Some people are asymptomatic, but carriers, while others have mild symptoms.

Likely, you'd know if you had the severe ones. But, has anyone had the mild ones?

I've randomly had a runny nose and post-nasal drip, which led to coughing. However, symptoms disappeared after I took an allergy pill, so I believe that was the issue.

Tree pollen is so heavy here now that most people are sneezing !

I've had a lot of coughing but it's due to allergies.

So glad all of you are doing fine. Please consider having turmeric milk. It is an excellent way to combat mild infections and coughs.

How do you make turmeric milk?

@Mum wrote:

So glad all of you are doing fine. Please consider having turmeric milk. It is an excellent way to combat mild infections and coughs.

I am looking forward to the test to see if you have immunity to COVID because back in early February I had flu-like symptoms for 24 hrs and then a draggy feeling for about two weeks. There was fever, cough and serious digestive issues with nausea. I slept for about 22 out of 24 hours. Two days later my significant other got it and a few days after that one son and then the other. We had all had our flu shots with ample time for them to kick in.

I am in an area where that time of year we get many international tourists as well as folks from the US who travel a lot. So I am wondering if we had a wave of contagion come through before anyone was sick enough to contact the CDC.

@KathyG Boil a cup of milk in a saucepan. Add a pinch of turmeric. Stir. It's ready. You could add a bit of honey too. I have had that for most of my adult life. Takes care of common colds, coughs and infections.

@ Flash - sounds like you really could have had COVID. I hope you're immune if you did and survived!

That has to be a good feeling.

I have heard of people getting reinfected (unsure if it's just from the other strain - as there is a L and S strain), but does anyone know if immunity is across strains in terms of your body's ability to successful defend against COVID?

Is my understanding correct that immunity means you won't react badly to it anymore (even if reinfected)?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/2020 09:20PM by shoptastic.

My adult daughter wonders if she had it back in late December-early January. She thought it was the plain old flu, but she got so sick that she could barely lift her head. At one point she started to call 911. She waited it out and went to the doctor the next day. After he looked at her chest x-ray, he said her lungs looked ravaged by the pneumonia she had. She had also had the flu vaccine last fall. I have read comments from several well known doctors that this could have been circulating in the general population for longer than we realized, so it seems very possible.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/2020 09:24PM by Sandy Shopper.

Seems absolutely possible it's been here (U.S.) longer than people may have realized.

China suppressed news of a new SARS-like virus when it was first being investigated in Wuhan in late 2019. Weeks/months went by where there were international flights in and out of Wuhan before there was dramatic quarantine and travel bans. And from there, it could have gone really anywhere. Think: Wuhan ---> Italy ---> New York ----> Canada ------> Washington ..etc.

I'd like to get immunity testing as well!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/2020 09:32PM by shoptastic.

I nake mine with almond milk, cinnamon, a dash of black pepper, and honey. Turmeric absorbs better with the black pepper. It's delicious

@Mum wrote:

@KathyG Boil a cup of milk in a saucepan. Add a pinch of turmeric. Stir. It's ready. You could add a bit of honey too. I have had that for most of my adult life. Takes care of common colds, coughs and infections.

@shoptastic wrote:

I have heard of people getting reinfected (unsure if it's just from the other strain - as there is a L and S strain), but does anyone know if immunity is across strains in terms of your body's ability to successful defend against COVID?

Is my understanding correct that immunity means you won't react badly to it anymore (even if reinfected)?

I have not heard of anyone reinfected. It really hasn't been around long enough for folks to have recovered and then had a chance to get sick again. There is so much they do not know about this virus. For example, some data indicates it can survive on hard surfaces only for 2-3 days but CDC researchers found it still live on surfaces of the Diamond Princess 17 days after passenger evacuation. We are quarantining folks for 14 days after exposure while the Chinese found the virus still in the respiratory system on average 20 days after exposure.

Generally immunity means that your body will successfully encapsulate and destroy 'foreign' bacteria and viruses such that you won't get sick. We get vaccinations to 'train' our bodies to recognize the 'invaders' by presenting the immune system with dead virus. Over time the body may forget or not be so fast to identify a 'foreign' bacteria or virus. This is why the Measles/Mumps shot needs to be repeated if it was given as a child rather than actually getting the diseases as my generation did. We don't need to repeat our polio shots only because polio has been pretty much wiped out all over the globe. I get my pneumonia shot updated every 5 years and my tetanus shots I think it is every 7 years now. All flus are related in that they are viral rather than bacterial. COVID is related to SARS but very different in that SARS was not easily transmittable human to human even though it was through respiratory droplets like COVID. SARS was a wimpy version of its cousin COVID because it responded to standard anti-viral medications such as Tamiflu and its stronger similar meds that are ineffective against COVID. So few people in the US got SARS that it is useless to see if it is providing them any immunity to COVID-19.

In the past day or so permission has been granted on an experimental basis to transfuse blood of COVID survivors who show immunity into the sickest of COVID patients in hopes that the immunity cells of the donor will augment the immunity of the victim. If the patient lives long enough for the 'borrowed' immunity to make them better, that would be noteworthy.

Pneumonia and flu shots will not protect anyone. There is some evidence that TB drugs and vaccines offer protection along with a treatment from Japan called Avigan. I am careful-scarves, masks, avoiding crowds, working from home, social distance, gloves, no large groups. I miss going to Choir, hiking, the occasional coffee or public speaking, not to mention a once a month trip for soccer, walking track, library, and pub at the local rec centre (it is all together). Rates are low here. I think it is about blood type, cleanliness, groups. I have noticed the rates have increased whenever there is a mass quarantine or long-term lockdown. I am not impressed by this or gutting out the economy, then borrowing to deal with it. The social distancing will go down the tubes by summer. I say quarantine high-risk, infected, and elderly people separately and do mass testing, do not sink the economy of pose mass quarantines. Mostly, it is just a @#$%& to deal with. Not a killer or world pandemic.

I am also glad the two other people who lived in this house moved out due to their high traffic lifestyle.

@Flash wrote:

I have not heard of anyone reinfected. It really hasn't been around long enough for folks to have recovered and then had a chance to get sick again. There is so much they do not know about this virus. For example, some data indicates it can survive on hard surfaces only for 2-3 days but CDC researchers found it still live on surfaces of the Diamond Princess 17 days after passenger evacuation. We are quarantining folks for 14 days after exposure while the Chinese found the virus still in the respiratory system on average 20 days after exposure.

Yeah, it's possible the cases were not true reinfections. I certainly don't know:

[nypost.com]

I'd seen article stories on it before and here is a recent one. I think it's possible that the Chinese were:

a.) misdiagnosing COVID the first time and then there was a real infection
b.) properly diagnosing it twice, but letting the patients go before they were truly cured

And, yikes, at being in the body 20 days after exposure. ...If that's after symptoms started and went away, then that's a long time. Wasn't sure what you meant by that part, Flash.

Either way, if we do have immunity after having it, then that would be a tremendous relief to know.

Possibly being contagious long after exposure was found by the Chinese and published in the Lancet.

[www.bloomberg.com]

We know that the Chinese tested extensively. It is possible that they found folks had the virus in their nostrils and somehow did not get the disease. But they would have 'tested positive'. Later they may have come into contact with the virus again and did get the disease. That would be a second 'positive test'. But generally contracting a virus you get well when your body is creating antibodies to eliminate it from your system. It is those antibodies that give you immunity.

Yeah, that was my scientific understanding as well, so it did seem weird when I'd heard the stories. I tend to think they were false reinfections. Although, I still wonder about whether you can get the second (one you don't have) strain if immune to one of them already.

I've just been listening to the BBC news. The scientists are trying to determine the immunity question as it is unknown whether it will last for months, years or forever. The question becomes important, of course, in whether a vaccine will be worthwhile. It hardly would be sane to have to revaccinate every two or three months.

Keep us updated if you can, Flash. This is good info. to know!

@JASFLALMT wrote:

I nake mine with almond milk, cinnamon, a dash of black pepper, and honey. Turmeric absorbs better with the black pepper. It's delicious

So while I don't have Tumeric on hand, I DO have Tumeric w/Curcumin & Peperine capsules. Could I open up one of those?? If so, would just a "pinch" of that be sufficient?? TIA!

I guess you could, but I wouldn't bother doing that. I also would have no idea how much is in the capsule. But I would just make the milk with the cinnamon and honey (tasty beverage) and take the capsule as is. You can probably order some decent Turmeric from Amazon if you want to make the golden milk.

How much turmeric do you use? I have been using 11/2 tsp.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

I nake mine with almond milk, cinnamon, a dash of black pepper, and honey. Turmeric absorbs better with the black pepper. It's delicious

@Mum wrote:

@KathyG Boil a cup of milk in a saucepan. Add a pinch of turmeric. Stir. It's ready. You could add a bit of honey too. I have had that for most of my adult life. Takes care of common colds, coughs and infections.

That sounds about right. I am not using exact measurements, I wing it and add more or less of ingredients according to taste.

I measure everything because I am doing Weight Watchers Lol. 2 tsp I would have to count LOL. and a pinch was mentioned, so I wondered.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

That sounds about right. I am not using exact measurements, I wing it and add more or less of ingredients according to taste.

Even with spices? Turmeric is a spice, so I didn't know that was included in the measurement thingy.

1 1/2 tsp is 0. 2 to 5 tsp are 1 pt. Other spices are similar, so I don't count them when adding to a recipe, they don't add much to a serving.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

Even with spices? Turmeric is a spice, so I didn't know that was included in the measurement thingy.

@Flash wrote:

For example, some data indicates it can survive on hard surfaces only for 2-3 days but CDC researchers found it still live on surfaces of the Diamond Princess 17 days after passenger evacuation. We are quarantining folks for 14 days after exposure while the Chinese found the virus still in the respiratory system on average 20 days after exposure.

re: Diamond Princess 17 day virus detection

[www.theguardian.com]

This recent article talked about that:

@ wrote:

Does the cruise ship report imply that viruses survive up to 17 days on surfaces?
Dr Julia Marcus: A CDC investigation of the cruise ship found evidence of viral RNA in cabins that hadn’t yet been cleaned. But to be clear, that just means the virus was detectable – not that it was viable or that contact with those services would have been able to infect someone. (Editor’s note: RNA, or ribonucleic acid, carries the virus’s genetic information.)

Dr Akiko Iwasaki: It just means that there are parts of the virus that still remain. The virus needs many other components to be intact. If you have bits and pieces of RNA, that’s not going to make a virus, you need an entire intact genome. Just because you had a little piece of RNA doesn’t mean that there’s an infection.

Seems like what was detected was not necessarily an infectious virus, but just a part of it and probably non-viable.

Also from the article:

@ wrote:

How long can the virus survive on surfaces?
Marcus: The New England Journal of Medicine just published a study that tested how long the virus can remain stable on different kinds of surfaces within a controlled laboratory setting. They found that it was still detectable on copper for up to four hours, on cardboard for up to 24 hours, and on plastic and steel for up to 72 hours.

But it’s important to note that the amount of virus decreased rapidly over time on each of those surfaces. And so the risk of infection from touching them would probably decrease over time as well.

Could you become infected from just a single particle of Covid-19?
Iwasaki: There’s a certain amount of viral particle that you need to be exposed to become infected. If you just had one viral particle on your finger, it’s unlikely that you’re going to be infected. Some viruses are very potent, you only need like 10 particles to get infected, while others you [may] need millions. The fewer viral particles you’re exposed to, the less likely you’re going to get infected. That’s why the amount of virus on a surface is important.

Lots more in there too, but I thought these were enlightening snippets from it.

No, that can't be accurate. It would take a lot of tsp to make a pint.

@prince wrote:

1 1/2 tsp is 0. 2 to 5 tsp are 1 pt.

1 1/2 tsp -0 Weight Watchers points (pt)
2 tsp. 1 WW pt

What's a pint? LOL. Have not heard of a pint in 50ish years.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

No, that can't be accurate. It would take a lot of tsp to make a pint.

@prince wrote:

1 1/2 tsp is 0. 2 to 5 tsp are 1 pt.