Health and Sanity Check-Ins

[sprocketta]

Things are crazy now. I think we are all trying to stay healthy and maintain sanity as well. I thought I would start this thread so folks can check in and discuss how they're doing. I want all my BIC friends to be okay. I will kick this off with a first post. Take care of yourself lovelies.

[heartsmyface]

@treestar86 The empty room you mean?  Yeah I can see it.  :D. Too bad there’s no room service.  

[pocketvenus]

@heartsmyface Looks fantastic!!

[heartsmyface]

@pocketvenus  Thanks.  I feel

so accomplished.  Debating whether or not to paint my closet as well.  It would be a real commitment pulling everything out. 

[pocketvenus]

@heartsmyface No time like the present!

[heartsmyface]

@pocketvenus 😭. I guess I should while I have the time.  Taking all the shelving down is going to be a pain but then I can call the one tiny corner of the house done.  

[pocketvenus]

@heartsmyface I'm finding projects help create a sense of routine. I finally got around to drilling holes to put up some hooks and mirrors and stuff 🙂 I have a bag of clothes to mend as well that I kept putting off, I guess I have no excuse now to procrastinate!

[Ispend2much6]

@heartsmyface   That is absolutely beautiful!  You definitely have an artistic eye.

[heartsmyface]

@Ispend2much6   Thank you!  Just waiting on a piece of macaron art and a new brass clock to pull it all together.  

[GG84]

Am I crazy? I’m terrified of boxes. I can’t leave my house as I’m severely immunocompromised so I have to do grocery shopping, prescriptions, everyday essentials online. I’ve also had no human contact in a long time besides face time. I then get paranoid about the cardboard boxes, then the contents in the boxes and who touched them, then I have to clean EVERYTHING and so I spend the entire day sanitizing and I have close to no cleaning supplies left. I think I’m going mad. 

[MissPuff]

@GG84  not crazy 🙂 I think we're all on edge! I've been having mini anxiety attacks almost daily, feels like i'm dyyyyyying, and even though I know what's happening, the knowledge doesn't help 🙂

The tip I've gotten is treat everything you bring in from the outside like it's raw meat, and wash your hands and surface after every contact. I designate one spot in my house to drop off/unpack bags and the raw meat thing helped (like, if i just put a blob of raw chicken on my counter top, I'd absolutely disinfect the counter and wash my hands right after handling). That way, I don't have to clean EVERYTHING all the time. Any possible contaminates on the boxes will not aerosolize so it's purely a contact game. Shipping has gotten so slow for me that I feel confident everything's dead on the inside, so it's just the outside I worry about. 

And like I've been shouting at random intervals to my partner and employees, DON'T TOUCH YOUR FACE! 🙂 Shouted with love, but THIS is key. No contact with your eyes, nose, mouth, no way for the virus to get in 🙂 

Sending you a calming hug! 

[Kim888]

@GG84 @It’s definitely not crazy! They are saying it can live on surfaces so there’s really no way to know and it’s especially scary if you’re compromised ! 

i think ramping up of fear is natural. My roommate and I hadn’t been out on a few days and the first time I went to get groceries I felt really anxious about even leaving my building 

[yuline]

Not crazy. CDC is not crazy, just desperate and forced to go to extremes because of shortages and certain deeply rooted behaviors or habits that are difficult to change. A little fear can actually work in one’s favor to make sure things are taken seriously. We just all need to practice defensive driving so to speak. Not trying to fear monger (in case anyone thinks one accidental slip up is the end, I’m sure viral load determines risk too but why even chance it if you can help it) which is counterproductive. Anyway sometimes a strategy that works for me when I have worries is try to put some perspective. If you’re not a doctor, nurse, or essential personnel, I would be glad not to have their worries.  Especially when they too have families and children at home to support. Right now 60+ year old Drs are coming out of retirement to work 12 hour shifts to help with staff shortages and PPE in short supply.

[mrsmouse]

Nope, not crazy at all @GG84!  I think we are all wondering, considering, etc how long the virus can survive on surfaces.  If clear information was out I think we would all feel better, but I have seen so much varying information that I am just not sure what to believe.  I think the reality is that even the experts aren't sure.  With how long everything is taking to arrive, I'm less concerned about the contents, but no packaging comes into the house.  I open everything outside with gloves on and dump the contents just inside the door. I discard the gloves and leave the packaging outside.  As a result, I've started quite the collection on my porch.  😉  Hang in there!  We are all in this together and we will get through it together.  *hugs*

[itscarin]

@GG84 I think you’re having a reasonable reaction to the information that has been presented. What’s crazy are the cdc’s recommendation that you strip naked every time you come home and immediately shower and wash your clothes. There’s a lot of germophobes out there getting triggered so hard right now. 

[WinglessOne]

@GG84  I can’t call you crazy since I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder (which I realize is also not “crazy” in psychiatric terms, but still) and my GAD’s living large these days. 😄 I open shipping boxes with gloved hands, then spray (with Lysol) my box cutter blade. Since most orders take longer to arrive nowadays than this virus can survive, I use bare hands to remove goodies from shipping boxes—though it took 4 packages to convince myself it’s okay to reach in ungloved. I put gloves back on to break down and discard shipping boxes, then either wash or spray down my gloves to remove all cooties. If I run out of Lysol, I know isopropyl alcohol (minimum 70%) In a spray bottle will also work. 

I’ve been hosing down my keys, winter gloves, scarf, etc. with Lysol each time I leave my home with them. Luckily I haven’t left often, aside from going down to the mail and package rooms. I do this hose-down routine each flu season, but not as frequently as I have this month. My iPhone and iPad get wiped down with isopropyl alcohol or another disinfectant daily each flu season (don’t wanna reinfect myself; I almost always catch the flu whether or not I get the seasonal flu shot), so that’s nothing new these days. 

Someone in my building has tested positive for COVID-19; we got that news tonight. I’m not so much “omg now all public-space surfaces compromised here and do they live on my floor and omgomgomg”; I’m much more “wait, how the hell’d they manage to get tested?” 😄 But I have things to ship to other people (including some BIC folks) and I’m now getting worried about not spreading another resident’s viral cooties to them. I must remind myself that said cooties will likely be dead by the time my packages reach their destination—assuming no one else with cooties has bare-handed or coughed/sneezed on those packages during transit. That’s how my anxiety flares: not what’ll happen to me, but what badness will befall other people. I’m wiping down everything before packing and shipping it. 

I say all of this because I can’t (without hypocrisy) tell you “don’t worry so much, it’ll be fine!” I can only say you’re not alone in the “craziness.” ❤️

[Sunnysmom]

Same @GG84 , driving me nuts trying not to handle them or touch my face accidentally! Stay safe and well. What a wild crazy time. We’re all in it together which is comforting and I’m so grateful to have you guys to chat with!! Now why don’t I clean my closets or makeup area. 😳😕hugs 🤗

[jen81]

@GG84  @Ispend2much6  I don’t think that’s crazy at all. I’ve been quickly emptying boxes. Wiping products inside. Dumping boxes in trash can I garage. Some boxes I haven’t brought inside! Don’t outside the brought contents inside to wipe down. This virus seems way to resilient for my liking. 

[Ispend2much6]

@GG84   I'm sorry you are in the situation you are; it makes everything tougher and more complicated (I'm in the same boat.)  I wish I'd learned that freezer bags of food aren't "safe," as viruses can live for two years in the freezer, before I stocked up on them! 

What I've read is: it can survive on:

1. Paper/cardboard for up to 24 hours (some are now saying a few hours, but I'm not taking chances.)

2. Plastic and glass for up to 72 hours.

3. Synthetic material on shoes- like 4 days.

We are leaving our mail and boxes set for an entire day before opening them.

The good news is that the food from takeout is safe as long as it's heated to 165 degrees for 15 seconds.  Our Chinese takeout stayed hot because it was packed in plastic boxes. 🙂 

As long as you can dump any food onto a clean plate, clean Tupperware for storage, etc., without it touching the outside packaging you should be good to go. 

I was freaking out a little because I went to the grocery store with my gloves, but no mask, a couple of weeks ago.  I had taken off my gloves and needed to unload the groceries I had put into my cart while wearing gloves (didn't think that through,) and when I bent over the cart to grab some products far from my reach, my mouth touched the grocery cart! 

I scrubbed my mouth with a Wet Ones as soon as I got into the car. lol

Do you have any hydrogen peroxide?  That's supposed to disinfect also.

[Sunnysmom]

Good info @Ispend2much6 thank you lovey! 😘

[Ispend2much6]

@Sunnysmom   You're welcome.  I've never cleaned so much in my life. 🙂

[Sunnysmom]

I’m trying @Ispend2much6 , though probably not enough! 😫