Based on the chorus of coughing and sneezing I’ve been hearing (and seeing) the last couple weeks, I’m gonna guess some of you are sick right now. My last post had suggestions that might help you. I hope that you all feel better soon!
P.S. The vaccine takes 2 weeks to build up immunity, but masking with a respirator mask (N95, KN95, KF94) can help you to avoid illness immediately.
…or really it never went away!
So, C0V1D is spreading all over the country, coinciding with kids going back to school. Rates are already high in the Capital Region too since school started a few weeks ago.
Note: I wrote C0V1D this way because this word is being censored across the internet, so to be able to write about it in many places you are forced to write it this way (or another variation). It’s absurd.
Before you scroll, you should know that not everyone is having mild symptoms. Downstate, for instance, is seeing an increase in C0V1D hospitalizations and if you need more proof, spend a few minutes on social media yourself and search “I have C0V1D”. You can find plenty of people from all over the country talking about how sick they are this time around.
These are the current** **common symptoms:
-Sore or scratchy throat
-Exhaustion/tiredness/fatigue
-Persistent cough (can be wet or dry)
-Sneezing, postnasal drip, congestion/stuffy nose (AKA cold-like symptoms)
-Fever
-Headaches & body aches
-Digestive issues (nausea, upset stomach, diarrhea, or loss of appetite)
-Loss of taste & smell
-Trouble concentrating or brainfog
-Shortness of breath
-Insomnia
-Chest tightness
Basics:
-C0V1D is airborne and spreads like cigarette smoke. Washing your hands is a good practice (please do it!) but that alone won’t prevent you from getting sick with C0V1D because it’s in the air, not just on surfaces.
-C0V1D is a vascular disease masquerading as a respiratory disease. Meaning it can impact any part of your body, not just your lungs.
-About 40% of C0V1D infections are asymptomatic, so you can’t always tell who’s actively infectious and you can still spread it even if you have no symptoms.
Why you should care:
-Repeatedly getting infected with is really bad for you (these links discuss things like developing new, serious health conditions and experiencing organ failure after a C0V1D infection).
-C0V1D infections can cause damage to your brain. (How’s your memory? Any issues with concentrating?)
-C0V1D infections can also reactivate cancer cells, awaken dormant viruses in your body (essentially viruses you were exposed to in the past but were not active like Epstein Barr (mono) or herpes), and do things like cause heart attacks, strokes, and kidney disease.
-C0V1D infections (even mild ones) can also damage your immune system. (Have you noticed you’ve been getting sick more frequently or that you’re getting sicker than you used to?)
-Even mild C0V1D infections can cause damage and you can’t predict if your next infection will be mild even if your last one was).
-After a C0V1D infection, you are 3x more likely to have a heart attack or stroke for the 14 weeks following, with an elevated risk for up a year.
Long C0V1D
-Long C0V1D is a chronic condition that you can develop after a C0V1D infection. If your symptoms persist for at least 3 months for instance, fatigue, brain fog, headaches, and shortness of breath are common ones, you may have Long C0V1D.
-Long C0V1D currently has no cure and there are over 200 symptoms associated with it.
-Studies have found that those who have gotten the C0V1D vaccine are less likely to develop Long C0V1D (1 in 10) than unvaccinated people(1 in 3).
-Long C0V1D is now the number 1 chronic illness being diagnosed in children.
-Kids who get C0V1D twice or more are 3.5 times more likely to develop myocarditis or heart swelling than can weaken their heart and be life threatening. Depending on age, some symptoms of Long C0V1D in kids and teens include memory issues, trouble focusing, back & neck pain, stomach pain, rashes, nausea, low energy, and joint/muscle pain.
-Adults in the US reinfected with C0V1D may be at a 35% greater risk for Long C0V1D than those with one-time infections.
-Your risk for Long C0V1D is cumulative, so the more C0V1D infections you’ve had, the more likely you are to develop Long C0V1D.
Women are 31% more likely to develop Long C0V1D than men, with women between the ages of ages 40 to 54 being the most vulnerable.
-Conditions like POTS and ME/CFS commonly co-occur with Long C0V1D.
Already sick (or recently exposed)?
-Isolate. Nobody wants your germs (C0V1D or not)!
-Test but understand the at-home tests can give false negatives sometimes—especially if they’re expired, you tested too soon after exposure 5 days post-exposure is the general rule of thumb if you have no symptoms, or you didn’t follow the directions. However, if you test positive, at-home tests tend to be accurate, but understand that they are better at picking up heavy loads of C0V1D, so you could still have it, be contagious, and test negative. To help to avoid this, you want to test twice in a 48 hour period to be sure of your test results. You could also take a PCR test at the doctor’s office which tend to be better at picking up C0V1D in your system even if you don’t have symptoms.
-Wear a respirator mask (N95, KN95, or KF94) around others. You can find 3M Aura N95s at pharmacies. You can the cup style N95s at the hardware store (but FYI other styles are more comfortable). KN95s & KN94s can be found online. Brands like WellBefore, Kind, Powecom, Breatheteq, & Happy Life (the last one can be found on Amazon) are all reputable—feel free to recommend others in the comments! The brands I mentioned also usually have a variety of sizes and designs available.
-Rest. Seriously, this is important & can reduce your chances of developing Long C0V1D.
-If you can afford it and are really sick, you could take Paxlovid.
-Some studies have shown that taking Metformin can reduce rates of Long C0V1D.
-Some studies have shown that using a neti pot or saline nasal irrigation products (nasal rinsing) like NeilMed can help to reduce congestive symptoms and the length of illness/severity. Only distilled (or boiled (5-7 minutes) and then cooled water) should ever be used to do this. Using warm water is more comfortable. This practice has been found to be effective at reducing cold and allergy symptoms as well. You can find videos on YouTube that will show you how to do this effectively.
-Gargling with warm, salt water (regular water is fine for this) has also been shown to reduce illness severity and can provide sore throat relief.
General tips:
-Get your boosters 2x per year—immunity wanes after 6 months—to reduce the chances of severe illness, death, & Long C0V1D. But understand that it takes two weeks after a C0V1D vaccine to build immunity, it doesn’t happen right away. This is true for flu shots too. Walgreens and CVS are both running promos through their apps if you get vaccinated soon (after you get vaccinated, you get $15 in Walgreens cash (if you spend at least $5) and $5 off of a $20+ purchase at CVS). CVS also now has the Novavax C0V1D vaccine which many immunocompromised/disabled people tend to prefer.
-Running an air purifier that filters for viruses and is big enough for your space would also be a good idea. You can actually make your own using furnace filters, a box fan, duct tape, and cardboard. They’re called Corsi-Rosenthal boxes). There’s also a modified version that only needs two filters. You can find step-by-step videos for how to build them both online.
-If you were recently infected but are not sick yet, taking Xocova can help to prevent transmission. But you’ll need to take it within a few days of transmission and it is prescription only. It’s also expensive, but there is a coupon on their website. Some people have paid $0 between insurance and the coupon, so it’s worth looking into.
-Masking with a respirator mask (N95, KN95, or KF94 mask) at least during peak C0V1D times (like now), when sick, when around immunocompromised/disabled people & newborns, at the doctor’s office/the hospital/urgent care, on public transportation and on planes, in crowded & unventilated places would be a good idea to reduce your chances of catching C0V1D. You can also do things like ventilate rooms and run an air purifier that is the right size for the room and that filters for viruses to reduce C0V1D spread.
-Need a mask but don’t have the money right now? Lucky for you, Mask Together (our local MaskBloc) has masks for kids and adults. You can contact them on Instagram.
Why am I hearing about some of this stuff for the first time from some random person on Reddit?
You’re absolutely right, people should be talking about this more! Our government should alert us when there is a nationwide infectious disease outbreak. They should tell you, in simple terms, what symptoms to watch out for, they should provide tests again and respirator masks. You should be made aware of the risks of repeatedly getting this illness. They should be pushing for clean air initiatives. We should not be DIYing public health!
You shouldn’t have to rely on some internet stranger to warn you about the risks associated with repeat C0V1D infections. But we do not currently live in that reality, so here we are.
Things you can do:
MAKE SOME NOISE ABOUT THIS ISSUE because it isn’t going away but things could be a lot better than they are right now. The apathy, ignorance, and avoidance approach has only lead to more sick people and fewer protections.
The more people who demonstrate that they care about this issue, the more likely we are to make change. Start today!
Reach out to The Times Union. Tell them you want them to continue covering stories about C0V1D and Long C0V1D.
Share the information in this post with your family, friends, neighbors, colleagues etc. The people in your lives deserve to know what is going on. You’d be surprised how few people know a lot of this stuff—don’t gatekeep it! Also, I embedded my sources, so you don’t just have to take my word for it.
I hope this post was helpful to anyone who has taken the time to read all of it. Stay healthy!