The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

thriftwizard

elaine241 said:

Please elaborate on what an Iron age horse bean is? I have never heard of them. 

I believe they're an ancestor of the broad bean, elaine; quoting from another site ""Iron age beans – Similar to the Martock bean, which was grown in the Summerset fen village of Martock. It is an early field broad bean which is very hardy. Once the bean has grown and allowed to die back they were harvested and threshed to provide a high quality source of protein for the peasant society. Today it is best to pick them young before they become difficult to shell. Older beans can be threshed and used as feed for poultry and livestock."

They've been found in huge quantities at Iron Age sites down here in Dorset, and were grown as a fodder crop in later times. We've grown them for several years running; they're a little earlier than broad beans, much tougher & crop for longer, though the pods & beans are smaller. And most importantly, they're delicious, if you're a broad bean fan!

MingVase

Absolutely baltic here today but only light snow fluttering about.

3secondmemory

mothernerd said:

3secondmemory said:

@pollyanna_26

I was dreading going out today for my jab. It’s much harder walking in the cold, let alone when it’s slippery but thankfully it was an astonishing 3° here when I woke up. 

Separate to that, I’ve got mask face and eczema on the back of my hands, one elbow and both my main pressure points. I’ve never had eczema before so this is a new one. I’m using hydrocortisone sparingly twice a day but contemplating using a dressing soaked in coconut oil once that is totally absorbed- or is that a big no-no? Obviously I can’t keep using hydrocortisone forever

I have eczema and dermatitis. The dermatitis is a reaction to many cleaning and especially oil based products so I stick to products I know (non-bio, no perfume etc) and quail every time I see the words 'new and improved' blazoned across a pack because 9 times out of 10 I will never be able to use that product again. Favourite perfumes have to be stopped after about 5 years as I start to react to them. The eczema is more of an emotional thing but makes the dermatitis rocket out of control - in the week between my grandma's death and her funeral my hands went from absolutely fine to being little red claws but cleared up within days.

At it's worst even cold water feels like it's burning my hands. I had a major outbreak before DS1 was born. I had been doing a job that was pure stress, a feud broke out within a voluntary group I was in and my daily work was in the enemy camp and there was lots of extremely petty and spiteful words and actions against me. It was great relief when the contract ended but then I was out of work, dependent on my boyfriend, trying to get his house ready to sell and do major work at mine (mine was paid for by the time I was 25 but it was a shell). I remember going over and over the household budget trying to work out how much using 3 toilet rolls a week instead of 4 would save. I had to wear plastic gloves in the bath and for washing my hair. I remember peeling potatoes with a crumpled up ball of newspaper in my hand as I could only close my hand so far. I had been planning to leave my boyfriend but found out I was pregnant. In between having the test and confirmation I had decided I wanted the baby, if he didn't that was fine, baby and I would manage in my home. He said he did (he lied - when we divorced he said he had always seen our boys as 'my thing' which explained a lot). I also remember bursting into tears all over the nurse at the prenatal class who had demonstrated bathing a baby, I couldn't even use simple soap on myself at that time.

Since then I've done my absolute best to avoid major outbreaks. It's very important to clean and dry areas like between the fingers as they are vulnerable to attack. Even now I'm balancing handwashing and limiting the use of hand sanitiser against not letting my hands dry out. I use moisturiser daily. I have E45 from the doctor (hydrocortisone is kept in the drawer for use in an emergency), use factor 30+ sun cream in summer (I also have the type of eczema which is caused by the sun - I break out in white patches) and various products from brands I trust (simple, nivea, neutrogena swedish formula handcream, antiseptic cream on 'chafed' areas, vaseline or vicks on my heels). I think the coconut oil would work but I would try a phone call to the doctor or pharmacy to check.

Quick check list
Have you used any new or changed products recently? Any presents you wouldn't normally buy? Over use of sanitiser (some products work against the body's natural defences - I'm even slightly worried about my 'furry tongue' in case I am making it worse by eating fruit after handwashing and transferring minute particles of sanitiser into my mouth).
Stop using anything non essential - bath bombs, anything bio (bio is life, it will kill germs but also your own body's protective systems - I'm with Dara O'Briain, if there's dirt on your kitchen floor, the best thing you can do for your toddler is wipe their face in it), especially washing powder - it's on your clothes, your bedding, your towels and never use conditioner in your wash - absolute rule for under 5's but good for most of us and don't get me started on putting unnecessary products in the wash just in case one item is stained (deal with the one item before or after the wash, whenever you find it, but not in every wash on every item.
Are you changing your towels and bedding often enough? Sorry not implying you're dirty but if you are gardening or doing dirty jobs and the towel isn't drying properly between uses (thinking the weather isn't helping atm - drying outside is better for many reasons).
Avoid contact with oil based products (hope you don't work in a garage). I pay extra for one coat emulsion because it limits my contact time with the paint - I've tried painting in rubber gloves and it's clumsy and you sweat a lot.
Stress  I've found eczema flare ups are linked to stress, whether overt (grandma's death) or underlying. When I have too many things to deal with (see paragraph on losing job, moving house, ending a relationship, money problems, loss of much valued independence, unplanned pregnancy - even planned pregnancy can cause problems) I tend to 'park' some of them at the back of my brain - sometimes my brain sorts out the problem, sometimes the problem explodes through my skin, or in headaches. Given our current situation and the secondary pandemic of mental health problems I would suggest writing down any and every thing that is currently worrying you. Put aside the things you can do nothing about, examine them to check that you are not 'catastrophising' (imagining the worst possible outcome), work out what practical steps you can take to make things better (even if it's sitting quietly by candlelight with gentle music playing - self-care is essential). Take some baby steps to improve things.

I hope this helps. If you want more clarity on anything please ask (this is a bit of a flow of consciousness thing, trying to remember things that help and keep it in some sort of logical order.

Thank you for such a great post - 
there’s a lot to go through. 

I’ve always had a tendency towards dry skin but it was very low maintenance – I thought the flaky dry skin that I developed last year was linked to menopause but it’s just got so much worse than that. 

The only thing that I have been doing differently is drinking a large amount of milk but I’ve cut that right back to just a couple of very dark cups of tea a day. Milk has never been a problem to me in the past and no allergies or excema in the family. 

I think it’s time for an E consult. Funny you mentioned about the white patches - the skin under the inflammation is definely paler than my normal skin. There’s a clear line but it’s not as pronounced as the depigmentation on other parts of my body 

[Deleted User]

Having had a day on Saturday of feeling safer for having the vaccination it was followed by the announcement on Sunday that the Astra Zeneca vaccine possibly won't give protection against all depths of infection from the South African variant, thankfully there aren't too many cases known here in the UK but it's a lesson in not becoming complacent about covid no matter how much you want it to be controlled and get a more normal life back than we're all currently living. It's going to be hard but I think we'll all have to bite the bullet and keep on with what is current for a lot longer than we anticipated, no silver bullet but we knew that and it feels a little as though the rug is out from under our feet again doesn't it?  I'm confident we'll find science developing vaccines that WILL be effective against any mutation the corona virus develops but today? is full of disappointment and disillusion and that makes me sad.

euronorris

Thank you for the suggestion of kids kitchen knives. I had no idea they were such things. I think I will invest in the Kuhn Rikon ones, and then DD can join in/help more.

DH suffers with psoriasis. His is definitely linked to stress and anxiety, and so he is suffering badly with it at the moment. Not that I can get him to talk to the doctor about it. He's convinced that nothing will work, but I think that is the anxiety talking. What he does use, that he finds helpful, is a cream from Lush called Dream Cream. It's pretty pricey, but we find a little goes a long way. He says it really helps to moisturize his skin without making it sore (as there are no perfumes etc).

Not a single flake of snow here, much to my perpetual disappointment.

We had some success in getting DD to do some writing this weekend, by making valentine's cards for her friends. She was keen to write in them, so that's something.

halfamo

Just popping in to say Turmeric works for me re skin reactions too .
I dont buy capsules, I just sprinkle a teaspoon on whatever Im eating.
It works in hot water with honey and lemon too   

C_J

halfamo said:

Just popping in to say Turmeric works for me re skin reactions too .
I dont buy capsules, I just sprinkle a teaspoon on whatever Im eating.
It works in hot water with honey and lemon too   

I tried that initially, but just couldn’t get on with the taste of it (despite the fact I love curry!). I think the capsules are a stronger concentration than the kitchen spice jar version too. Some varieties of capsule come with black pepper included, which I believe aids absorption of the turmeric. (Turmeric has been so life-changingly brilliant for me that I tend to get a bit evangelical about it - sorry everyone!!)

Floss

I think what needs to be remembered is that it is the natural behaviour of a virus to mutate, and it is quite likely that Covid jabs will become a regular thing like flu jabs, as a booster to the initial round we are currently in.

Common sense behaviours such as good hygiene, social distancing and mask wearing where required are also likely to be part of our future. Life will never get back to how it was 12 months ago and we should all remind ourselves of that, however inconvenient it is to have to wear a mask in the supermarket or not to see ones family for weeks on end.

maryb

Given that the AZ vaccine does seem to stop severe illness (and as long as that includes long covid) and hospitalisations, once everyone is vaccinated that should be good enough in the short term.  After all, we don't try and stop people having nasty colds and a mild version of Covid is similar.  Telegraph quoted a scientist this morning that there were a limited number of variants possible in the spike protein so they'll get there in the medium to long term, same as they keep on top of flu mutations

greenbee

Thanks @Floss & @maryb - I think we sometimes need reminding that medicine isn't magic. I see plenty of people on the long-covid forums who are angry that there are no answers or cures. It's a natural part of coming to terms with something new and scary, but we need to remember that this is new, and that it will take time to understand both covid and long covid and work out how we live with them. The medical and scientific community have worked miracles as it is, and we just need to keep trying to find ways to live and work that minimise the chance of spreading the virus - if not for ourselves (my 92-year-old neighbour doesn't care if she catches it apparently) then for the NHS staff who are being pushed to their limits. 

It's a miserable time of year, and we've now been living with this for 12 months so people are bound to find it tough, but if we can focus on the positive change that has (huge strides in vaccine development, mass production and distribution) and will come out of being forced to think differently, then it might help over the next few months. 

I'm seeing some very interesting developments in my work environment, and I know the next few months of my research are going to be exciting, and provide new opportunities for a lot of people.