Emergency Coronavirus Thread: ONLY post here if you need community help NOW

[editor]

This is urban's 'emergency help' thread, so please ONLY post here if you are in need of immediate help and assistance from the community.

If you want to chat about anything related to any requests please use this thread. Thank you.

 

[LeytonCatLady]

Hi guys, I'm in a bit of a quandary and could do with advice before Monday. editor , feel free to move this if you think it can wait.

Basically, my flatmate's having a cataract operation on Monday (6th July), she'll get to the hospital for 7am and join a queue of other patients due for similar surgery. Because it'll be a bit blurry for her on the way home, she'll need someone to accompany her, which I was/am happy to do. The plan is, she'll phone me after the procedure's done, I'll go over to St Thomas's to meet her, and we'll travel home together by tube.

However, today I have started coming down with a cold and feel fecking shite. I don't believe it's corona, as I haven't got a temperature and I'm not short of breath, but I'm not sure where I stand on travelling rules. I know you're not supposed to take public transport right now if you have symptoms of Covid-19, but the guidance doesn't say anything about being unwell in general (colds etc). The thing is, my flatmate's eyesight has been deteriorating over the last few months and she's waited long enough for this. I don't want them cancelling her surgery because she's got no-one to escort her home, but I also don't want to put anyone else's health at risk either. I've let her know about my cold and we've made sure to avoid using the kitchen at the same time (the only communal room in the flat other than the bathroom) and I'll see how I feel tomorrow as it could just be a 24 hour thing. I could wait for her outside the hospital but I'd still have to travel there by tube.

I'm off for an early night now, but in the meantime I'd appreciate knowing what you guys think I should do.

 

[zahir]

I’d say don’t assume that what you’ve got isn’t coronavirus. I’ve just had it and thought it was probably just a cold until the second wave of it came along a week and a half later. I did reluctantly cancel arrangements I’d made to see family for the first time since lockdown, and I’m now very glad of it.

 

[two sheds]

Can you get a taxi to take her home? Or another friend? If her operation is anything like mine she'll be fine but yes don't assume you've not got cv.

 

[sparkybird]

I'm with two sheds on this, a taxi would be maybe the best way. If this isn't possible for financial reasons, pm me and I can help.

 

[two sheds]

Nice sparkybird , or I did think last night that one of the local NHS-type volunteers might be able to.

She'll just be wearing a transparent eye patch, but (as I recall) she'll have had eye drops that enlarge her pupils so if it's at all sunny she won't be able to see a bloody thing, I was squinting for a good half hour afterwards. It'll be a good idea for her to take sunglasses.

 

[LeytonCatLady]

Thanks guys. I woke up this morning and feel normal again, so maybe the throat and nose irritation was just something to do with the shit weather. However, I'm going to give her some taxi money and stay in for 7 days as recommended.

 

[two sheds]

Thanks guys. I woke up this morning and feel normal again, so maybe the throat and nose irritation was just something to do with the shit weather. However, I'm going to give her some taxi money and stay in for 7 days as recommended.

Nice. Disinfecting the money before you give it to her, or bank transfer?

 

[LeytonCatLady]

Nice. Disinfecting the money before you give it to her, or bank transfer?

Thank God for the new plastic notes that can withstand being washed! But yes, bank transfer's a better idea.

 

[two sheds]

Thank God for the new plastic notes that can withstand being washed! But yes, bank transfer's a better idea.

ah yes I'd not thought of the plastic notes

 

[sparkybird]

Glad you're feeling better LeytonCatLady and taking sensible precautions. I hope the op goes well for your flatmate. xx

 

[two sheds]

Yep and if taxi's going to be expensive might well be worth phoning the GP to ask for list of local volunteers - they might also be less of a cv risk than taxi drivers.

 

[LeytonCatLady]

Glad you're feeling better LeytonCatLady and taking sensible precautions. I hope the op goes well for your flatmate. xx

Thank you, me too. She's an outwardly tough kind of woman but I know she's dead nervous about it. They're doing it under general anaesthetic, so at least she won't feel anything. I think I'd want to be put out too if it was happening to me!

 

[clicker]

Could she book a place with patient transport to get her home? I don't know if it's still running but it would be free.

Help with travel

Information on our patient transport service, claiming back transport fares and congestion charge payments.

www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk

Having a quick read of that it says they need 48 hours notice .

 

[two sheds]

Thank you, me too. She's an outwardly tough kind of woman but I know she's dead nervous about it. They're doing it under general anaesthetic, so at least she won't feel anything. I think I'd want to be put out too if it was happening to me!

I was planning to have general but had a bit of a talk with the surgeon beforehand (I was concerned that my eye does little twitches if I stare at the same spot but the surgeon said it wouldn't be a problem) and eventually had just local.

I was a tad nervous as you would be, but I couldn't believe how easy it turned out. You don't feel anything, and ten minutes and I was out. Immense respect for the surgeon. I think with the second eye I was a bit overconfident and just came home on the bus which turned out fine although I wouldn't do that now.

You wear an eye guard for 2 weeks when you go to bed (not sure if you still have to though) and put eye drops and don't do gardening and things but otherwise no issues at all. I had a couple of strange visual effects the week after but nothing serious and they cleared up.

They give you a new lens so it's first time in 60 years that I've not had to wear glasses (had both done), and have near 20/20 vision. I still don't quite believe how easy it was, and now recommend it to people whether they have cataracts or not .

Anyway, bit of a detour so I'll leave this now.

 

[two sheds]

Thank you, me too. She's an outwardly tough kind of woman but I know she's dead nervous about it. They're doing it under general anaesthetic, so at least she won't feel anything. I think I'd want to be put out too if it was happening to me!

Is she back yet LCL and did it go ok? Hope she got there/back and operation was successful.

 

[LeytonCatLady]

Is she back yet LCL and did it go ok? Hope she got there/back and operation was successful.

Yes, she just walked in, thanks for asking! She said she can see well enough OK to get around with the patch on her other eye, and has been given meds that she has to take for the next month. There were some delays, as is typical for an understaffed NHS hospital, but she couldn't have been happier with the staff, who were all lovely.

 

[two sheds]

Yep mine were too, they're all stars .

I meant to say - the only really confusing time for me was immediately after I had the first eye done. I was a bit dozy, and couldn't see out of the centre of my eye - so only peripheral vision - and I was thinking it would take perhaps a couple of weeks to recover.

Fifteen minutes later I realized that the nurse had attached the transparent eye guard with a large piece of sticking plaster across the centre

 

[Mation]

Morning, urbans

I'm pretty sure I've seen either an NHS or central .gov.uk page that gives the symptoms of the Delta variant as including runny nose and sneezing, but I can't now find it.

Several teachers have come in to work with what they think is a cold. (One of them told me at the end of the day yesterday, as he sneezed and blew his nose.) Their manager is currently off sick - I don't know with what.

Our policy is to not come in if you have covid symptoms, but they don't think they have covid symptoms.

I'm really worried for our learners, who are extremely vulnerable, for myself and for everyone there, but given the major disruption it would cause if that many teachers were off, I don't think I can go to management and tell them unless there is official guidance on, or acknowledgement of Delta symptoms. Well, I could, but they wouldn't act on it. BBC and ZOE study links won't do.

Anyone got an NHS or .gov.uk link? If so, I need it in the next hour or so...

 

[andysays]

Googling "symptoms of Delta" has given me this page from BUPA, so not official government advice, but presumably fairly authoritative.

Delta variant symptoms: what you need to know​

The main symptoms of earlier variants of COVID-19 are:

• a high temperature
• a persistent cough
• a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste

The new symptoms include:

• headache
• sneezing
• runny nose
• sore throat

Sounds to me like they should definitely get tested, and that management should have already put measures in place to ensure that anyone experiencing those symptoms doesn't come into work as normal but gets tested instead.

Hope that's useful

 

[Mation]

Googling "symptoms of Delta" has given me this page from BUPA, so not official government advice, but presumably fairly authoritative.

Delta variant symptoms: what you need to know​

The main symptoms of earlier variants of COVID-19 are:

• a high temperature
• a persistent cough
• a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste

The new symptoms include:

• headache
• sneezing
• runny nose
• sore throat

Sounds to me like they should definitely get tested, and that management should have already put measures in place to ensure that anyone experiencing those symptoms doesn't come into work as normal but gets tested instead.

Hope that's useful

Thank you. Yes, I found that, too. But it needs to be official official for them to act.

 

[andysays]

Thank you. Yes, I found that, too. But it needs to be official official for them to act.

Your employer should have a COVID risk assessment in place, and it should have been regularly updated, so it might include updated symptoms, even if these haven't been made official.

The other thing that might be useful is talking to your manager and letting them know your concerns.

You may have done that already, of course, I'm probably just stating the obvious, especially as it's 6.30 and I'm only halfway through my second coffee of the day.

Good luck anyway...

 

[LeytonCatLady]

I currently work for NHS Track and Trace, ringing confirmed cases, and the symptoms you describe are listed in our questionnaire. Lots of the people I've talked to had those symptoms and thought they just had colds! They're not the "classic" Covid symptoms, but they are secondary ones. So yeah, I'd do a test just to make sure.

 

[Mation]

Many thanks both. I do appreciate it.

What I need is unassailable recognition of Delta symptoms, otherwise management won't be able to act, even if they agree with me that there is plenty of evidence out there.

It's so frustrating

 

[Badgers]

a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste

We are seeing a lot of people with cold symptoms coming to the test centres. Before we test them we ask if they have sense of taste and smell.

If they do we send them for a PCR test. If they don't then we test them and 90% are negative.

It is still a tough call in any work environment. Are they doing LFTs at home or at work?

 

[Badgers]

People's immune systems are at rock bottom right now so colds and flu will be rife alongside Covid sad to say.

 

[Poot]

Completely anecdotal so useless (!) But my son has a 'cold' which is actually covid right now. Positive lft and pcr. He is mainly snotty.

ALL of the info seemed to be out of date so i wish you luck.

 

[nagapie]

People's immune systems are at rock bottom right now so colds and flu will be rife alongside Covid sad to say.

So if I have a really sore throat and a negative ltf I'm guessing I don't bother with a PCR?
As a teacher and a mum, I'm widely in circulation. Although does it make any difference if I don't isolate if my children are still allowed out?

 

[zahir]

So if I have a really sore throat and a negative ltf I'm guessing I don't bother with a PCR?
As a teacher and a mum, I'm widely in circulation. Although does it make any difference if I don't isolate if my children are still allowed out?

I'd say get a PCR and isolate until you get the result.

 

[_Russ_]

Id prefer people to do the right thing rather than 'whats allowed'