Brin (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
brin_bellway) wrote2023-12-26 02:07 pm
brin_bellway) wrote2023-12-26 02:07 pm
Boxing Day checklist
[cw: illness]
The post-Christmas season draws near: we are less than one incubation period away, now. Some things you might want to make sure you have on hand, if feasible:
* ~N95s (I like these) and/or P100s
* Paper medical tape (something like this) for sealing the edges on non-elastomeric masks
* Enough food to last you through a quarantine, especially kinds that are easy enough to prepare that even someone with an influenza-like illness can do it (granola bars, meal-replacement drinks, peanut butter, juice boxes, etc)
* Ways of sealing off a sickroom (my brother has a cold right now, and I've cut out a piece from a high-grade furnace filter and duct-taped it over the shared ventilation grate connecting our two bedrooms)
* A pulse oximeter
* An air purifier (in addition to its use as a preventative, it can also help an already-sick person avoid [breathing their own germs back in and thereby sending the invading army reinforcements])
* A bottle of cetylpyridinium chloride mouthwash (I'm not all that confident in this, but it's a very low-risk thing to try; cetylpyridinium chloride is in most but not all mouthwashes, and in my case I found that the ordinary store-brand stuff contained it)
* Disinfectants (if you've had some lying around for a while, check whether they're getting old and potentially losing effectiveness)
* Disposable gloves, especially if you might find yourself caring for a sick person and needing all the PPE you can get
* Goggles, ditto (these ones fit over glasses)
* Emesis bags
* Unfortunately the time to obtain cold medicine was in August before everyone else grabbed them, but if you can find any, the second-best time is today (though, does anyone know whether dextromethorphan is still contraindicated for COVID-19?)
Check whether you're allowed antivirals (here is the triage list for Ontario), and if so know who you'd contact to get them.
Good luck.
The post-Christmas season draws near: we are less than one incubation period away, now. Some things you might want to make sure you have on hand, if feasible:
* ~N95s (I like these) and/or P100s
* Paper medical tape (something like this) for sealing the edges on non-elastomeric masks
* Enough food to last you through a quarantine, especially kinds that are easy enough to prepare that even someone with an influenza-like illness can do it (granola bars, meal-replacement drinks, peanut butter, juice boxes, etc)
* Ways of sealing off a sickroom (my brother has a cold right now, and I've cut out a piece from a high-grade furnace filter and duct-taped it over the shared ventilation grate connecting our two bedrooms)
* A pulse oximeter
* An air purifier (in addition to its use as a preventative, it can also help an already-sick person avoid [breathing their own germs back in and thereby sending the invading army reinforcements])
* A bottle of cetylpyridinium chloride mouthwash (I'm not all that confident in this, but it's a very low-risk thing to try; cetylpyridinium chloride is in most but not all mouthwashes, and in my case I found that the ordinary store-brand stuff contained it)
* Disinfectants (if you've had some lying around for a while, check whether they're getting old and potentially losing effectiveness)
* Disposable gloves, especially if you might find yourself caring for a sick person and needing all the PPE you can get
* Goggles, ditto (these ones fit over glasses)
* Emesis bags
* Unfortunately the time to obtain cold medicine was in August before everyone else grabbed them, but if you can find any, the second-best time is today (though, does anyone know whether dextromethorphan is still contraindicated for COVID-19?)
Check whether you're allowed antivirals (here is the triage list for Ontario), and if so know who you'd contact to get them.
Good luck.