ETA--These are admittedly super-specific questions, but I figured I'd try the Hive in case anyone has ideas that might help my sweet little mini-poodle! The vet diagnosed fungal claw about 6 weeks ago, and prescribed topical Tresaderm along with oral salmon oil and vitamin E. She also had us do clorhexidine paw soaks for the first few weeks, but that was drying out his claws and probably making them more fragile so she had us stop the soaks. His claws were starting to look better at his last checkup, but the vet said to continue Tresaderm since it will take several more months for the claws to grow out completely. And she put the fear of God in me that this can be difficult to treat even with oral antifungals, it can come right back if you stop too soon, and that toe amputation can become necessary in complicated cases. Now the vet can't get Tresaderm due to the national shortage, and I've tried 5 vet pharmacies that are all out too! Anyone have experience treating fungal claw successfully, or suggestions on how to obtain Tresaderm or a substitute? I believe the vet made the diagnosis clinically without doing a biopsy, so I'm also wondering if it's worth asking for a biopsy in case confirmation of the microbial cause might indicate another treatment option.

Same! Dd17 works at a Middle Eastern restaurant that makes Chipotle-style bowls. Her boss (the owner) really appreciates what a reliable worker she is and has been great about scheduling. Her 2 shifts a week are flexible as long as she lets her boss know the week ahead. In a pinch, coworkers will also cover for each other. If it's financially doable I'd place priority on extracurriculars and family time before teens launch their own lives, which makes family time much harder to coordinate. I also think talking through this dilemma gives you great opportunities for conversations with your teen about discerning personal priorities and seeking sustainable work-life balance, which are developmentally right on and will serve them well in adulthood. You could also help brainstorm other options for earning that fit better into their schedule. Whenever my teens/young adults have a dilemma my refrain is always, "You have options! What are you seeing as potential options at this point?" And then taking the conversation from there, asking more questions to help them explore and possibly suggesting additional options.

I heard Ashish Jha say in an interview on increasing Paxlovid use that many meds can be discontinued for a 5-day course of Paxlovid--of course ONLY on consultation with the person's physician--and that in many cases it's worth it to do so. I'm obviously not making any assessment of your mom's medical needs, just wanted to mention it because most people (and probably most MDs, tbh) don't realize short-term discontinuation of other meds might be a possibility. Hoping you and the rest of your family stay well!

DD20 started Arabic sophomore year and says that learning Arabic is one of the most valuable and practical learning experiences she's had in college. Instead of finishing a semester and closing the book on a course, she's motivated to continue working on her fluency. She definitely has worked consistently on it, but difficulty has varied by professor. I was interested to hear that she felt like she learned the most with a professor who actually did a bit more hand-holding with student learning. So even though that prof's classes were a bit easier than the others she'd taken, she felt like she was learning more. As an aside, this summer she watched Dubai Bling, a ridiculous reality show that kept some Arabic synapses firing for her without effort.

I'm with you on wanting new boosters asap! How about we proactively set families up for a healthy start to the school year, instead of a couple months of viral chaos before boosters come out? Honestly hoping my family can find a way to get new primary series of Novovax. We've done a mix of Pfizer & Moderna so far and though I'm happy they were available earlier in the pandemic it's way past time for more durable vaccines. ETA: Regional trends obscure a lot of variability in specific locales, for sure. When I look at my state's wastewater I see a few places trending up quickly but more cities & towns trending the same. The data's often a week or more behind, just to make things even more confusing. I am hearing of more friends and family getting Covid now, though.

Looks like a steep rise in the Midwest.

Cool! Do you have a link or brand to recommend?

If sinus issues are a problem I think there's a vaccine for the most common bacterial causes--primary care would know.

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. We're trying to figure out the same for dd20 and dd17, who have both had Covid twice. Dd20, who has Long Covid, was getting sick monthly from Aug-Jan, often for two weeks at a time. She was already masking in class etc but she upped her masking and started using CPC mouthwash and nasal spray, both twice a day. (Nasal spray was usually Xlear xylitol grapefruit version, or Arm & Hammer saline which Costco carries). She also asked her roommates and good friends at school to let her know if they were sick, even just a tickle in the throat, so she could avoid exposure. Her roommates are amazing humans and were willing to test and mask in common areas when they had symptoms or had just come back from travel, and I'll be eternally grateful to them! This stuff helped, somehow--January was the last time she was sick, and I don't know if it's simply that she's careful about exposure and hygiene, or if those things gave her immune system a break from serial hits and helped her move out of a super-inflammatory/infectious trigger response. She has been exposed a few times since then without getting sick, which is a great relief after the fall. I definitely think it's worth trying to avoid infections of all kinds to give your systems a break. Summer might be easier time to try that if you have more outdoor social options in your climate? Since Jan, dd17 is the one who's been on the monthly sickness train, and her bouts seem to be getting longer, a few lasting a good two weeks. She has an appointment with her allergist, who also specializes in immunology, for an eval for frequent infections. Allergy/immunology would be a good specialty to see if you want more than primary care can offer, just make sure you find one with a strong immunology focus, and it might be worth scheduling sooner rather than later since new patient appts might be a few months out, even if you decide to cancel later. In terms of labs, vitamin D, zinc, hematocrit/hemoglobin, ferritin (definitely ask for this, a person can be severely iron deficient even with normal hematocrit and hemoglobin and it impacts immune function.) Good quality omega 3s and probiotics support immune function, and I've read Covid can eliminate bifido bacteria so that might be particularly good strain to supplement. Probably some infections we're seeing on a population level are due to decreased exposure, but personally I think that's a much smaller percentage than most people think. Research on immune dysregulation post-Covid is abundant and more solid studies are appearing each week, showing numerous and often lasting effects on T cells, viral persistence in lymph nodes in children, and increased susceptibility to strep in both children and adults. I will try to come back later to link a few studies. My understanding is measles typically causes a couple years of immune dysregulation, while untreated HIV can cause permanent immune dysfunction. Probably there are some transitory post-Covid immune effects, but some studies have found issues persisting throughout the study timeframe. No one can say there won't be permanent immune impacts in some people, at least. My concern is that many immune deficiencies ramp up slowly, and it can be years or even a decade before the person has the frequent opportunistic infections we associate with immune problems. My guess is we're only seeing the tip of the iceberg in terms of population immune impacts from unmitigated spread.

Is there a thread on this already? Looking for suggestions for home air purifiers for wildfire smoke, since we'll probably be dealing with this intermittently. The Filtrete purifier I picked up at Lowe's when dh had Covid generates ozone, which I didn't realize and definitely don't want. Also don't want another Corsi-Rosenthal. I've looked at Levoit and Medify and wonder if anyone familiar with filtering out smoke has suggestions on different brands or models, ease of use, frequency and cost of filter replacements etc.

I’m in Northeast Ohio and ours is 105 today, after a break of a few days where we could be outside. 105 is way better than our peak around 300, but I still smell smoke and feel it in my throat. Had hoped to swim and eat on our patio today but the air isn’t healthy enough for that. I’m realizing how much time I typically spend outside and how much joy and emotional health it brings me on a daily basis. Really not a fan of this winter-in-summer staying indoors vibe!

Personally I’d avoid Texas, given the off-the-charts temps and the fact that the state has its own electrical grid, which makes it more vulnerable to failure if AC demand is super high. They don’t have backup from out of state. Greater chance of disruptions with flights and car rental.

Wash your bras, pjs, shirts or whatever else touches that spot on hot with detergent and a healthy splash of ammonia. If it’s responding to tea tree oil it could be bacterial or fungal, and you can prevent reinfecting yourself by disinfecting your clothing. I wish I didn’t know this from experience with a bacterial boil and sports bra yeast rashes in my family! Washing clothes with ammonia helped in both cases.

So sorry you have this to deal with while selling your house! But I have to say I really admire the energy in the title of this thread! 🔥

Ours was over 300 this morning, 236 now and hopefully a little better tomorrow. We have AC and a couple air filters running but they're definitely not up to the task. I'm currently trying to figure out where to get stuff to make a couple Corsi-Rosenthal boxes. Dd17 is at a writing program 2 hours from here and I'm considering driving down tonight with a filter for her room because tomorrow looks worse there.

Yes, I can totally commiserate with being completely ready to set down responsibility and flexibility from past phases of our family life, but feeling some persisting sense of responsiblity/guilt and also having medical needs in the family that make having healthy food available still important. In my case, it's dd20's Long Covid (healthy diet makes a huge difference, but complicated by fatigue and need to adjust activity levels by the day, including horizontal vs. upright time). Love the previous poster saying one of our jobs as mamas is to put ourselves out of a job. Increasing independence in a supported way is always one of my top parenting priorities with teens and 20s. Being able to understand and communicate our own individual needs and preferences, and to hear and consider other people's, is also among the top developmental growth areas for teens and 20s. So I'm trying to talk more as a family about both cleaning and cooking, figuring out how to work out new arrangements. There are so many things that can change--in which areas are people able and interested in contributing? What level of cleanliness and what kinds of available food and flexibility work best for everyone? Needs vs. wants (you and/or dh may be figuring some of this out for your ds23)? As a concrete example from my family, dd20 cleans the kitchen when she can, but that's not every day if she needs to rest more. But sitting down to fold laundry is almost always doable for her, and she spontaneously decides to make a big dinner with leftovers every couple weeks. For food prep, what's helping us these days other than frozen food, is to do a protein blitz every 1-2 weeks. For some reason fend-for-yourself is easier with our diets if we have premade proteins to throw over salad greens, on a tortilla with cheese, or in a bowl with leftover rice or pasta. We boil a dozen eggs, grill a few pounds of chicken or beef, and cook several pounds of ground beef or turkey. Dh likes grilling and boiled eggs, so he does those, and we freeze whatever we won't eat in the next couple days. Once a week we usually make a giant fruit salad, wash salad greens and prep veggies sticks. With yummy dressings and sauces it's not hard for anyone to fend for themselves several nights a week, and still have family dinners some nights. These concrete suggestions may not work for you, but maybe some of your people will surprise you with their own ideas on how to streamline or what they can contribute. If someone's up for making a big pot of chili on a night when others are busy, it could go in the freezer and still be a welcome contribution.

It’s not gone! Still alternating my time between bed and bathroom, lol. Just no longer writhing in pain and feeling like I’m going to pass out. But life is feeling sweeter already. Thanks again 😊

Thanks, Carol. I switched out the Nuun for another electrolyte mix with more salt and potassium. I'm able to drink more now, including chicken soup broth with smooshed carrots, and feel like I'm out of the woods. Still symptomatic, just no longer worried about extreme dehydration.

Thank you, that makes sense re: hydration. After 36 hours I think the worst of the cramping is over. I've never had cramping and stomach pain like this before. A small sip would cause staggering pain a few minutes later. Like labor pain intense. I ended up alternating intervals of trying to hydrate in the bathroom with not drinking so I could lie down and get a little rest. My temp was a little off but seems fine now. For the future I should look into whether we have virtual urgent care--that is such a great option.

Just read that rotavirus symptoms can last 4-8 days. Holy smokes if that’s what it is.

Any idea how rotavirus was diagnosed or what care she got?

Deleting details to spare the Hive, since I feel like I'm out of the woods. After 36 hours the stomach pain and cramping eased up enough that I feel like I can hydrate more. Still symptomatic, but no longer wondering about urgent medical care. I think we tend to block out the experience of pain, but I honestly don't think I've ever had stomach pain that intense before, and for such a long time. Thanks so much for helping me through a really rough night, Hive.

Thanks for the data--very interesting!

Simpler version of Corsi-Rosenthal listed above--not a box, just one fan, one MERV filter and duct tape. This would definitely help filter particulates and smoke in the house. Only caveat is if you use it for Covid, don't have it blowing one person's air directly toward another, in case it blows microbes. ETA: Jim Rosenthal himself recommends MERV 13 or equivalent, second link added below the first. https://twitter.com/danaparish/status/1666608174462377985?s=20 https://www.texairfilters.com/using-a-corsi-rosenthal-box-to-remove-wildfire-smoke-make-sure-to-use-the-right-filters/

For immediate self-care--I don't know much about working nights, but it does seem like the number of night shifts is a big part of the issue. Looking at your schedule I wonder when you can sleep and what might help you get to sleep at those times, and if online resources for night shift workers might help sort that out, possibly a forum or FB group where people share experience, ideas and support. I like guided meditation both for calming my nervous system to get to sleep, get back to sleep and sometimes when I feel stressed or anxious during the day. Finding an app or a practitioner that you like on Youtube or whatever might give you a go-to option so it doesn't require thought or effort. I'm currently subscribed to Ten Percent Happier, mostly because I like Oren Jay Sofer's guided meditations. Even until Jan there are structural issues with this schedule. It's great that it's a good company to work for, and they value your expertise. What are they doing to address the structural issues given the closure of the other local ambulance co? Is there any kind of new hire that could relieve the pressure on you and the rest of the team who aren't getting any recovery time or breaks?