Coronavirus: has it changed your attitude to sneezing?

[bloom]

yeah i changed my mind on that because i actually read the news to stay informed and am asthmatic and immunocompromised. the worst part of the crisis crisis is projected to last from a year to eighteen months now 

also, "as long as you're basically a healthy person" is some bullshit, just fyi. people like me, who are genuinely very sick, exist, and we shouldn't be fucking brushed aside because most people are healthy. i'm so tired of people saying "nyuck nyuck well as long as you're healthy!" people who are likely to die, like me, deserve more fucking empathy and consideration than that. 

[•.*°•☆. Q .☆•°*.•]

50 minutes ago, Kurn'la said:

I'm in complete agreement with jejune on this. I think all the closings of schools and concerts and stuff is nonsense and stupid. as long as a person is not very old or a child or have a compromised immune system then generally we should all be fairly fine over all. the media and people are for the most part scared and panicked for nothing. as long as your basicly aa healthy person and use your intelligences like regularly washing your hands and stuff not a real problem. the news people make it sound like in 5 minutes we'll all be infected and half of us will be dead in another two minutes. fracking stupid! I'm reminded of something s fellow said in 13th warrior "go and hide in a hole if you wish, but you won't live one moment longer, your fate is fixed, fair profits demand nothing"  so even if everybody else wants to "go hide in a hole" I will continue to live my life best I can as if there was no virus  or whatever. unless something actually changes drasticly like it mutates into like 100% lethality then I'm not going to worry bout it too much. 

i don't think anyone initially thought this would be as serious as it is, but to deny that the coronovirus poses a real threat to people's safety at this point is irresponsible. schools and concerts and stuff are closing to prevent the further spread of this disease and keep the most vulnerable of our community safe at this time. you may not be over the age of 50, or have an underlying condition such as diabetes, heart disease, an autoimmune disorder, or any other number of chronic illnesses, but think long and hard about anyone who you know and love who does fall into those categories. are your parents or grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, mentors, and friends all under 50 and in perfect health? if the answer to any of these questions is no, then you should be thankful that communities are taking measures to protect them from this illness which has the potential to truly and really take them from you. 

to put this into perspective for you a bit, you may have heard of italy closing down recently. literally they have shut their borders, and shut every business aside from grocery stores and pharmacies out of necessity. police currently patrol the streets to enforce a country-wide lockdown. people aren't allowed to go out except for absolute necessities. this is because so many people in italy are sick with coronavirus that if they had not shut down the entire country, the country of italy itself would have suffered total collapse. 

what you may not have heard is how frighteningly fast and easily it got to this point there. one man, one single solitary man entered the country with the virus, and he did what he thought was the right thing and immediately went to the doctor to get tested, rather than staying home and calling his doctor to be tested in isolation. he didn't know that was what he was supposed to do.

every patient and all of the doctors and nurses in that doctor's office got sick, then. within a week, there were 322 cases of covid19 in italy. one more week later, the number of cases in italy had grown to over TEN THOUSAND, and they had to shut down the ENTIRE. COUNTRY. 

and you may be thinking, "well i won't get sick because i won't interact with anyone who looks sick, i wash my hands well enough. and i will stay away from others if i'm feeling sick so that i won't put anybody at risk." 

but the thing is that while some people who catch the coronavirus start to feel sick within four days after catching the illness, others don't feel sick at all for two whole WEEKS, and during those two weeks when they're not feeling sick at all or even knowing that they've caught anything? they are still HIGHLY contagious, and others who share a space with them can very very easily catch coronavirus from them without even knowing that person was sick at the time.

and the virus is airborne very easily as well. it can be passed from one person to another just from being in the same room with them and having a conversation, without anyone coughing or touching hands. 

so you can be chilling with someone and washing your hands very well, and completely not know that you've just caught coronavirus. and you may feel perfectly fine for up to two weeks while you yourself are spreading the coronavirus to every person that you hang out with, without even knowing that you're getting them sick during that time. 

this is the reason why it is SO IMPORTANT to stay away from other people at this time. the number of people you hang out with is directly proportional to how at risk you are of catching and spreading this disease, which very easily can kill those who you love who are older than you or who have any kind of chronic conditions.

the center for disease control is recommending that everybody stays inside their own homes as much as is possible and limit social contact with other people unless absolutely necessary, to stop the spread of this illness before it overtakes our country the same way it's overtaken italy. we have to avoid social gatherings. we have to work or school from home if we are at all able to. we of course have to wash our hands and be sensible, but as you can see just simply going about life as normal and washing our hands is not enough. we must also distance ourselves physically from other people as much as we possibly can to interrupt the virus from spreading and to protect the people we love, even if we ourselves are not in danger.

[Klingon]

um I don't mean to suggest it's not a threat, just that it's a threat MOSTLY to the elderly, little kids or people with immunity problems. the rest of us are probly pretty safe for the most part is what I'm saying. as for my family my father's been dead a couple years and my mother is in her 60's but very healthy, my brother is fine and the rest of my family are... well - frankly the rest of my family are to put it mildly low life yintagh hadibah to say the least, frack them especially my brothers p'taqh wife. except for my mother and brother... don't even get me started and the 3 of us are all in agreement we're going to live our lives best we can, as if there was no viruses because as I said before we could all go and hide in a hole but it won't change anything our fates are fixed. and nothing we do or say can change what is going to happen regardless, heart attack , lightning bolt, cancer atomic war some virus, venomous animal bite, mercury poisoning we can all try to hide all we want but it won't do any good when our time is up our time is up so. just live the best life you can while you can. you could put on a space suit and 20 layers of body armor and stab proof under and hide in a bunker underground but when your time is up it's up simple as that. if we're going to die from it then we're going to die from it but freaking out about it like everyone is isn't going to change it or prolong their lives. instead decide that living life to it's fullest is the most important thing. as I said to a friend of mine on fb earlier I'm not going to let some virus keep me from living my life I'm going to hike and camp and rock climb, work, play airsoft and all the stuff I normally do, as if there was no viruses or comets or nuclear weapons or venomous animals if you want to fear it or "hide in a hole" as it where that's up to you. I hope none of the rest of ya get it or anything else truly. but I'm not gonna let some virus keep me from living my life is what I'm saying. I see no point in being afraid of it or anything else! in the end we're all going to die some day anyways so instead of freaking out and being scared, instead try to make the best of the time you have here! 

[bloom]

it's cool that you're totally at peace with the idea of wasting away in a hospital bed, suffocating slowly as your lungs entirely shut down, in agonizing terror because there isn't enough oxygen making it to your blood, slowly slipping into a coma and dying. genuinely, i'm glad that the idea of that doesn't worry you at all, good for you. but i've been there, i almost died of h1n1 (swine flu) back in 2013 because i was too poor to afford a flu shot and i can assure you that it's not like, THE most fun i've ever had in my life.

19 minutes ago, Kurn'la said:

yintagh hadibah

also no offence but literally no one on earth gives this much of a fuck about star trek. this forum is english-only for a reason and that applies to fucking dumb made-up languages like klingon too

[Reader]

It’s a threat to healthy people as well because you have to stay home for two weeks in quarantine which means no work or money. Plus, the longer this spreads, the longer life is disrupted and shut down for everyone. And the point is that even though you are healthy and will probably be fine, you can unknowingly carry it and pass it on to someone else that’s healthy that goes home to people that aren’t as healthy.

And if hospitals are overworked and cramped trying to deal with Covid 19, healthy people or people with conditions that don’t have Covid 19 will be put on the back burner. 

The above is an example of an immunocompromised person thinking what it might be like for healthy people. Try to do the same in reverse. We all need to work together to put this behind us. The elderly, children, and people with underlying conditions make up a lot of the population. 

[Saimou]

Also, I wouldn’t say our fates are fixed. Our maximum life spans are more or less fixed, but there is no god or some cosmic force predetermining our lives, before we were even born, and our choices do indeed have consequences. That being said, I’m not too worried, personally, as I have a pretty strong immune system and don’t travel a lot or interact with people all that much to begin with, and last I checked, Finland (population around 5.4 million) only had 33 documented cases, and zero fatalities, as far as I’m aware. Sure, it’s a lot bigger threat in some other countries, even in Europe (like Italy), but the media have always been experts at spreading panic.

[SneezyHolmes]

Friendly reminder to keep things civil, please.

[•.*°•☆. Q .☆•°*.•]

i just want to say there is a difference between shrinking and hiding from every minor possibility of harm, and behaving recklessly in a situation that can and will endanger people in your community. everyone else here has said basically what else i'd like to say, but i do just want to put it out there that it's very much not an all or nothing type situation where you either hide under a million layers of bubble wrap forever OR completely ignore all safety precautions including those advised by people whose entire lives are dedicated to stopping the spread of disease during an actual unprecedented pandemic situation. you can be sensible and use rational judgement to determine that, no i'm not very likely to get hit by lightning today so i don't have to take a precaution against this since it's a very low risk of happening, but i am yes very likely to spread this disease to someone who is vulnerable to it if i go out and come into contact with any group of people today so i do need to take extra precautions about it since it is a very high risk of happening.

yes it is inconvenient to avoid social gatherings at this time, and very much sucks for everyone to have to stay away from each other, but that is not a good enough reason to decide "fuck it i'm gonna just pretend that the global health epidemic that literally took an entire nation to its knees in the span of two weeks is not in fact happening right now." 

as i said it's irresponsible to behave that way, and it's wrong to endanger people in your community who you come into contact with just because you want to be a tough guy who isn't afraid of some virus.

you can be sensible and take necessary preventative measures without it meaning you're afraid of it, it only means you're doing the right thing and keeping your community safe.

also juno did put it much more strongly than this but i do have to admit that i have no idea what these sci-fi slang terms you're using actually mean and i would really appreciate it if you spoke in english

[Heathcliff]

20 hours ago, •.*°•☆. Q .☆•°*.• said:

you can be sensible and take necessary preventative measures without it meaning you're afraid of it, it only means you're doing the right thing and keeping your community safe

I have insulted Q in the past - but this is exactly right. Take precautions but don't panic. God knows, I panic more than most people, but I'm trying not to panic now when it is not appropriate.

A thing that makes me laugh about the current crisis is what people panic-buy in the UK. In my local supermarket the cheap toilet cleaner detergents are all sold out... but the SLIGHTLY more expensive toilet cleaners are still there.

So what are people thinking? "I'll pay 39p not to die, but will I pay £1.50? Sod that, I'd rather die in agony!"

For goodness' sake!

[Saimou]

On 3/15/2020 at 5:13 AM, Heathcliff said:

I have insulted Q in the past - but this is exactly right. Take precautions but don't panic. God knows, I panic more than most people, but I'm trying not to panic now when it is not appropriate.

A thing that makes me laugh about the current crisis is what people panic-buy in the UK. In my local supermarket the cheap toilet cleaner detergents are all sold out... but the SLIGHTLY more expensive toilet cleaners are still there.

So what are people thinking? "I'll pay 39p not to die, but will I pay £1.50? Sod that, I'd rather die in agony!"

For goodness' sake!

People’s cheapness is pretty funny; but I’m not so sure I would call £1.50 ”SLIGHTLY” greater prize than 39p. In absolute terms, yes, maybe; but in relative terms, it’s almost 4 times as expensive.

[I love Alan Rickman]

On 3/14/2020 at 11:13 PM, Heathcliff said:

I have insulted Q in the past - but this is exactly right. Take precautions but don't panic. God knows, I panic more than most people, but I'm trying not to panic now when it is not appropriate.

A thing that makes me laugh about the current crisis is what people panic-buy in the UK. In my local supermarket the cheap toilet cleaner detergents are all sold out... but the SLIGHTLY more expensive toilet cleaners are still there.

So what are people thinking? "I'll pay 39p not to die, but will I pay £1.50? Sod that, I'd rather die in agony!"

For goodness' sake!

Yeah, people are going on shopping sprees in the US buying things out too. Water jugs, hand sanitizer. Makes sense. But...toilet paper? I mean, I get that you want enough to last a while but do you really need a full shopping cart? C’mon. Symptoms of corona don’t include crapping yourself. Relax on the toilet paper buying. Anyway, I don’t find corona horribly scary, but I’m taking precautions anyway and staying home because I don’t want the less fortunate to get terribly sick and possibly die because I wasn’t a considerate human being. I’m figuring out things to binge on Netflix and playing video games and drawing since all my fun events were cancelled and school is closed for two weeks and I don’t have my youth orchestra or chamber group rehearsals either because of this. But even as a big introvert, I’m really craving human interaction outside of my family though already. There’s so much that I really took advantage of before and now that so many things are shut down and just gone, I am sure I will not take advantage of it again. I hope things go back to normal again soon though because life has become very boring and lonely having to stay home every day and have no fun events I can plan or look forward to 

[Saimou]

On 3/14/2020 at 8:21 AM, jejune said:

 

it's cool that you're totally at peace with the idea of wasting away in a hospital bed, suffocating slowly as your lungs entirely shut down, in agonizing terror because there isn't enough oxygen making it to your blood, slowly slipping into a coma and dying. genuinely, i'm glad that the idea of that doesn't worry you at all, good for you. but i've been there, i almost died of h1n1 (swine flu) back in 2013 because i was too poor to afford a flu shot and i can assure you that it's not like, THE most fun i've ever had in my life.

 

Let’s not forget about the fact that (from what I’ve heard) the corona virus is fairly likely to burrow holes to the patients’ heart and lungs (though I’m not sure, if that’s the case just with the elderly or everyone, or what), and the virus itself is very small (only about 400–500 nm in diameter), so it would be fairly easy for it to pass through some of the cheaper masks. That being said, as long as we all keep up good hygiene, avoid human contacts, and follow all the other necessary precautions, we should be fairly safe. Luckily for me, I don’t interact with people all that much to begin with, and most of my acquaintances are in their 40s or 50s, and know better than to eat dirt and their own snot, and generally keep up pretty good hygiene, and haven’t travelled abroad in years.

[Saimou]

On 3/13/2020 at 11:24 PM, Saimou said:

I think that’s probably true, since I heard today that the main symptoms are dry cough and fever. So, no sneezing or sniffly symptoms.

That being said, I’d still keep some distance to sneezing people, just to avoid the common cold, because the more diseases your immune system has to fight at once, the less likely it is to ward off any of them. Luckily I had my cold just before the corona outbreak. But still, you can’t really be too careful with this issue, but there’s no reason for any kind of hysteria. Unfortunately, there are always those, who wouldn’t give it a second thought, if a nuclear war were to break out.

[Saimou]

On 2/13/2020 at 12:09 AM, Saimou said:

But yeah, in answering to the original question, colds don’t normally bother me, and I do have a strong immune system, but in this case, I’d rather just observe from afar, than risk my health.

It seems that my arrogance about the media spreading panic has come back to bite me, lmao. I’m now exposed to the coronavirus, by a new acquaintance I met a few days ago, and the S.O.B. didn’t even have the common courtesy to let me and my other friends know in beforehand that he had the Covid-19 😡. No real symptoms to speak of, yet *knocks wood*. I’ll keep you guys updated.

Saimou

[Saimou]

On 2/13/2020 at 12:09 AM, Saimou said:

But yeah, in answering to the original question, colds don’t normally bother me, and I do have a strong immune system, but in this case, I’d rather just observe from afar, than risk my health.

So, I’ve been lacking appetite for the past few days and today I threw up, and a few hours later I had a few seconds of pain in my heart, but now I’m already feeling better.

[Glatissant]

To answer the original question for me, I haven't changed my attitude much (but I've always been a "fantasy hot, real life germaphore so not" sort of sneezing fan), largely since the virus doesn't generally cause sneezing (and since my state's on lockdown and I'm lucky enough to have a work-from-home-able job I haven't been exposed often).

[Ruddertail]

It hasn't, mainly because it doesn't typically cause sneezing, only coughing. And that's not nearly as pleasant.

Even if it did, though, I - like the previous poster - tend towards only enjoying the contagion-styled sneezing fantasies in... fantasy.

[RedVelvetHeart]

I am definitely one who likes this sneezing and contagion mostly in my head, but actual illness is hard to enjoy in real life. Especially if it is serious. It kind of has the opposite effect and this situation is really interfering with my enjoyment of the things I usually find exciting. Just by association. I go there in my head and feel guilty or just not as drawn to it. Trying to get past it!

By the way, interesting to go back in this thread and see the evolution of reactions from "it's overblown" to the situation we are in now. One of my other internet communities is disaster prepping so I was taking this seriously since January! Crazy times....

 

 

[bloom]

41 minutes ago, superimmunegirl said:

By the way, interesting to go back in this thread and see the evolution of reactions from "it's overblown" to the situation we are in now. One of my other internet communities is disaster prepping so I was taking this seriously since January! Crazy times....

yeah, i assumed people (not people here, people in general) were just being nasty and racist yet again, as what happened with SARS and bird flu. i'm not so proud i won't take the L and admit i was wrong on this one; i suppose even a broken clock is right twice a day (not about the racism part, just about the part that it was going to end up being an issue)

[Saimou]

On 4/25/2020 at 10:11 PM, jejune said:

yeah, i assumed people (not people here, people in general) were just being nasty and racist yet again, as what happened with SARS and bird flu. i'm not so proud i won't take the L and admit i was wrong on this one; i suppose even a broken clock is right twice a day (not about the racism part, just about the part that it was going to end up being an issue)

Yeah, I’m not above admitting that I was wrong, and this ended up being a lot more serious than I (and many others) originally thought. I even ended up exposed to the Coronavirus, though I haven’t really had any real symptoms to speak of, so must be a mild strain. Speaking of SARS and bird flu, I was on 4th or 5th grade at the time of SARS, in junior high school at the time of the bird flu, and on the 2nd grade in high school at the time of the swine flu. Now I’m in the University, sharing classes with people, who were in the elementary school at the time of the swine flu. God, I feel so old .