Omicron anecdata?

[Matryoshka]

6 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Talked with a former college roommate last night. She’s lost almost all her hair after having had Covid. I had never heard of that before. 

There was some celebrity who had Covid a while back and lost a bunch of hair and talked about it a lot on social media. But that's the only other time I've heard of that.

ETA: but I just googled it and found this: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34467470/

Which includes this quote:  COVID-19 infection is now a frequent and a common cause of acute telogen effluvium. Hence, clinicians should be aware about the relation between this infection and this pattern of hair loss. 

ETA:  But wait, there's more...  The Year America's Hair Fell Out (Atlantic article) 

Edited January 14, 2022 by Matryoshka

[Lucy the Valiant]

3 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Talked with a former college roommate last night. She’s lost almost all her hair after having had Covid. I had never heard of that before. 

If it's any comfort, it will probably come back; that has happened to several people in my area, men and women alike.

[Matryoshka]

2 minutes ago, Lucy the Valiant said:

If it's any comfort, it will probably come back; that has happened to several people in my area, men and women alike.

Yes, the articles above do seem to imply it's temporary.

[mommyoffive]

Experts are starting to say most Americans will contract COVID as omicron variant spreads (msn.com)

 

Some evidence shows omicron appears in your throat first. Should at-home Covid tests change? (msn.com)

[Spryte]

20 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Talked with a former college roommate last night. She’s lost almost all her hair after having had Covid. I had never heard of that before. 

Our neighbor has lost a lot of her hair, too, after infection. Her stylist thinks the cause is remdesivir, she sees it in a lot of clients who took it. Probably it’s more a function of having been ill with Covid.

I hope your former roommate is otherwise recovered. No long Covid, and the hair grows back quickly!

[Insertcreativenamehere]

28 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Talked with a former college roommate last night. She’s lost almost all her hair after having had Covid. I had never heard of that before. 

I have a dear childhood friend who was hospitalized with Covid a few months ago. She was seriously ill, on a vent, and we weren't sure she was going to survive. She is now recovering and has lost much of her hair, too. 

[rebcoola]

Our governor has called in the national guard to help with testing.   The next city's schools have just gone virtual because so many are out with covid.  

No one is doing anything different it seems events aren't being canceled no one is talking about it it is so weird.

[busymama7]

Lots of long haulers including those not hospitalized went through massive hair loss.  Mine was similar to postpartum but definitely more than that.  Thankfully it wasn't exactly noticeable other than to me.  It's coming back 

[ktgrok]

People who have bariatric surgery get that hair loss too. Everyone assumes it is from lack of nutrients but it isn't - that can happen but later on. It's from the stress of surgery/gut hormone changes/etc. 

[KSera]

4 minutes ago, busymama7 said:

Lots of long haulers including those not hospitalized went through massive hair loss.  Mine was similar to postpartum but definitely more than that.  Thankfully it wasn't exactly noticeable other than to me.  It's coming back 

Off topic, but I keep meaning to ask you if your long haulers group is talking about the use of monoclonal antibodies to resolve long Covid. I’ve been seeing that popping up recently as something that has been resolving the symptoms for some people.

[AbcdeDooDah]

1 hour ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Talked with a former college roommate last night. She’s lost almost all her hair after having had Covid. I had never heard of that before. 

Mine is falling out. It's awful.

[KSera]

2 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

People who have bariatric surgery get that hair loss too. Everyone assumes it is from lack of nutrients but it isn't - that can happen but later on. It's from the stress of surgery/gut hormone changes/etc. 

it can also be caused by a prolonged fever. 

[busymama7]

Just now, KSera said:

Off topic, but I keep meaning to ask you if your long haulers group is talking about the use of monoclonal antibodies to resolve long Covid. I’ve been seeing that popping up recently as something that has been resolving the symptoms for some people.

I've seen it a bit but no general consensus about it. Doesn't seem common at all. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

6 minutes ago, busymama7 said:

Lots of long haulers including those not hospitalized went through massive hair loss.  Mine was similar to postpartum but definitely more than that.  Thankfully it wasn't exactly noticeable other than to me.  It's coming back 

It must be noticeable to her.  Her words were that "she was almost bald and expected to be completely bald soon."   But I was talking to her on the phone, haven't seen her in person in quite a while and have no idea what I would think if I saw her.  (Some people are prone to exaggeration but I don't think that she's been one of those people.) 

I don't want to go back to quote the person who wondered if it was due to her medications. . I didn't quiz her on how it was treated etc.  I've decided to let people tell me what they want when it comes to Covid since it seems to be such a landmine type of topic. 

[busymama7]

1 minute ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

It must be noticeable to her.  Her words were that "she was almost bald and expected to be completely bald soon."   But I was talking to her on the phone, haven't seen her in person in quite a while and have no idea what I would think if I saw her.  (Some people are prone to exaggeration but I don't think that she's been one of those people.) 

I don't want to go back to quote the person who wondered if it was due to her medications. . I didn't quiz her on how it was treated etc.  I've decided to let people tell me what they want when it comes to Covid since it seems to be such a landmine type of topic. 

I have definitely seen pictures of those with massive bald spots heading towards complete baldness.  Some have just shaved it even.  It's quite possible she's not exaggerating

[BakersDozen]

6 hours ago, cintinative said:

@BakersDozen and anyone else with input:

My SIL and nephew 16 both have COVID (second set of tests confirmed although first were negative).  Apparently 16 y.o. is miserable. He is vaxxed, not sure of booster. What can they do, if anything, to help him with the symptoms?  Symptoms are fever, sore throat, achy.  Apparently his sore throat is so bad he can't sleep.  I told her to call the pediatrician. I wonder if he could have strep as well as COVID?

 

The horrible sore throat prompted the tele-health call and a prescription for antibiotics for our dd. She's the only one who got it that badly. I have a tea for sore throats on hand that the other children drank constantly, honey/lemon lozenges, sore throat "coating" meds, etc.

[mommyoffive]

Omicron Isn't Mild for Hospitals - The Atlantic

 

[AbcdeDooDah]

My hairdresser said mine is definitely noticeable. Thankfully I have tons of hair but I realize it could still worsen. 😔

[TCB]

1 hour ago, Spryte said:

Our neighbor has lost a lot of her hair, too, after infection. Her stylist thinks the cause is remdesivir, she sees it in a lot of clients who took it. Probably it’s more a function of having been ill with Covid.

I hope your former roommate is otherwise recovered. No long Covid, and the hair grows back quickly!

Well of course the stylist knows lol! Just about everyone with serious disease has received Remdesivir, so you would imagine almost all hospitalized patients would be losing their hair and none of the more mild cases if that were so. 
Remdesivir seems to trigger a number of conspiracy type things.

[Soror]

On 1/13/2022 at 8:27 AM, Soror said:

Dh tested positive on an at home test Monday (he then tested pos at his work clinic Tues- he said pretty sure the same test as he used at home). He started feeling a bit icky Saturday. Half of his office is out with Covid so I'm sure that is where he got it. He is still not feeling great. It started with a horrible headache and joint pain. Now he has more sinus congestion, some fatigue, and random headaches and joint pain. He was vaxxed but not boosted, despite my insistence. It had went around many times at work and he never caught it so he thought he was going to be lucky.

I had a bit of sinus issues earlier in the week but that went away. Dd2 had a few random stomach pains and now reduced appetite. Everyone else is fine.

We are not quarantining him in the house as it had already been 2 days at that point. He didn't find out about the others having Covid until he got it (hipaa and it happened at the end of the week he didn't know why people were out). 

I have a few more tests here but am waiting to use them as they are not easy to get. Testing slots are limited for the pcr and always days out.

ETA: I just got boosted in Dec and my younger 2 finished their shots then. I meant for my 17 and 14 yr old to get boosted over christmas but it didn't happen so they will be going early next week

Dh is mostly better now but is having really bad dizzy spells sometimes when he gets up. He's lost his sense of taste and smell and also has some mucus but not too much anymore.

I went ahead and tested today as I had had some very mild sinus issues (feels like allergies - itchy eyes and a slight stuffy nose here and there). I was neg.

No one else has had anything except some stomach issues with dd2- some stomach pains during the weekend and then diminished appetite for a few days- coincidentally she also trialed gluten (had stomach issues before neg. Celiac test but dr's had no other ideas so we took her off and it improved- we were doing a small trial a year later now).

[cintinative]

43 minutes ago, BakersDozen said:

The horrible sore throat prompted the tele-health call and a prescription for antibiotics for our dd. She's the only one who got it that badly. I have a tea for sore throats on hand that the other children drank constantly, honey/lemon lozenges, sore throat "coating" meds, etc.

The doctor said to just use sore throat spray, lozenges, etc. and did not order a swab. I told my SIL if he is still so bad tomorrow I would have him swabbed at urgent care.  =(

[Spryte]

1 minute ago, cintinative said:

The doctor said to just use sore throat spray, lozenges, etc. and did not order a swab. I told my SIL if he is still so bad tomorrow I would have him swabbed at urgent care.  =(

Aaack, I get really antsy about strep. Don’t want to miss it, and leave it untreated!

I was sort of hoping to read an update that your doc decided to treat as if he had strep.

Nevertheless, I am reading more and more about the painful Covid sore throat. Ugh. Hopefully he will feel better tomorrow.

[cintinative]

1 minute ago, Spryte said:

Aaack, I get really antsy about strep. Don’t want to miss it, and leave it untreated!

 

I know! My husband's coworker waited to see a doc for his sore throat. It ended up being strep and the doc said if he had waited one more day the doc would have had to send him to the ER. He was having trouble breathing.  Aaack.

[Ting Tang]

Dirty N95 mask = ineffective against Covid? So one of my husband’s forum pals posted a picture of an n95 mask he wore (claims tightly, pinched around nose) while blowing off dusty farm machinery. Because his inside mask is filthy, he claims they cannot work against Covid, which my husband has adopted as “truth.”   Of course, I wonder if his movement affected his mask wearing, if his face was dirty, etc. 

[freesia]

10 minutes ago, Spryte said:

Aaack, I get really antsy about strep. Don’t want to miss it, and leave it untreated!

I was sort of hoping to read an update that your doc decided to treat as if he had strep.

Nevertheless, I am reading more and more about the painful Covid sore throat. Ugh. Hopefully he will feel better tomorrow.

Yes, I had a ten month old who developed a throat abscess from untreated strep. I brought her in to the doctor’s but the power was out bc of a storm and he didn’t test her and thought it wasn’t bc she was so young. She ended up in the hospital for five days. Anyway, now I never let sore throats go longer than three days. 

[TCB]

12 minutes ago, KrisTom said:

Dirty N95 mask = ineffective against Covid? So one of my husband’s forum pals posted a picture of an n95 mask he wore (claims tightly, pinched around nose) while blowing off dusty farm machinery. Because his inside mask is filthy, he claims they cannot work against Covid, which my husband has adopted as “truth.”   Of course, I wonder if his movement affected his mask wearing, if his face was dirty, etc. 

To counter the 1 dirty mask story, you could tell him that I, and a bunch of my colleagues have been in rooms with Covid patients for hours and haven’t caught Covid so far. At the beginning we were reusing the same N95 for a number of weeks.

[plaidpants]

Welp. Mom apparently just tested positive for covid, which likely means that I have had it too. Good thing you can still go back to work at a hospital, 5 days after symptoms start or a positive test, even if you're still sick as long as you're afebrile and symptoms are improving. 😆

She's a cardiac patient. I have an autoimmune disease and intermittent asthma. Why did I get 3 shots again?

I'm at least as worried about my nieces, who were sick the whole time they were here (And their mother coughed EVERYWHERE and never blew her nose, DISGUSTING) and their parents don't take proper care of their asthma/allergies (the cat sleeps in their beds....) so if they had it... And they live in a state that doesn't believe in covid, so...

And it's not even like getting covid gives you immunity! That's just rude.

 

(I am having A Moment.)

 

[KSera]

1 hour ago, KrisTom said:

Dirty N95 mask = ineffective against Covid? So one of my husband’s forum pals posted a picture of an n95 mask he wore (claims tightly, pinched around nose) while blowing off dusty farm machinery. Because his inside mask is filthy, he claims they cannot work against Covid, which my husband has adopted as “truth.”   Of course, I wonder if his movement affected his mask wearing, if his face was dirty, etc. 

Oh for heaven's sake. I don't think I would even dignify with a response. If he can't see all the problems with that then he's not going to see anything.

[Ting Tang]

11 minutes ago, KSera said:

Oh for heaven's sake. I don't think I would even dignify with a response. If he can't see all the problems with that then he's not going to see anything.

The sad thing is his "followers," who include my husband, believe it to be truth for all scenarios.  And for his one story, I can recall reading studies about mask efficacy and anecdotal success stories.  But yeah, my husband will support this guy's truth over what I have read.  

58 minutes ago, TCB said:

To counter the 1 dirty mask story, you could tell him that I, and a bunch of my colleagues have been in rooms with Covid patients for hours and haven’t caught Covid so far. At the beginning we were reusing the same N95 for a number of weeks.

Thank you for sharing! I would like to, but I also agree with the above response that it shouldn't even be dignified with a response!  I understand each "precaution" isn't 100% and that the careful are testing positive, but I still don't believe we should try nothing.  I guess I still hold onto hope that viral load can still play a roll, even in the face of Omicron.  Maybe I cannot stop myself from getting Covid, but I'm certainly not going to throw caution to the wind right now.

Edited January 14, 2022 by KrisTom

[kbutton]

20 hours ago, Longtime Lurker said:

Our county (whose rules our district must follow) changed the positive-test isolation period from 10 to 5 days (with masking on days 6-10) but only for schools with universal masking. Which our district (and most others nearby) does not have. It's like the the health department is saying, "Screw you, you districts who refused to follow our recommendations, you will have to deal with your staff and students being out longer," and I think it's AWESOME. Our superintendent (who may have made a mask mandate if there hadn't been such intense pressure from parents not to) made it very clear in their email update to parents that the isolation period remains 10 days because we do not have universal masking.

What a wonderful thing to do! Our district was one that agitated for Test to Stay at the beginning of the school--they were part of the pilot program. We sent a bunch of e-mails to various entities telling them that rewarding people for bad behavior was insulting given that most of the districts were already letting students were vaccinated or masked stay in school anyway. 

9 hours ago, cintinative said:

@BakersDozen and anyone else with input:

My SIL and nephew 16 both have COVID (second set of tests confirmed although first were negative).  Apparently 16 y.o. is miserable. He is vaxxed, not sure of booster. What can they do, if anything, to help him with the symptoms?  Symptoms are fever, sore throat, achy.  Apparently his sore throat is so bad he can't sleep.  I told her to call the pediatrician. I wonder if he could have strep as well as COVID?

I haven't seen salt water gargles mentioned, but they can help.

4 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Talked with a former college roommate last night. She’s lost almost all her hair after having had Covid. I had never heard of that before. 

I know one confirmed case that had dramatic hair loss and one unconfirmed case (husband was positive, she tested negative but was sick at the same time with classic Covid symptoms--alpha wave).

2 hours ago, cintinative said:

The doctor said to just use sore throat spray, lozenges, etc. and did not order a swab. I told my SIL if he is still so bad tomorrow I would have him swabbed at urgent care.  =(

Poor kid! If he is not prone to strep, that would ease my mind. If he is, that would make me more concerned--some people colonize it, and it comes out of the wooodwork when they get ill or rundown.

[BakersDozen]

5 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Talked with a former college roommate last night. She’s lost almost all her hair after having had Covid. I had never heard of that before. 

A friend who is 46 also had this happen.

[mommyoffive]

 

Americans will be able to order free rapid coronavirus tests Wednesday on new federal website (msn.com)

 

A federal website where Americans can order free coronavirus rapid tests will be launched Wednesday and allow each household to order up to four tests, senior administration officials said Friday.

The website, called covidtests.gov, will require that users provide their names and addresses to receive the tests. The government purchased 500 million rapid tests that will be available to every household, and will limit to four the number of tests sent to each address, the senior officials said during a briefing with reporters.

[Ausmumof3]

7 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Talked with a former college roommate last night. She’s lost almost all her hair after having had Covid. I had never heard of that before. 

There was a long covid kid with that symptom in a news story just recently.  Will see if I can find it.

Poor lady that must be hard to deal with.

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/regina-girl-covid-vaccine-hair-1.6283166
 

@Jean in Newcastle

[Jean in Newcastle]

11 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

There was a long covid kid with that symptom in a news story just recently.  Will see if I can find it.

Poor lady that must be hard to deal with.

Now that I think about it, she was also telling me about new heart problems that have shown up recently.  I didn't ask if that was pre or post Covid. 

[ktgrok]

46 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

 

Americans will be able to order free rapid coronavirus tests Wednesday on new federal website (msn.com)

 

A federal website where Americans can order free coronavirus rapid tests will be launched Wednesday and allow each household to order up to four tests, senior administration officials said Friday.

The website, called covidtests.gov, will require that users provide their names and addresses to receive the tests. The government purchased 500 million rapid tests that will be available to every household, and will limit to four the number of tests sent to each address, the senior officials said during a briefing with reporters.

 That isn't even enough to test everyone in my family once. Given that you were supposed to test twice to get an accurate result that is only enough test for two people.

[Ausmumof3]

9 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Now that I think about it, she was also telling me about new heart problems that have shown up recently.  I didn't ask if that was pre or post Covid. 

Eek. I wonder how her thyroid is?

[maize]

8 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Talked with a former college roommate last night. She’s lost almost all her hair after having had Covid. I had never heard of that before. 

One of my sisters has been losing hair in patches, triggered first by the vaccine (the first patch fell out after the second dose, then another patch fell out after the booster) and now by covid (presumably omicron).

She has distinct bald spots.

[Hilltopmom]

Ds has been having nightly night terrors, weird rashes, & now tonight I realized he has pulled out almost all of his eyelashes. 
His sister had PANS after the flu a few years ago so OCD stuff stresses me out.

[mommyoffive]

1 hour ago, ktgrok said:

 That isn't even enough to test everyone in my family once. Given that you were supposed to test twice to get an accurate result that is only enough test for two people.

I know right??  That isn't fair to big families at all. 

[KSera]

1 hour ago, ktgrok said:

 That isn't even enough to test everyone in my family once. Given that you were supposed to test twice to get an accurate result that is only enough test for two people.

That was my first thought about it as well. I understand per household makes it easiest for them, but it makes no sense for a single person household to get the same number of tests as an 8 person household. Reminds me of the grocery rationing early in the pandemic, where I was allowed the same amount of food for my large family as a single person shopping for themself. Oh well, at least they are going to make some tests available to people. It's a start. I'm hoping that once they are available free from the government, it will make it easier for people who need them urgently to get one from a store.

[ktgrok]

1 hour ago, Hilltopmom said:

Ds has been having nightly night terrors, weird rashes, & now tonight I realized he has pulled out almost all of his eyelashes. 
His sister had PANS after the flu a few years ago so OCD stuff stresses me out.

oh no!!!!

[mommyoffive]

CDC warns loosely woven cloth masks are 'least protective' against COVID (msn.com)

[Catwoman]

10 hours ago, cintinative said:

The doctor said to just use sore throat spray, lozenges, etc. and did not order a swab. I told my SIL if he is still so bad tomorrow I would have him swabbed at urgent care.  =(

It is ridiculous that the doctor doesn’t just prescribe the antibiotics! 

Does your insurance company offer any online doctor’s appointments after hours and on weekends? Maybe a different doctor would just call in a prescription for your poor son.

[Not_a_Number]

On 1/11/2022 at 3:15 PM, KSera said:

Off topic, but I haven't seen OP, @Not_a_Number in a long time. Still on the road?

We're in CA now and have been for a while. Life has been a bit much, though. I'll update everyone when the dust has settled, I think. Sorry to be so opaque. 

[KSera]

51 minutes ago, Catwoman said:

It is ridiculous that the doctor doesn’t just prescribe the antibiotics! 

Does your insurance company offer any online doctor’s appointments after hours and on weekends? Maybe a different doctor would just call in a prescription for your poor son.

I'm glad for doctors not just prescribing antibiotics without indication, but it does seem they should have done a swab with a throat like that. I don't want them to miss strep, either.

11 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

We're in CA now and have been for a while. Life has been a bit much, though. I'll update everyone when the dust has settled, I think. Sorry to be so opaque. 

Glad you made it. Hope everything is okay.

[lewelma]

22 minutes ago, Not_a_Number said:

We're in CA now and have been for a while. Life has been a bit much, though. I'll update everyone when the dust has settled, I think. Sorry to be so opaque. 

I've been wondering where you have been. Hope all is OK.

[Tenaj]

11 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

 

Americans will be able to order free rapid coronavirus tests Wednesday on new federal website (msn.com)

 

A federal website where Americans can order free coronavirus rapid tests will be launched Wednesday and allow each household to order up to four tests, senior administration officials said Friday.

The website, called covidtests.gov, will require that users provide their names and addresses to receive the tests. The government purchased 500 million rapid tests that will be available to every household, and will limit to four the number of tests sent to each address, the senior officials said during a briefing with reporters.

Lol!  That's great.  We have eight people living at our address so half of us can test once with this "awesome" new program.  

[cintinative]

6 hours ago, Catwoman said:

It is ridiculous that the doctor doesn’t just prescribe the antibiotics! 

Does your insurance company offer any online doctor’s appointments after hours and on weekends? Maybe a different doctor would just call in a prescription for your poor son.

This is my nephew who lives in another state. I think that they are going to try Urgent Care if he is not feeling better today.

[historically accurate]

On 1/10/2022 at 6:22 PM, KSera said:

Not to beat a dead horse, but on the "with" vs "for" issue, I'm seeing doctors reporting this on Twitter:

More in examples in the comments. Everything is crazy.

eta: Also, the PE issue is one to be aware of specifically. Lots and lots of reports of people coming in with PE after omicron. I haven't seen any data on it yet and if this is indeed an increase over previous variants.

Anecdata here: So far, I know several people who have had what I am assuming is Omicron around Christmas time.

Person 1: had cold-like symptoms. Recovered and went to hospital with PE 2 weeks later. Says still can't walk any distance - went to the grocery store last night and could only pick up a gallon of milk before going home to rest. Most likely not vaxxed, middle aged, overweight.

Person 2: cold symptoms only. Terrible sore throat, recovered in about 5 days. double vaxxed, not yet boosted (was scheduled to get booster on day they woke up with symptoms). College aged, normal weight.

Person 3: Felt horrible, like "worst flu ever" for about 6 days. Woke up feeling almost normal on day 7. Double vaxxed and boosted. Aged 62, underweight.

Person 4: Stuffy and exhausted - full 10 days. No other symptoms really. Unlikely to be vaxxed. College aged, normal weight.

Person 5: Complete congestion (like a bad sinus infection). Received MCAB. Felt better in 24 hours after MCAB. Still has lingering cough and some fatigue. Unlikely to be vaccinated. Middle aged, morbidly obese.

Person 6: Exhausted. Ear infections, horrible sore throat, high fever. Believed it to be a cold until forced to test by employer because wanted to return to work. Not "bouncing back" - has been sick for almost 3 weeks, but not hospitalized. Unvaccinated. Middle aged, overweight.  

 

I quoted the PE quote above since out of the 6 people I know who have very recently been sick, 1 ended up with PE.