MEDICAL MATTERS

[Tizer]

Another small point to make with that advice about not mixing bleach with other things - not only is it likely to inactivate the bleach's disinfectant activity but it means you're likely to subject yourself to what is effectively a poisonous gas attack!

[Sue]

Another small point to make with that advice about not mixing bleach with other things - not only is it likely to inactivate the bleach's disinfectant activity but it means you're likely to subject yourself to what is effectively a poisonous gas attack!

Which is what I was implying when I said it could be highly dangerous...

[Stanley]

That reminds me of something I once learned the hard way. Never smoke a cigarette in an ether laden atmosphere. They tell me the chemical reaction produces a gas very close to phosgene....
It made me and Wallace go very queer many years ago.

[Cathy]

2 of Adelaide’s major Hospitals have dedicated Clinics to test patients for the Coronavirus. 1 north, 1 south.
A Drive- thru testing Clinic (opens tomorrow). Testing is done thru the car window and takes 5 minutes. Symptoms and a GP referral are required, and results will be received within 24hrs.
Australia has a $100M stash of medical supplies kept in hiding places all over the country. Known as the National Medical Stockpile, it has been gradually accumulated for more than a decade, in case of a bioterrorist attack, medical emergencies or pandemics.
Stock includes 20 million masks, antibiotics, vaccines and hand sanitisers.
I imagine the UK would have triple the supplies.

[Marilyn]

Step-son is in self isolation since yesterday after returning from overseas....we phoned him tonight and he is coping ok, though has to have food delivered, that is left for him to collect from the empty foyer ( he has to go down alone with a mask on to collect his food.). He will be ok. We chatted tonight and can tell he is ok, ( he loves his sport on TV and seems to be getting it) and he only has to ring if he feels lonely.

[plaques]

Big Kev mentioned an app for contacting your doctor and pointed at Patient Access. I've just had a quick look at Patient Access, like all size 12 hats that get involved with computer programmes they' have made as simple system complicated. On my first pass through I can't see any reference to apps for talking to your doctor but there again I have a very short fuse for these matters. What I did come across was some very sound advice ...

Myth: "It's less dangerous than flu"

Because of its symptoms and spread, the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (called coronavirus from now on), which causes COVID-19, is being compared to the annual flu virus. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that flu kills between 290,000 to 650,000 people each year worldwide. Some years have been even more devastating, such as the 1918 epidemic, which affected around half of the world's population and killed 40-50 million globally.

In terms of proportions rather than number of deaths, COVID-19 seems to be deadlier than the annual flu. The flu is cited by experts as having a death rate of around 0.1%. The UK government estimates that the death rate for COVID-19 is around 2% or less: other researchers put the figure at around 1%.

But COVID-19 isn't a death sentence. Around 80% of cases are mild and only a small proportion will have serious or severe infections. Interstingly, a new research paper suggests that even a 1% estimate of mortality may be a significant overestimate, on the basis that many people have such mild infection that they're never diagnosed and included in the figures.

Coronavirus has a higher basic reproduction number (the number of people each individual will infect). For coronavirus, each case will cause an average of 2.2 cases, compared to 1.3 for flu.

The concerning difference between flu and coronavirus is that this is a new virus. We don't yet know how to treat it, which medications might be effective or the long-term implications. And there isn't a vaccine yet available. Even though there are thousands of cases of flu each year in the UK, a huge number of cases are prevented by the flu vaccine. The vaccine also prevents more serious cases of flu and protects vulnerable groups who may otherwise die from flu.

Scientists are currently working to create a vaccine to protect against COVID-19 but it will be many months before it is available to the public. This is because of the rigorous testing vaccines have to go through to ensure effectiveness and catch any side effects.


Marilyn. If the above is true then Step-son should be OK.

[Marilyn]

Step-son is in mandatory self isolation AT HIS OWN EXPENSE...(and there is no mini bar folks!). He is not at home. He is in motel type accommodation, but of the most basic type.
He has access to fresh air, but no room service whatsoever...he can not go anywhere, and no fresh towels.

[Marilyn]

Step-sons tests have come back negative, so he has wandered out to buy a bottle of wine. He is free from isolation...and very pleased to be back in the real world.
He still cannot leave his location for 48 hours...

[Big Kev]

Big Kev mentioned an app for contacting your doctor and pointed at Patient Access.

Patient Access can be used to contact the surgery to make appointments, order repeat prescriptions and read your medical records. At present there's no facility to 'video conference' with your GP.

[Wendyf]

Step-sons tests have come back negative, so he has wandered out to buy a bottle of wine. He is free from isolation...and very pleased to be back in the real world.
He still cannot leave his location for 48 hours...

Pleased to hear that Maz. I worry about my son, working in a factory and prone to catching every bug going.

[Big Kev]

Good news Maz.

[Tizer]

That reminds me of something I once learned the hard way. Never smoke a cigarette in an ether laden atmosphere. They tell me the chemical reaction produces a gas very close to phosgene....It made me and Wallace go very queer many years ago.

If you smoked a cigarette in the presence of ether vapour you would end up in a ball of fire! It's extremely inflammable and the vapour will flash from any source of ignition and burn everything around it. If your were smoking and could smell ether I can only think that there had been some ether vapour there but it had dispersed and your nose was picking up faint traces left behind.

Maz, I'm glad to hear your son is pronounced OK and out of isolation!

Plaques, interesting you should mention about the comparison between standard influenza and the covid infection. I wrote to the BBC this morning saying we need more feedback from people who have had the covid infection and survived to tell us how bad (or not so bad) it was. Chinatyke posted on OG that people in China felt it was worse than influenza. I also asked them to give us figures for the extent of infections and/or deaths in various countries in proportions of the population and not as absolute numbers, which are less helpful.

On apps for video, I believe there are commercial apps available but you have to pay and they only cover a small number of UK surgeries at present. The NHS web site says they are working on providing an app.

[Stanley]

Tiz, the vapour was Easy Start for diesel engines. I always assumed it was ether but could be mistaken. It was a cold day and we were in a freezing garage and the Easy Start was hanging in the air like a mist. It didn't explode but we were both poorly and were told it was Phosgene from the reaction of the vapour with our cigarettes. (LINK)

[chinatyke]

Tiz, the vapour was Easy Start for diesel engines. I always assumed it was ether but could be mistaken. It was a cold day and we were in a freezing garage and the Easy Start was hanging in the air like a mist. It didn't explode but we were both poorly and were told it was Phosgene from the reaction of the vapour with our cigarettes. (LINK)

Easy Start contains pet-ether which isn't even an ether but a mixture of short chain alkanes like hexane. Phosgene contains chlorine (COCl₂)
which could come from dry cleaning liquids like carbon tetrachloride, perchlorethylene, triclone etc. Chlorine compounds are not used in in easy start preparations because these inhibit combustion. Pure diethyl ether doesn't contain chlorine either. It's possible you were light headed because of the pentane/hexane fumes.

[Tripps]

I'd wondered who would be the first MP to be infected with the Virus. We now know it's Nadine Dorries who is a former nurse, and a Current Health Minister.

When was she last in the Commons? Will all members now have to self isolate and will the House need to be deep cleaned. Not good for the high risk members of the House of Lords.

[Marilyn]

Step-son is still not free to travel to his home yet. I think he hears tomorrow if he can go home. I’m not sure if he has to be tested again. The hotel accommodation does not do meals, so he has to be delivered by Uber ( at his own cost).
What would he have done in the old days before Uber? Meals on Wheels?

[Stanley]

Tiz, we must have been given bum information by the docs at the hospital then. They thought we were bad enough to take us there, bit more than light-headed!
I am getting fed up of hearing that if you are 84 and have cancer or diabetes you are going to die! THANKS FOR THAT!!
I have started a mild form of self isolation now, being very careful about being near people and watching hand hygiene. All I have to do is survive until they produce a vaccine!

[Marilyn]

Cheer up. And keep faith in the bleach!
Pop your wallet in the fridge when you get home from the shops to kill anything on money/change you have been given.

[Stanley]

I'm doing all I can Maz. My revived interest in the shed is good, that occupies my mind and isn't nagging me.Good point about money! I wonder how the new polymer notes will react to a bleach solution?

[Marilyn]

You will have to test reaction to chemicals BUT DO NOT IRON OR MICROWAVE THE BUGGARS!
Gone in 5 seconds!

[Stanley]

Sounds as though you have tried it!
Something that struck me this morning that hasn't been mentioned as far as I can see. If you are tested for Covid19 and are negative that doesn't mean you are immune. As I understand it you could pick up another infection on the same day! Worth bearing in mind. I wonder how many people relax their precautions after a negative test?

[plaques]

Pop your wallet in the fridge when you get home from the shops to kill anything on money/change you have been given.

Will it kill the debts on my credit card or just kill the card?

[Tizer]

I wouldn't rely on a fridge (or even a freezer) to kill viruses and we don't yet know much about this coronavirus anyway. Influenza viruses usually survive better in a cold rather than a hot environment.

Stanley, I agree with China that you were probably temporarily poisoned by inhaling the hydrocarbons.

[Tripps]

we don't yet know much about this coronavirus anyway

True - here's the latest tally from Italy - overshadowed in the news, by the budget.

Nearly 200 people in Italy have died in 24 hours as cases of coronavirus in the country continue to rise. There have been 827 deaths in Italy and the number of cases increased by more than 2,000, from 10,149 to 12,462, official figures showed.

[PanBiker]

World Health Organisation have declared that it is now an official global pandemic.