in those with chronic anxiety. Not a good thing for warding off illness.

My 16 year old son got sick on Sunday. Started coughing in the morning and by night time had fever, chills, and shortness of breath. Monday he was positively miserable and the fever crossed over officially into "high" territory. Yesterday he woke up feeling about the same, but his temperature was a little lower, bouncing between mid-grade and high fever. By evening he was moving around better, breathing was returning to normal, and his temp went into low-grade territory. This morning his temp is normal, his cough is more like a lingering nagging cough typical of cold/flu recovery rather than barking seal, and he says his breathing is just fine.

OMG, you would have thought he was destined to be the next confirmed case of COVID-19 if you'd asked my mom and sister two days ago.

call his pediatrician to let her know what was going on in case they had a public health directive to report any patients with such symptoms. Just got off the phone with her now letting her know he's fine.

We're in cold and flu season. Folks are going to get sick with stuff other than COVID-19. Why muddy the waters?

Link to tweet

It is not time to freak out yet but I have been thinking about it in the case of a full-on pandemic. I was wondering if gloves wouldn't be more effective than masks.

My thinking is really about about breaking the simplest of habits. I am like most people, I touch my face way more than I realize. It is automatic and unthinking on my part. And largely completely unnecessary.

So what could change that habit is something that breaks that unconscious action. Gloves would do it. they would be so out of place that I would be more conscious of my hands. Even if I got used to them, I would notice if I started moving them towards my face. I think I could cut unnecessary hand to face contact down to nearly non-existent.

In other words, more of a habit training tool than a prophylaxis.

In general, I am not one to overreact to risks. But we are being asked to practice better hygiene and those are habits that can keep us healthier against all of the bugs.

Last edited Thu Mar 5, 2020, 04:24 AM - Edit history (1)

It’s too bad some DUers have to be so crappy. I think you should just ignore them. Doctors and nurses use them all the time when touching or caring for patients. It’s a health issue and it works. They do take them off and throw them out after touching each patient so they don’t spread any germs. They’re cheap and they come in boxes so people could use them intelligently, changing them often when they’re out and about.