Covid 19

[Turner71]

Should people on warfarin for a ps be self isolating. Been trying to contact gp for advice all day but had no luck

[MaryF Administrator]

Hi things will become much clearer over the next couple of days or so: bbc.co.uk/news/health-51703892. I am mainly out of the way other than. walking with people going dog walking, in my local woods, well spaced apart. MaryF

[Turner71 in reply to MaryF]

Ok thanks my concern is that I work in a supermarket which has an extremely high footfall at the moment and don't know who I'm in contact with on a daily basis

[Turner71]

Aps

[Wittycjt in reply to Turner71]

I have aps too and i am not self isolating but being as self vigilant protective as i can- I look out for germs as best as possible , use sanitizer and make sure to keep my hands washed every time i enter car and/or come back home. I dont go to over crowded areas and i try to avoid public restrooms if at all possible.

[gillburt]

Everybody should be self isolating! Italians and Spanish (I'm in Spain) will tell you that you in the UK are not acting quickly enough - self isolate as soon as you can no matter what your state of health, unless your visits, contact with others, or travel is absolutely essential! We feel safe now we are staying home - much reduced risk if you're keeping social distance. I hope you do well.

[GinaD]

Back in the day, -in the 1950s when I was a kid, my father gave me a talk. He scared me a bit as he shared stories from his father about epidemics my grandfather had lived through. Quarantines, isolation, deaths. "And Gina I am telling you this because its been a long time and now that we have antibiotics, Americans are now so spoiled that when --not if, but when -- the next epidemic hits, our country is not going to act responsibly." And here we are. ( And he also told me why he was outraged that antibiotics were legally given to animals to speed their weight gain.)

I am self isolating, my husband is working from home. I still make trips to grocery when needed. And I'm trying to keep up with elderly neighbors' and church friends' needs .

I am more worried about infecting someone else then being infected myself.

[Ray46]

[If in UK] Are you on the list for the flu vaccine ? You will know if you are because you will get text/phone reminders in autumn until you go have it. I have been on the list since APS diagnosis.

If so, you are classed as vulnerable. End of. You should be social distancing or isolating, as if you were over 70. Supermarket work (or any other public facing) is not conducive to this.

My son is working a temp job (now extended because, oddly, his travelling plans are not happening...) stacking shelves.

Because of this, and my wife also working public facing, I am now isolating from my family. Still in the house for now, with increased biosec measures, but my bags are packed and bolt-hole options partly planned (firming up tonight). Maintaining 2m separation from nearest and dearest is tough, moving out the minute they start coughing, possibly for months, not knowing whether you'll see them again, will be a lot harder. But that is the advice, and if we, collectively, don't start heeding the advice (and this is spreading in part because some idiots have been ignoring it - I have first hand reports) then many many more of us will die.

It's going to be tough to get a response from your GP if you _aren't_ in the flu jab list - they are currently going through contacting the even more vulnerable (those on chemo etc.) and sorting out what they do (expected to take another week to do that I believe), most of us will be way way down the list.

I can't tell you what you should do, I'm not a doctor and I'm not your doctor. I've said what I'm doing, I'm sure there are those here who think my views are extreme and my actions are overreaction.

One further thing I'll throw out there though - being on warfarin makes treating many/most things a lot trickier, and more resource intensive. Those medical ID tags we wear or carry, in normal times they get us special treatment, but in a mass casualty situation that special treatment may be no-treatment, at triage. I don't object to that, I can't fault the logic, I've know it since I put the ID tag on, if they can save three others using the time/resources it'd take to save me, I'll go, save the others.

But that is why the advice is for the old/ill/vulnerable to isolate now - not to protect us so much as to reduce the likelihood of us taking up the limited healthcare resources.

[Turner71 in reply to Ray46]

Thank you

[Dot69]

I’m still going to the supermarket but keeping my distance wherever possible, I’ll go out walking once again not really coming into contact with anybody anthers not a lot of people around. I went swimming this morning but only me in 👍 I’m taking as many precautions as I can washing hands very regularly etc etc and self isolating from lunch time

[butlertammy]

I’m working from home for 12 weeks, and only going out for groceries to my local shop. I appreciate this is an easy decision for me vs others who can’t work from home... but at the end of the day, I’m on the flu jab list, and even with that I had the flu 3x this season already, and given that APS is an autoimmune disease... I’m not taking any chances.