My Doctor husband came home crying yesterday

[Anonymous]

Hospitals want mask donations. If your eyes are exposed, a mask won’t do much for you.

[Anonymous]

My sister works in an ER downtown. Her shifts have always been long or condensed but she’s not an alarmist. If anything there are too many people coming in to get tested just to see if they maybe have it. That ties up resources, time and test kits big time plus exposes you to possibly very sick germs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a nurse. I don’t pity myself for not being able to stay home. I signed up for this. I like taking care of sick patients. Why am I worried and angry? Because we are not being given the proper equipment. The government did not prepare for this even though they saw it coming. No testing when it would have been helpful. Barely any testing now. Possible exposure? Keep working unless you have symptoms. Have symptoms? We aren’t testing you. I feel you OP. I work for the biggest hospital in NoVa and I think in a couple of weeks, we are going to be screwed.

Are you still changing masks, gloves, and suit between patients? That is it sustainable with increased patient load.
Are you finding ways to get monitoring equipment in the hallway but wired to the inside room patient?
I agree mild cases or suspected cases need to stay home and self quartarine in one room and one bathroom for 14 days or until very ill. Same for flu, you don’t just walk into a busy hospital for some fluids. That is not a priority here, in Asia or in Europe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:More importantly, a rapid results test is needed. The amount of PPE supplies staff uses up on a single patient "suspected" of covid-19 patient is astounding. Tons of supplies are being wasting on patients that end up not requiring that level of precautions

Why is the rapid results test anything? We are all supposed to be staying home and not going out, and if mildly sick with a fever and cough stay away from family members.

Rapid results test doesn’t do anything if you can’t breathe or getting pneumonia. If that is happening you go to the hospital, they assume your have covid19, you get a chest CT, and they pump your lungs routinely and get you in a ventilator. You can also sign up for clinical trials.

[Anonymous]

Agree tons of supplies are getting used up and supposed almost every 15 minutes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is it possible that hospitals did not have a stockpile of protective gear for their doctors and nurses? Why is it impossible to order more of these supplies? There is no way that they should be asked to work under these conditions. The current situation makes no sense-I don't understand how it got to this point.

China is blocking export. The US does not make masks.

Also China dictators order the state owned enterprises to crank them out in February and shut down other production lines. Here in the land of the free you don’t force private companies to do that.
Now China is shipping them for a profit to EUetc. This was after sending Iran a ton of test kits last month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is it possible that hospitals did not have a stockpile of protective gear for their doctors and nurses? Why is it impossible to order more of these supplies? There is no way that they should be asked to work under these conditions. The current situation makes no sense-I don't understand how it got to this point.

There are stockpiles. There are just not enough for the surge we’re about to see.

If everyone stayed in/ home for 2-3 weeks straight there wouldn’t be a surge.
In fact, if everyone shut down and stayed in for 4 weeks the virus would significantly curtail its course: current mildly infected would stay home resting, in infected people would stay home avoiding the virus, badly effected people would be hospitalized and either recover in three weeks or die.
Just like in Wuhan. And then just temp test people going to shop or out and keep weeding into quarantine those who are positive.

[Anonymous]

Except that isn’t how they did it in Wuhan. Positive cases were not sent back to their hone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hospitals want mask donations. If your eyes are exposed, a mask won’t do much for you.

You can use swimming goggles with tight fit to protect the eyes. This is NOT doing to help someone getting groceries, but it helps if you are intubating and someone coughs sputum directly into your face. I did my last store run for a new medication (I am a doctor in heart failure, but we are all hands on deck), and I picked up some goggles at Walmart that can be disinfected between uses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hospitals want mask donations. If your eyes are exposed, a mask won’t do much for you.

You can use swimming goggles with tight fit to protect the eyes. This is NOT doing to help someone getting groceries, but it helps if you are intubating and someone coughs sputum directly into your face. I did my last store run for a new medication (I am a doctor in heart failure, but we are all hands on deck), and I picked up some goggles at Walmart that can be disinfected between uses.

PS: Before I get accused of being a hysterical Russian troll, if you have doubts, I'm sure Jeff could verify in broad strokes that I'm not. I'm a pediatrician and often post in vaccination threads, diagnosis suggestions Health & Medicine, etc. I am not with you guys but out West.

This is really hard, but it is the job. Every time I go into work, the parking lot is still full. And our desk staff, janitors, and security guards have family, too, but they keep coming to work. So.

I'm awake because I am reviewing guidelines for allocating ventilators in time of scarcity, and I needed a break. Much love to you all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hospitals want mask donations. If your eyes are exposed, a mask won’t do much for you.

Why are you trying to get people to hurt themselves?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My sister works in an ER downtown. Her shifts have always been long or condensed but she’s not an alarmist. If anything there are too many people coming in to get tested just to see if they maybe have it. That ties up resources, time and test kits big time plus exposes you to possibly very sick germs.

That's a public health failure. In a pandemic it is completely reasonable and foreseeable that people will be worried and nervous and want to be tested. Set up triage centers away from the hospital for screening and testing so people don't go to the ER.

There is no doubt that hospitals all over the country and world are experiencing a surge this week or soon will be experiencing a surge. If people aren't currently seeing it in their hospital, that means the explosion in cases hasn't happened in their area yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hospitals want mask donations. If your eyes are exposed, a mask won’t do much for you.

You can use swimming goggles with tight fit to protect the eyes. This is NOT doing to help someone getting groceries, but it helps if you are intubating and someone coughs sputum directly into your face. I did my last store run for a new medication (I am a doctor in heart failure, but we are all hands on deck), and I picked up some goggles at Walmart that can be disinfected between uses.

PS: Before I get accused of being a hysterical Russian troll, if you have doubts, I'm sure Jeff could verify in broad strokes that I'm not. I'm a pediatrician and often post in vaccination threads, diagnosis suggestions Health & Medicine, etc. I am not with you guys but out West.

This is really hard, but it is the job. Every time I go into work, the parking lot is still full. And our desk staff, janitors, and security guards have family, too, but they keep coming to work. So.

I'm awake because I am reviewing guidelines for allocating ventilators in time of scarcity, and I needed a break. Much love to you all.

My friend is a doctor in Hong Kong. She says workers there are also running out of PPE but not as bad as we are. she says they are creating face shields with clear plastic folders taped to your glasses.

She also says that they have turned to using the resusable respirator -- the kind where you have a replaceable filter. She says that many people have them in Hong Kong. This kind:

https://www.3m.com.hk/3M/en_HK/company-hk/all-3m-products/~/3M-Half-Facepiece-Reusable-Respirator-6200-Medium-Respiratory-Protection-24-EA-Case/?N=5002385%208710839%203294328140&rt=rud&fbclid=IwAR1ZFfkoLwSdJTqqtO69VIVELjjDxJltfTXSf98QS5d00gWUF952GJDhGG8

Using 3D printing, people in Hong Kong have made their own gaskets to fit these masks. Then they take the more widely available surgical masks and cut them into about 8 pieces. That makes a better filter, because the reusable respirator has a tighter fit. The surgical mask filter also lasts longer because it doesn't get as wet due to reduced condensation.

In Hong Kong they are anticipating that the mask shortage will last many months.

[Anonymous]

Yeah let's feel bad for these doctors who make 500k a year. Nah I feel bad for the kids we send to war. No sympathy from me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah let's feel bad for these doctors who make 500k a year. Nah I feel bad for the kids we send to war. No sympathy from me.

You know it’s possible to feel bad for both? You don’t need to have an income threshold.