Just heard on the news that some outlets have started limiting what customers can buy in the wake of panic buying. From what I have seen and heard about it is not a moment to late. Another failed attempt to get even one bottle of gel when put and about.
Shortages - Rationing Begins - British Heart Fou...
Shortages - Rationing Begins
MichaelJHHeart Star
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MichaelJH
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I suspect someone will attribute this to "The Spirit of The Blitz". Seriously thought, bulk buying antibacterial gel ! 😒
I got my loo roll.. I resisted the urge to bulk buy!! 😂
This stocking up on toilet paper amazes me! Even if in isolation for 2 weeks, needing hundreds of loo rolls is going a bit too far. As far as I know, this virus doesn’t cause more frequent visits to the loo so why the panic buying of this item? It is happening even in Australia. A friend of mine in Melbourne said she’d actually high-fives a total stranger in the supermarket when she managed to get loo rolls!! In my opinion, touching a stranger (even in the euphoria that comes with having a stock of toilet rolls), is pretty stupid these days!
in reply to MelB51
Some people are buying it to use as tissues because it works out much cheaper than buying boxes of paper hankies especially in homes were there are several family members living there
The two chemists in our town went to rationing hand sanitiser weeks ago, the one and only supermarket in town has started it, and also have a sign at the kitchen and toilet roll aisle asking customers to please restrain their purchases so everyone has a chance at a pack.
My husband went down to the 'big town' this morning to pick up a few things, saw toilet roll and kitchen roll being restocked in the ASDA so he bought two 4pks of kitchen roll and a 24pk of toilet roll - no restrictions on any purchases anywhere in the store. And bonus - mushy peas were on offer!! (I freely admit it, I can't face 'social distancing' without mushy peas)
Then he popped round the Lidl for tin foil and again, no shortages, and no restrictions.
He said the mood in both shops was calm and no-one seemed to be 'pandemic shopping'.
There is definitely shortages in our shop but we expected that as the shelves get wiped out as soon as they're stocked at Christmas time!
I own up to buying a pack of 24 loo rolls but that is our usual shop, we do tend to try & keep shopping trips to once a month, unless I'm clothes shopping!😂
Remember it is Lent. No gin panic buying but my supermarket was low on vodka and gin yesterday!
I got my gin fix! Someone bought me a gin scented candle for Christmas, I lit it yesterday 😂
Do you think people are using Gin and Vodka as a hand sanitiser in desperation ?
No idea! The alcohol content is less than sanitizer and no emollient to protect the skin...
Hmm, I'm thinking of buying shares in andrex & dettol, this time next year I'll be a millionaire 💷 😂
If people are doing that, it's not quarantining they need, it's sectioning!
We do that once-a-month shop also. It's easier on us especially in winter as our town tends to ice over and that six mile trip to the bigger town is all on B roads with plenty of slippy dips and curves. Not a lot of fun, that.
One 24pk is our usual buy as well but I have to say I was glad to see that 'spare' pack come through the door today. It's not as if it will be wasted.
One is flushed with success! 🤣
Why all those toilet. My understanding of the c-virus not does give people the need to use the toilet more ?????
We buy for a month at a time and without going into details over-much, do use that amount (24pk) owing to the, er, consequences of meds (water pills - don't get too far from the WC, lol!).
But actually, some people (not us) use toilet roll for nose blowing - the virus symptoms do include rhinorrhoea (runny 'snotty' nose), and while it's not been talked about much in the press, coronavirus symptoms also can include loose stools and/or diarrhoea. (Also not spoken about is the vomiting several patients with confirmed cases have also reported)
Again, a 24pk is our regular monthly buy - but when my husband brought in a second 24pk yesterday I was happy to see it. I wouldn't have gone out and bought it deliberately, he saw it and bought one.
We are very likely to hear today (after the COBRA meeting is over this morning) the over 60s and those with underlying conditions (you know, like us hearties
) will be asked to follow a 'social distancing' regime. So, no nipping down the shops for the foreseeable future to buy a 4pk when the last roll goes on the bar. Having two 24pks suddenly seems actually rather sensible to me.
You are joking right? What about tinned milk etc?in the wars people were rationed, they survived. Ridiculous. Toilet roll is still being manufactured for gods sake
Tesco are limiting pasta and loo roll but the shelves were empty anyway, totally bonkers, panic buying just causes more problems!
MilkfairyHeart Star
Why hasn't there been a rush to install bidets? 😊
Moss was used back in the day.
Good news about rationing being introduced.
A tongue in cheek emoji also required
MichaelJHHeart Star
What irritated me was some cashiers wanted to limit people but management would not support them. Why?
Profit??? If someone is bulk buying, the sale is guaranteed. But if you limit the sale you can't guarantee thst what's left will sell, particularly if the shopper can just go to the next supermarket that may not be rationing.
But he is losing respect of staff and customers!
I did get a food order delivered from Sainsbury's this morning. Just the usual stuff, all delivered. While I was making the order yesterday I did have a look to see if they had any hand sanitiser, I wasn't planning to buy any, just curious as reports were that this is leaving the shelves quicker than turkeys at Christmas - and there was indeed no stock available. Despite numerous experts saying soap and water does the best job people are intent on filling their house with hand sanitisers. I imagine when this is over there'll be tons of this stuff in landfills!
And it has best before dates as the alcohol slowly evaporates. Ebay low lifes are selling out-of-date stock! Should be made to do 500 hours community service!
Thanks for the reminder just adding soap bars to my online order for tomorrow.
Love the bogof ldea 😂
I've gave up on alcohol hand sanitizer a while ago - there is just none to be had anywhere unless you want to pay through he nose for it on e-bay!
None here for two weeks! Or the wipes. I have some baby wipes that I used when I was in London on Friday as I have to steady myself on escalators and steps!
Apparently there were 2 young lads in our local store buying boxes of baby wipes!! I for one wish people would stop all the scare mongering!! What has happened to common sense!
I wear my silver thread ' Raynauds ' gloves when out and about on the tube.
When I enter and leave any building straight to the loo and I wash my hands.
( insert hand washing emoji😊)
We are going to start using surgical gloves when out and about as supermarket trolley handles could carry the virus for example. We have also started wiping down hard surfaces with disinfectant wipes. Just in Lanzarote and I practically cleaned the whole of my seat area before taking off!
I'm sure people think its the cure. Best to just was your hands if your not too lazy!
Try amazon Lidl cheap ones are selling for £25
What a World we live in that people will make money out of this
Lidl are not selling anything priced up!
No but customers are buying it and reselling on line
Are people that stupid to pay such prices?
"Two things are infinite, as far as we know – the universe and human stupidity.” Albert Einstein
To-day we know that this statement is not quite correct. Einstein has proved that the universe is limited.
Anyone struggling to get hand wash etc Hibiscrub is still readily available online for about £7-£8. We use it all the time as its also great for animal wound care. It comes in a 500 ml bottle so is great value you just need to buy a pump for it or decant I to smaller bottles
in reply to
Thanks for that tip GillMac1 I’ve just remembered that I had to shower and wash my hair in hibiscrub before I had my surgery. It is probably better than hand gel.
in reply to
It's great stuff. Anytime I've been at hospital for appointments I always have a shower with it when I get home and it's in all our soap dispensers for hand washing. If you do need something to take out and about due to shortage of gel make up a small solution of Hibi and water in a spray bottle to use. Let you hands air dry or use a tissue. Better than nothing
in reply to
Thanks again, it’s gone up in price now 😄 have you noticed somebody always benefits from something that happens in the world. 😉
CFla in reply to
Also look for 2% chlorhexidine wipes for dogs. Fairly cheap and good to have on hand (no pun intended)
When sugar was in short supply in the seventies my elderly neighbors next door stocked up before it was rationed, they were both diabetics and didn't take sugar.
If you have chemist and super markets in 1 place go in each 1 that way your getting what you want and getting the better of the shops we will not let them tell us what we can and can't do
Our town chemists saw that one coming - the rationing here for hand sanitisers is two purchases per day per FAMILY. None of that 'husband goes in, wife goes in a few minutes-hour later, older child(ren) go in a bit later...' stuff here. We're a small town (very small) and the staff know everyone so there is no getting away with it.
I can see their point, actually, as the rationing to per family means stocks are available to more people. One of the staffers at the Boots is a neighbour and she tells me the trick (sending in family members in rota) was tried the first day of rationing but once they moved to the 'family' restriction no-one has tried it since.
I notice people are only panic buying in some shops one person bought a trolley full of bleach I feel sorry for people in war zone countries cannot get access to the basics and live with hardly any water and means of cooking or medicines and whilst in other parts of the world fighting over loo paper it’s a sad sad world☹️
I always have a few bottles of hand sanitizer around anyway so I'm well stocked phew! I have a particular aversion to cash machine keyboards or anything that requires us to tap in a code - these are usually crawling with vile things and not just viruses (I'll leave that to your imagination - but a connection to loo roll springs to mind lol). Also strap hanging or pole clinging on public transport etc. All this to avoid colds, flu and runny tums so one more virus won't make much difference except that more people will wash their hands more often and even cough into their sleeves hopefully! Who hasn't experienced the cashier at check out coughing into her hand and blithely picking up your items straight after! Yikes 😱
Take care x
It is all absolutely ridiculous and the media is making it all much worse. It’s about time shops restricted the amount that can be bought by silly greedy selfish people. Hand sanitizers can’t get rid of a virus anyway so just use soap and water. How can the whole aisle with pasta in be completely empty in Tescos 🤷♀️ FGS
Someone with common sense, now there are two of us!!
Boots & Super drug & Bodycare told me they have delivery about 7am, put them on the shelves before shop opens. A queue forms outside shop & as soon as it opens people rush in & buy it all within 5 minutes.
I looked at hand sanitiser recipes online. The easiest seems to be 90% isopropyl alcohol + aloe vera gel as moisturiser, so
I've ordered some online.
I made a spray of antiviral essential oils added to filtered water. Shake it just before use, close eyes & spray onto face. Also can spray hands with it if no gel.
Wear disposable glove, & take off inside out.
Good luck to you all.
Clare
Ha ha !
what is the significance of toilet paper and the corona virus, l can’t understand why people are panic buying this item.😂😂There are always winners in any crisis.
As a nurse it was recommended not to use hand sanitizer too often as it was likely to cause skin to be dry and more at risk of breaking down. Washing hands thoroughly is much more important and cheaper .
Good luck everyone.
TP hoarding has me confounded too. Paper towel hoarding would make more sense, can use instead of hand towels and not spread germs from hand wash fail.
Please don't flush paper towels!!! They do not disintegrate like toilet paper and can block the system. The same applies for wet wipes. My GP practice spent around £2500 unblocking two toilets last year. Some idiots despite a bin being provided flush disposable nappies! ☹️
Yes I agree. If there'd been a run on Dulcolax last week it would be understandable, but... Well there wasn't 🤣
I think the loo roll is for people who are shitting themselves because they are scared!!
I think you have a problem with good manners - I've been reading your comments and every one I've read so far is loaded with unkindness. Sarcasm done right is an art. You don't have the talent, hen.
TIP: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. And absolutely do not use foul language on a public forum.
People are worried, some are deeply worried, and some are downright frightened at the very real possibility our 'pre-existing/underlying conditions' will predispose us to the worst of this novel coronavirus. We are sharing information and 'what I'm doing' because we're not sure if first thing tomorrow we're all going to be locked down like 65+million Chinese were, and an entire country (Italy) has now been - for example, if you can't work out why people who know this virus apparently causes some unpleasant symptoms like diarrhoea and so are stocking in a few extra toilet rolls, you need to do some reading up with your mouth unengaged.
Key word: Novel. It's new, responsible health authorities and scientists are quite clear there are a number of urgent questions they simply cannot answer now owing to the newness - they're learning about it hourly but every hour something new crops up.
Save your sophomoric 'dur' style for Instagram. Either post something substantive or don't post.
Well said!
Thank you for your measured good sense
Insert hand washing emoji 😊
Well said Sunny . I've been noticing but decided to let it go. I'm glad you didn't . 👏
This not the only childish and sarcastic comments this person has made.
in reply to Sunnie2day
Great Post this is not the place to try and negate people's genuine fears and anxieties.
I have eczema on my hands so the sanitizers cause it to flair up, so soap and hot water does the job. Shortages of soap now, what did people use to wash hands before the virus or didn't they bother?
Personal observations over the past 60 odd years tells me the answer to your question is: People didn't bother, generally still won't, and certainly won't after the crisis passes.
As for the skin condition - I have two pump dispensers at every hand wash basin in the house - one filled with Hibiscrub and the other (marked so no confusion) filled with a non-SLS (sodium laurel sulfate) shampoo-body wash with urea as one of the main ingredients (Childs Farm 3-in-1 for after swimming; there are other brands out there, I just got hooked on the Childs Farm range years ago). The main irritant in 'regular' soaps and toothpastes is SLS - avoid that ingredient and the skin stands a better chance of not being irritated to the point of a flare.
Thanks Sunnie2day for information.
Rice and pasta also flying off the shelves here in Oz. Oh, also paracetamol. Our apartment was dedicated evacuation point for our children and grandchildren during the bushfires so still have a stock of loo paper!
I had the urge to run to my local shop after reading the messages! Larger supermarkets ran out last week. Sure enough not a loo roll in sight, just someone hopping up and down with their legs crossed (literally) grumbling that they were in genuine need!
I'll be the rest of the day trying to get that mental image out of my head - and giggling like a schoolgirl the while What a thought. Poor person, though. Perhaps I shouldn't be giggling.
Must admit to having a smile on my face as I left the shop - not sure that she saw the funny side though!
Antibacterial Soaps Fail to Beat Plain Soap
webmd.com/skin-problems-and...
As this article says, people wash hands for less than 30 seconds and then wash the anti-bacterial soap off again. Not long enough to have any affect.
Not bothered about getting hand sanitiser; soap will do fine but a shortage of loo rolls is plain ridiculous. About time they started rationing. Have seen local shopkeepers going to Tesco and buying 200 at a time then going back for more just so they can resell at ridiculous prices.
I have enough loo rolls to last me if my area is locked down for 9 months. One neighbour was needing loo rolls so I gave up one pack from my supply - only £1.65. If I hadn't bought more than needed she would not have been able to have any.
Some people are buying kitchen rolls instead of toilet rolls.
In Australia some stores in outback towns have purposefully gone into larger towns to secure supplies. So in the UK it seems reasonable for shops in small villages to secure supplies for their customers.
Only way for superstores to really put some people off from storing is to raise prices. Then those that store large quantities will be put off. If a certain store selling 4-ply toilet rolls at £1.65 puts the price up to £3.00 people will think twice.
Going back to the position after the last world war. People cut up newspaper and hung it on a string to use as toilet paper. Plenty around as buying fish and chips for one and ten-pence secured more.
I was brought up as a child using squares of newspaper. For goodness sake don't put kitchen roll down the toilet; it will block it. NO this shopkeeper wasn't just buying stock; he can get that from the wholesaler. This was loo rolls on offer dirt cheap.
What about taking into account that there are a lot of people on limited income, pensioners etc, who cannot afford to buy bulk or pay inflated prices, because others have bought all the stock.
Simply limit the number of toilet rolls etc to the customer ,much fairer and sensible solution than huge price rises
MilkfairyHeart Star
I turn them inside out as I take them off.
Then they go into the wash I have 3 pairs.
I wash my hands as soon as I have removed them.
Thank-you for that, I was wondering how you worked it. Turning inside out whilst removing is something everyone needs to learn to do, it's not difficult (usually) and means your bare skin stays uncontaminated.
Oh for goodness sake
I'm astonished that people are stockpiling toilet rolls. Cannot figure out why. I'd like a bottle of hand sanitiser and can't get it, but that's no real hardship because I wash my hands a real lot. Doing it more thorougy now though
I too can't get my head around the loo roll situation.
in reply to stillaboveground
Maybe if you suffered from inflammatory bowel disease and the likelihood of self isolation becoming a reality you may understand slightly. Some of these comments are really quite upsetting 😢
stillaboveground in reply to
I have coeliacs disease so I do understand, I always have a few spare toilet rolls in, I just can't understand why people think this virus affects the bowels. My only comment was I couldn't understand, I don't see why that would be upsetting, but I apologize for upsetting you, that was not my intention.
Just a thought, does anyone know the alcohol content of Methylated spirit would that do instead of gel. Would serve two purposes disinfect and the smell , people would keep their distance. Should food be in short supply I will not starve as I have about 1/4 ton of potatoes in store. I have not purchased them but had a really good crop last year.
Methylated Spirits. Methylated spirits ("metho") is a mixture of ethyl alcohol (95%) and methyl alcohol (5%). The methyl alcohol is poisonous and is added to prevent the methylated spirits being used as cheap drinking alcohol.
These cleaners kill coronavirus: Lysol, Clorox, Purell products make EPA's disinfectants list
eu.news-press.com/story/mon...
Coronaviruses are what are called enveloped viruses, "meaning they are one of the easiest types of viruses to kill with the appropriate disinfectant product," the EPA says.
In 1918, during the Spanish flu pandemic, Lehn & Fink, Inc. advertised Lysol disinfectant as an effective countermeasure to the influenza virus.
Newspaper advertisements provided tips for preventing the spread of the disease, including washing sick-rooms with Lysol, as well as everything that came in contact with patients.
A small (US50¢) bottle made 5 US gallons (19 l; 4.2 imp gal) of disinfectant solution, and a smaller (US25¢) bottle made 2 US gallons (7.6 l; 1.7 imp gal).
The company also advertised the "unrefined" Lysol F. & F. (Farm & Factory) for use in factories and other large buildings – a 5-US-gallon (19 l; 4.2 imp gal) can, when diluted as directed, made 50 US gallons (190 l; 42 imp gal) of disinfecting solution.
NB: Some of these or similar products are deadly if taken. Lysol was taken to commit suicide in America.
Oh dear
No Pippa shortages though!
I agree that their visitors might take sugar, but my neighbour complained about the cost because she said she had not bought sugar for a long time and it was very expensive, so I would say she did not normally buy sugar in bulk. People can always make an excuse for panic buying eg- everybody else does it so why shouldn't I, totally selfish in my opinion, but that is just MY opinion.
The one piece of advice which I thought was sensible was to make sure that you have in a good supply of your medication. I put in my repeat prescription early and our practice was happy to process it. I did not ask them to add loo rolls to the prescription!
I very much agree it was be worse if we couldn’t get our medications on time much more important and also paracetamol in case we get fevers but not overbuying I can see thou people r worried Incase of a lockdown but it should also teach us how to be calm and not to panic buy
I feel sorry for pensioners who are trying to do their weekly shop and are finding the shelves bare. You are right. We must keep calm and stop panicking.
MichaelJHHeart Star
Many areas of the supermarket looked depleted although there were ample Easter eggs. Wine and beer were fine as well...
MichaelJHHeart Star
The local branch of a large chain of chemists put up a sign to say they release stock of hand gel at 10:00 daily. So I am there at 10:00 to be told it was released at 9:00! Why put up a sign in the window saying 10:00? No wonder I use an I dependent - pity is he cannot source any!, ☹️
My relative cannot find gluten free products she is supposed to self isolate but goes to find her special foods but alwaz is out of stock even online this panic buying should stop some people rely on special foods what else r they supposed to eat more should be done for those in need of special foods
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