Many people believe COVID-19 is no worse than the flu. I’m here to set the record straight.

COVID-19 affects the lungs at the level of the alveoli. This is the deepest tissue of the lung, and the hardest to treat. On X-Ray, the bases of the lungs look like they are full of ground glass. The flu, if it reaches the level of pneumonia only attacks the lungs at the level of the bronchioles. The surface level of the lungs. Neither one are treatable with antibiotics.

A person with a severe severe case of COVID is placed on a rotoprone bed. This bed kind of rocks and rolls the patient to help keep secretions loose. This bed is used only for the most serious of patients and can only be used for approximately 18 to 24 hours. Once the rotoprone bed has been eliminated, patients are incubated and usually placed on ECMO. ECMO is Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation. If you know anything about kidney dialysis, you will understand ECMO.

ECMO removes the blood from the body, oxygenates it, then returns the oxygenated blood to the body. This is a last ditch effort to save a life.

Thanks for some REAL expert FACTS J! Can you give us insights into the what hospitals and staff are dealing with this crisis?

Hospital and staff are in a panic. There are not enough PPE, not enough vents, and sick nurses, many of us working 16 hour shifts 4x a week rather than 12 hour shifts 3x per week. . Almost all elective surgeries have been canceled at this time.

Visitation policies have changed. Most patients are not allowed visitors during their stays.

For those that are not aware PPE is the common acronym for Personal Protective Equiptment. The erquiptment can be anything from masks to gloves to clothing items that help protect and prevent it from spreading.

Also it has been said that this virus is in the same family as SARS. That is why this is being watched so closely. Please take care of yourself and be attentive of others as we need to slow this to a point it fades away.

Hey Dad! Yes, PPE is Personal Protective Equipment. We change them out between each patient and each encounter with every patient. They are supposed to be disposable, i.e. one use only.

SARS is a form of coronavirus, but not as dangerous anymore. I’ll break it down...

Novel Coronavirus = New Coronavirus
CO = Corona
VI = Viral Illness
D = Disease
19 = Discovered strain in late 2019

COVID-19

I think Id rather have my corona with a lime instead :)

be safe everyone !!

This is interesting. Maybe it's really the US Flu.

https://www.veteranstoday.com/2020/0...-as-influenza/

I don’t subscribe to conspiracy theories.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by J_9

I don’t subscribe to conspiracy theories.

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No conspiracy. Just a second possibility as to how this monster evolved.

Added: I agree with teacherjenn. Thank you, J_9!

Thank you, J_9 for all you do. My daughter in law is an ICU nurse. 5 nurses in her unit called out sick today, so she had to go in at 3.A.M. Obviously, school is out right now, so I am available to babysit. These are scary times! Stay safe everyone!

Jenn, please thank your DIL for her service. I can’t imagine being an ICU nurse right now. It has to be downright frightening with the influx of admissions, call-ins from sick nurses, lack of PPE, etc. She must be one amazing woman!

we have a NP out on 14-day quarantine and one of your NICU nurses just got admitted to ICU with a positive result. If this doesn’t slow down the hospitals will be running themselves and patients will have to start taking care of themselves.

In a perfect world, at least you would have the equipment you need. She’s just back from maternity leave and, thank goodness, I’m able to watch the baby. I only heard from her when they gave her time to pump, otherwise she said she wouldn’t get a break. She said she had to use the same PPE all day, and you know with infectious patients, that is not safe. So far, no COVID-19, but she said they expect them next week. 16 hours is no joke. Please take care of yourself, J_9.