Corona virus emergency - cuk please note!

Specific disabilities and conditions
21

I went to the supermarket today and was very shocked, not much fresh meat, no pasta, fizzy drinks aisle not much left, crisps aisle decimated, one of the alcohol shelves empty, Beer?
No toilet rolls and washing up liquid, does washing up liquid kill corona, don’t think so.
I live in a rich area, people lot of money and they have cleared the shelves.
I feel sorry for the people on benefits who can’t afford to stockpile and are going to get their weeks shopping and literally nothing left.

I have immune problems so I am supposed to self isolate? how can I do this, every day I am looking after people who depend on me to go around, shopping cooking meals.
So who is going to do that, replace me for 12 weeks or longer?
I have heard there are a few cases in our local hospital but clinics are still going ahead,
is it safe to go to the hospital? I don’t know.

22

M has a “tickly cough”. That means no day services for a week.
Actually, he often has a tickly cough, especially if he’s a bit anxious.
We both have extremely sensitive noses I can go from a dry nose to an incredibly runny nose in seconds. Blowing my nose doesn’t mean I’m ill, it’s just me being me.
The care agency is also struggling. SEVEN staff in a small agency are now “self isolating”.
Not enough staff available to care for M during the day at all, just his usual evening hours.
Agency manager now going to write to SSD.
I’m in the “at risk” group.

23

Oh no BB,this is awful for you. Surely someone can at least check he is ok,and not in need of anything!
I too have a very sensitive nose. Always having to use tissues. Changes in temperature set it off. I saw someone give me the evil eye yesterday because of it. I haven’t a cold or otherwise. What do they want me to do,sniff!! A pet hate of mine.

24

Me too, but I start sneezing, temperature differences set me off, going from hot to cold air or vice-versa. It’s got worse as I’ve got older with a smaller difference in temperature setting me off than it did previously, also paper dust can set me off. I can open a newspaper or a new book and away I go for few minutes, it’s quite surprising how much it tires me for a few minutes afterwards.

Fortunately, sneezing is not a symptom of Covid 19.

Hope M will be fine, it’s not good news that so many carers from the agency are affected. I’ve not heard that any of ours are yet.

25

Thanks Sue for posting what you’ve found on ibuprofen and ‘underlying conditions’.

As I mentioned yesterday, Carers UK are not medical experts and we cannot give advice on how carers should respond to the latest thinking on this. All we can do is share the latest guidance, as far as we have it.

Public Health England are currently saying there is insufficient information on ibuprofen use and Covid-19 to advise people to stop using ibuprofen. The following quote is taken from an article in The Independent:
‘Currently there is no published scientific evidence that ibuprofen increases the risk of catching Covid-19 or makes the illness worse.’

On ‘underlying conditions’, yesterday the Government produced ‘Guidance on social distancing for everyone in the UK and protecting older people and vulnerable adults’:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-social-distancing-and-for-vulnerable-people/guidance-on-social-distancing-for-everyone-in-the-uk-and-protecting-older-people-and-vulnerable-adults

This guidance states:

"We are advising those who are at increased risk of severe illness from coronavirus (COVID-19) to be particularly stringent in following social distancing measures.
This group includes those who are:

aged 70 or older (regardless of medical conditions)
under 70 with an underlying health condition listed below (ie anyone instructed to get a flu jab as an adult each year on medical grounds):
chronic (long-term) respiratory diseases, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema or bronchitis
chronic heart disease, such as heart failure
chronic kidney disease
chronic liver disease, such as hepatitis
chronic neurological conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), a learning disability or cerebral palsy
diabetes
problems with your spleen – for example, sickle cell disease or if you have had your spleen removed
a weakened immune system as the result of conditions such as HIV and AIDS, or medicines such as steroid tablets or chemotherapy
being seriously overweight (a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or above)
those who are pregnant

Note: there are some clinical conditions which put people at even higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19. If you are in this category, next week the NHS in England will directly contact you with advice the more stringent measures you should take in order to keep yourself and others safe. For now, you should rigorously follow the social distancing advice in full, outlined below.

People falling into this group are those who may be at particular risk due to complex health problems such as:

people who have received an organ transplant and remain on ongoing immunosuppression medication
people with cancer who are undergoing active chemotherapy or radiotherapy
people with cancers of the blood or bone marrow such as leukaemia who are at any stage of treatment
people with severe chest conditions such as cystic fibrosis or severe asthma (requiring hospital admissions or courses of steroid tablets)
people with severe diseases of body systems, such as severe kidney disease (dialysis)"

I hope this helps

Michael

26

Thanks Michael.

Doctor on TV this morning said that there was evidence that anti inflammatories could make things worse, not better.

I see that those with LD are on the list.

My son had a “tickly cough” yesterday and is now banned from day services for a week. Seven agency staff off with tickly coughs, so M is home alone all day. No contingency plans to check he’s OK, agency manager (lovely person, doing her best) will probably ring him at some stage, and of course he has my number.

27

Hello again. I’ve just seen on the Guardian’s news feed that the UK’s Chief Scientific Advisor is advising against use of ibuprofen, supporting what susieq heard on the radio this morning.

"The sensible thing at the moment would be to avoid ibuprofen in cases of people who have coronavirus amid some uncertainty about its impact, MPs have been told by the UK’s Chief Scientific Advisor. Take something else such as paracetamol, added Sir Patrick Vallance. "

28

Same here Londonbound and even worse than last week. Last week no toilet paper, bleach, soap. This week same as last week plus no tinned tomatoes, pasta, eggs, soya products, S’s special pasta, tissues, rice, potatoes … teabags, paracetamol

Melly1

29

I’ve had to succumb to purchasing paracetamol on line. At a cost as postage and packaging. Admittedly 60 in the pack. I have ibruprofen in but the recommendations are not to take. Had to answer questions before it was allowed. Wouldn’t normally be worried but what if I need or my family run out. Desperate state of affairs. A shop assistant told my friend the queue’s are so long before opening time and shelves are emptied so quickly even with restrictions.

30

The shopping is a bit like Christmas, only worse. Years ago I decided that if I didn’t have anything I wanted on Christmas Eve, I was happy to pay slightly higher prices in little shops than do battle in the big supermarkets. There is a little Co op near me, fully stocked!

31

The local shop near me is low in stock. Has fresh milk and bread, but loo roll and tissues etc have been snapped up. I thought by now the panic buying may have stopped. Surely it will?

32

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33

My husband been on Ocado website to try and order food.

He was 5100 in queue.

A two hour wait.

He gave up!

34

Went to a big supermarket last night very busy, they did have toilet rolls, but NO BREAD, normally must be hundreds of loafs white brown but shelf totally empty, lots of rolls though no one wanted them.
Veg aisle, broccoli, cabbages, swedes gone, only sprouts left, proves that no one likes sprouts.
No fresh meat, no chicken kievs, anything like that all gone.

No pasta/rice, went to get some spaghetti hoops, aisle cleared, a few tins of cheap beans left, tomato sauce aisle decimated.

I can just imagine a family sitting there, spaghetti hoops on toast for dinner, why panic buy spaghetti hoops?

35

My son in law is a driver for ocado. He is absolutely shattered, working long hours to get food delivered. Most customers are really grateful. One or two have taken it out on him, if they haven’t all that was ordered. Just doing his job, going the extra mile in more ways than one. The drivers are not allowed to put goods aside for their own needs.

36

Yes it will. Once they have filled the house, garage and lofts, panic buying will stop, unless
they all buy larger houses. :laughing:
Will the sewers soon get clogged up with all that toilet roll paper going down the loos?

The water companies will soon be asking the public not to
pull the chain during the rush hour ! :laughing:

37

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38

I went to a local shop on Monday. All the aisles were empty. I may try again tomorrow as we are now out of things like low fat cheese, fresh bread, milk, eggs, coffee, jam, fruit, vegetables, flour, wine, sugar, meat, and canned fish. I also need to buy more baking powder, cooking salt and fresh yoghurt.

39

Where is the practical support for Carers. Looking after my Wife (70) with MS and my Mum (90) vascular dementia and Alzheimers is proving a real challenge. Can’t isolate, we have 8 paid Carers a day to support Ros. Mum is kind of coping. I moved Mum in because she would not cope in isolation. Biggest issue is ensuring food. Forced to go to shops no home delivery available. So it is about managing risks. At the same time I am having cancer treatment. It can and does feel overwhelming.

40

Norman, have a look on your local Facebook group. If you aren’t a member, then join. There are volunteers on mine, offering to do shopping for people in need. Or contact Social Services, or your local councillor.