got.covid

CrealCritter

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Advice from a Respiratory Therapist about COVID

Just in case you get the virus and develop symptoms, here’s some good advice from a respiratory therapist to help stay out of the hospital and recover quickly.

CORONA Common Sense

Since they are calling on Respiratory therapist to help fight the Corona virus, and I am a retired one, too old to work in a hospital setting. I'm gonna share some common-sense wisdom with those that have the virus and trying to stay home. If my advice is followed as given you will improve your chances of not ending up in the hospital on a ventilator. This applies to the otherwise generally healthy population, so use discretion.

1. Only high temperatures kill a virus, so let your fever run high. Tylenol, Advil. Motrin, Ibuprofen etc. will bring your fever down allowing the virus to live longer. They are saying that ibuprophen, advil etc will actually exacerbate the virus. Use common sense and don't let fever go over 103 or 104 if you got the guts. If it gets higher than that take your tylenol, not ibuprophen or advil to keep it regulated. It helps to keep house warm and cover up with blankets so body does not have to work so hard to generate the heat. It usually takes about 3 days of this to break the fever.

2. The body is going to dehydrate with the elevated temperature so you must rehydrate yourself regularly, whether you like it or not. Gatorade with real sugar, or pedialyte with real sugar for kids, works well. Why the sugar? Sugar will give your body back the energy it is using up to create the fever. The electrolytes and fluid you are losing will also be replenished by the Gatorade. If you don't do this and end up in the hospital they will start an IV and give you D5W (sugar water) and Normal Saline to replenish electrolytes. Gatorade is much cheaper, pain free, and comes in an assortment of flavors

3. You must keep your lungs moist. Best done by taking long steamy showers on a regular basis, if your wheezing or congested use a real minty toothpaste and brush your teeth while taking the steamy shower and deep breath through your mouth. This will provide some bronchial dilation and help loosen the phlegm. Force yourself to cough into a wet wash cloth pressed firmly over your mouth and nose, which will cause greater pressure in your lungs forcing them to expand more and break loose more of the congestion.

4. Eat healthy and regularly. Gotta keep your strength up.

5. Once the fever breaks, start moving around to get the body back in shape and blood circulating.

6. Deep breath on a regular basis, even when it hurts. If you don't it becomes easy to develop pneumonia. Pursed lip breathing really helps. That's breathing in deep and slow then exhaling through tight lips as if you’re blowing out a candle, blow until you have completely emptied your lungs and you will be able to breath in an even deeper breath. This helps keep lungs expanded as well as increase your oxygen level.

7. Remember that every medication you take is merely relieving the symptoms, not making you well.

8. If your still dying go to ER.

I've been doing these things for myself and my family for over 40 years and kept them out of the hospital, all are healthy and still living today.

1) yeah... As a kid when I got sick my mom would pile the blankets on and my dad would hop into bed with me. I remember sweating 🥵 because I was so hot, but feeling much better in the morning. I would say it was a pretty good practice back then I mean I'm still alive today 🤣

As a dad to 11 kids, I can't begin to tell you how many times ole papa bear (me) did the same. It worked most times, but other times when one got whatever it was the others would come down to it also and you can only get so many kids in a bed under multiple layers of blankets.

When a few got sick we would take them to the doctor, I still recall our family doctor saying I'm writing a prescription for industrial size Amoxicillin. Then he would hand my wife a piece of paper with dosing amount for each one of the kids.

We had such a good doctor back then. In today's day and age, something like an industrial size prescription of anything would most likely get red flagged for investigation.

But @Chic Rustler Bro, I'm glad your doing better. I'll keep on.praying for you and your family until you all are fully recovered.
 
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Lazy Gardener

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For myself: Lots of Vit C: 2K/d. Zinc. I also normally take Turmeric and multi vits, and D3. I would double up on zinc and D3 and multivits if my stomach could handle it. I also use Vick's Vaporub. Dab a little bit below my nose. Zycam nasal swabs have been a life saver for me. I can get 5 doses from a single swab. And, b/c of my reactive airway disease, I use Pulmicort inhaler and Singulair on a PRN basis. I also use a heating pad on my chest, and have done a mustard plaster in the past. I would keep walking as able, but limit heavy exercise. I also have Albuterol rescue inhaler as needed. An other life saver for me is Tussionex. It is the only cough syrup that helps me when I'm in a cough till you puke state (which sometimes happens even if I'm not sick.)
 

Chic Rustler

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Make your own electrolytes, 1 teaspoon salt to 5 teaspoons sugar, stir in a glass of water until dissolved. Sip on it.


I've made my own in the summers before when I was close to heat stroke. pour a quarter size pile of salt in my hand, lick it and slam 2 bottles of water. it will bring you back from exhaustion quickly.
 

Chic Rustler

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well so far we have made it without alot from the store. a friend did bring a couple gallons of milk to us today but other than that I think we can make it another week. the wife doesn't agree.


we have all sorts of things to cook with...all kinds of baking supplies. I bet the wife could drag out the old cook book and whip up a cake from scratch. maybe even make the icing. kids don't have to have cereal every morning. there's eggs, lots of corn meal so we could have corn bread and milk. or even rice with butter and sugar for breakfast. (I guess there's a difference in the raising, I grew up poor) anyway there's always something to eat here, just needs cooked. I bet we could make it a couple months if we had to. I'm kind of excited about it. the best way to hone skills is to just try it!
 

Mini Horses

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So glad you are better. Hope rest of fam is soon doing well. A real hot, long shower is great for opening sinuses and lungs -- just like the doctor says! Tell DW to do couple times a day and see.

You are SO right about the cooking and eating. Hey, I always have oatmeal, flour, sugar, eggs, etc in the house. There's pancakes to be had. Kids can learn that cereal is not the only breakfast. Sausage gravy & biscuits are a favorite of mine. Or a biscuit with butter & jelly! French toast? Yeah, you have plenty to eat, just not same old! 😁 make bread. Since you have kids, milk would be a buy item. I even have the dairy at home, goats. Awwhhh....farm life is good.
 

flowerbug

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well so far we have made it without alot from the store. a friend did bring a couple gallons of milk to us today but other than that I think we can make it another week. the wife doesn't agree.


we have all sorts of things to cook with...all kinds of baking supplies. I bet the wife could drag out the old cook book and whip up a cake from scratch. maybe even make the icing. kids don't have to have cereal every morning. there's eggs, lots of corn meal so we could have corn bread and milk. or even rice with butter and sugar for breakfast. (I guess there's a difference in the raising, I grew up poor) anyway there's always something to eat here, just needs cooked. I bet we could make it a couple months if we had to. I'm kind of excited about it. the best way to hone skills is to just try it!

i really like flapjacks/pancakes with cornmeal added to them to give them more sticking to the ribs power. plus they can be topped with many things including peanut butter and apple sauce (warmed up with spices added for variety).

kids can learn how to make pancakes/flapjacks. it's a good thing to start them learning how to cook (hint hint). i don't mind the slightly burned ones, but i'm pretty sure chickens or other critters will eat them if they are too burned.
 

frustratedearthmother

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kids don't have to have cereal every morning. there's eggs, lots of corn meal so we could have corn bread and milk. or even rice with butter and sugar for breakfast. (I guess there's a difference in the raising, I grew up poor)
Sounds like my house growing up. My dad loved cornbread and milk for breakfast and I can remember many times we had rice w/ sugar and milk for breakfast. I paid homage to my dad a couple weeks ago and ate the last of the cornbread the way he loved it - in a glass of milk w/sugar(substitute).

Hope ya'll continue to improve. Give your wife some of that 'shine for her cough...or at least make her a nice toddy, lol!
 
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