I am very cautious, even before covid, because the sickest I’ve ever been, was in 2010. My nephew was 5 and was playing in one of those bouncy houses made for little kids. There are pillow-like things filled with some sort of thick gel, so the kids can jump around, but don’t bounce high like with air filled bounce houses.
So I was the designated person to retrieve my nephew out of what was probably the most germ-laden place I have ever been, looking back on it. Imagine every orifice on every kid leaking or smearing something on that surface.
A couple of days later, my nephew was mildly sick, and I got sicker and sicker. On about the 4th day, after having coughed really hard for long periods of time leading up to day 4, I finally coughed so hard that I tore some of the tissue in my chest loose from one of my ribs, I could hear it tear.
At that point I was in excruciating pain and it was hard to breathe or even move around. I had to get a note from my doctor so that I could call out of work. I didn’t get sick leave at that time. I think I was out if work for about 4 days, but even after I went back, I was still in pain, although not as bad, for about a month. I also still had the cough, but not as bad. I was prescribed steroids which helped, plus some type of cough medicine which didn’t. I also had to wear lidocaine patches for about a month.. I took Tylenol every 6 hours for about a week.
After that awful experience I went into prevention mode and never stopped. My boyfriend at the time was quite germaphobic, so that worked out to both of our advantage.
Once covid hit, I upped my game. I lost 8 people to covid in the first 2 years.
I wash my hands a lot, I use a lot of hand sanitizer, I wear a mask anywhere I have to be indoors with other people. I use CPC mouthwash, I have current vaccinations for Covid, flu, RSV, pneumonia, shingles, DPT, and Hep A. I avoid being around too many people at one time, even outside socially distancing. I carry sanitizing wipes in my bag at all times. I wipe down the handles and interior of grocery carts, I don’t open doors without using a napkin or my sleeve or elbow. I have no idea how many baby bottoms or toddlers snotty fingers have been in that cart, even if I wasn’t thinking about fomite transfer from covid, RSV, flu, norovirus and hepatitis.
I’m also very conscientious in the kitchen. I wash my hands A LOT, and I take care to keep surfaces clean before and after food prep, and I try to avoid cross contamination of foods.
I have 4 people within my friends and immediate family who have high risk conditions, so I do all of the stuff to keep them safe (as well as myself).
I will keep it up until there is an effective sterilizing vaccine for covid, which means that it prevents you from catching the disease in the first place, and that makes you unable to spread it to other people. Obviously the current vaccines don’t do that, but they do help to keep more people from ending up in the hospital.
I also belong to 2 Covid awareness groups so I can keep up with the current studies, the peer reviewed studies in reputable medical publications. Also I find out about potential new tests, studies, vaccines, other meds used primarily for other things that might work to kill covid virus, treatments for long covid, where to get the best masks, and where the riskiest air quality can be found, and which covid tests are the most sensitive, which give the most false negatives, and on which day of symptoms is best to test to avoid a false negatives (meaning you are positive but don’t know it).
All of the people in the groups are either immunocompromised themselves, or have children who have other diseases, or have high risk friends and family.
It might seem like a lot for some of you, but for me and my family and friends, it is necessary, and it has been the norm for us now for going on 6 years.
I have not been sick with anything (that I know of) since 2010. I hope to stay illness free, for myself, and for my loved ones.
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