat).

1. You can judge a (hu)man by the way he treats the help, children, and animals.

How well do you treat service people? How do you treat your children? Or better yet, how do you treat other people in general? Think about that, and then apply it to your cat. You may be guilty of treating your cat like shit, despite good intentions. Ignorance is your enemy here. So, here are some tips on how to respect your cat:

2. Cats aren’t dogs. Stop expecting her to behave like one.

3. Cats aren’t humans. Stop projecting. Cats have cat needs.

4. Wash their feed and water bowls frequently. Just because your cat is willing to eat off the floor doesn’t mean they should tolerate a filthy dish. Doing so will keep your cat free of bacterial infections, gut problems, and disease. If the bowl has a pink or blue rime in it, WASH IT with SOAP. If it’s got a nice green or black colony stain, pitch the bowl if it’s plastic, WASH WITH SOAP if it’s glass or metal. Wash OFTEN.

Same goes for food! Don’t leave food rotting in the bowl. Pitch it when it gets horrid, clean the dish, serve fresh. Also, don’t starve your cat just because she doesn’t like the food you bought for her. Don’t punish your cat like that. Would you do that to a child or a friend? No? Then don’t do it to your cat.

5. If your cat is sitting on your lap or is being carried in your arms, do not suddenly drop or dump your cat onto the floor. I see this all the goddamn time and it drives me nuts. How would you like it if you were suddenly shoved off the couch? Or if someone picks you up and then just drops you without warning? Just because cats usually land on their feet doesn’t mean they should. Heavy landings can stress joints or cause joint and muscle injury, especially if your cat is heavy-set or elderly.

6. Pet your cat nicely. I always see people petting their cats like they would a dog, that is, with a heavy slap on the back of the head followed by a hard stroke along the spine. How would you like it if someone just slammed a hand onto your head and then tried to push you down to the floor? Yeah. Pet her nicely. Stop being rough with your cat. (The exception is playtime, coz then your cat is expecting it.) She’ll probably just keep avoiding you if you pet her like a maniac.

7. Stop punishing your cat after the fact. Unless she is rebuked the very second she does a Bad, your cat will not understand why you’re punishing her. Cats don’t make that connection. It makes you look inconsistent and unpredictable, and she will not trust you as easily. Example: My mother, who is not a cat person, tried to punish my cat for scratching her. This meant ignoring my cat for days. My cat did not know why she was being ignored, and just spent most of the time hiding. My mother was convinced that my cat was sulking because she felt guilty, and that ignoring her would be effective in getting my cat to understand what she had done wrong. I had to explain to my mother that cats don’t operate like that; cats are not like children. Also: stop projecting onto your cat.

8. LISTEN to your cat. The only reason cats meow is to communicate with humans. Cats have evolved especially to sound like babies in order to get our attention.* Mothers will meow to kittens and kittens will mew in return, but when a cat is making noises at you, it wants your attention. Also, pay attention to the tone of meow she makes.She may be expressing displeasure (which will be followed up by a scratch or a bite!), fear, or she may be alerting you to something (like a fire, or if something in the current environment changes abruptly). If your cat gives you a warning noise, then abstain from whatever you’re doing. Do this, and your cat will make a better habit of warning you before she strikes. Cats that strike without talking have usually skipped the warning because they fully expect to be ignored.

9. CLEAN THE GODDAMN LITTERBOX. If the smell is offensive to you, imagine what it’s like for your cat, who has a much more sensitive nose than you do. Not only that, but would you use a toilet full of mounds of crap that hasn’t been cleaned, ever? When your cat stops using her litterbox because it’s full, absolutely do not punish her for peeing on the carpet. This is YOUR fault. Clean the damn box.

Advanced Level:

10. Imagine things from your cat’s perspective. You are a soft, small creature in a giant’s world. Everything is bigger than you: trees, cars, dogs, and especially humans. And most of the time, dumbass humans are not paying attention to anything. All you have are your teeny claws and a bacterial bite to defend yourself with. None of these things will save you if a human suddenly decides to grab you or if you get hit by a car. So, if your cat seems tense or easily startled, understand that she’s a small cat in a human’s world.

That said, if you accidentally frighten your cat, you CAN go and find her and pet her gently until she’s not so scared anymore. Many people just shrug and leave their cat alone, and assume that she’ll just get over it. That’s not the case -- your cat CAN experience trauma even from domestic events (like turning on the vacuum cleaner or because the washer makes a loud noise), but her paranoia can be abated if you seek her out and reassure her that you’re not mad at her, and that the scary thing is gone now. When you do this, be gentle. Approach from an angle where she can see you, or make a little noise to let her know you’re nearby.

Also try to understand when your cat is suffering. Is she ill? Is she cold? Overheating? Is she sore, or in pain? Cats hide when they’re feeling under the weather, so if she’s suddenly not present or as playful, and if her tail is down, then take her to the vet asap. Don’t let things escalate. If it was your own kid who suddenly came down sick, wouldn’t you take it to see a doctor straight away?

Your cat is a thinking, feeling being just like you. Show her some respect. Be the person your cat deserves.

Super Advanced Level:

Consider the life of your cat. All she’s ever known prior to meeting you was probably her own mother, or if she was rescued or separated too young, then she only knows that she gets passed around, and nobody talks to her. But when you finally come into the picture, either when she’s still a kitten or as a rescue much later on, YOU become her universe. Her entire day revolves around you: Getting up in the morning, breakfast, disappearing off to work for the day, coming home, dinner, then going to bed. Now, imagine: if every single one of your interactions with your cat is a positive one -- for example, petting and greeting and offering treats, or talking to her making eye contact, etc -- then that’s all your cat will know. And having your cat know only joy when she’s with you is something you want for her, right? If you’re always mean to her, or when you shove her away or ignore her, then she’ll think you’re weird and unpredictable and a little scary, and not very nice to be with at all. You’re all she has in life -- so please, make your cat’s life a happy one.

Epilogue:

If you want to develop a close bond with your cat, just spend time with her. Sit down with her, rub her belly (if she lets you, lol), pet her and talk to her, play with her, find out what she likes. Find out what her meow tones are, observe her body language, see what she looks like when she’s hungry or bored or playful or tetchy. Watch that tail, watch those ears. Feel bad about never making time for your cat? Don’t get another cat because you think she’s lonely. She wants to be with YOU, not some other cat.

Does your cat talk to you a lot? Good, because it means you’re communicating. That’s what friends do. Don’t treat your cat like you would a stranger. YOU are her entire world. Don’t be a shitty world to your cat.

Bonus: The Tail Code

Tail up -- happy

Tail down -- sad, in pain, scared, angry

Tail tucked -- insecure, nervous

Tail in a question mark -- playful, curious

Tail at medium, neither high or low -- meh, bored.

Tail puffed -- frightened, agitated, startled. Also accompanied by fur raising on end, arched back, ears back, hissing. May also walk sideways on her toes, looks super weird.

Tail down and switching from side to side, ‘whipping’ -- pissy. May strike or bite.

Tail up and wagging, ‘swishing’ -- very happy, content, focused.

Tail up and trembling -- super excited.

Tail wrapped around another cat, or your arm -- friendly, like an arm around the shoulder.

#*debateable!#cats #cat health #cat problems #cat issues #super informal #cat advice #grain of salt

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