No, I did not! I've fixed the link to the CDC isolation recommendations page. Thanks. Also, taking the opportunity to add: I wish that covid were an "easily treatable virus", but it's not. We've had 644 deaths and 4212 hospitalizations in my province in the past 4 months (since Aug 27, 2023). And counting.

It's more complicated than that. And includes masking for 10 days. @Tenaj, I'm sorry that your DH is sick. I hope that he has a mild case and that he recovers quickly.

I polled some of my optho friends about it before starting DS on contacts for sports. One ophthalmologist recommends sports glasses/goggles instead of contacts, because they add a layer of protection against eye trauma from impact that contacts don't. Another recommended contacts instead of sports glasses/goggles, because they offer a better field of vision, and has seen injuries from broken glasses from impact. I don't think that there is any consensus. I mean, the lesson I get out of this is wear eye-protection for sports that need eye-protection, prescription or not. ETA DS prefers contacts plus non-prescription protective eye-wear for badminton, rather than prescription glasses. He says that he can see better with the contacts plus non-prescription protective eye-wear combo.

DS14 started at 12. Dailies. He uses them for sports -- wears them to school on days that he has gym or sports practice, and takes them out when sports are done for the day. So far, so good. On non-sports days he wears his glasses.

Birkenstock Tokio Supergrip, from the professional series. Closed toe and with heel-strap, so they are compliant with my hospital's occ health requirements. Not the most beautiful shoe, but might work for you in the office.

I just bought a Speed Queen (Heubsch in Canada), after my 26-year-old Maytag top-loader finally died. Dials -- but there is a circuit board in there somewhere. So far it's been great. Standard load takes 27 min. Our repair professional says that they are what he instals in group-homes where they see very heavy use, and the only repair he ever has to do is replace the belt.

This thread has piqued my interest. I can't find even a single case report describing selenium toxicity from eating brazil nuts having actually happened. Lots of data on selenium content of brazil nuts. And lots of data about selenium toxicity in general. A few reports of selenium toxicity from supplements. One report of selenium toxicity in China from a foraged high-selenium diet eaten during a drought with rice crop failure. One report of selenium toxicity in rats from being fed enormous amounts of brazil nut meal. But no reports of actual cases of selenium toxicity from eating brazil nuts in humans, never mind accidental toxicity from snacking. Maybe I'm messing up my search, but I'm usually pretty good at this. I'm not too worried about it.

C-A-T Tourniquet for first aid kit. Stop the Bleed course to go with it (on-line or in person)

That's a question best ansered by one's own provider, and answer will vary depending on one's circumstances. It's complicated, the evidence base is poor, and there is some controversy within the medical community. I posted a little bit about paxlovid in the "paxlovid -- recent experience/info" thread.

Well, paxlovid is comprised of pink tablets (nirmatrelvir component) and white tablets (ritonavir component), packaged in blister packs with yellow foil over the morning dose and blue foil over the evening dose, in a white box with blue writing and blue trim with a thin dark pink/almost red stripe. At least in Canada. As per google, it seems to be the same in the US. So maybe?

I see it differently. The drug itself has risks, besides drug-drug interactions. dysgeusia and diarrhea being the most common, followed by headache hypertension, malaise, vomiting. Then more rare but serious risks: hepatotoxicity, hypersensitivity reactions and anaphylaxis, stevens johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, pancreatitis, bradycardia. These may be rare, and any one individual's risk is small. But, on a population level, we are absolutely causing harm with this drug, with very poor evidence for benefit. Negative RTC done a population that best matches the patients prescribe to (vax'd with risk factors). (as an aside, Pfizer's failure to publish EPIC-SR trial will have downstream legal consequenses, I think. It's tantamount to purposely hiding data that would harm their profits, and has caused harm)

The state of evidence for paxlovid is poor. There are only 2 RTCs to date that I am aware of. The first, EPIC-HR, done in unvaccinated covid-naive high-risk patients showed benefit, but there were some quite serious limitations (esp disease-specific mortality/hospitalization rather than all-cause) and was pharma-funded, pharma-designed, and pharma-run, and has not been replicated. Also, unvaccinated covid-naive high-risk is a population that likely doesn't exist anymore (or is very small). The second, EPIC-SR, also pharma-funded/designed/run, was done in mixed population including both vaccinated plus at least one at risk condition patients, and unvaccinated without at-risk condition patients, did not show benefit and halted for futility, and was not published (result available by press release only). All other pax studies, for both acute and long-covid outcomes, are observational and must be interpreted with caution. In non-pandemic/emergency circumstances, this drug would likely not have been approved; the state of the evidence is too poor. I think it probably doesn't work, at least not clinically meaningful benefit. The trade-off is multiple potential serious drug reactions, necessitating altering dosing or stopping other necessary meds for co-morbidities (why all-cause mortality/hospitalization outcome is so important! - if, say, anticoagulant was stopped and pt then died/hospitalized for a stroke as a direct result of stopping anticoagulant in order to rx pax, this outcome would have been missed in the above studies with covid disease-specific outcome measures) I, personally, would not recommend it for my own vaccinated elderly parents.

I was there for a few weeks in the summer with Canadian youth and adults as part of the World Scouts Jamboree. Not study abroad, but we did stay in 4 different university dorms in Seoul and Suwon for a total of 8 nights. Things that we were advised to be aware of: Legal: Minors will be tried as a adult starting at age 14, and there is no bail. Legal system is relatively harsh. Age of consent for sexual activity is 20. Apparently penalties for underage SA can be harsh. There are cameras everywhere. Expect to be on camera while in public. Cultural: Strict separation of the sexes in dorms They did not know what to do with our transgendered youth in dorms -- see above. It was a big issue. Some of our LGBTQ2S youth struggled. The culture is conservative wrt gender roles, and while not illegal, LGBTQ2S culture/lifestyle is not publicly embraced. Food allergies and intolerances do not seem to be a recognized thing. There is no awareness, and accommodation of dietary needs was very difficult. There are very few public garbage cans. One is expected to take ones trash home (ie take-out containers etc) and dispose of it there. Which everyone does; the streets were very clean. Toilet paper is only sometimes available Toilet paper often goes into the garbage (rather than flushed). Public bathrooms and dorm bathroom we visited all had signage one way or the other. There is very little street crime (see legal above). We saw people just leave their phones on tables in crowded food courts while they went to an out-of-sight counter to order, and one couple left their toddler at a table we were sharing while they went out-of-sight to the kiosk to order -- this last at a very, very crowded amusement park.

Our dog very quickly learned that dropping those down the stairs was a very effective strategy 🙂

Yup, as served with ice.. Canadian online ordering menu states this "Charged Sips, as served with ice, contain 150-237mg of CAFFEINE. Consume in moderation. NOT RECOMMENDED FOR children, people sensitive to caffeine, pregnant or nursing women." Bolding mine.

Mine is very similar to PP's. Works great. We use amazon basics laminating pouches. Cost less than brand name and can't tell the difference.

To keep liquids hot for 10 hours you need a proper vacuum bottle with a thick screw-cap. I don't think that there exists a travel mug/tumbler that will keep a beverage really hot for 10 hours - by definition, they all have a thin spot in the lid to accomodate the drinking mechanism, and that's where the heat leaks out. Contigo mug is only good for a few hours (thin lid), but it spill-proof. Thermos King mug keeps heat in longer (thicker lid), but you have to remember to shut the drink port after each sip or it will leak heat (and spill if tipped). It won't keep a drink really hot for 10 hours though. THermos King vacuum bottle keeps my tea steaming hot for >24h. For long shifts I use a 3 vessel strategy: Large vacuum bottle to hold my tea for the duration of the shift, and pour out from that into a contigo mug to drink from. I add milk to the contigo mug as I go - I have access to a fridge (so I guess it's really a 3 vessel strategy) or , if I won't have access to a fridge, I preheat the milk and then add it to the main vacuum bottle at home before I leave. Adding cold milk to a hot bev pre-cools it too much, and it won't stay hot for as long as otherwise.

Quick search finds this study: Tests that were frozen for up to 2 weeks still worked.

As an aside, the hospital I work at lets us work with covid, so long as symptoms have been improving over 24h and fever-free. Staff with covid are required to mask and take breaks in special zones, but otherwise go about their jobs as usual. This includes staff providing direct patient care.

Is this your only testing option? Can you test through work (my hospital hands out RAT tests to employees if they ask, and also supports PCR testing), or buy a fresh test from a pharmacy? It sounds like you really need to know.

Where I am, hospital staff have been required to mask while providing care, and masks for everyone in select higher-risk departments (emerg, dialysis, oncology etc) here since about mid-September. Thank goodness -- otherwise we would be much worse off, I think.

Regional wastewater report is somewhat eye-popping this week: Shaded area with dashed line is incomplete data to be interpreted with caution, but tracks with the giant uptick in covid admissions we've seen in the hospital over the past 3 weeks or so. I think provisional data will prove true.

That is very strange. I think I might ask to see a copy of the written policy. (Dollars-to-donuts it doesn't actually exist, or doesn't actually say what the staff think it says). If there really is a policy that prohibits mask use during donation, I might follow-up with a letter or email to the medical director, because that doesn't make any medical sense. From the American Red Cross: "The Red Cross follows a high standard of safety and infection control and will continue to socially distance wherever possible at our blood drives, donation centers and facilities. While donors are no longer required to wear a face mask, individuals may choose to continue to wear a mask for any reason. The Red Cross will also adhere to more stringent face mask requirements per state and/or local guidance, or at the request of our blood drive sponsors." bolding mine. For what it's worth, Canadian Blood Services has this to say about masks and donation: "Although no longer required, masks are known to help curb the spread of COVID- 19 and are welcome in our environments and available to anyone who chooses to wear them," and "Masks, including N95s, are available to staff, volunteers, donors and visitors," and "Yes, you can wear your own mask. Surgical face and N95 masks provided by Canadian Blood Services are also available."

Two or three quick smashes with the potato masher = beautifully cubed whites and smooth yolks. It's a magic tool 🙂

Potato masher is WAY better for eggs. Very efficient smashing 🤣