C19 Topics

muttly

Veteran Expediter
So i checked out the news and I see Trump is saying he is taking hydroxochliroquine with zinc. Fox News has this doctor on ( Manny Alvarez) who basically says the drug doesn't work and Neal Cavuto on his show telling his audience that if you take this drug "you will die". This misinformation campaign about the drug is getting tiresome.
 
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Turtle

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Everybody points to that deeply flawed and resoundingly pummeled VA study that showed pretty much everyone put on hydroxychloroquine died. The biggest problem with that study is everyone who was put on hydroxychloroquine had already been on a ventilator for at least 5 days. Every other study shows you need to be on the drug early, not later. Your earlier you're on it, the better it works.

At this point, people are believing that a drug that has been widely prescribed since WWII isn't safe and will just kill you dead. Of course, for some people it will, like if you have a specific heart condition, but those are the rare exceptions to the rule, and doctors well know who should not be prescribed hydroxychloroquine.
 
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muttly

Veteran Expediter
Cavuto basically read from that VA study and then added his commentary. I misquoted him but same difference:
Screenshot_20200518-210237.png
 
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muttly

Veteran Expediter
This is the one I have.
https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/n...th-30-premixed-packets/ID=prod6101746-product

NeilMed is probably the most popular nasal rinse. They make the simple gravity fed (low pressure) neti pots, which none of the studies and articles recommend over the high volume, high pressure alternatives like the squeeze bottles, and the electronic pumps.

A standard salt packet (sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate) is Isotonic (0.9% saline), and two or three standard packets is 1.8% or 2.7%, which is Hypertonic. NeilMed makes Extra Strength packets, which is 1.8%.

If I as at home all the time, I'd get this one...
https://www.amazon.com/SinuPulse-Elite-Advanced-Irrigation-System/dp/B001CWT4JI/ref=sr_1_17?crid=KTTQB6GM5J48&dchild=1&keywords=nasal+rinse&qid=1589767226&sprefix=nasal+,hpc,259&sr=8-17

There's also the battery powered Navage, which plugs both nostrils and vacuum sucks the water up into one nostril and it flushes out the other nostril into a separate tank.
https://www.amazon.com/Navage-Combo...ords=nasal+rinse+navage&qid=1589767496&sr=8-7
I got the one from Walgreens. But didn't realize until I bought it that it says replace device after 3 months.
 

muttly

Veteran Expediter
Wonder how many lives would have been saved if hydroxochliroquine wasn't politicized? It's a extremely cheap drug and could be readily available. Possible prophylaxis as well. On Fox News they have doctors on saying Trump is ok for taking it and then they show a clip on CNN's doctors who unanimously say :he shouldn't take it and NO EVIDENCE THAT IT WORKS. AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. The worst drug ever invented.
This is ridiculous.
 

Turtle

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I got the one from Walgreens. But didn't realize until I bought it that it says replace device after 3 months.
I got the same surprise. It says that on the outside of the box, but in the manual it's not as clear. In the manual, the page for the bottle, right there at the top it plainly says replace the bottle every 3 months. Same thing on the neti pot. But it doesn't say that on the Sinugator page. And on the instructions for cleaning page, it says replace the neti pot and the bottle every 3 months, but doesn't say that about the Sinugator. It does have instructions for sterilizing the Sinugator parts in a microwave. They also don't say to replace the $90 machine every 3 months, either.

The Amazon the reviews are just too overwhelmingly good for it to be a disposable item. In the Q & A section, I think it's the first question, with a lot of responses, there's some good information in those responses. One guy said he replaces his every 3 months or so because it stops working. Another (several) say they've been using the same unit for a couple of years. Apparently if you don't use it regularly, or at least run water through it regularly, it can clog up with salt crystals.

If mine dies every 3 months, I don't think I'd be opposed to getting another each time. I did go online, like it says in the manual, and take the educational module and take the test, to get the free bottle. It's a hard f'ing test. If you open up a new tab in your browser and paste the first question into a Google search, you'll find a page with all of the questions and answers. I highly recommend doing that. :cool:

But that way I'll also have the low tech squeeze bottle, which may even be better for our here on the road, anyway.

I've been using it for a week and so far I really like it. Room temperature or warmer water is better than cold water.

One salt packet is benign, same as a saline nasal spray mister. Right after rinsing you might feel like you snorted a little swimming pool water.

Two salt packets will definitely flush out more mucus snot than one packet. It's not gross or anything, unless you're pretty clogged to begin with. Looked more like spit floating in the water. (I use a paper salad bowl to catch the water out here in the van) After rinsing, 2 packets feels a little like you've snorted ocean water.

Three salt packets, well that's just like snorting Wasabi. :eek:
Ok, it's not that bad. Three packets, I can definitely see how that could clear out even the most stopped up head.

For everyday general rinsing, one packet should be fine. For dust and pollen, I would use 2 pretty regularly. For flushing coronavirus, or if stopped up with head congestion, I'm going with three, at least for one of the rinses each day, two packets for the other rinse.

I find that maybe half an hour after rinsing, a squeeze or two of a saline nasal mist helps. For the saline spray, I just use whatever store brand in cheapest. Neilmed makes one with an oil that may be better, but I dunno.
 
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Turtle

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For the record, I'm generally doing just 2 rinses a day, one within a few hours of waking up, and a second rinse on hour or two before going to bed. That will probably change on days when I run loads, depending on the loads. They say don't to a rinse within an hour of going to bed. After you do a couple of rinses, you'll know why.

If I'm ever in a place with a lot of people, especially if I'm not wearing a mask for some reaon (han't happened yet), I could see myself doing a rinse pretty quickly, within an hour or two, of getting back in the van. Juuuuust in case.

I once did a rinse with one salt packet, and then immediately did another rinse with two salt packets, just to see, because I'm a wild and crazy guy. It was fine. All of the recommendations say there's really no limit as to how many times you can do a rinse in a day. During pollen season or with a stuffy head, I can see doing a rinse every few hours to keep things clear. But I also think that's with an isotonic solution of one packet. If you're going to rinse 4, 5 6 times in a day, I don't know if I'd recommend doing them with three salt packets. I don't have any medical, biological or scientific information to back that up, but I have seen what happens to Sprinters after 4 or 5 Michigan winters.

But I do know that regular use of very high concentrations of hypertonic solution (greater than the bodily fluid salinity of 0.9%) can damage the hair-like cilia in the sinuses, which act to beat gunk out of the sinuses. Two salt packets (1.8% saline) doesn't do any damage to the cilia, according to the medical research, but it says that regular use of greater than 2% might. I stress might, because the only studies I've found are studies in-vitro, and not in-nose, and all of those used the salinity of sea water (3.5%). Three salt packets (2.7%) isn't that far from sea water, so I don't think I'd use three packets on a daily basis for more than a week or two.

I'm using one packet after I wake up after sleeping and not being around other people, and two packets at the end of the day after being out of the van and around others.
 
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muttly

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I tried it last night. Had to wait for boiling water to cool, but it was ok. I'll try two packs this evening and a little earlier.
 
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Turtle

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After I'm done, I dump any residual salt water from the cup, and fill it with 6 or so ounces of fresh water and run that through the Sinugator (for when your alligator has sinus problems). I just stick it out the window and let it run. That should keep any salt crystals from forming in there.

Then I pull the hose and nozzle off, shake everything really well, including the motor unit, to clear out any water, and let it air dry.
 
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Turtle

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The woman on the bed is TDS Patient Zero, Jessica Starr (her real name, not her porn name).

You gotta give Trump the win on this one. The media won't go there, but if Trump can convince the cream of the crop medical staff at the White House to give him hydroxychloroquine, he totally wins the "no scientific evidence" (controlled clinical trials) argument against taking it.

Scientifically, it's true there is no evidence that it works for COVID-19.

Medically, there is a ton of evidence that it works.

But for Trump to take it, it's not a science or a medical decision, it's a Risk Management decision, taken after a Cost Benefit analysis, knowing the President is more closely monitored medically than just about anybody not in an ICU.

CNN had an article where they just had to get the dig in, "The president normally gets the best health care..." right after they had their own medical experts, who aren't fans of chloroquine for COVID-19, refusing to go after the White House physician, saying he knows what he's doing.
 
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muttly

Veteran Expediter
I touch things all day. Still will continue with my OCD with cleaning stuff, but this is good news, if you believe the CDC that is:
 
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RoadTime

Veteran Expediter
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I have to assume the author of that piece is still in 7th grade, because that's precisely the grade level at which her journalist skills and writing abilities reside.

As for Dr. Russell Blaylock, he's a famous crackpot who believes MSG (naturally occurring umami in Parmesan cheese, mushrooms, soy sauce, anchovies, tomatoes, corn, cured ham, grape juice, Cheddar cheese, potatoes, clams and peas) in any amount is toxic to the brain, that aspartame causes multiple sclerosis, and thinks Splenda causes Alzheimer's Disease.

I didn't check them all, but the first three footnoted studies have all been widely panned as deeply flawed. His claim that 17 of the very bestest best studies failed to establish conclusively that masks prevent influenza infection is flat out wrong, as countless studies going back to the Spanish Flu pandemic show conclusively that wearing even a standard surgical mask reduces the rate of transmission of influenza by about 80%. His claim that no studies have shown that either cloth masks or N95 respirators have any effect on the transmission of the COVID-19 virus is also false. Already there are numerous clinical and field studies out of the US, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Italy, Canada, Germany and Finland that show that cloth masks reduce the transmission rate by 50-60% and N95 reduce the transmission rate by 80%.


I could agree with the side effect part from wearing a mask for long periods of time, but the mask part?

For the general population, I don't need a study to tell me that the transmission spread can be reduced by wearing a mask. To me that falls more under common sense. Any barrier will hamper the distance it would normally travel. I'll take any barrier over no barrier everyday. Would you rather be in line next to the person that starts coughing that has no barrier on or with?

And now a very important message...

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Sent from my iPhone using EO Forums
 
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muttly

Veteran Expediter
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