I think I/we might have Coronavirus thread (release your isolation-frustration here)

Antibody tests are actually already available, just not to a scale useful to a whole country yet.

For example:

https://www.biopanda.co.uk/php/products/rapid/infectious_diseases/covid19.php

Great thread for advice.

We're self-isolating and into day three of the home schooling. Mini-groover swerving hard toward anything screen based with a strong bias towards game-ified edutainment, there's a surprise. Partner found Prodigy maths website/app thing which is great. Also Scholastic have released 20 days of free activities & lessons which are actually pretty good. There's a veritable shit-ton of free stuff online for kids which is great. There's this too:

https://www.willowsmusical.com/

They're releasing a free/donations only stream of their performance of Wind in the Willows. Well it's make a change from Netflix/Amazon/iPad etc.

Back in the day I'd have set fire to something or glued myself to the floor out of boredom by now so the sprog is spoiled. He's picking up on the vibe though, so bed time has become an issue with multiple journeys to his room and nightmares that wake him. We were so busy worrying about how we'd handle it that we didn't really think deeply enough about the impact on him, just assuming because we're reasonably level, he would be too. We must be arseholes... But definitely something to watch for in the kids, particularly if they're only children like our son. The school and community have been/are excellent however, though I can smell the fear. I am in awe of primary school teachers. Ours have been amazing, inc. organizing a food drive for kids who depend on school meals. Truly epic.

The partner and I have been getting over a pretty bad cold which we brought back from Sweden at the end of half-term.

Me:
*Dry cough for a week
*Runny nose
*Sinus issues/infection
*No fever

Partner:
*slight fever for one night
*weird achey feeling for a little bit (A day?)
*snot monster

In hindsight it might have been a brush with Covid19. If so, I'm ashamed to say we were out in the wild before any of this shutdown. Hope I wasn't a super-spreader. I didn't cough on anyone's burger though...

But what a weird time. If there's a silver lining - too early to call but I must cling to something - it will have profound implications for Govt & the economy in the future. Well I hope anyway.

Stay safe everyone.

Oh, and ginger shots. Juice a carrot and an orange and then a whole lump of ginger. Basically it should be strong enough to wake you up. Might be a placebo but it's a great way to start the day and clear the head and throat.

Partner found Prodigy maths

1,2,-1,2,3,4

1 Attachment

Urgh, feel bad for you.

I wish...

Virus starter, twisted virus starter ...

Yes, this, or more like in my case, rather than being blasé about possibly having had it and being immune, I'm petrified I haven't had it therefore am basically isolating due to fear of getting it!

Anyone up for a Skype Trivial Pursuit Cobra meeting in a couple of weeks? Basically we drink loads of Cobra (or another kind of booze), talk shit and play Trivial Pursuit or another fantastic game over Skype or similar? Like a swinger's party but without the swinging....a party

Seems like I’ve entered the short-of-breath-face. Just had 90 mins of what like felt like lungs down to 70% capacity. Better now, but quite scary tbh.

Shit mate. Keep whatever you might find comforting close to hand at all times. Hope you feel much better soon; sounds quite terrible

The shortness of breath really shit me up/made me worry for those at risk. Could see how it would be very serious for a lot of people.

On the plus side, just been out for a walk (away from people) for a couple of hours, no shortness of breath and generally feel way better for it. Hopefully I’m over the worst. Fingers very crossed.

Thanks :) think it was caused by me running low on energy. Haven’t been eating properly lately so got some soup and bread down. Hopefully it was that simple, certainly hope so.

How long did it last for you? Not looking forward to sleeping tbh...

First symptoms 7-8 days ago. But all symptoms bar the shortness of breath have felt very minor. I’d go to work in any other circumstance (because I’d assume it wasn’t serious).

Yup, all sound advice, thanks! Especially the running bit, although there’s no chance of me running too fast. 40 years of cycling have left me totally unsuited to running so it’s going to take me a good while to loosen them up to a proper length and style.

So a week with short breath? Sounds fan-f-tastic...

Fuck that. Not being able to breathe properly is really scary - you panic a bit and of course that makes it worse. A tip I always found worked well was to deep breathe in and out for about a minute, not so as you hyperventilate but to clear a lot of stale air out, relax as much as you can (sitting down is best) and then take the biggest breath that you can, and then exhale as slowly as you can, hissing the air out through your teeth or nostrils, like escaping gas. Take as long as you can manage, then repeat the process once again. It helps clear the residual air out and “stretches” you lungs and you’ll find breathing much easier after that. I do it if I’m swimming underwater, it works a treat.

Ace advise, thank you. I'm back to "normal" now so feel much better now

Spoke to a nurse on the phone who calmed me down a bit. She instructed me to get to A&E if it got worse. I shouldn't call an ambulance though. Instead, I should ask a friend to drive me. And to minimise the risk of spreading it to whoever volunteers... sit in the back! Think she had many good points up to there...

Ace advise, thank you. I'm back to "normal" now so feel much better now

Hope it stays that way!

I only noticed it when I was out the house tbh. Only a few days too.

By 'back' she meant boot!

Glad you're feeling better

Ah, sounds much better compared to 7-8 days of it

Feeling alright now after some proper food and more rest.

Followed @jj72 breathing advice up thread as well and it really works. Feel normalised after one or two big exhales so gonna keep doing those.

Thanks for all the well wishes folks, means a lot!

That’s excellent news! Glad it’s working for you.
Another great tip is diaphragmatic breathing. This one is more difficult to explain, but essentially it’s using your diaphragm rather than your upper body and shoulders to breathe. Most people take deep breaths from the upper body, with shoulders heaving and all that. This is the opposite. Keep the shoulders still and breathe deeply from the stomach, the diaphragm. Your stomach should be moving in and out, rather than your shoulders. You’ll need to be sat back in a comfy chair and very calm, but it’s incredibly relaxing once you get the hang of it. I remember being very stressed on a flight from Turkey to London and using this technique, and the 4 hour flight raced by because I was in such a calm state.

11 years since I joined lufguss and I have to say it’s been an invaluable resource for how I/we should be dealing with current things. I hope you don’t mind my inadvertent outpouring of WTF at the mo. My incredible mum, who has had an issue with her platelets for years and has been on various meds to deal with it, had a stroke this morning. A geriatric nurse for 35 years, she is now at our local hospital being tested and prodded by the magnificent NHS staff who she has worked alongside, and I am feeling completely helpless. We cannot travel 180 miles North to see her; we have been self-isolating for a week but cannot comprehend the people still going to pubs - at least 20 folk in each one I saw whilst heading out to get essentials earlier - with how we can fix this. I work for a charity which supports those with serious mental health issues as well as elderly people and am WFH for the foreseeable future. I am worried, well, but concerned that people are not taking this seriously. Please stay home.

ah mate that sounds horrific. Hope your mum pulls through and you get to see her soon-sounds like she's in good hands in the meantime.