respublica

About masks

We are back again getting strong advice on the importance of wearing masks and N95 or KN95 masks being the most protective. Cloth masks are now said to be less effective.

I guess I'll be getting some of these today even though I am not crazy about the big round blob of their look. Some companies have begun making them in fun colors and designs which help somewhat.

The N95 masks are designed to form a seal around the mouth and nose. It is also said that you can tell if you have a fake one if your glasses fog up while wearing it. The good mask will not allow fog.

Also the KN95 masks, also recommended are made in China while the N95's are not.

Risky places

One of the first things I read this morning was an article on the top ten riskiest places to be during the latest Covid outbreak. Which means places that make the spread much easier. Most include places where lots of people are together indoors.

So a later article from the Edwardsville Intelligencer had me dumbfounded and wondering about all the mixed messages we get from the news. This headline read: "Fishing Catches on for Thousands in Collinsville." This past weekend a fishing show was held at the Gateway Center and that brought in the thousands. The story made this seem like a good thing, fishing is now really popular and those who attended were thrilled.

Frankly, even though I am no expert on contagion, this seems way over the top for safety. I am aware of how many of us are now pretty tired of restrictions and warnings, but the number of rising cases should give us pause.

Best supplements for joint pain

Joint discomfort is what nags me and has become more noticeable since our move back to Collinsville a year ago. I believe this has a lot to do with all the heavy lifting we did as well as all the heavy gardening this year. Dale is a big believer in supplements and vitamins of all sorts and keeps nagging at me to start taking them. I've never been a pill person except for the occasional aspirin, but I've started to come around to his way of thinking. If they help, great.

Here are some recommended supplements for all sorts of joint pain and stiffness. Oddly, at least to me, is the overwhelming advice for fish oil. This seems to be a wonder supplement if you are not eating salmon or sardines each week which I am not. And there are more to consider which I may do as well.

Snacks for better sleep

This is rather helpful if true, especially if you are someone who has trouble sleeping. There are snacking type foods which contain natural sleep promoting properties and are not chemical pills. Frankly we all have nights that sleep just won't come and sometimes we even no ahead of time we won't be able to get to sleep whether from stress,worry or too much physical activity. This may help.

The first item on the list is cherries and this surprises me. We never have cherries around, never give them a thought, maybe knowing they have pits is off-putting. Cherry juice appears to work similarly and is also very beneficial for helping with joint pain or inflammation. Easier than eating cherries.

Also for better rest, dark chocolate, yay, Walnuts, almonds, Hummus, pistachios, watermelon, oatmeal and bananas. Pistachios seem to be the "Holy Grail of Nuts."

 

It's Covid advice weekend

Partnering with the post below, this article warns us of 6 places we still should not go if we want to steer clear of potential Covid germs. I'm a sucker for this sort of thing and these 6 things basically mean not going anywhere. They run the gamut of everything from crowded indoor events to in-door dining to bars, theaters, churches and public transportation.

About the only thing we've done is go to church and I doubt we will stop going. The others, well, we miss going out to dinner but haven't yet.

How to tell the difference

This article tells us how to tell the difference between a cold or allergies and Covid. This comes at the right time since Fall is a big time for allergies what with leaves drying and falling and other summer plants dying and giving off mold etc. The other day I was pulling out euonymous vines and it wasn't until I'd finished that I remembered in past years I was really allergic to this plant. So I worried I may get set upon again and not know if it was the allergy or Covid. Or, maybe what would people around me think. Thankfully nothing happened this time.

But, the main difference in symptoms is with Covid you quickly lose you sense of smell and/or taste while with a cold or allergies most often not.  The article advises that if you aren't sure, do the smell test. Go around the house/fridge and smell stuff.

Odd, but advice is often that way.

How many of us in Southwest Illinois have been vaccinated

A very interesting round-up of vaccination percentages by city/town on the Illinois side of St. Louis. This is a fairly complete listing of all the towns. The worst percentage is in East St. Louis and towns in that vicinity. All in the 20's percentile. The highest percentages are in St. Libory, New Memphis, Radom,Hamel, and Maryville, all in the 60's percentile.

Collinsville is at 47 percent, sort of in the middle.

When it comes to advice they can't get their act together

Last week a medical report from the American Heart Association concluded that drinking 3 glasses of red wine a day can help maintain healthy blood pressure levels as well as other health benefits.

This morning this from Dr. Gregory Marcus, a professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiology at the University of California San Francisco: "Having one glass of wine or a can of beer immediately raises the risk of experiencing atrial fibrillation, or AFib, an irregular heartbeat that can sometimes be fatal, a new study shows."

So which is it guys? And the medical experts often wonder why we are skeptical.

A Doctor's Warning

Now here is a headline that had me reading the entire article. "I'm a Doctor and Warn You Not to Go Here Anymore".

That "I'm a Doctor" business is rather arrogant and is used to make us more likely to follow this advice. The problem is, his warning pretty much makes it impossible to go anywhere. His list of places to avoid mean we can't do anything. Here is what he wrote:

Don't go to...

Indoor dining

Avoid Public transportation

Avoid Churches

Nail salons

Don't do in person shopping

 

 

Covid. Where does Illinois and everyone else stand

Illinois' Covid infection rate is slightly higher than the national average.   Since the first known case of COVID-19 was reported in Illinois on Jan. 24, 2020, there have been 1,499,022 total infections in the state — or 11,765 for every 100,000 people. Of all 50 states and Washington D.C., Illinois ranks No. 28 by cumulative COVID-19 cases, adjusted for population.

Just as COVID-19 infections are more concentrated in Illinois, so too are deaths. So far, there have been 26,335 COVID-19 related deaths in Illinois, or 207 for every 100,000 people. Meanwhile, the national COVID-19 death rate stands at 192 per 100,000 Americans.

Not that far off from the rest of the states, but here we go again with another Virus outbreak. This is serious since we had big hopes that a month ago things were improving.  My guess is judging by all the news stories and photos of large groups of people out and about again. Baseball games, picnics, wedding receptions, all sorts of events we are seeing with lots of people, most without masks.

Maybe the villain in the new outbreaks was the ending of the mask mandates coupled with so many people refusing to get vaccinated.

I confess all of the new infections popping up panics me. It's hard to know what to do or where to go or who to be with.

This link shows the counties in Illinois with their infection rates and whether they are trending up or down. Madison is trending up with more cases. St. Clair is trending down. Interesting.