Thanks to some astute readers of this blog, and listeners to The Big Wakeup Call, I was introduced to a fascinating new app. Called NOVID, it’s way for you to assess your risk of catching the disease. While COVID-19 is not the most lethal virus known to man, that would be Ebola, it is, by far, the most pernicious. And, only now are scientists beginning to figure out how damaging it is. As of this writing approximately twenty percent of survivors suffer some degree of organ damage. I have a friend, who is all of twenty-five, who survived but with twenty percent less lung capacity. Since her old job required her to be active, she was forced to quit and find something new. It’s also possible that an additional ten percent may suffer permanent dementia, or related brain issues. [Read more…] about Say Yes to NOVID
covid-19
Playing Whac-A-Mole
Every fucking day I wake up and try to shove my way through the stupid. One thing I haven’t been doing too much is updating this blog. That’s been purposeful. I’ve found people who use it as a touchstone for passing along accurate information about the novel coronoavirus lovingly known as COVID-19. By not pushing those posts down people can just come to the page, find what they need, and move on. But, today, I find that I have to add some updates. I swear to God I have to check and make sure I’m not reading something that was actually an article in The Onion first. Then I check a few other satire sites and, once I’ve eliminated them, I stare slack jawed at the idiocy. So, today, I’m gong to start by dealing with the dumbest fucking thing I’ve heard this week.
DO NOT TAKE INSULIN IF YOU’RE HEALTHY!
Make It Stop
I really don’t want to write about the novel coronavirus a/k/a COVID-19. Really. I’d rather be writing about new movies or TV shows coming out, fun things people are doing, fun things I’m doing, even the murder hornets that are headed our way. At least they’re different. Okay, just for a moment, let me address the murder hornets. They kill bees, not people. So there’s that. Praying Mantises can kill them. That’s true. However, covering the west coast with praying mantises is a staggeringly bad idea. Praying mantises are meat eaters. While not known to attack in swarms, they’d need to eat something when they ran out of murder hornets so they could attack larger prey. That would be a horrible way for you to lose Fido, so don’t do it. [Read more…] about Make It Stop
The Joys of Science
Okay, I do have some fun, and uplifting stuff to share, but I’ve got to get the public service stuff out of the way first.
- Don’t drink bleach – It can kill you
- Don’t gargle warm water – Viruses live in your blood, not your throat. And, without a specific medical need, it can make you a human petri dish, prone to fungal infections and worse
- Masturbation will boost your immune system – So will regular sex. If you’re sheltering with someone, who’s willing to share their body, try and find a nice mix between the two. No matter what, however, it won’t stop the virus
- Ibuprofen & Advil have nothing to do with your lungs – No over the counter pain med interacts with your respiratory system. Go ahead and take what you need. I can promise they won’t kill you
- Ladies, there is no such thing as a Corona Virus Inspector who needs to see your breasts to confirm “positive air flow.” Quit falling for that trick
- Quit buying all the lupus and malaria medicines. The president was completely wrong about this. They won’t cure you, can possibly kill you if you don’t have the diseases they’re designed to treat, and you could be causing someone who truly needs them to suffer
COVID-19 / Myths
First, so there is no confusion, let’s limit verifiable sources to the CDC and WHO and any they suggest. I say this now because I want to eliminate our president as a source of information. I’m not sure if he doesn’t understand, or just enjoys lying, but reasons are irrelevant, results are. Yesterday he went on national television and announced that there was a vaccine being tested in Washington, and that it was the fastest any such tests had ever come to fruition. This, clearly, was meant to calm people down and let them know a cure was forthcoming. The problem is, it’s not true. At least not in any meaningful sense. The National Institute of Health is in phase one testing of a possible vaccine that may, or may not, work on humans. The initial tests, based on years of international corona virus related research and not slapped together in a few weeks, showed some promise in animals.
[Read more…] about COVID-19 / Myths