The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

3secondmemory

unrecordings said:

daz378 said:

Whats annoying is i know ive got digital thermometer in the house somewhere..but can't find it

I've still got the rubbish £9.99 one I was recommended to get from Boots four years ago to cover my chemo. It occurred to me last week though that between myself & Mrs Un we could effectively infect each other in short order with it. So I set out to get an infrared/non contact thermometer. Which was fun. All the £10 ones sold out, back order due in May, ditto the £15 ish ones, ditto £20, ditto £30 until I settled on a £36 one that was in stock, got the dispatch email then a further one saying out wasn't being dispatched now until May. So back to the drawing board and I ended up with a £70 one from Toolstation online an I was mildly placated by the fact it has lasers, so can be used as a cat toy. Mrs Un is scared of it

😂😂😂 

Nargleblast

I hear the latest advice if you have concerns about symptoms is to go on the NHS111 website instead of trying to ring them, and most likely you will be told to self isolate at home for a week. If you don't feel better after a week, or your symptoms worsen, then ring NHS111 or your GP surgery.
The hospital where I work has several patients with suspicious symptoms but no confirmed diagnoses of Covid19 yet. A couple of people who attended at the assessment pod last week tested positive but were able to return home. The whole hospital is buzzing, meetings taking place throughout the day to keep track of the situation, a "winter pressures" ward has been opened to house patients with suspicious symptoms. Visitors are being restricted, only one per patient. On my unit a colleague said how she only shops from week to week and doesn't have much of a store cupboard. She said she always thought her mum to be odd for stocking up. I told her that should be everybody's norm.
Most of us are pretty chilled out at work, whatever happens we'll deal with it. We don't do headless chicken.

Thriftygifty

Just amended my Mr T order for tomorrow feel much better IF most of it is in stock, it should fill the gaps, luckily we had bought everything that is OOS on last big shop before everyone else but will run out of beans etc in a few weeks. If anything happens to the electric/freezer though then we will be in a sticky situation as quite a lot is frozen, it makes me uncomfortable with the expense that is in the freezer should anything happen but also comforting that it is stocked.  I can't think of any meals for the larder other than soup, beans and cereal and crackers etc. 

There is a toilet roll subscription company who has just posted on FB to say they are completely out of stock now in UK, USA and Australia.  Mr T has limited their wet wipes to 5 packets, I hope people aren't using wet wipes instead of toilet paper and flushing them.  I'm going to invest in some more reusable wipes from an Eco shop that I buy stuff from they are pricey but better for the planet and should eventually pay for themselves and reassuring to have with a baby on the way and two toddlers, they are actually really good wipes and wash well and dry very quickly a lot better than flannels I highly recommend them, I think I will also get a few reusable nappies for baby due soon and some personal products for me should things get really bad with borders closing everywhere. 

euronorris

unrecordings said:

daz378 said:

Whats annoying is i know ive got digital thermometer in the house somewhere..but can't find it

I've still got the rubbish £9.99 one I was recommended to get from Boots four years ago to cover my chemo. It occurred to me last week though that between myself & Mrs Un we could effectively infect each other in short order with it. So I set out to get an infrared/non contact thermometer. Which was fun. All the £10 ones sold out, back order due in May, ditto the £15 ish ones, ditto £20, ditto £30 until I settled on a £36 one that was in stock, got the dispatch email then a further one saying out wasn't being dispatched now until May. So back to the drawing board and I ended up with a £70 one from Toolstation online an I was mildly placated by the fact it has lasers, so can be used as a cat toy. Mrs Un is scared of it

@unrecordings if you get a braun ear thermometer it comes with a pack of plastic caps to go over the bit that goes in your ear. It also has a button that you push, that ejects the used cap without you having to touch it. Replacement caps can be pricey, but I managed to find a pack of 200 on Ebay for about a tenner.

It is a pricey thermometer, but honestly has been excellent. We are very impressed with it, and pleased with our purchase.

[Deleted User]

OK practicalities IF you run out of wipes for baby or toilet paper cut up a couple of towels and make sure you can keep them separate by colour as both will do the required job and can be disinfected and washed and dried to use over and over.  Even old tea towels can be used for this because they're designed to be absorbent.  The ancient romans having no loo paper used sponges on sticks that were cleaned in water and stored to use again in a jar of vinegar to kill organisms from previous uses.  Yukky I know BUT if there is no alternative as this crisis unfolds it's worth putting into your ideas bank for future reference.


Store cupboard meals can be made from instant mash reconstituted and mixed with some tomato ketchup, beans from a tin, cheese triangles, dried mixed herbs, curry powder and beans, whatever your family like as flavourings that you have in the cupboard.  Instant, easy hot.  Tins of tuna, ham, corned beef, pilchards (or other fish like sardines) can be run through pasta, mixed into rice or cooked potatoes (tinned are fine) with herbs (dried or fresh) curry, chilli, fajitas or any other flavouring mix or home made mixes to give variety and not let your palate get jaded.  I have the makings of winter salads in my fridge, hard cabbages (like coleslaw is made from), heads of celery, carrots, radishes, apples, onions and will make sure we have a salad with one of the two meals a day we're allowing ourselves for the vitamins and for freshness, tinned and frozen foods are fine but fresh with 'crunch' is a mood lifter for us.  We have tins of fruit in juice, tins of custard, some jellies and packets of biscuits and of dried fruit if we really need something sweet and currently have growing rhubarb on the allotment which we will 'live on' for fresh vitamins for the next few weeks.  This time of year sees very little else actually grown and harvestable so if I have to I will be careful and go foraging for nettle tops, dandelion leaves, chickweed, dead nettles, and anything else safely edible to give us some much needed vitamin input.  


It probably will get repetitive  towards the end of this coronavirus crisis if we're lucky enough to see the other side of it but that will be a very small price to bay for still being here won't it?

Thriftygifty

MrsLurcherwalker said:

OK practicalities IF you run out of wipes for baby or toilet paper cut up a couple of towels and make sure you can keep them separate by colour as both will do the required job and can be disinfected and washed and dried to use over and over.  Even old tea towels can be used for this because they're designed to be absorbent.  The ancient romans having no loo paper used sponges on sticks that were cleaned in water and stored to use again in a jar of vinegar to kill organisms from previous uses.  Yukky I know BUT if there is no alternative as this crisis unfolds it's worth putting into your ideas bank for future reference.


Store cupboard meals can be made from instant mash reconstituted and mixed with some tomato ketchup, beans from a tin, cheese triangles, dried mixed herbs, curry powder and beans, whatever your family like as flavourings that you have in the cupboard.  Instant, easy hot.  Tins of tuna, ham, corned beef, pilchards (or other fish like sardines) can be run through pasta, mixed into rice or cooked potatoes (tinned are fine) with herbs (dried or fresh) curry, chilli, fajitas or any other flavouring mix or home made mixes to give variety and not let your palate get jaded.  I have the makings of winter salads in my fridge, hard cabbages (like coleslaw is made from), heads of celery, carrots, radishes, apples, onions and will make sure we have a salad with one of the two meals a day we're allowing ourselves for the vitamins and for freshness, tinned and frozen foods are fine but fresh with 'crunch' is a mood lifter for us.  We have tins of fruit in juice, tins of custard, some jellies and packets of biscuits and of dried fruit if we really need something sweet and currently have growing rhubarb on the allotment which we will 'live on' for fresh vitamins for the next few weeks.  This time of year sees very little else actually grown and harvestable so if I have to I will be careful and go foraging for nettle tops, dandelion leaves, chickweed, dead nettles, and anything else safely edible to give us some much needed vitamin input.  


It probably will get repetitive  towards the end of this coronavirus crisis if we're lucky enough to see the other side of it but that will be a very small price to bay for still being here won't it?

Fortunately we've got most of those supplies in our house, the reusable wipes are a luxury as pricy but softener despite constant washing and a switch I wanted to make anyway, maybe this is the push I needed to switch.
Our issue is the 4yr old he is such an awkward eater mainly meat based wont touch pasta, rice or potatoes, ive got some tins of cornbeef as back up for him and boxes of weetabix and uht milk should it get really really bad which I am hoping it wont, he does like kale and cabbage and salad, DH and I are assessing the garden this afternoon and seed supplies

unrecordings

euronorris said:

unrecordings said:

daz378 said:

Whats annoying is i know ive got digital thermometer in the house somewhere..but can't find it

I've still got the rubbish £9.99 one I was recommended to get from Boots four years ago to cover my chemo. It occurred to me last week though that between myself & Mrs Un we could effectively infect each other in short order with it. So I set out to get an infrared/non contact thermometer. Which was fun. All the £10 ones sold out, back order due in May, ditto the £15 ish ones, ditto £20, ditto £30 until I settled on a £36 one that was in stock, got the dispatch email then a further one saying out wasn't being dispatched now until May. So back to the drawing board and I ended up with a £70 one from Toolstation online an I was mildly placated by the fact it has lasers, so can be used as a cat toy. Mrs Un is scared of it

@unrecordings if you get a braun ear thermometer it comes with a pack of plastic caps to go over the bit that goes in your ear. It also has a button that you push, that ejects the used cap without you having to touch it. Replacement caps can be pricey, but I managed to find a pack of 200 on Ebay for about a tenner.

It is a pricey thermometer, but honestly has been excellent. We are very impressed with it, and pleased with our purchase.

Towards the latter end of my chemo the nurses used the Braun/ear ones and complained about them. when I was borderline fever (37.5˚C) one ear would read over, the other would read under, causing no end of grief as then someone would need to make the call to postpone chemo, go ahead, or keep me in all day and keep re checking. For me the thing too about 'in ear' is that with our various disabilities it would be all too easy to contaminate things with decontamination being much harder. I rationalised the extra spend as it's heading toward life or death for the both of us. As for the efficacy of this new one, the jury is out. If it remains a very expensive cat toy without being fired in anger then that's just fine

Zentimes

I believe digital thermometers tend to underestimate your temperature by 0.5 of a degree. I'm hypothyroid and use resting temperature to keep track of my medication's effect, and found that out from more experienced people who prefer using mercury thermometers.

elsien

Have just raised the issue of certain medications with someone who does university research in that field. And is in one of the risk groups. They are looking into it further but are currently of the opinion that the evidence is far too tenuous, and any change over (if possible as the alternatives may not be suitable ) should take a number of weeks to do properly. They are more concerned about older people reading scare headlines and stopping the medication altogether.
About to have that conversation with parent before the DM scares the life out of her.

unrecordings

Got my gran's old mercury thermometer, but my feeling is that if you've got it (Covid19) a 0.5˚C error is going to make little difference, I think it's a binary yes or no. I saw something a couple of days ago, sorry can't attribute, but might have been an interview on Channel 4 News, that the average Covid 19 fever was 40.5˚C