Preparedness for when

moneyistooshorttomention

Speaking re torches and the like:

What would people recommend as a good-quality carry-around flashlight?

Not aiming to be able to cosh people round the head if need be...just something "quality" for dark garden and nearby lanes please.

Nargleblast

At work I avoid touching the hand rail as I climb stairs, and when opening a door with one of those big square c-shaped handles I avoid the middle bit where it is natural to grab, and go for the underneath bit. Mind you, with people getting wary of bugs nowadays, probably loads of people have the same idea as me? Lift buttons, computer keyboards and telephones also come to mind.

vanoonoo

hello, how are we all doing?

jk0

GreyQueen wrote: »

Yesterday afternoon, I was briefly at my GP practice, which shares its site with a pharmacy. As I walked up, I could see that the delivery van from the pharmacy suppliers was outside. Then I went into the pharmacy and the driver's mate came out of the patients' unisex toilet which is located in the foyer, at the same second as the (only) loo flushed.

So, clearly hadn't washed his hands. He then went through two sets of doors out onto the street (touching the handles on the manual doors) and started taking crates of medicines from the van into the pharmacy (thru another manual door).

I would guess you are reluctant to make waves at the surgery you depend on for vital drugs GQ, but I would be tempted to report the b*ggar.

Nargleblast

I wonder if some people wash their hands and then flush the toilet (in those toilets that have their own washbasin in the cubicle)? Pointless because they are putting clean hands on a dirty flush mechanism!

GreyQueen

jk0 wrote: »

I would guess you are reluctant to make waves at the surgery you depend on for vital drugs GQ, but I would be tempted to report the b*ggar.

I think I will. I will have to go back there this afternoon to get the meds; they never have enough of mine in stock to fill a script, so I just arrange to come in 24hr after they're given the script, rather than take a part-order and have an owing-note for the rest which means I have to go back anyway.

The more I think about it, the more disgusting it is.

ETA Hi Vanoonoo, good to 'see' you; look what your baby thread grew up into; are you proud?!

vanoonoo

yes - I'll never catch up now! still havent sorted out my longer term food storage and still need to get more water - watching news on ebolol (apologies, my humour is stupid), love to all, keep warm and dry and hydrated x

MrsChristmas

Perplexed_Pineapple wrote: »

Danih, I don;t think anti-bac gel is effective against ebola, because it isn't bacterial. You need barrier protection, and a healthy immune system (the death rate is apparently much higher in poorly nourished children in West Africa).

Yes agreed, it's viral not bacterial so won't protect against ebola but getting yourself & other family members to use it routinely could help ward off any other illnesses that may cause unnecessary worry & anxiety.
Anti bac products are not something we've been used to buying or using before, preferring hot soapy water for hygiene & cleaning purposes as I believe bugs are good for building up healthy immunity's & the chemicals in cleaning products could actually compromise them, but this winter I will be making an exception....
Bleach all the way... Of course I'm aware that it's not going to stop the family catching bugs/viruses outside the home & bringing them in but for my own piece of mind, feels like I'm being pro active, a sort of damage limitation!
They are an outdoorsy bunch & I have wondered if there will come a point where we will have to discuss a cut off point for 'bugging in' if or when the virus 'breaks out' here in the UK ie; a case in the capital? the county? or the nearest town?
Fingers crossed this won't happen, it's already been said that our UK case has been dealt with efficiently leading to no further cases but it's also not unrealistic to think that it could happen again. I wish they'd just shut down air travel for all non urgent flights, just medical & business flights until this situation eases & bring in a more intense form of screening. At the very least, if they won't stop flights from the infected countries & the incubation period is up to 21 days... some say more could be more... why don't they quarantine passengers for that length of time before boarding?

Apologies for the long post but regarding schools, I read that a few closed in the US yesterday due to worries that either a student or a teacher had traveled on the same plane as the infected nurse. I'm hoping that the schools here will be as vigilant & lenient in as much as letting the parents decide whether or not to send their children to school should the time come. Am happy to home school via Email although I do realise that this is not a realistic option for everyone.

Off to search for a link to a cat litter toilet

GreyQueen

The issue about bugging-out against contaigous disease is that it pre-supposes that there is somewhere safe to bug-out to, an alternative home where you could stay and not accept any imputs from any sources. Which would include visitors as well as supplies.

I've given that a fair bit of thought, and cannot see how more than a very few people would find that feasible. Perhaps as few as the low hundreds in the whole of the country.

I have to say that I have been flabberghasted that travel from countries where ebola is active hasn't been totally banned for the duration of the crisis. Whilst the rest of the world throws maximum resources into care of the victims, doing such things which can ease the suffering and may even help recovery (even with no miracle cure ebola doesn't have 100% mortality) and safe disposal of the bodies of those unfortunates who have succumbed.

Instead, we have infected people on international flights.. !!!!!!?!? to be quite crude. Seems to me that a flight is an excellent way to incubate illnesses at the best of times.

Heck, even centuries ago folk had enough sense to quarantine ships from areas where plague was active, making them stand offshore at anchor.

The trouble with infectious diseases, and there were several versions of the plague active at the same time, is that they don't just pass through. They cycle, and often recurr after months or even a few years with no warning. The mere act of trying to flee an infectious disease could be causing the spread.

As an interested and relatively-intelligent amateur, I cast a jaundiced eye over the persons congregating around Calais attempting to make illegal entry into the UK. Living in squalid camps, many from African countries, trying to get past lawful immigration and disappear once in the country........not a good thing.

thriftwizard

I wish they'd just shut down air travel for all non urgent flights, just medical & business flights until this situation eases & bring in a more intense form of screening.

Not likely, sadly - can you imagine what that'd do to the economy? Common sense doesn't stand a chance compared to economics. Not that the economy seems to be doing terribly well just now anyway; we really can't upset it by quarantining people who may have money to spend or business to do.

My trainee-daughter-in-law works as a cleaner in a gigantic secondary school, and is forever suffering from lurgies. She has some horror stories to tell regarding general cleanliness too and often finds the staff facilities are as bad, if not worse, than the pupils' or the areas that the general public use after hours - i.e. the art & sports facilities. Just yesterday, whilst she was sniffing & coughing gently on the sofa after work, wrapped in a duvet, I suggested that she might like to look for a less germ-ridden job - she's a bright, polite & helpful lass & would do very well in something less physical - but she found it hard enough to find a job at all when she left school, so she's a bit reluctant to risk a move. She suffers from one of the most invisible forms of discrimination; her hair is neither brown nor gold, but unavoidably ginger, and it makes her rather shy, sadly, having been teased (and worse) all the way through that same school. Interesting to see that all 3 of her older sisters have dyed their glorious mops brown or black in order to blend in, and two of them are now in managerial positions. But rather more interesting (and sad) to note the constant procession of infections...