#the flu

[daisiesonafield-blog]

“Mystery virus” getting everyone sick… …. It’s COVID

Link

[reasonsforhope]

"A team of researchers at Washington University in St. Louis has developed a real-time air monitor that can detect any of the SARS-CoV-2 virus variants that are present in a room in about 5 minutes.

The proof-of-concept device was created by researchers from the McKelvey School of Engineering and the School of Medicine at Washington University...

The results are contained in a July 10 publication in Nature Communications that provides details about how the technology works.

The device holds promise as a breakthrough that - when commercially available - could be used in hospitals and health care facilities, schools, congregate living quarters, and other public places to help detect not only the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but other respiratory virus aerosol such as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) as well.

“There is nothing at the moment that tells us how safe a room is,” Cirrito said, in the university’s news release. “If you are in a room with 100 people, you don’t want to find out five days later whether you could be sick or not. The idea with this device is that you can know essentially in real time, or every 5 minutes, if there is a live virus in the air.”

How It Works

The team combined expertise in biosensing with knowhow in designing instruments that measure the toxicity of air. The resulting device is an air sampler that operates based on what’s called “wet cyclone technology.” Air is sucked into the sampler at very high speeds and is then mixed centrifugally with a fluid containing a nanobody that recognizes the spike protein from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. That fluid, which lines the walls of the sampler, creates a surface vortex that traps the virus aerosols. The wet cyclone sampler has a pump that collects the fluid and sends it to the biosensor for detection of the virus using electrochemistry.

The success of the instrument is linked to the extremely high velocity it generates - the monitor has a flow rate of about 1,000 liters per minute - allowing it to sample a much larger volume of air over a 5-minute collection period than what is possible with currently available commercial samplers. It’s also compact - about one foot wide and 10 inches tall - and lights up when a virus is detected, alerting users to increase airflow or circulation in the room.

Testing the Monitor

To test the monitor, the team placed it in the apartments of two Covid-positive patients. The real-time air samples from the bedrooms were then compared with air samples collected from a virus-free control room. The device detected the RNA of the virus in the air samples from the bedrooms but did not detect any in the control air samples.

In laboratory experiments that aerosolized SARS-CoV-2 into a room-sized chamber, the wet cyclone and biosensor were able to detect varying levels of airborne virus concentrations after only a few minutes of sampling, according to the study.

“We are starting with SARS-CoV-2, but there are plans to also measure influenza, RSV, rhinovirus and other top pathogens that routinely infect people,” Cirrito said. “In a hospital setting, the monitor could be used to measure for staph or strep, which cause all kinds of complications for patients. This could really have a major impact on people’s health.”

The Washington University team is now working to commercialize the air quality monitor."

-via Forbes, July 11, 2023

-

Holy shit. I know it's still early in the technology and more testing will inevitably be needed but holy shit.

Literally, if it bears out, this could revolutionize medicine. And maybe let immunocompromised people fucking go places again

Also, for those who don't know, Nature Communications is a very prestigious scientific journal that focuses on Pretty Big Deal research. Their review process is incredibly rigorous. This is an absolutely HUGE credibility boost to this research and prototype

[jurassicsickfics]

Body Aches Sickfic Prompts🤒😫:

1: Constantly clinging to caretaker because everything hurts, they're miserable, and they don't know what to do with themselves.

2: Crying any time something cold touches their sensitive body.

3: Being extra sensitive to bumping into things, or to rough touch.

4: Just straight up inconsolable crying because they feel bad all over and they're just fed up.

5: Cuddling with caretaker in a warm shower/bath.

6: Being fed pain meds by caretaker.

7: Whining while getting a massage from caretaker, because even the lightest touch hurts.

8: Curled up in bed, not wanting to move and swaddled in blankets.

9: Being super uncomfortable on a car ride because every bump is painful.

10: Making a bed for themselves in whatever the warmest room in the house happens to be.

[honeypesca]

Sorry I haven’t girlblogged in so long, it’s because I’ve had the FLU.

In the 21st century, girls are still catching and suffering from INFLUENZA. What kind of VICTORIAN orphan am I to almost be killed off by THAT? And EVERYONE who’s EVER referred to a gentle cold as the FLU will SUFFER at the hands of KARMA.

You lot had me thinking the flu was just a variation of the common sniffles. But I thought I was on my DEATHBED. No WONDER this thing has killed off entire POPULATIONS before. The muscle pains, the forcing food down, I haven’t slept in over a WEEK. And imagine my fear. Then I went to the doctor who did a swab of my poor aching tonsils and she kindly informed me (shouted it into the waiting room, NO respect for patient confidentiality) that I had INFLUENZA A.

God FORBID I catch this disease again, you’ll all see what I do to it. I hope for its own sake that Influenza A steers clear of me. I am not keen to repeat that kind of battle for survival.

I would just like to shout out my macrophages and neutrophils and t killer cells and all those girlies for their stellar work in keeping me alive, this one was tough guys but we pulled through.

[anxietyfrappuccino]

the fact that i can't curl up and nap like a cat is cruel

[tobbogan-13]

i cannot talk rn and its so annoying

like I physically cannot make any noise

[fortheloveofdeaddove]

Mental health ramblings and a literal vomit rant

Thanks for the amazing messages of support recently. I read them all and take them to heart, and do a LOT of beating myself up for not always responding. Thanks for being understanding about that. In my support circle, there's is a secret 4th "person" that I have been saved by many times, but actively try not to rely on because that would be bad for many reasons. That secret 4th person is The Positive Interactions I Get On Tumblr.

Hm... Pounded By the Positive Interactions I Get On Tumblr sounds like a GREAT new title for @drchucktingle.

Anyway on to the title of the blog.

Am I sick, or am I depressed?

Like, vomiting feels near. Headache, check, full-body "medicated" feeling, check, hot and cold flashes, check, possible fever sweats or maybe just normal sweats cuz weather's bein' real frickin weird in the Land of Oz in March, check.

Circumstantial evidence suggests stomach flu is likely - it hit The Father, The Kiddo, and a huge percentage of my city's population *crosses self*.

Is it both? After several weeks of my version of pushing myself, this may be the natural low dip.

Is it my period? Probably that, too. The ol' endo pain has been tickling (that's not the right word but it's poetically speaking not the wrong word) at my sides, *checks* yup, boobs are sore. And last month's pimples are nearly healed indicating just about enough time has passed before I can expect new ones (I have a gyno appt on Friday next week - believe me, I am finally asking about getting The Scoop or whatever needs to be done to make this STOP).

Or, is it this weird 4th/5th thing where I'm a bad person and making this happen somehow with my attitude and tendency to "overstate things" (oooh, ouch, I'm still hung up on that). And codependency. Can't hurt to throw that in there (last sobriety meeting covered codependency And It Stirred Things).

Mainly I just wanna know if I'm gonna start projectile vomiting, and since I can't know until it's happening, I'm needlessly documenting this despite the increasing headache, AS WELL AS PREPARING UTTERLY.

Now for my very weird take on vomiting. Here's your chance to opt out of me non-graphically (imo) explaining my personal history with vomiting, vomiting technique, and vomiting etiquette. I do not have a purging eating disorder (no no, just the binge for me, I'm already near my disorder limit for my lifetime). You might be sensitive to/bothered by the following if you do deal with eating disorders.

For my kinksters, this is not about emotophilia. However, feel free to get off on this in the event that that is your thing. I don't love it, but I fully support YOU loving it. (Oh gawd I've turned into that Cringe Kink Parent... Hooray!)

The observant reader can very much tell I am an alcoholic( 172 or 3 days sober, 4 years into recovery journey).

I've long said of myself, even though it's a very weird thing to say facetiously though it's meant, "Self," I says, "if I'm ever being tortured for information (ha!), all they'd need to do is make me nauseous."

I can handle most anything else they could think of, but I'd break under nausea in an instant. I hate, I hate, I HATE nausea. No one loves it lets be real (wait, let me Google that... well, that's just gonna have to be for another day, and possibly a different search engine), but I do think I may have an irrational intolerance for it. I damn near panic. If I can't know for a fact that I can't hydrate, Pepto, or THC my way out of it, my finger is going DOWN DOWN DOWN my throat until enough momentum is going for a full sesh. And if I stop prematurely, that finger is going BACK down.

Additionally, vomiting is messy. Rarely is that the only "evacuating" you're doing at the same time (at least when you're me). And I hate nothing more than cleaning up puke or other fluids. So if I am lucky enough to have some forewarning, you will find me ON a toilet, with a nice, clean bucket or trashcan to puke into (just don't come looking for me, please, why would you do that).

There will be a cup/bottle of water there already, and I will have hydrated enough to make this a smooth operation. There will be a washcloth/towel. Once I even managed to have the space heater in the bathroom waiting for me, because I get really fucking cold AFTER puking. The fan will be on hand somewhere close by to point at me when I get hot before and DURING the vomiting.

I cannot parse the reasons why, but I'm still flattered by the compliment from my last ex - "Wow, you know how to puke like a professional." So many red flags lololol.

So anyway that's the end of my Puke Ted Talk. I'm gonna try and sleep and we'll see if I wake up at the witching hour to puke. Because it's always the witching hour. Have YOU ever woken up to puke at 2 am or 4 am? No. It's always 3.

[burningchandelier]

So this is scary:

I got the flu just in time for Halloween.

This strain is absolutely hostile. I have a fever, chills, nausea, sneezing, coughing, knives in my throat, and a headache that feels like my head went through a hydrolic press.

Every single part of my body hurts.

Arguably the worst part is that I have to miss out on seeing a show I dearly wanted to go to. I don’t get to dress up and have fun with friends and do all the things I love doing on my favorite holiday. I would probably have more feelings about this but I am too sick for emotions right now.

Please, for the love of all that is good in the world, get your flu shot.

[hunter-gatherer-11]

Sick (Bondi Rescue)

Prompt: Lachie is sick. Will, his "big brother" (roommate) is trying to force him to stay home, but when Lachie's sickness and fever spikes to the point where he's delusional, Will has to take him to the ER. And also, Hutz feels bad, because Hutz got him sick in the first place.

Warnings: Sick Lachie; Passing Out In The Shower; Delusional Sickness; Hospitals; Dangerous Fevers; Concerned Will Bigelow; Big Brother Will; Little Brother Lachie; Concerned Will; Guilty Harrison Reid.

Third Person POV

Lachie stared vacantly at his bedroom wall, trying to figure out if he could convince his roommate/older brother figure, Will, that he was good to work today. Lachie's chest was a little heavy, his breath a little wheezy, and he was feeling feverish, but he figured he'd just slept under the blankets too long. He sighed, chest rattling, and broke into a coughing fit as he tried to get up. He stumbled to his closet, grabbing a shirt, and Will appeared in the doorway. "What're you doing?" He asked. "Getting...a shirt?" Lachie frowned. "Why? You're not going in." "I am, though." "Nah, mate, think Hutz got you sick." "I'm fine."

Will gave him a flat look as Lachie coughed--again. "Will, it's a cough, that's a human thing to do, isn't it?" He grabbed some joggers (sweatpants) from his dresser before moving to the bathroom, hearing Will call, "Yes, but you're sick!"

Lachie ignored him, starting the shower and kicking the door shut, sighing and breaking into another coughing fit. He was really gonna kill Hutz. He'd had the flu last week and hadn't really realized it until he threw up, three times at work, and Hoppo literally forced Maxi to take the boy home. Not to mention Hutz almost passed out, in the ocean, twice. Stepping under the hot water, Lachie started feeling his muscles relax and groaned, tipping his head back. He must've blacked out or something, because he woke up to Will throwing the door open, grabbing Lachie's arms and slinging a towel around him. Lachie wasn't really aware of what was happening until Will managed to get him in some joggers. "What..." He blinked, seeing Will in front of him, holding his shirt. "You passed out, mate." Will said, his blue eyes dark with worry. "You know you're not supposed to tilt your head back, moron." Will shook his head, helping Lachie into the shirt. "Sorry," Lachie mumbled, feeling hazy. He started coughing, having to bend in half to breathe. "Lachie, hey. Why don't we just head to bed, yeah?" "Kay," Lachie whined, eyes shut. He had never remembered feeling this horrible since he was small, maybe six or seven.

Will got Lachie into bed, and Lachie passed out for a few hours. When he woke up, the sun was sinking below the horizon, and Lachie could hear a movie on the TV in the living room and a voice, not Will's, laughing. Frowning, he shakily got up, hoping not to collapse, but the way he swung his legs over the edge of the bed made his stomach churn, and he forced himself up, to run to the bathroom, barely making it over the toilet before everything came out. He couldn't breathe, and it was so gross. A hand rubbed his back slowly, and Lachie whined, trying to pull away. "Hey, just me." Will said, brushing Lachie's bangs back. Lachie groaned. It was so embarrassing to sit here, puking his guts up, as the older man stood there (despite Will having done it before). "Sorry," He coughed, and Will shook his head. "Don't apologize for being sick. Trust me, kid, I've seen way worse." He helped Lachie sit back, flushed the toilet, and helped him stand. He pulled a thermometer from the cabinet. "Here." Lachie sat there for a minute with the thermometer under his tongue until it beeped and Will winced, showing Lachie. "Gotta get that down." 102.4 read the tiny screen. Lachie sighed.

They entered the kitchen. Lachie wished, just for a moment, that he could sit and lean against Will, but it'd get the man sick. Hell, he was probably getting sick right now. Guilt churned in Lachie's gut at the thought. Will slid a plate over, with toast on it, and Lachie, totally spaced out, dropped his head with a heavy clunk on the table that made Will cringe and touch his back gently. "Don't hurt yourself," He said, but Lachie just whined softly, not lifting his head. "Hey. Eat this, then go to bed, okay?" Will said, and Lachie glared at the toast, wondering if it'd make him puke again. But he was really hungry, so he grabbed one, almost limp, and nibbled it slowly as Will cooked something. Suddenly, he frowned. His vision was spinning as well, and he couldn't breathe, like there was invisible sandbags on Lachie's chest. He frowned.

"Will," He said, but Will didn't hear him.

He stood, turning to go to his room. Maybe laying down would help, but the moment he stood, he felt lightheaded. "Will." He had enough time to say, a little louder, before his vision went white.

Will heard Lachie, and turned just in time to see the boy's eyes roll to the whites, like a freaky zombie movie, and crumple in a dead heap on the floor. "Lachie!" Will shouted, rushing to Lachie. The boy was unresponsive, pulse racing, and eyes fluttering under his bruise-colored eyelids. "Lachie, hey!" He shook Lachie's arm, but the boy only groaned. Will grunted as he lifted Lachie bridal-style and took him to his room. He knew passing out was generally a bad thing, but he figured, Lachie's sick, he probably stood up too fast. He tucked Lachie into the bed, feeling oddly like a parent for a moment (not that he minded) and rushed back to the kitchen so as not to burn what he was making.

Time Skip

Lachie woke up, not knowing where he was. He glanced around. The walls had posters on them, things he recognized, but...was this his room? He coughed, rolling over, and fought the nausea. "Hey." A guy said, coming in, and Lachie stared at him, confused. A memory tickled his brain. Did he know this guy? "Hi?" Lachie asked, startled. The guy stared at him. "You okay?" He asked. "I...I guess. Where..." He blinked, looking around, at the posters, the walls' "Is this my room?" The man was staring at him, concerned now. "Um...yeah. You live with me, remember?"

"No. I...think..." He could barely talk. He was also covered in sweat, felt hot around the face, and couldn't breathe. "I can't breathe," He whispered. The man swore, stepping closer and feeling Lachie's head. "Damn. Okay, um...I'll be right back." "Kay." Lachie mumbled, collapsing into his bed as the man left. Lachie knew he knew that guy, but the name wasn't there. Hadn't he worked with him before? Wait, what is my job? Lachie wondered. Aren't I...a lifeguard? At the ocean, I think. Bondi?

"Hey." The man was back. "Stick this under your tongue, and then we're gonna head to the hospital, okay? Whippet's coming to get us." "Whippet...?" "Yeah." Lachie allowed the guy to stick the thermometer under his tongue as he grabbed a hoodie. The thermometer beeped, showing 102.6. "Shit. Here, up."

The guy helped him dress in a warm hoodie, joggers, and sneakers, then helped him outside, where a man in a car was waiting. Slipping in the back and the other guy in the front, the blonde said to the driver, "He doesn't remember me, so I figured ER was the next step. Also, his fever was at 102.6 last time I checked. So hurry, please." Now the driver was looking at him. "Sure. Hey, Lachie. Ready?" "Sure?" Lachie frowned. He knew these people. He started mumbling, "I know them, I...Whippet..." He frowned, trying to place the names. Unknown to him, Will and Whippet were listening to his rambles.

"I'm...beach. I work at the beach. Ocean?" Lachie thought harder, his head pounding. "Bondi. Boss--Is my boss mad?" "No. No, he knows you're sick." Whippet shared an alarmed glance with Will. If Lachie ever talked about Hoppo, he said the name, not boss. Did Lachie remember Hoppo at the moment?

They arrived at the hospital, explaining everything to the nurse. When they got to his temp, she grabbed Lachie gently and led him back, but the men had to wait in the waiting room. For some reason, Lachie didn't want to go alone, so he glued himself to the man Whippet (was that his name?) had called Will. "Can he come?" the nurse shook her head. "He can come when we're done, alright?" Lachie looked sad but followed her.

He doesn't remember passing out, but he woke up with Whippet in a chair on the left, Will on the right. "Will?" Lachie asked, and both men looked up. "Hey, how are you feeling?" Will asked. "Better, I think. I'm...not as hot. And I can breathe." He mumbled, playing with the edge of the blanket. "That's good." Whippet smiled. "You scared us earlier." He said softly. "Why?" "You had no idea who we were, didn't know where you worked. Nothing." Will said. "Sorry." Lachie mumbled. "Don't be. We got you some help, that's all we needed." Just then, the doctor came in, and he smiled, seeing Lachie awake. "Mr. McArthur, hello." He said. "Lachie," the boy said, and the doctor nodded. "Lachie," he corrected. "How do you feel? You still feel sick, any pain?" "No." "Good! So, our plan was to keep you overnight, just to be sure, but you are improving rapidly, so we'll give it a few more hours and then, if you're still looking good, we can send you home. Sound okay?" "Yeah." Lachie said, yawning. "Good!" The doctor turned to Will, saying something, as Lachie dropped off into sleep again.

Time Skip

"Lachie!" Jake crowed when Lachie walked into the Tower on Sunday. Lachie grinned as the others smiled, greeting him. "Hi," He said, and Hutz, when their eyes connected, glanced away quickly, guilt etched on his face. Will had informed the team (or Whippet did--either way, they knew) about Lachie's ER trip, so Lachie knew that Hutz felt bad. He sat next to the Kiwi on the desk. "Don't feel bad, okay?" "I-I'm not--" "You are. I can see it. So what if I ended up in the ER and you didn't? You didn't wanna get me sick." Hutz shrugged. "I guess." "Love you, mate." Lachie smiled, flicking Hutz's forehead. Hutz laughed. "Yeah, love you, too."

[tilltheendwilliwrite]

House full of people, and I'm sick as a damn dog. 😒

[no-nightingalez]

i think we should go back to calling it influenza cause the flu does NOT sound as serious as this feels rn

[snifflesandchills]

Who gets the flu in the second week of September? me that’s who -_-

I didn’t get tested when I went in yesterday because I didn’t have a fever but I went to the health office again today because I started feeling a lot worse overnight and I have the fluuu

[thoughtportal]

The burden of flu disease in the United States can vary widely and is determined by a number of factors including the characteristics of circulating viruses, the timing of the season, how well the vaccine is working to protect against illness, and how many people got vaccinated. While the effects of flu varies, it places a substantial burden on the health of people in the United States each year.

CDC estimates that flu has resulted in 9 million – 41 million illnesses, 140,000 – 710,000 hospitalizations and 12,000 – 52,000 deaths annually  between 2010 and 2020.

[carrickbender]

We've all been sick as hell, and now this bullshit. Radial wrist fracture. The only good things this week is that H and Henry are feeling better, I'm still getting A's at the midterm, and the new heating system is up and wildly over budget.

But man, I feel rotten. Much love yall...

[tobbogan-13]

has anyone else coughed so hard that they threw up

[spacehero-23]

the pandemic made people think that if you don't have covid you can walk around sick and you won't infect anyone.

my stupid friend came to uni sick, not wearing a mask, then he sat next to me, sniffing and snorting the whole time, and then put his dirty tissue on the desk.

guess who's sick now?😒