The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

MingVase

In other words GQ it's far easier for TPTB to sit in their wee offices and get some college leaver on his computer to work out statistics, rather than ask the opinion of the health care workers whose feet are on the ground, tramping round their home areas. Lazy half assed research,

Floss

MingVase said:

In other words GQ it's far easier for TPTB to sit in their wee offices and get some college leaver on his computer to work out statistics, rather than ask the opinion of the health care workers whose feet are on the ground, tramping round their home areas. Lazy half assed research,

The stats are postcode-based, as this is given as part of the test process. 

greenbee

Don't forget, however, that there are several strains of the virus around as it is mutating and it is perfectly possible to get it more than once (I have no antibodies from my test at 5.5 months, apparently they are fairly short lived). There are quite a few cases of people who are at the 6-8 month mark getting it again - while they may not be statistically significant (yet) I'm aware of them as they're reporting on the Long Covid support groups. As this is expected to behave like a cold virus, hygiene is going to be the biggest factor in stopping the spread. Hopefully the signs that it is growing more transmissible but less aggressive mean it will end up being no worse than a cold or mild flu.

I've been warned to avoid reinfection and to get my flu jab, as while I'm still being poked and prodded (blood tests, xrays, cardiac checkups) to identify exactly what it has done to me (along with a lot of people who are suffering ongoing issues), they're very clear that I'm in no state to deal with a further infection. I did request a diagnosis of hypochondria and being told to get on with things, but that's been refused and I'm currently banned from exercising, on a low carb diet (which helps energy levels but is hard to gain weight on) and spending a lot of time resting. I can work full time, but that means I go to bed straight after work every day and spend my weekends resting. 

GreyQueen

Greenbee, have they ever tested you for T cells specifically tailored to Covid 19? My reading around the subject seems to show that many people come up antibody negative, even when they have previously been confirmed to be Covid positive. But, when T cells are tested, they are there, activated by the previous Covid infection, and ready to redeploy if needed. My understanding is testing for the T cells is a lot more expensive than testing for the antibodies, and this is why it isn't being done so much. People who had SARS-CoV-1 seventeen years ago are being found to still have T cells against that, now vanished coronavirus, and that these same T cells react to SARS-Cov-2 aka Covid 19, due to the RNA of the two viruses being 80% identical.

SARS killed one in ten infected. Then it vanished. Science doesn't seem to understand why.

Onebrokelady

boultdj said:

It's the Mortgage Free in Three recipe I use. But have adapted slightly.

500 gram bread/ plain flour
1 teaspoon yeast.
1 teaspoon sugar
400 mls warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon oil

Flour and salt in a bowl, mix together.
Sugar and yeast in warm water, leave for 10 minutes to get going.
Then add yeasty water and oil to the flour, mix together and leave to rise for an hour.
I then put it in a tub twice as big as the dough and leave in the fridge till needed, but you can leave it on the counter top if your baking it the next day.
Then I tip it out and shape it, flour the top and cook at 200 c for 40 mins.
I find the flour keeps the top softer and the dough can life in the fridge happily for up to 10 days.

Thanks for this recipe, can you bake it straight away or does it have to spend time in the fridge first,I've never made bread so not sure 😊

greenbee

GreyQueen said:

Greenbee, have they ever tested you for T cells specifically tailored to Covid 19? My reading around the subject seems to show that many people come up antibody negative, even when they have previously been confirmed to be Covid positive. But, when T cells are tested, they are there, activated by the previous Covid infection, and ready to redeploy if needed. My understanding is testing for the T cells is a lot more expensive than testing for the antibodies, and this is why it isn't being done so much. People who had SARS-CoV-1 seventeen years ago are being found to still have T cells against that, now vanished coronavirus, and that these same T cells react to SARS-Cov-2 aka Covid 19, due to the RNA of the two viruses being 80% identical.

SARS killed one in ten infected. Then it vanished. Science doesn't seem to understand why.

Nope, no clinical need for T-cell testing (and it's expensive). The only real reason that antibody testing is useful is to give a rough idea of asymptomatic infections and more importantly for donation as part of treatment in some trials. 

They do think that some people may not have antibodies because they are T-cell reactors, but the money isn't there to check everyone who has had a positive swab at regular intervals to see how they reacted and how long the immune response is lasting. Ideally it would be done, but there is so much else to do. 

As with most diseases, hygiene is the key to infection control. Of course, if we don't get exposed to any germs then we may make ourselves more vulnerable. I remember an article about 25 years which talked about the "Dettox Generation" whose environments were being so rigorously disinfected that they had very little chance of developing an immune response. Obviously any child who went to primary school wasn't in any danger of being germ-free for long!

GreyQueen

It's fascinating. You're doing a good thing, as is everyone who is regularly doing swabs etc. I've had precisely one swab done ahead of hospital admission and quail at the thought of doing that to myself.

daz378

Went to get my haircut this morning...just in case boris  closed them....no chance at the moment  of cutting my own hair....thankful  of my prepps   as  i only  need  to pick up a few bits....fully stocked on  painkillers  and picked up more  today....although a few friends from work  have offered to do a shop for me......stay safe

GreyQueen

Glad to hear you've been able to stock up, Daz. I added two packets of Ibuprofen to the supplies when I was in Lidlly on Sunday.

Haircuts must be on our minds; I borrowed electric hairclippers from the family home for five minutes to give myself a haircut, although I left the nape alone. That needs scissor-cutting by a third party, if I tried it I'd look like it'd been chewed off by wolves, I reckon. At least I am tidy - my hair is very forgiving of such treatment, left to itself it reverts to a bottle-brush but you can mow it into submission relatively easily.

daz378

Dispatches  on c4 now  about american food  being imported after brexit.....should we be worried  and how do we avoid this food....if we are ?