Sorry that was my mistake for posting here. Have been running on little sleep but I agree and feel bad that I didn't think of that prior to posting. I posted here because that is where I come the most.Pahdz said:
probably should make it free to view for non-subscribers as well
Not sure but I think they have developed titers that they could run but focus right now is more on active cases, treatments and prevention of new cases.Alta said:
If somebody had the virus but is now recovered is there a way to ever determine if they did in fact have the virus?
This is very true!! Everyone should could the FLU vaccine every year. The FLU has many strains which is why we have to re-vaccinate annually.MediAg13 said:
The flu vaccine provides some immunity beyond just the one year so by stacking vaccines every year you're doing yourself a favor. Even if this years vaccines "isn't perfect" you may get some protection from last years vaccine.
An anecdotal example would be all the doctors at the hospital. We all are forced to have the vaccine every year. Sometimes I see dozens of flu positive patients daily for weeks and weeks during peak flu season. Everyone in the household has the flu. None of them are vaccinated. Yet after seeing hundreds of these patients I still do not have the flu.
Well said very accurate.Badace52 said:
Well it is a new virus and studies are lacking, but viruses in the coronavirus family all have relatively large viral particles and so far all the human coronaviruses have been spread by droplet. It is therefore highly unlikely to be spread by airborne transmission.
It is also worth noting that airborne transmission likely doesn't mean what the lay person thinks it means. To be considered an airborne transmission the virus has to have the ability to aerosolize and hang around in the air floating on small particles for extended periods of time so that if someone were to cough in a room and then leave and another person came into that same room several minutes later, the viral particles would still be floating in the air in sufficient quantity to spread infection.
If someone coughs directly onto you or within six feet and you catch the virus "through the air" that is not airborne transmission. It is droplet transmission.
Another good piece of advice.Mantis Toboggan MD said:More or less correct, the influenza vaccine is developed based on the year prior's most prevalent strains of influenza (e.g. H1N1, H3N2 etc). Influenza mutates quickly through a process called antigenic drift, so the vaccines can be hit or miss some years. Anecdotally my guess is this years vaccine was not very efficacious.AggieBaseball06 said:Frisco86 said:
You noted that you fight (aggressively urge) your patients to get flu shot.
I have never received one. Luckily, I guess, I have never got the flu (knock on wood). Question: You noted that if you get a bug your body develops antibodies that then can be deployed if the bug reoccurs and thus you don't get sick - ie build an immunity to it. So if you get a flu shot, does that build these antibodies? If so, then do you need to get flu shot every year? Seems like it is pushed to get your annual flu shot. Or does the shot just reduce the severity of the flu if and when you do get it?
I will hang up and listen. Thanks.
I'm not a doctor but as I understand it, it's a different strain of flu every year. So Elko can teach his defense thr fundamentals of defense but he still has to install a different game plan when he's playing Texas State vs when he's playing Alabama. The flu shot is designed for the specific strains that they are predicting each year.
Regardless of how effective it is, I encourage all patients to receive the flu shot, unless contraindicated, with the caveat that although it does not guarantee that you won't contract the flu, it likely will reduce symptom severity and possibly symptom duration. Putting it another way, I rarely hear patient's tell me, "I wish I didn't get that flu shot". Instead, more often than not I usually hear, "I should have gotten the flu shot" when someone comes in with flu-like symptoms.
Legalize-It-Ags said:
Hey Dr. Rev,
I have a question about the mortality rate of COVID-19 and the Flu. Both are bad for the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions, but which one is more deadly for those that are considered at high risk? I know the normal Flu has kills tens of thousands of people per year. But there has only been a couple thousand deaths world wide out of maybe 120,000 total cases. I just have a hard time seeing this being deadlier than the normal flu. I understand that it is 10-15x more infectious than the flu and if it gets out of hand, it could create a real problem. I'm no expert by any means, I'm just a dude trying to wrap my head around this.
Having provided healthcare in Italy via US Military Medicine in several locations I can provide a bit of information that might be useful for several reasons.Pumpkinhead said:
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/who-gets-hospital-bed/607807/Recommend reading this article.Quote:
The Extraordinary Decisions Facing Italian Doctors
There are now simply too many patients for each one of them to receive adequate care.
Bupkis said:
TexAgs know things! Thanks Revielle and others.
You are absolutely correct!bh93 said:
You forgot about the mafia running things and the locals walking out and sitting outside the fence until someone's pocket is fattened you.
DTP02 said:aggierogue said:
Also don't understand why the CDC says "CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect
themselves from respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19."
They clearly don't fully understand how it's transmitted, but they advise against wearing a mask. Why? Seems like there's only an upside, and no downside.
A big part of them saying that is to prevent a shortage of masks for people who really need it, such as people who are sick (to help prevent spreading) and people who work in healthcare and are constantly exposed.
The other part is that studies have shown that having a mask on your face can increase the number of times you touch your face and have the undesired impact of making it more likely that you are bringing the virus closer to your mouth and eyes. The gain in wearing a mask that might catch some airborne droplets would thus by offset by the increased risk of additional touches to your face to adjust the mask, subconsciously scratch at the elastic, etc.
Illuminaggie said:
Thank you for the thread, doc. Great information and service for the community.
I have a couple of bits of information I've been unable to find. Perhaps you might be able to give so e insight.
1. The average rate of hospitalization for symptomatic patients under 60.
2. The average length of hospitalization for patients who develop serious or critical illness.
God Bless and stay strong.
I think when we start getting a better volume of data, we are going to find out that the number of infections is a lot more than what we currently know. I'm betting there is a significant portion of the population that has already had COVID-19 and only showed mild symptoms.Sandman98 said:
Three weeks ago, before anyone here thought much about COVID-19, my 13 yo son had a fever between 102-105 for five days. He tested negative for flu but they gave him Tamiflu anyway (said he was probably tested too early).
At a follow up with a different doctor she said it's just some random virus because Tamiflu did NOT improve his symptoms after five days. No mention whatsoever of Corona. My other son showed milder symptoms. I'm aware of several kids in our circle who had a similar experience. All have recovered albeit rather slowly.
Do you think there were many undiagnosed cases in the early stages before panic took hold?
Harkrider 93 said:
I am pretty sure it was some Harvard Dr that talked about that Princess? cruise ship that was quarantined.
His claim was that ship was the best testing environment so far. Those people were stuck in there with people who had the virus and they know only one person brought it on. I don't think he talked about the ability to spread specifically, but if it was airborne, wouldn't practically everyone on that ship gotten the virus? Or at least one section (maybe they did).
As a public service, this post should be linked and stickied for Ags over on the General and Politics boards, too, not just here on the pay board.BQ MOM said:
Thank you so very much for doing this, Reveille. I have "stickied" this thread so that it will remain at the top of the forum. If ever a post needed to be viewed, this is it.
And...also love that you hang that tu diploma upside down.
JetAg said:
This is all great information! Thank you Reveille.
***STAFF*** is there anyway to sticky this on a different board so we can share with other Aggies/family members that do not have premium access?
Bob_Ag said:I think when we start getting a better volume of data, we are going to find out that the number of infections is a lot more than what we currently know. I'm betting there is a significant portion of the population that has already had COVID-19 and only showed mild symptoms.Sandman98 said:
Three weeks ago, before anyone here thought much about COVID-19, my 13 yo son had a fever between 102-105 for five days. He tested negative for flu but they gave him Tamiflu anyway (said he was probably tested too early).
At a follow up with a different doctor she said it's just some random virus because Tamiflu did NOT improve his symptoms after five days. No mention whatsoever of Corona. My other son showed milder symptoms. I'm aware of several kids in our circle who had a similar experience. All have recovered albeit rather slowly.
Do you think there were many undiagnosed cases in the early stages before panic took hold?
maroonbeansnrice said:
26 of the total 39 deaths at present in the USA were at a nursing home on the west coast. Will we ever find out what happened there? Very strange. I'm guessing the patients had private or semi-private rooms. Even if they have communal areas it seems; the facility would have to be severely under-staffed (a sick employee(s) would almost have to go to every room coughing/sneezing on each and every patient), and/or have some kind of extremely unsanitary practice for this to have spread as rapidly and thoroughly as it did.
It seems like what happened there would be extremely important information to have as it pertains to the spread of this virus.
What are your thoughts on this?
Thank you, Rev. The only numbers I've seen on it are from China and was hopeful comparative data might be available.Reveille said:Illuminaggie said:
Thank you for the thread, doc. Great information and service for the community.
I have a couple of bits of information I've been unable to find. Perhaps you might be able to give so e insight.
1. The average rate of hospitalization for symptomatic patients under 60.
2. The average length of hospitalization for patients who develop serious or critical illness.
God Bless and stay strong.
I have not seen any information on length of stay. The focus is on survival rates but no one is caring how long it takes to save them yet. Over time insurance companies will for sure be analyzing that type of information.
Legalize-It-Ags said:
Hey Dr. Rev,
I have a question about the mortality rate of COVID-19 and the Flu. Both are bad for the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions, but which one is more deadly for those that are considered at high risk? I know the normal Flu has kills tens of thousands of people per year. But there has only been a couple thousand deaths world wide out of maybe 120,000 total cases. I just have a hard time seeing this being deadlier than the normal flu. I understand that it is 10-15x more infectious than the flu and if it gets out of hand, it could create a real problem. I'm no expert by any means, I'm just a dude trying to wrap my head around this.
YNWA_AG said:
I am 25 and have crohns and psoriatic arthritis. Am I supposed to stop taking my suppressants?
doctorAg13 said:It's a risk/benefit calculation any time imaging is performed on pregnant patients. The potentially deleterious effects on the fetus are largely restricted to the first trimester, which is also when the patient can easily be shielded for the exam. This is not even an issue in an immediately life-threatening situation.bh93 said:
"Chest CT?" On a pregnant pt? Umm is that medically necessary?
Correct
That's ~7 mSv vs .1 mSv for a chest x-ray.
harrierdoc said:
But once it is in the community, given the variable presentation, you've waited too long to keep people separated.
We are a social animal. We will always find ways to get together. I don't think there is any way to really affect this, or any other viral pathogen that is in the community. I think it's better to try to come up with a vaccine, and just let the virus spread through the population until then. Otherwise, we are just trying to put a small band-aid on a huge laceration.
Teens and college kids aren't going to stop hooking up and swapping bodily fluids because they may get a cold. Heck, they do it knowing they can get STD's that can affect them for life.
Sandman98 said:
Three weeks ago, before anyone here thought much about COVID-19, my 13 yo son had a fever between 102-105 for five days. He tested negative for flu but they gave him Tamiflu anyway (said he was probably tested too early).
At a follow up with a different doctor she said it's just some random virus because Tamiflu did NOT improve his symptoms after five days. No mention whatsoever of Corona. My other son showed milder symptoms. I'm aware of several kids in our circle who had a similar experience. All have recovered albeit rather slowly.
Do you think there were many undiagnosed cases in the early stages before panic took hold?
Capitol Ag said:
I am 46 years old. I take an immunosuppressant called remicade every 10 weeks for my ulcerative colitis. Been in Remission for 12-13 years. Last injection was early February. I'm also in great shape and train extremely hard mostly with barbells and I weigh about 214, low body fat (humble brag). I get that I'm "at risk" and I handle all things I have been doing for years that way. Wash hands, don't share food, avoid hands to face etc.
Given my level of physical fitness, do I still count as "at risk" and what is your advice on how to proceed, if anything? I currently am the head trainer at a local gym as well. So avoiding the gym is not an option b/c of work. Oh and the gains. Gotta make my gains.
It was quite a few fatalities.Reveille said:Swine FLU was simply a version of Type A influenza and was treated with Tamiflu. It was rare that it progressed to a fatality since we had treatments available.Kydero said:
Why was the swine flu, which also was a pandemic, not treated as seriously as Covid-19?
Universities didn't close, athletic events weren't cancelled.
DTP02 said:harrierdoc said:
But once it is in the community, given the variable presentation, you've waited too long to keep people separated.
We are a social animal. We will always find ways to get together. I don't think there is any way to really affect this, or any other viral pathogen that is in the community. I think it's better to try to come up with a vaccine, and just let the virus spread through the population until then. Otherwise, we are just trying to put a small band-aid on a huge laceration.
Teens and college kids aren't going to stop hooking up and swapping bodily fluids because they may get a cold. Heck, they do it knowing they can get STD's that can affect them for life.
The goal isn't to prevent the virus from spreading. That'd be nice, in theory, but isn't realistic. The virus is going to spread and it's almost certainly going to hit just about every community and a huge chunk of the world's population is going to be infected at some point.
The goal is to slow down the spread by taking judicious measures, so that the healthcare system doesn't get overwhelmed to the point that mortality increases due to the inability to treat all the seriously ill patients.
The question is where do the local officials draw the line on what is a judicious measure. To me, they should plan and then act only after it's hit their community. That's the balance between acting too soon, and thus likely accomplishing only prolonging the economic hardship, and acting too late and risking overloading healthcare.
An exception to this philosophy is that preemptive action should be used for high-risk places like nursing homes.
But that's the local government response (which is more important to each of us than the fed government response, although people only talk about the feds). We all need to do our own part by practicing good hygiene in terms of hand washing, coughing, and being aware of what surfaces we touch.
