Free Covid Home Test program resuming Monday

[DisneyMomx7]

Ordered!

 

[leahgoogle]

So just keep scrolling. Why why why do people keep arguing this crap! Wear a mask. Don’t wear a mask. Just everyone shut up about it. No one is changing anyone’s mind anyway. Good grief.

Yikes! That was a statement, not an argument. Whether you believe in never wearing masks or wearing them 24/7, the ability to scroll goes both ways.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

This has little to do with COVID, but I clicked on this link because I came home from Disney last month with COVID. I came home from Disney last night (a month after my last trip) and I'm fine this time around!
Anyway, I saw 3 grown women NOT wash their hands after using the bathroom stall. I don't care WHAT you did in that stall, but you should be washing your hands afterwards. I was astonished by seeing 3 different women on separate occasions not washing their hands.
I still saw lots of people sneezing and coughing and not covering it. So strange to me that all these hygiene issues are out there with adults. I also had an entire family barefoot on my plane ride home last night. 2 kids and 1 adult. One girl, around 3, had her feet resting on the airplane tray table.

Tis the season with back to school germs as it is every year at this time.

Anyway, I ordered some free COVID tests just to have on hand in case anyone in my friends and family circle need one. It's good to stay on top of your health and identify any issues as soon as they come up. This last strain of COVID had me sick for almost 3 weeks, and I would consider myself in excellent health as a 48 year old woman. I took Ivermectin and Augmentin (and Amoxicillin after Augmentin did a number on me). I was prescribed Paxlovid from my PCP, but I can't swallow pills so that didn't work out for me. That's when I turned to a Telehealth doctor visit and an eventual in-person urgent care visit when the cough got so bad.

I'm not into hand sanitizer and I don't wear masks, but I am into basic routine hygiene practices. COVID can find you anywhere. Stay healthy, my Disney friends, and do what is best for you.

 

[starlite_]

"A recent study found that more cancer patients died of COVID during the omicron surge (Feb 2022)
than in the first winter wave (2020-21), in part because people around them had stopped taking precautions."

https://news.yahoo.com/hospitals-viruses-everywhere-masks-not-141717787.html

This is so sad.

 

[georgina]

This has little to do with COVID, but I clicked on this link because I came home from Disney last month with COVID. I came home from Disney last night (a month after my last trip) and I'm fine this time around!

You could have still had immunity from fighting it a month ago.

I do find it sad some people on this thread would prefer to spread Covid around rather than take a free home test and reasonable precautions if positive.

 

[LuvOrlando]

This has little to do with COVID, but I clicked on this link because I came home from Disney last month with COVID. I came home from Disney last night (a month after my last trip) and I'm fine this time around!
Anyway, I saw 3 grown women NOT wash their hands after using the bathroom stall. I don't care WHAT you did in that stall, but you should be washing your hands afterwards. I was astonished by seeing 3 different women on separate occasions not washing their hands.
I still saw lots of people sneezing and coughing and not covering it. So strange to me that all these hygiene issues are out there with adults. I also had an entire family barefoot on my plane ride home last night. 2 kids and 1 adult. One girl, around 3, had her feet resting on the airplane tray table.

Tis the season with back to school germs as it is every year at this time.

Anyway, I ordered some free COVID tests just to have on hand in case anyone in my friends and family circle need one. It's good to stay on top of your health and identify any issues as soon as they come up. This last strain of COVID had me sick for almost 3 weeks, and I would consider myself in excellent health as a 48 year old woman. I took Ivermectin and Augmentin (and Amoxicillin after Augmentin did a number on me). I was prescribed Paxlovid from my PCP, but I can't swallow pills so that didn't work out for me. That's when I turned to a Telehealth doctor visit and an eventual in-person urgent care visit when the cough got so bad.

I'm not into hand sanitizer and I don't wear masks, but I am into basic routine hygiene practices. COVID can find you anywhere. Stay healthy, my Disney friends, and do what is best for you.

People are so gross, this is probably why I was able to avoid the plague so long in the first place.

I am a people watcher and while I am mostly amused it is tough to be a people watcher and not be by certain things. People's bathroom habits are gross so I can't imagine not washing up simply from being in there where other people use it, like that sink handle & exit handle has got to be covered with all sorts of ick. I have always wiped down the carts because people do not cover coughs and sneezes so I feel like I am grabbing someone else's sneeze bar. I always wiped down my hotel room, rental cars and fast food restaurant table because I see how people behave when they get comfy & just eww, never mind Covid I have no desire to swap germs with people I wouldn't shake hands with.

The fact that Covid caused such a drain in cleaning supplies was a real eye opener to me, like what on earth were you not doing before? There should be an ad campaign, "Soap is your friend."

 

[focusondisney]

I have always wiped down the carts because people do not cover coughs and sneezes so I feel like I am grabbing someone else's sneeze bar.

I wipe down pretty much the whole shopping cart, lol. Kids in the cart with their dirty shoes were bad enough, but the last few years I’ve seen several dogs riding in the baskets too. . Yes, I want your dog’s butt sitting where I’m going to put my lettuce, thank you so much.

 

[sam_gordon]

First, I've got nothing to back this up.
I'm not a scientist, biologist, internist, or any kind of -ist, and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

All that being said, I still wonder if our fascination with making sure everything we touch is sanitized actually hurt us. By not allowing out bodies to process "minor" bugs and illnesses made us ill prepared when a major illness came along.

No, I'm not saying Covid wouldn't have affected us at all, just I wonder if things would have been "better" if we didn't worry about wiping down airplane seats/trays, grocery carts, hotel rooms, etc.

 

[kdonnel]

First, I've got nothing to back this up.
I'm not a scientist, biologist, internist, or any kind of -ist, and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

All that being said, I still wonder if our fascination with making sure everything we touch is sanitized actually hurt us. By not allowing out bodies to process "minor" bugs and illnesses made us ill prepared when a major illness came along.

No, I'm not saying Covid wouldn't have affected us at all, just I wonder if things would have been "better" if we didn't worry about wiping down airplane seats/trays, grocery carts, hotel rooms, etc.

I too am not a scientist and have not recently stayed at a holiday inn.

I was quick to reenter the world. My family and I took great advantage of the travel deals available when the earth reopened.

We have never been ones to do anything special when eating at a restaurant, renting a car, or checking into a hotel.

It was not until after we were vaccinated that any of us caught COVID.

I think some peoples immune systems work better than others.

 

[leahgoogle]

First, I've got nothing to back this up.
I'm not a scientist, biologist, internist, or any kind of -ist, and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

All that being said, I still wonder if our fascination with making sure everything we touch is sanitized actually hurt us. By not allowing out bodies to process "minor" bugs and illnesses made us ill prepared when a major illness came along.

No, I'm not saying Covid wouldn't have affected us at all, just I wonder if things would have been "better" if we didn't worry about wiping down airplane seats/trays, grocery carts, hotel rooms, etc.

This has been proven to be true. There is such as thing as "too sterile". Kids that grow up on farms normally have robust immune systems. Kids that grow up with pets have less allergies. Getting minor illnesses definitely primes the immune system.

 

[Threehearts]

Well, let me relate this story again then. I get what you're saying because for a time, we all were staying away from each other. But there were times as it went on that we weren't.

My husband's job site was a good example. For the entirety of the pandemic (2 years) he worked essentially in a SCIF with 25 other guys doing renovation in the deep recesses of the White House. Pretty much same 25 guys because everyone had to get a Top Secret clearance to do it. Everyone was required to mask all day. No one got COVID from work. Two guys who lived well outside the area car pooled together. They lived in an area where bars were open much sooner than the areas where most of the closer in workers lived. "Joe" frequented the bar as soon as it reopened. "Joe" and "Bob" carpooled in together mask free. Joe got a bad cold and feared it was COVID but didn't tell anyone right away and came to work for 2 days in his mask until he could no longer feel well enough to do so. Bob quickly got the same "cold." When caught and trying to hide their illness, both were promptly tested and were positive and sent home. Joe and Bob carpooled without a mask, Joe infected Bob. Whereas no one in the SCIF got it because everyone was masked. Even though they might have been 5 feet away from Joe all day for 2 days.

I know there's a lot of contention about this, but that anecdotal observance was enough to convince me of the value when *everyone" participates. There were also early studies showing how masking on a crowded bus (in Asia where they have enough compliance to study these things), impacted the amount infected in an enclosed area.

That "cold" was so bad that ICU's were running out of ventilators. For 20+ years, I was an ICU nurse and we had a ton of RSV patients, not as much flu. We weren't tagging toes nearly as much as when Covid hit. Seems to be a little worse than a cold and I'm not sure "long Flu" is a thing.

 

[LuvOrlando]

This has been proven to be true. There is such as thing as "too sterile". Kids that grow up on farms normally have robust immune systems. Kids that grow up with pets have less allergies. Getting minor illnesses definitely primes the immune system.

I read all that about too sterile & am not sure I buy germs are my friends as a lifestyle choice. It is only a theory after all, not a law, and judging by long term Lyme disease, how Epstein Barr can cause a lifetime of havoc and the idea that HPV can lead to cancer and other such findings the idea that germs are great seems to have a few massive holes. There are, in fact, microbes that are supposed to be in our gut and all so we do want to protect those, but that is not at all the same thing as catching an illness that causes harm, which is not great. Life expectancy before antibiotics was very short and brutal.

Of course, feel free to live as germy a life as you choose, but I don't buy the idea that it is exposure to germs that promotes the well being of which you speak and it doesn't seem to me to be in the best interests of other people to promote disease & illness gathering as beneficial. We can't avoid all germs so there really is no need to promote the smallest of exposures, that is an unavoidable part of being alive.

To my mind it seems far more likely that access to safer conditions such as fresh air, cleaner water, and the ability to avoid other sick people (not too many subways in rural areas) in rural and suburban regions is far easier in the big open spaces of country life leading to healthier humans.

It seems best to avoid promoting detrimental & possibly dangerous behaviors, no-one gets sick from washing their hands and keeping a clean living space.

 

[Meriweather]

Got notice the tests shipped and will be here the 2nd

 

[Moliphino]

I read all that about too sterile & am not sure I buy germs are my friends as a lifestyle choice. It is only a theory after all, not a law, and judging by long term Lyme disease, how Epstein Barr can cause a lifetime of havoc and the idea that HPV can lead to cancer and other such findings the idea that germs are great seems to have a few massive holes. There are, in fact, microbes that are supposed to be in our gut and all so we do want to protect those, but that is not at all the same thing as catching an illness that causes harm, which is not great. Life expectancy before antibiotics was very short and brutal.

Of course, feel free to live as germy a life as you choose, but I don't buy the idea that it is exposure to germs that promotes the well being of which you speak and it doesn't seem to me to be in the best interests of other people to promote disease & illness gathering as beneficial. We can't avoid all germs so there really is no need to promote the smallest of exposures, that is an unavoidable part of being alive.

To my mind it seems far more likely that access to safer conditions such as fresh air, cleaner water, and the ability to avoid other sick people (not too many subways in rural areas) in rural and suburban regions is far easier in the big open spaces of country life leading to healthier humans.

It seems best to avoid promoting detrimental & possibly dangerous behaviors, no-one gets sick from washing their hands and keeping a clean living space.

Nobody is promoting living in filth and never cleaning anything. We just maybe shouldn't completely sanitize everything we come in contact with. Your immune system needs things to fight off or it will make it up and fight off things that aren't actually harmful (causing allergies).
Like they're finding that antibacterial soap may do more harm than good when used all the time. Regular soap and water is perfectly fine.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

This has been proven to be true. There is such as thing as "too sterile". Kids that grow up on farms normally have robust immune systems. Kids that grow up with pets have less allergies. Getting minor illnesses definitely primes the immune system.

No it hasn't. The original 'hygiene hypothesis' has been debunked many times over.
It is now understood that the majority of viruses should not be considered "safe" to catch as it does almost nothing to improve immunity and actually makes the immune system worse and can lead to development of allergic disease. This includes illnesses that people usually think of as "normal" and "typical" such as colds and GI viruses.

Bacteria exposure is what primes ones immune response. This includes vaccines.

The danger of oversanitizing comes from skin and lung exposure to chemicals which can make one more susceptible to infection; for example using so much hand sanitizer that your skin cracks open leaving vulnerable spots for bacteria to get in. The point is it doesn't have anything to do with being "too clean."

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

No it hasn't. The original 'hygiene hypothesis' has been debunked many times over.
It is now understood that the majority of viruses should not be considered "safe" to catch as it does almost nothing to improve immunity and actually makes the immune system worse and can lead to development of allergic disease. This includes illnesses that people usually think of as "normal" and "typical" such as colds and GI viruses.

Bacteria exposure is what primes ones immune response. This includes vaccines.

The danger of oversanitizing comes from skin and lung exposure to chemicals which can make one more susceptible to infection; for example using so much hand sanitizer that your skin cracks open leaving vulnerable spots for bacteria to get in. The point is it doesn't have anything to do with being "too clean."

Eh I've not seen it explained the way you have.

We all know Leah's viewpoint on vaccines so I wouldn't take what they are saying the same as discussing our exposure, especially early exposure, to environments with what we would commonly just call germs.

When people are discussing sterile environments they are generally referring to when we don't have much exposure the things. There were a lot of people who reported getting sick hard after reverting back to old ways because for quite a while our bodies were much less exposed to what it normally was. Flu season went wonky, RSV was on the rise with kids and adults. Antibacterial soap has been advised for quite a while now to really use a lot less because it not only kills bad bacteria but also good bacteria, even mouthwash is starting to be recommended less and less for that very same reason (I say mouthwash as a general guideline as there are people who benefit much more from this). Being exposed to the environment isn't the same as exposing ourselves to viruses for the sake of thinking that makes our bodies better. So don't go having chicken pox parties (I'm using that trope on purpose) but also let kids play in dirt more (and yes that was said purposefully as dirt contains a decent amount of germs although don't let your kids play in dirt you've been treating with fertilizers and whatnot...well okay hopefully you get what I'm saying).

 

[LuvOrlando]

Nobody is promoting living in filth and never cleaning anything. We just maybe shouldn't completely sanitize everything we come in contact with. Your immune system needs things to fight off or it will make it up and fight off things that aren't actually harmful (causing allergies).
Like they're finding that antibacterial soap may do more harm than good when used all the time. Regular soap and water is perfectly fine.

It is true that antibacterial soap can be very bad for us all because of the chemicals used, not because getting rid of hand germs is bad.

Allergy is a whole different beast, not even going to touch that one but to think it happens because things are too clean seems a bit simple.

Not saying you fall into this group but since it came up & is very important, seems to me the more dangerous side of this 'germs are good' thinking (again not saying this is you) is mistakenly believing that extra effort is needed for germ exposure so that people might relax self care or put themselves or, say their kids, in the path of dangerous germs to supercharge their immune systems. I remember Chicken Pox Parties when I was a kid, it isn't a trope & this thinking is still out there. On the flip, much to an OCD person's disappointment the world, and even our own bodies are full of millions and millions of microbes, so much so that it is nearly impossible to get rid of them all in our environment and truly sanitize. Let's say a person did manage to successfully scrub a place sterile, as soon as a human enters that space it is all undone they are leaving bits of germs behind in hair, eyelashes, invisible bits of skin, other germs from their feet and even from breathing so it is impossible to get it sterile in any ongoing and meaningful way. But still, what we can do is attempt to remove the harmful stuff that maybe doesn't just float around like MRSA, Strep, E-Coli, Covid, Flu, Pink Eye and parasites people pick up on their shoes from accidentally stepping in the left behind dog poo at the park plus all the other bad stuff people get.

Our bodies literally fight a million mini wars a day with an elegantly tuned absurdly complex system of B cells, T cells and all sorts of chemical signalling that humans are only beginning to comprehend. Covid is ridiculously complicated, but our gigantic multicellular bodies are so many times more complicated and better equipped to fight than we can grasp. Still, what is on the outside that wants to get in to cause an infection is best to be kept on the outside so cleansers helps us do that by washing off the gunk we pick up as we wander our worlds, soap kills lots of things and antimicrobials are great as an extra when you can't hose things off that maybe need it. Some things like Norovirus don't get killed by soap as they are protected by a good solid shell so maybe if someone has a stomach bug in the house a nice spray with peroxide and airing out the space until it clears may be the way to go. Thing is no-one needs to embrace germs or advocate for them either, I mean a person certainly could do so but maybe should not, it isn't a fantastic idea to try to get the word out in my opinion.

At any rate, clean is actually good and testing to make sure we are making informed decisions about our own bodies when appropriate is also good. In general if a person isn't sure they can look up a bunch of useful info here
https://www.cdc.gov/hygiene/cleaning/cleaning-your-home.html#:~:text=When to Clean Surfaces in,visibly dirty or as needed.
and here
https://www.cdc.gov/hygiene/personal-hygiene/hands.html#:~:text=Washing hands with soap and,looking at the product label.

 

[Moliphino]

It is true that antibacterial soap can be very bad for us all because of the chemicals used, not because getting rid of hand germs is bad.

Allergy is a whole different beast, not even going to touch that one but to think it happens because things are too clean seems a bit simple.

Not saying you fall into this group but since it came up & is very important, seems to me the more dangerous side of this 'germs are good' thinking (again not saying this is you) is mistakenly believing that extra effort is needed for germ exposure so that people might relax self care or put themselves or, say their kids, in the path of dangerous germs to supercharge their immune systems. I remember Chicken Pox Parties when I was a kid, it isn't a trope & this thinking is still out there. On the flip, much to an OCD person's disappointment the world, and even our own bodies are full of millions and millions of microbes, so much so that it is nearly impossible to get rid of them all in our environment and truly sanitize. Let's say a person did manage to successfully scrub a place sterile, as soon as a human enters that space it is all undone they are leaving bits of germs behind in hair, eyelashes, invisible bits of skin, other germs from their feet and even from breathing so it is impossible to get it sterile in any ongoing and meaningful way. But still, what we can do is attempt to remove the harmful stuff that maybe doesn't just float around like MRSA, Strep, E-Coli, Covid, Flu, Pink Eye and parasites people pick up on their shoes from accidentally stepping in the left behind dog poo at the park plus all the other bad stuff people get.

Our bodies literally fight a million mini wars a day with an elegantly tuned absurdly complex system of B cells, T cells and all sorts of chemical signalling that humans are only beginning to comprehend. Covid is ridiculously complicated, but our gigantic multicellular bodies are so many times more complicated and better equipped to fight than we can grasp. Still, what is on the outside that wants to get in to cause an infection is best to be kept on the outside so cleansers helps us do that by washing off the gunk we pick up as we wander our worlds, soap kills lots of things and antimicrobials are great as an extra when you can't hose things off that maybe need it. Some things like Norovirus don't get killed by soap as they are protected by a good solid shell so maybe if someone has a stomach bug in the house a nice spray with peroxide and airing out the space until it clears may be the way to go. Thing is no-one needs to embrace germs or advocate for them either, I mean a person certainly could do so but maybe should not, it isn't a fantastic idea to try to get the word out in my opinion.

At any rate, clean is actually good and testing to make sure we are making informed decisions about our own bodies when appropriate is also good. In general if a person isn't sure they can look up a bunch of useful info here
https://www.cdc.gov/hygiene/cleaning/cleaning-your-home.html#:~:text=When to Clean Surfaces in,visibly dirty or as needed.
and here
https://www.cdc.gov/hygiene/personal-hygiene/hands.html#:~:text=Washing hands with soap and,looking at the product label.

Oh for sure, I'm not advocating for anyone to purposely try to get sick and there are certainly times when disinfection is necessary. Wash hands often. But also don't be afraid to play in the mud or pet a dog and maybe you don't need to disinfect everything you touch.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Oh for sure, I'm not advocating for anyone to purposely try to get sick and there are certainly times when disinfection is necessary. Wash hands often. But also don't be afraid to play in the mud or pet a dog and maybe you don't need to disinfect everything you touch.

I hear you, all things in moderation, totally agree!

 

[Pink Partridge]

I wipe down pretty much the whole shopping cart, lol. Kids in the cart with their dirty shoes were bad enough, but the last few years I’ve seen several dogs riding in the baskets too. . Yes, I want your dog’s butt sitting where I’m going to put my lettuce, thank you so much.

Do NOT get me started on dogs in shopping carts. So disgusting. Dog hair is just about everywhere I go anymore. On restaurant tables, in shopping carts where I put my food. even went to a doctor's office and a lady had her emotional support dog sitting on an office chair...licking itself.

How did this all become acceptable behavior?