Has he tried reflux medication?

I hate the idea myself...in large part because I have hearing issues and rely on reading lips a lot. But I'd rather have masking be the new normal than have my kids grow up without me, or have them live in a place where people are dying in huge numbers, etc.

Oh no!!!! DS7 and DD10 both had growth spurts and outgrew theirs! We just told them yesterday we''d get them new bikes!

Thank you! This part addresses some questions I'm seeing on the board. SARS-CoV-2 has been shown to replicate three times faster than SARS-CoV-1 and thus can rapidly spread to the pharynx from which it can be shed before the innate immune response becomes activated and produces symptoms (6). By the time symptoms occur, the patient has transmitted the virus without knowing. Identifying infected individuals to curb SARS-CoV-2 transmission is more challenging compared to SARS and other respiratory viruses because infected individuals can be highly contagious for several days, peaking on or before symptoms occur (2, 7). These “silent shedders” could be critical drivers of the enhanced spread of SARS-CoV-2. In Wuhan, China, it has been estimated that undiagnosed cases of COVID-19 infection, who were presumably asymptomatic, were responsible for up to 79% of viral infections (3).

Right, but that just sort of makes it more important that people wear them. If it is very unlikely (which it is) that I can get an N95 mask to fit well enough without a fit test to protect myself, then I am relying on others to wear SOMETHING over their face to slow the spread of droplets. (which they do seem to be effective at)

Um, wear the mask, because the limited data we DO have says that means you are less likely to spread it. Yes, it does. I linked some earlier. Well, given how many in the medical profession continued smoking LONG after it was known to be dangerous, yeah, even doctors do dumb stuff regarding their health. People make moral judgements all the time. I think smoking in public is also a moral issue, as it can cause harm to others. It is their personal choice, obviously, just like it is to not mask. But that doesn't mean it doesn't have effect on others. What data is there that there is any risk in wearing a mask to the store for say, an hour? What moldy particles is someone inhaling, if they wash their mask or sterilize it as they are supposed to? I mean, sure, I might wear gross dirty shoes and get athletes foot, but it doesn't mean wearing shoes in a store is risky. I linked an evidence review earlier today..one of those showed that masks reduced SARS transmission by nearly half. There is also the study about the hamster cages and masks. Or this, which is based on assumptions, but assumptions that experts feel are decent. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/05/masks-covid-19-infections-would-plummet-new-study-says?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_brand=vf&mbid=social_facebook&utm_social-type=owned&fbclid=IwAR06bKoBRQABxq-D7SqD5AHVGR8jVGE77cWzx5f1OMwKz0hkLT-_Nkcn0Gw 1. the point is to protect others. 2. No one is saying wearing a mask without actually covering your mouth and nose is effective - they are not magic. Doing so is the equivalent of wearing a condom on your thumb instead of the relevant body part. People can be taught though. 3. What harm would you be causing yourself?

Yes. It is expensive, but heavens it is a miracle drug for sure! It really doesn't tend to make dogs that sleepy, most of the time. /Agree on the Chlor-Trimeton although I can never find that these days. Benedryl and Zyrtec do almost nothing for my dogs. Zyrtec works for my cat though! I'm betting something in the area on the hikes triggered it, or some fleas bit him while hiking, or even mosquitoes, etc. I'd do a steroid injection in case it is a one time thing, but if that wears off and it comes back I'd look at the big guns.

But that goes back to effective for what? Protecting the wearer or preventing them from spewing droplets? Two different goals, and when people say "not effective" for the first it does not negate the effectiveness of the second. I think that is where a lot of the confusion is coming from.

Yeah, we don't have that for the county, just the state, but I figure new cases per day gives me decent info. I tend to add it up for new cases per week, in my head. Low risk activities, that involve no close contact, I go and I mask. But socializing for any period of time is a no for me at this point, with about 200 new cases per week in my area, and going up. Especially since people are NOT masking like they were. I was considering taking the kids to home depot to get them out for the first time since this started, but then heard no one is really masking anymore, or allowing for 6 feet of distance, and I decided nope. Sigh.

Yes, this! It's probably more accurate than the actual testing at this point. My sister was going to get an antibody test, as she was very very ill with pneumonia in January/February, but after talkinga bout it she's going to get a copy of her Xray first for her doctor to look at. That may rule it in or out better than an antibody test of questionable value. Back then they didn' tknow to look for it, but they would know now.

I have to wonder if knowing he's been around you, and you are potentially postive (hopefully not!) will have him re-evaluate his thinking about masks! I'd be tempted to email him and say, "My son has Covid19, I've been exposed and have potentially been contagious in the office, bet you are glad I wore that mask now, huh?" but that isn't nice I guess

The problem with the death rate is that it can take literally months to get numbers that make sense, because of autopsies, paperwork being done in batches, etc etc. And that's AFTER accounting for the deaths being probably 14 days behind the spike in cases. So, for me, not helpful 😞 I'm looking at new cases, because at this point, we are not going to be increasing testing that much - we are supposedly already able to test anyone with symptoms or contact with someone with symptoms, and I don't see us ever testing just everyone, so that's holding steady. (in my county). So for me, new cases per day is what I'm looking at, and I'm assuming that those are the tip of the iceberg, as plenty of people won't feel sick enough to go get tested. (of course we've also had a ton of drama about reliability of the numbers in my state - hiding deaths, firing the woman in charge of the dashboard, her claiming she was asked to falsify or hide info, etc)

Well yeah, that's kind of what I have been saying ...albeit not well, obviously, lol. the point is to control spread from people who don't have symptoms yet, or such mild symptoms they don't really consider themselves "sick" yet. It seems people may have a very high viral load right before they get symptoms, or when they are mild enough to be blown off or not really noticed (as adults, we all know we do this....the "well, Im achy but I did mow the yard yesterday so it is probably that" or "my nose is a bit congested, but it's allergy season so I'm sure it is just that). So mask wearing means those people cannot spew so many droplets, and fewer of the even smaller aerosolized particles (although it doesn't filter as many as a better quality mask). That reduces the viral load of those they encounter. Sick folks shouldn't be out and about masking, they should be staying home. But just controlling those who are obviously sick doesn't stop the spread, or this wouldn't be so hard to control. We need to stop the spread from those who feel well enough to go out and about - OR to be totally honest - from those who do know they don't feel well but don't care and are going out anyway. In this board we had a boardie whose husband said if he got Covid he would drive himself 20 hours home, stopping along the way for gas/bathrooms/food. If that actually happened, it would be better for everyone at those places if he was required by those places to wear a mask. Because sadly, we can't trust everyone who is sick to stay home, let alone know who is already infected, but not feeling sick yet.

Found this preprint of an article reviewing the evidence for masks. (if you click "get PDF" on the right you get the whole article) https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202004.0203/v1?fbclid=IwAR1Br7fgbFa-NJcLY5wHAGezbsptrUVoGYGHkKH0JxLOYzuVsXogfByPlP4 The preponderance of evidence indicates that mask wearing reduces the transmissibility per contact by reducing transmission of infected droplets in both laboratory and clinical contexts. Public mask wearing is most effective at stopping spread of the virus when compliance is high. The decreased transmissibility could substantially reduce the death toll and economic impact while the cost of the intervention is low.

But...it isn't about "belief". The evidence shows that it can help. Therefore, I mask. Has nothing to do with what anyone "believes". Nor is it a matter of popularity...it isn't a vote. Even if those believing it are doctors. I mean, hello, how many board posts do we have on here about doctors totally messing up, saying things that are patently wrong, out of date, etc? All the time!