Covid19 Information I have Not Heard

[ronandannette]

...or perhaps have not heard in a way I can understand. Has anyone heard official discussions of the following:

For mild cases, which presumably most are or will be, what comfort measures are being recommended? Does ibuprofen or similar break the fever? Should it just be treated
like a flu/cold with OTC meds, hydration and rest?

When is one considered recovered? How long until one can expect to feel better and by that time, is it no longer contagious?

 

[fsjking]

I've seen reports that Ibuprofen is actually bad to take sue to how it reacts to certain processes of your body.
I've also seen reports that say that's false and Ibuprofen is fine.

I think theres a whole lot of unknowns in this. I have switched to Tylenol though. lol

 

[gotomu212]

...or perhaps have not heard in a way I can understand. Has anyone heard official discussions of the following:

For mild cases, which presumably most are or will be, what comfort measures are being recommended? Does ibuprofen or similar break the fever? Should it just be treated
like a flu/cold with OTC meds, hydration and rest?

When is one considered recovered? How long until one can expect to feel better and by that time, is it no longer contagious?

CDC recommends rest, hydration, and Tynenol.

Official recovery is 2 negative tests within 24 hours (obviously most aren’t getting tested). Studies on contagion are still pending but have been shown present and shedding in the body for 39 days.

When you feel better is dependent on how mild your case. One person I know reported 5 days of feeling pretty crummy like a cold, another I know sent an email that it’s been 2 weeks and she’s still in bed and feels like she was hit by a bus and wonders if the house caught fire would she have the energy to leave..... so wide variance there.

 

[TLSnell1981]

If you think you may have covid-19 PLEASE call your physician for recommendations. Do NOT base you treatment plan on information provided on the internet.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

from what I've heard, over the counter cough and cold medicine that has tylenol and dextromethorphan as ingredients is best for treating the symptoms at home.

 

[Nora03]

I saw on the crawl on CBC for a couple of days that the WHO was advising not to use ibuprofen. Ronandannette, are you home? I know you said that your flight from Mexico would be on Saturday (today). Concerned for you and hope you are safe.

 

[BadPinkTink]

This is from the Irish HSE (Health Service Executive)
https://www.hse.ie/eng/services/new...nti-inflammatory-medication-and-covid-19.html
16 March 2020
A message circulating on social media yesterday regarding the use of anti-inflammatories is false. Cork University Hospital and its consultants did not make comments or recommendations about anti-inflammatory medication and patients with Covid-19.

The Infectious Diseases Society of Ireland last night confirmed the message was untrue, to be ignored and deleted. The message is false and should be removed from any social media site. Anybody who has circulated the message is asked to remove it and explain that it is false.

The HSE is today, (Monday 16th March 2020), advising anyone with Covid-19 to continue to take any medication you were already taking, unless you are told not to by a healthcare professional. This includes anti-inflammatories (NSAID) such as ibuprofen, naproxen or diclofenac.

In response to false information about anti-inflammatory medication and Covid-19 circulating in media and on social media over the last 24 hours, Dr Colm Henry, Chief Clinical Officer of the HSE advises, “Only take one anti-inflammatory medication at a time. It is okay to take paracetamol and an anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen at the same time.

“There is no evidence to stop any medication at this time.

 

[TLSnell1981]

FDA authorizes first rapid, 'point of care' coronavirus test results in 45 minutes. Tests should start shipping next week.

 

[ronandannette]

I saw on the crawl on CBC for a couple of days that the WHO was advising not to use ibuprofen. Ronandannette, are you home? I know you said that your flight from Mexico would be on Saturday (today). Concerned for you and hope you are safe.

Hello - yes, we are home safe and sound and all is well. Thanks for asking. We arrived home to a rather messy house (thanks DS - not) and a fully-stocked fridge and pantry thanks to my BFF. Grocery stores here are still open as normal and being re-stocked regularly. Not sure about the toilet paper situation but we didn't need any so it's all good.

The Puerto Vallarta airport was extremely busy today and all passengers had to fill out a health declaration. There didn't seem to be any other extraordinary measures taking place though - all the stores and food service places were open. The crew on our flight home kept referring to it as a "repatriation operation" and the plane flew full, unlike our flight down which was only 1/4 occupied. There was no in-flight service offered at all, no food or drinks of any kind and the crew stayed in their jump-seats the entire flight.

 

[ronandannette]

CDC recommends rest, hydration, and Tynenol.

Official recovery is 2 negative tests within 24 hours (obviously most aren’t getting tested). Studies on contagion are still pending but have been shown present and shedding in the body for 39 days.

When you feel better is dependent on how mild your case. One person I know reported 5 days of feeling pretty crummy like a cold, another I know sent an email that it’s been 2 weeks and she’s still in bed and feels like she was hit by a bus and wonders if the house caught fire would she have the energy to leave..... so wide variance there.

OK, so talk to me like I'm 5...when would somebody be safe to leave quarantine? What would a negative test look like in someone who has it? Would it just turn up no active virus or what? And the idea of 39 days (wow, that's a really long time!) - does the clock start from the onset of symptoms or from the date one starts feeling better. If it's the latter, how much better is better enough? Honestly, I'm having a hard time getting my head around this. People who get mild cases simply can't have life as they know it end indefinitely, can they?

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

OK, so talk to me like I'm 5...when would somebody be safe to leave quarantine? What would a negative test look like in someone who has it? Would it just turn up no active virus or what? And the idea of 39 days (wow, that's a really long time!) - does the clock start from the onset of symptoms or from the date one starts feeling better. If it's the latter, how much better is better enough? Honestly, I'm having a hard time getting my head around this.

People who get mild cases simply can't have life as they know it end indefinitely, can they?

That's literally what's happening now with everyone, not just sick people.
According to the CDC the determination should be made on a case by case basis for when the transmission to other people is considered low by the individual's health care provider.

 

[ronandannette]

That's literally what's happening now with everyone, not just sick people.
According to the CDC the determination should be made on a case by case basis for when the transmission to other people is considered low by the individual's health care provider.

Thanks, I appreciate your answer. I guess I just don't find that very reassuring, given that most people with mild cases will never a) seek medical attention and; b) never be tested. There is a big difference between full quarantine and self-isolation/social distancing. Even if it's only a "best guess", I'd feel better if there were some firmer official guidelines. I suspect most people will start being back out, albeit in limited capacity, far sooner than perhaps is entirely safe.

 

[leebee]

I have a friend whose son lives in Manhattan and has tested positive. He was told to home-quarantine for 14 days. He's been staying in, obviously, taking ibuprofen for comfort measures, having food delivered to his door. She says he's not feeling awful and is starting to be bored, but will be serious about quarantining and not leave his apartment for the full 2 weeks. His girlfriend is also positive, so they are quarantining together in a 500sqft apartment. Talk about a relationship test!

 

[FlightlessDuck]

You should probably ask your doctor

 

[ronandannette]

I have a friend whose son lives in Manhattan and has tested positive. He was told to home-quarantine for 14 days. He's been staying in, obviously, taking ibuprofen for comfort measures, having food delivered to his door. She says he's not feeling awful and is starting to be bored, but will be serious about quarantining and not leave his apartment for the full 2 weeks. His girlfriend is also positive, so they are quarantining together in a 500sqft apartment. Talk about a relationship test!

What will they make of the fact that 14 days is maybe not enough (as mentioned in a post up-thread). 39 days of potential full-quarantine, if that is indeed correct information, is mind-boggling.

You should probably ask your doctor

Sure, everybody who is sick should consult their doctors. Except for people who don't have doctors or access to one. Even if you do have a family doctor, in Canada it isn't typical to have access to them by phone, although there may be arrangements now that I'm not aware of. Our walk-in clinics are basically shut down and the ER's, well, let's just hope everybody who has mild symptoms don't all descend on the ER's.

All I'm implying here is that if most people will at some point contract this virus, and most cases will be mild, I wish there was more information about that aspect being provided. How and what to do, both from a self-care perspective and to control the spread.

 

[lovemygoofy]

So I hope I can share from what I have read and understand. There is lot of confusing guidance out there. I would say your local medical office has website with best practices too.

You can be asymptomatic for up to 5 days but still share it with others who can actually get sick, which is part of the reason for everyone staying at home. You treat this with measures you would normally do with MILD flu like such as cold compresses, Tylenol, and rest. If things progress with higher fever or difficulty breathing is seeking medical attention.

One thing, I'd like to point out is that staying at home even if you think you are healthy and wouldn't get sick or get others sick doesn't mean we know it won't. We are at this point also trying to save our medical workers. I don't know about others but as smart as I am I'm not ready to step in to be a brain surgeon if we lost one to this illness. We have to protect those who are working their asses off for us.

Above all else, you probably should have way to telehealth with your doctor's office at this point but should consult with medical staff if you are ill.

 

[gotomu212]

OK, so talk to me like I'm 5...when would somebody be safe to leave quarantine? What would a negative test look like in someone who has it? Would it just turn up no active virus or what? And the idea of 39 days (wow, that's a really long time!) - does the clock start from the onset of symptoms or from the date one starts feeling better. If it's the latter, how much better is better enough? Honestly, I'm having a hard time getting my head around this. People who get mild cases simply can't have life as they know it end indefinitely, can they?

Sooooooo the scary answer (gotten from my infectious disease doctor FIL) is no one REALLY knows and everyone is managing it differently. They are working very hard to figure out the contagious range (they still don’t know when you start to be contagious and when you stop and they MUST get that figured out to get their arms around this). In the positive cases I know they are both being told to absolutely not go out their door for 3 weeks from the time they were told they were positive and are receiving regular check ins from their doctors. One case, health officials came to their home at 2 weeks and performed another test (still positive), the other is still in bed and told once she feels better for 2 weeks they will test her again (different areas of the country). Both of them live in areas where they are under shelter in place orders for the next 30 days, so they were going to be on hold anyway. OH and I should add in both places they are getting free grocery delivery paid for by the county.

I know it doesn’t help, the real frustration with this is no one really knows anything and with the long lag time on spread, illness, and recovery we are just now getting data but the sample size is pretty small and a lot of the information on asymptotic or ”mild” cases are more anecdotal at this stage and not carefully studied at this point.

 

[bcla]

I've been following the news on this including someone who has been in quarantine for a few weeks. In her case she was still in quarantine after four weeks. The issue is that it's not predictable. Some people are asymptomatic, just like with the common cold. Some people have symptoms for one to four weeks. Some people unfortunately don't recover.

 

[Searc]

What will they make of the fact that 14 days is maybe not enough (as mentioned in a post up-thread). 39 days of potential full-quarantine, if that is indeed correct information, is mind-boggling.

Sure, everybody who is sick should consult their doctors. Except for people who don't have doctors or access to one. Even if you do have a family doctor, in Canada it isn't typical to have access to them by phone, although there may be arrangements now that I'm not aware of. Our walk-in clinics are basically shut down and the ER's, well, let's just hope everybody who has mild symptoms don't all descend on the ER's.

All I'm implying here is that if most people will at some point contract this virus, and most cases will be mild, I wish there was more information about that aspect being provided. How and what to do, both from a self-care perspective and to control the spread.

If one of us would get it, I'm preparing to treat it like any other cold/flu with OTC meds as needed, fluids and rest. A trip to the doctor only if breathing becomes an issue and both of us would continue our self-isolating for at least 14 days.

 

[bcla]

If one of us would get it, I'm preparing to treat it like any other cold/flu with OTC meds as needed, fluids and rest. A trip to the doctor only if breathing becomes an issue and both of us would continue our self-isolating for at least 14 days.

I think for the majority of people who come down with it, it will be what medical professionals call "self-limiting". Something that will run its course, even without any kind of serious treatment. That's basically why homeopathy isn't illegal, because generally nobody dies from the conditions that it's meant to treat, so who cares if it's the equivalent of a sugar pill?

But in this case they're trying to slow down the spread. This seems to be extremely contagious - possibly on par with measles, although most people are immunized again measles. And of course when it becomes difficult to breathe, that's when it gets to the point where one's life is at risk.