Not lotion but for serious dry hand repair we rub in lanolin at bedtime, then cover hands with socks because it's greasy. By morning your skin will be soft and smooth. Rarely have we had to do it twice, due to lanolin's magical healing powers 🐑

Interesting--where did you have the testing done?

I have heard people say their throats felt like they had knives in them with Omicron, so it's quite possible it's just Covid. Symptoms definitely vary and not everyone experiences that much throat pain. This is really basic but I think warm showers, herbal tea (dd was loving raspberry tea with stevia), soup and popsicles make a difference during the day. She had one night where she couldn't sleep and then slept better after that.

Individual therapy can be super helpful with relationship issues. Agreeing with @TexasProud that a good therapist would be excellent support. I started individual therapy several years ago once a week, and continue to see my therapist once a month virtually now. Occasionally l'll schedule more frequent appointments if something comes up, but it's helped me change my life and relationships to support my wellbeing and it's reassuring to know that kind of support is there when I need it.

Praying for your wellbeing, speedy access to effective care, and complete recovery.

What you're describing sounds like symptoms that need to be addressed and treated. The situation of the world is hard. Experiencing intense anxiety and stress is also hard in its own way on our bodies and hearts and minds, and we all need to be looking for ways to take care of ourselves right now. Getting evaluated and treated for your symptoms seems like good self care to me, and I agree with previous posters that when medication is indicated it's exponentially more effective with good talk therapy. When life feels more manageable you can reevaluate and decide if treatment is a support you want to continue with, or something that helped you weather this particularly challenging time. Also can I say thank you for listening to how you're feeling and taking care of your heart? I think the whole world needs more of that.

Hoping you all feel better soon and it stays mild for everyone. FWIW dd15's rapid testing looked like this: Day 1: Mild sore throat, throat+nasal swab negative Day 2: Sore throat and headache, throat+nasal swab faint positive Day 6: Feeling better, nasal swab dark positive (note to CDC--definite dark positive on day 6!) Day 9: Symptoms resolved, nasal swab negative (After I did the first two throat swabs to diagnose she just did her own nasal swabs in her room on days 6 & 9)

I hear you! We tested dd when she had very mild symptoms on Christmas Eve, and we were just about to get in the car to drive 6 hours to see the grandparents. So the urgent need to get an accurate result overcame the ick. I've since done it on myself, and will say there is a very mild taste to the swab that is also a little gross. But given the scarcity and continuing missteps with testing in the US, a weird taste or a little ick is the least of my worries. I don't have 27 years to wait for the FDA to conduct a thorough review of the data and approve a double swab kit for this purpose! ETA: I also think there is some risk of exposure at PCR testing sites, so I like that we have a way to get more accurate results at home with no additional exposure, and no risk of exposing anyone outside our household. But there are certainly times when PCR testing is necessary or preferable.

Posted this morning in the Omicron thread--our pediatrician recommends saliva + nasal swab with at-home rapid tests. PCR could be great if you can access it, but you can make your home rapid tests much more accurate with Omicron: Our pediatrician sends research updates to support their Covid recommendations, and they're now recommending swabbing both saliva and nose for Omicron. In a South African study with Delta, the correlation between PCR and rapid saliva samples was 71%. But with Omicron, the correlation between PCR and rapid saliva samples was 100%. Given the 3-day lag for a nasal rapid test to turn positive after PCR turns positive, they're recommending families rapid testing at home swab both saliva and nostrils to increase accuracy. Saliva and Nasal Swabs May Be the Preferred Testing Format for Identifying Omicron, While Nasal Swabs Continue to Be Best Approach for Detecting Delta: As part of an ongoing study looking at the diagnostic performance of different sampling types, 382 symptomatic South African patients were tested with both PCR and rapid antigen tests (RAT) from August to December 2021 using saliva swabs and not nasal swabs. Click Here. For saliva samples that were positive for the Delta variant, the correlation between PCR and RAT was 71%, similar to the percentage seen with the Beta variant. With samples that were positive for the Omicron variant, the correlation using the saliva test was 100%. This fits with the recent FDA report that suggests that RATs are more sensitive in picking up Delta than Omicron. Click Here. This is valuable information particularly in light of a small study conducted on 30 individuals in 5 different workplaces who were tested daily with RAT during the Omicron surge. The study showed that it took an average of 3 days for a nasal RAT to turn positive after the PCR turned positive. In 4/30 cases, the virus was transmitted to others before the RAT turned positive. Click Here. If larger studies corroborate these results, it is clear that we have to find a better way to improve the sensitivity of RATs. Dr. Michael Mina, formerly Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the Harvard School of Public Health and now the Chief Medical Officer at eMed, a RAT platform, has long been an advocate for the use of rapid antigen tests. He advocates testing both nose and throat for a rapid antigen test regardless of test instructions. Click Here. While this is not the official FDA position, there are enough mainstream immunologists recommending this approach that it is reasonable for our patients to test both nose and saliva with the same swab when testing with a RAT. PCRs and other molecular tests such as the Abbott ID NOW test performed in our office can be done with nasal swabs alone.

Yes. Much less gross than the other way around, and it's all connected anyway.

Our pediatrician sends research updates to support their Covid recommendations, and they're now recommending swabbing both saliva and nose for Omicron. In a South African study with Delta, the correlation between PCR and rapid saliva samples was 71%. But with Omicron, the correlation between PCR and rapid saliva samples was 100%. Given the 3-day lag for a nasal rapid test to turn positive after PCR turns positive, they're recommending families rapid testing at home swab both saliva and nostrils to increase accuracy. Saliva and Nasal Swabs May Be the Preferred Testing Format for Identifying Omicron, While Nasal Swabs Continue to Be Best Approach for Detecting Delta: As part of an ongoing study looking at the diagnostic performance of different sampling types, 382 symptomatic South African patients were tested with both PCR and rapid antigen tests (RAT) from August to December 2021 using saliva swabs and not nasal swabs. Click Here. For saliva samples that were positive for the Delta variant, the correlation between PCR and RAT was 71%, similar to the percentage seen with the Beta variant. With samples that were positive for the Omicron variant, the correlation using the saliva test was 100%. This fits with the recent FDA report that suggests that RATs are more sensitive in picking up Delta than Omicron. Click Here. This is valuable information particularly in light of a small study conducted on 30 individuals in 5 different workplaces who were tested daily with RAT during the Omicron surge. The study showed that it took an average of 3 days for a nasal RAT to turn positive after the PCR turned positive. In 4/30 cases, the virus was transmitted to others before the RAT turned positive. Click Here. If larger studies corroborate these results, it is clear that we have to find a better way to improve the sensitivity of RATs. Dr. Michael Mina, formerly Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the Harvard School of Public Health and now the Chief Medical Officer at eMed, a RAT platform, has long been an advocate for the use of rapid antigen tests. He advocates testing both nose and throat for a rapid antigen test regardless of test instructions. Click Here. While this is not the official FDA position, there are enough mainstream immunologists recommending this approach that it is reasonable for our patients to test both nose and saliva with the same swab when testing with a RAT. PCRs and other molecular tests such as the Abbott ID NOW test performed in our office can be done with nasal swabs alone.

I'm so glad to hear it was helpful to you!

How low? Have her levels consistently been low? Has she always been vegan, or is there a chance dietary changes made some difference? Has she talked to a nutritionist to make sure she's getting the B vitamins that often need to be supplemented with vegan diets? Dd15 was always anemic or borderline anemic until she went on a low oxalate diet. Oxalate binds with iron and other minerals, making them unavailable to the body. In no way do I think this explains most anemia, but I like to mention it because I'm sure there are people like her who have no idea their bodies are inefficient at breaking down oxalate, and it's binding with iron and other minerals and making them unavailable. She flipped from consistently low to excellent iron levels with the dietary change, and it's stayed that way ever since.

First-dose vaccinations quadruple in Quebec ahead of restrictions at liquor and cannabis stores https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/mobile/first-dose-vaccinations-quadruple-in-quebec-ahead-of-restrictions-at-liquor-and-cannabis-stores-1.5731327

Have him hydrate like crazy. When dd had Covid we had her put a towel in the gap at the bottom of her bedroom door (it’s a big gap). Are there windows you can open? Even at 20 degrees we did a quick 15-20 minute airing out of her room and separately the rest of the house once a day. Assuming you’re sharing a bathroom, can you wash your face and brush your teeth in the kitchen. and stay masked in the bathroom except for showering? Maybe shower in the morning or sometime when he hasn’t used the bathroom for some time? And if you have a window or fan to the exterior in the bathroom to ventilate that would be ideal, if unlikely.

Dd15 is also having headaches after testing positive Christmas Eve. Not terrible but I’m checking in with her pediatrician.

Medical Twitter is reporting there's much less pulmonary involvement with Omicron and much less need for ventilators. But at the same time lots of clotting and vascular issues, with hospital admissions for deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. I still have huge respect for this virus and think it affects multiple body systems. It's not "just a cold" even when the obvious symptoms suggest that.

I'm not currently practicing as an RN, but I was going to say something similar. The idea that nutritional supplementation must be either a miracle cure or based in conspiracy doesn't reflect reality. Hospitalized patients with a whole host of diagnoses, from infections to cardiac issues are given vitamins and minerals to support their healing and recovery. Patients whose bloodwork shows a deficiency of specific vitamins or minerals are given even more targeted supplements. Megadoses of various vitamins and minerals can cause serious problems, particularly in certain patients. It would be a dream if massive doses of Vitamins D or C or whatever were a miracle cure for everything, but human nutritional needs and physiology are much more complex than that. Nutrition is a really important part of the puzzle, just like good hydration and sleep, and mainstream medicine definitely underestimates the healing potential of all three. But there's also a lot of dangerous quackery out there, and oversimplification and absolutism often give away the quacks.

Thank you--this is a great summary of what we know about the uses and effectiveness of rapid vs. PCR tests. Posting the link on social media with a few main points at the top. So many people need this info right now, and we're not getting it from the CDC.

I hope your sister is doing better and makes a full recovery. It's also helpful to hear that anecdotally you're seeing some people with long Covid who tried to push through and maybe didn't get the rest and nutrition they needed. I know this virus impacts different people in different ways, but from what I've seen I think this is a microbe to respect, and that it's super important to support the body for several weeks even after initial symptoms begin resolving. It's not just a cold, that's for sure, even if the apparent symptoms are typical cold symptoms.

I'm hearing a lot of people with a sore throat, headache, exhaustion and some congestion with Omicron. Seconding zinc, D3 + K2, fluids and electrolytes, nourishing soups and stews, fruits and veggies, herbal teas like hibiscus and ginger turmeric, and sleep. The basics are really, really important to support our bodies going through this, because it affects every system of the body, even if it seems mostly like cold symptoms in vaccinated people. Also hearing lots of folks starting to feel better and pushing it a bit (even just staying up later) and backsliding with their symptoms. Attention to nutrition, fluids and sleep needs to last for a few weeks, not just 5 or 10 days.

CDC Nowcast estimates that Omicron is 95.4% of Covid cases nationwide, for the week ending 1/1/22. Below the national bar graph you can see it broken out visually by region. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions They did make a major downward change in their Omicron estimate a couple weeks ago. Is it too much to hope they learned from that mistake are being more careful with these projections?

Preprint: Saliva swabs are the preferred sample for Omicron detection https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.22.21268246v1 Cross-posted on Omicron thread.

Preprint: Saliva swabs are the preferred sample for Omicron detection https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.22.21268246v1 Cross-posting on my throat swab thread.

I'm hearing of multiple negative tests (both rapid and PCR) followed by a positive, so much so that when someone who is symptomatic tells me they took one test and don't have Covid I don't believe it. If people can find rapid tests, swabbing the tonsils first (or even just the back inner third of the cheeks), then the nose, makes the test more sensitive. Medical Twitter has countless examples of health care providers who suspect they have Covid rapid testing negative with a nasal swab and then retesting positive with a throat/nasal swab. Several countries and rapid test manufacturers already recommend both throat and nasal swabs, not just the nose. The other issue is that very hot or cold temps skew results, at least with rapid tests. Not sure about PCR. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1386653221000639