COVID-19 Coronavirus and Lung Health: What can you do?

I believe that our responses should be positive in this time of stress.
We all wish everyone will use common sense (however uncommon it may be); still people have a right to follow their own nose as long as it doesn't imperil other.
Unfortunately the government may have to enforce this maxim in this case to protect others that will be impacted by the uncaring/thoughtless/unsafe actions of others.
Let's encourage all of to support best actions."
Consider the amount of messages posted; new information (difficult to find) is helpful, re-posts cloud the board.
Best to all.

@spudmato- Good morning. If you look at the bottom of every discussion you can see a panel that has the first or last page of posts and on the right side latest and newest. If you hit the newest you will find the latest posts on that subject. You can also use the search (the little spyglass at the top). Click on it and type in your question.
Connect feels that everyone's posts are as important as everyone else's so we do not delete any posts even if it is a repeat.

Just saw on Twitter -- Mayo Clinic develops test to detect COVID-19 infection: https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-develops-test-to-detect-covid-19-infection/

Isn't it terrific? I got a message too.

@merpreb Interesting article. Reading about RNA (ribonucleic acid) brought me back to my old school days too! Now I will promptly forget what the article said.

@aeg73 Lyme was a huge concern initially and then AIDS came along and took the spotlight. Lyme has never gotten the attention that it should. I am not familiar enough to understand about "bands" but I have known a couple of people who have had Lyme. My step-daughter and both her son and daughter have had it, they lived in a "hot spot". Fortunately they were treated early. When you are not, as you were not, it is really difficult when it becomes a chronic condition. It sounds pretty miserable. I hope the Lyme specialist can give you some help. I have heard that one of the top Lyme specialists has her practice in MA but the wait for an appointment is extremely long.

@danaj60 I am surprised that you tested positive so long after contracting Lyme. I had heard that there is a window of time after which it does not show up in tests. I'm glad that was not true for you and that you are getting treatment.
JK

Thanks JK. If it goes untreated, which mine did, it becomes chronic and can show up “when active”. Mine was active at the time of testing. The spirochetes burrow into your tissue and can hideout. That is one of the reasons it’s hard to treat if not caught right away. I would suggest, for those interested in learning more about Lyme, to go to http://www.lyme.org.

@merpreb I just read the head of the WHO's statement on front page of Yahoo. Excerpts of what he said: for the vast majority of American's who contact the virus there is no serious health threat-most recover completely within 1-2 weeks. Even for most who get a severe reaction they recover completely within 3-6 weeks. Only a very small % of the population are at risk of death. Furthermore, restrictive travel won't help much to contain the spread of the virus. Proper testing and treatment is what we need. Further, they believe 2nd contagion is not an issue, meaning most who contract the disease are safe from a re-infection. They estimate close to 50% of Americans will come in contact with the virus within the next 3 years. Therefore, many if not most (assuming a vaccine) will have some level of immunity.
Of course, I don't question the value of the lives of that small minority who may become very sick, I question whether they would be as susceptible to many other, more common viruses, that we are consistently confronted with?

@joelars- Joe, you do a fabulous job of researching. Your last question, "I question whether they would be as susceptible to many other, more common viruses, that we are consistently confronted with? The answer I believe is probably. But since this virus is much more lethal than common viruses we have to be more vigilant. Delay travel and do not travel into communities where there are is active COPID-19 so that you do not come into contact with anyone who is carrying the virus or is ill. Use common sense in your personal hygiene. And the list goes on and on. Joe, there are so many more unanswered questions than there are answers with this virus. I'm not sure if you are seeking answers to mollify your decision to just go about your daily routine or seeking answers where there are no answers yet. One recommendation is to go to the source of an article so that you can read the whole thing and not excerpts. Excerpts are known for misleading people because they take things out of context. Also, young people can be carriers, so you really never know who is or who is not contagious.
There is a bigger picture here and that is to stop the virus no matter what risk group you are in by being overly cautious. We aren't just individuals with a pandemic, we are what makes up our communities and it is our job to make sure we protect our communities
http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/statement-ncaa-covid-19-advisory-panel-ncaa-events
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/faqs.html

Good morning- There have been statements made by news agencies and in senate hearings about the lack of tests, the costs, missed work, lack of ventilators and other essential paraphernalia needed to care for the growing number of those who are ill, especially with the COVID-19 virus. This is a major concern because without proper tests and well-stocked facilities there stands a chance that many people will have no place to go for care. They will either die or pass it on to others and will not be part of any data that might be useful to the medical community. Actually this is a major concern and more important than how many people have died and if this virus is more deadly than any in the past.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/03/13/coronavirus-numbers-we-really-should-be-worried-about/
@joe- This might answer some of your questions
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/03/13/coronavirus-latest-news/

Maybe other health facilities should follow Mayo Clinic's lead?

Mayo Clinic offers pre-screened patients drive-through specimen collection for COVID-19 testing
-- https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-offers-pre-screened-patients-drive-through-specimen-collection-for-covid-19-testing/