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What are you doing to keep covid out of your home
- Thread starter Tannith
- Start Date
DJC3
Master
Hi @Tannith I do the same as you, plus I regularly wipe my letterbox and door handle, car door handle/ steering wheel/ handbrake etc each time I go out.
My biggest concern is that 2 of my household go out to work each day ( Bin lorry driver and supermarket checkout) so We are concerned about them bringing it in. Luckily our bathroom is v close to the front door so I open it ready for them and they go straight in and wash their hands, separate towels for all of us. Then they go and get changed, putting work clothes in a black bag to be washed separately.
I keep thinking about other vectors, for instance where they put their car keys when they come in, or holding onto the windowsill while they take their shoes off etc. I’ve had to accept that it might not be perfect, homes can’t be sterile.
My biggest concern is that 2 of my household go out to work each day ( Bin lorry driver and supermarket checkout) so We are concerned about them bringing it in. Luckily our bathroom is v close to the front door so I open it ready for them and they go straight in and wash their hands, separate towels for all of us. Then they go and get changed, putting work clothes in a black bag to be washed separately.
I keep thinking about other vectors, for instance where they put their car keys when they come in, or holding onto the windowsill while they take their shoes off etc. I’ve had to accept that it might not be perfect, homes can’t be sterile.
I have no realistic expectation of keeping the virus out of our house forever.
Victorian terraces are not set up for social distancing, or handwashing near the front door, and Mr B has a job with high public exposure, and consequently likely high virus exposure. He keeps out of the mess room, wipes his equipment down with disinfectant wipes, attempts social distance where possible, thoroughly washes hands before leaving work and once home, changes immediately and does his own laundry. But keeping it out completely is simply a pipe dream with his job.
We wipe the wheelie bin handles, but no one touches the door handles except us, and we wash hands after.
Having read up on virus survival on packaging, And considering the above, I feel no need to sanitise food items entering the house. If I go into a shop I wear a mask, since I could easily have picked the virus up from Mr B and be risking passing it asymptomatically.
My preference would actually be to get the virus as soon as possible, avoid passing it on to anyone else, recover, be tested for antibodies, and then be in a better position to help out older family members than currently.
There is plenty of contradictory ‘evidence’ all over the place declaring that I am simultaneously high risk, low risk, and anything in between. Age, insulin resistance, co-morbidities, HbA1c, standard deviation, etc. etc. all factor in.
The way I see it, I may have had it already (sore throat/cough several weeks ago), and will definitely be exposed to it sooner or later, unless I totally isolate for the next 2 years (or longer). So I would rather focus on good nutrition, a strong immune system, a very low standard deviation and the best HbA1c I can manage, so that COVID-19 when/if it hits, is as mild as possible.
My compliance with government guidelines on social distancing it to protect others, not myself.
Victorian terraces are not set up for social distancing, or handwashing near the front door, and Mr B has a job with high public exposure, and consequently likely high virus exposure. He keeps out of the mess room, wipes his equipment down with disinfectant wipes, attempts social distance where possible, thoroughly washes hands before leaving work and once home, changes immediately and does his own laundry. But keeping it out completely is simply a pipe dream with his job.
We wipe the wheelie bin handles, but no one touches the door handles except us, and we wash hands after.
Having read up on virus survival on packaging, And considering the above, I feel no need to sanitise food items entering the house. If I go into a shop I wear a mask, since I could easily have picked the virus up from Mr B and be risking passing it asymptomatically.
My preference would actually be to get the virus as soon as possible, avoid passing it on to anyone else, recover, be tested for antibodies, and then be in a better position to help out older family members than currently.
There is plenty of contradictory ‘evidence’ all over the place declaring that I am simultaneously high risk, low risk, and anything in between. Age, insulin resistance, co-morbidities, HbA1c, standard deviation, etc. etc. all factor in.
The way I see it, I may have had it already (sore throat/cough several weeks ago), and will definitely be exposed to it sooner or later, unless I totally isolate for the next 2 years (or longer). So I would rather focus on good nutrition, a strong immune system, a very low standard deviation and the best HbA1c I can manage, so that COVID-19 when/if it hits, is as mild as possible.
My compliance with government guidelines on social distancing it to protect others, not myself.
Mr_Pot
Well-Known Member
Do people come into your house and use the toaster, microwave, kitchen cabinets etc?
Hotpepper20000
Well-Known Member
I have always washed my hands after coming home from an outing and before cooking. Long before Covid.
JohnEGreen
Master
@Mr_Pot But then there are house flies that tend to come from maybe someone's house into yours alighting on surfaces throughout the house then flying off to some other house maybe.
"There have been no reports of COVID-19 transmission by blood-sucking arthropods such as mosquitoes (9-13). However, insects such as cockroaches and houseflies, which are major mechanical vectors of pathogens, may be able to transmit the disease by contact with contaminated surfaces and even with the feces of infected individuals (14-16). The present study aimed to investigate the possibility of COVID-19 transmission by houseflies and cockroaches."
http://archcid.com/articles/102863.html
"There have been no reports of COVID-19 transmission by blood-sucking arthropods such as mosquitoes (9-13). However, insects such as cockroaches and houseflies, which are major mechanical vectors of pathogens, may be able to transmit the disease by contact with contaminated surfaces and even with the feces of infected individuals (14-16). The present study aimed to investigate the possibility of COVID-19 transmission by houseflies and cockroaches."
http://archcid.com/articles/102863.html
Mr_Pot
Well-Known Member
Do flies use microwaves and toasters? I didn't know that.
therower
Well-Known Member
Doing nothing whatsoever. Mother Nature has found a way to decrease the ever increasing world population, if that includes me then so be it. None of us own or have “ our time “.What will be will be. A small reduction in this ever increasing world population can only be good for humanity going forward.
bulkbiker
BANNED
Wow.. we agree on something... amazing.
I refuse to be frightened by something that hasn't killed 99.96% of the UK population..
Bluetit1802
Legend
There are only 2 of us at home. Neither of us work. All I do is walk the dog. Hubby does the shopping in the early vulnerables slot once a week, twice if necessary, and walks the dog with me. He sanitises in the car before and after the shopping and again when he gets home. I either wash my hands or sanitise many times a day. We do not sanitise door handles, knobs or switches etc. If we get a delivery in a cardboard box, that gets sprayed before we touch it. We both practice social distancing at all times outside the house. We take care of ourselves and are drinking a good helping of Vit C powder every day, which is something I have said many times over the years I would never do! We check our temperatures daily, check our blood pressure, and use the oximeter a few times a day.
JohnEGreen
Master
Well well are you William Henry Gates III in disguise that's twice now you have made posts I frankly find quite disgusting.
Why not reintroduce Small Pox use poison gases promote unrest and wars try a little genocide all those will get rid of a few people if that's your aim.
Maybe you think it's a shame they ever invented insulin therapy I think not.
), looking forward to the measures being eased tbh...
AloeSvea
Well-Known Member
Thanks for that @JohnEGreen - for posting the article about flies and cockroaches as possible contagions in the home. And @Tannith, for introducing the topic of home-contagion and prevention generally.
I currently live in a border-line subtropical region, and as many Kiwis have loved ones live in Australia in subtropical and tropical regions - flies and cockroaches are a big part of our pest-controlling lives. If such insects become a big part of coronavirus contagion we are in trouble!
But, and it is a big but - currently in countries that are practising intense contact-tracing, ie where they investigate where a covid-19 infection came from, and went to (NZ is absolutely - I assume some if not all of the Australian states are too?) - as far as I know - insects have not been implicated in any infections. This is important. Infection from surfaces in high-contact places (like schools, workplaces, public transport) - now that is another thing! As is from close physical contact (ie via droplets) as we know.
I cut and paste the insect control part of the insect piece, to show that we already do these pest-control things in our home - hard to imagine upping the ante anymore than that?
"Control methods of houseflies and cockroaches include improved environmental sanitation such as placing waste in closed bags and waste bins with lids, sanitary landfill sites, hygienic toilets, proper sewage disposal systems, and prevention of livestock manure accumulation in the vicinity of residential areas. Installing stainless or plastic screens on doors, windows, and ventilators, covering food containers, and using poisoned baits, light traps, and sticky traps are some physical and mechanical control methods of these insects. Chemical control using insecticides should be carried out after consultation with specialists because of their potential risks. In addition, medicinal plants such as lavender and eucalyptus are also very effective in repelling houseflies. Biological control and application of parasitoids is a safe and environmentally friendly way of controlling these insects. Decaying materials, landfills, the areas around livestock and poultry farms, animal carcasses, garbage cans, and so on can attract houseflies and cockroaches to their lay eggs on them (14-16, 23-25)."
I currently live in a border-line subtropical region, and as many Kiwis have loved ones live in Australia in subtropical and tropical regions - flies and cockroaches are a big part of our pest-controlling lives. If such insects become a big part of coronavirus contagion we are in trouble!
But, and it is a big but - currently in countries that are practising intense contact-tracing, ie where they investigate where a covid-19 infection came from, and went to (NZ is absolutely - I assume some if not all of the Australian states are too?) - as far as I know - insects have not been implicated in any infections. This is important. Infection from surfaces in high-contact places (like schools, workplaces, public transport) - now that is another thing! As is from close physical contact (ie via droplets) as we know.
I cut and paste the insect control part of the insect piece, to show that we already do these pest-control things in our home - hard to imagine upping the ante anymore than that?
"Control methods of houseflies and cockroaches include improved environmental sanitation such as placing waste in closed bags and waste bins with lids, sanitary landfill sites, hygienic toilets, proper sewage disposal systems, and prevention of livestock manure accumulation in the vicinity of residential areas. Installing stainless or plastic screens on doors, windows, and ventilators, covering food containers, and using poisoned baits, light traps, and sticky traps are some physical and mechanical control methods of these insects. Chemical control using insecticides should be carried out after consultation with specialists because of their potential risks. In addition, medicinal plants such as lavender and eucalyptus are also very effective in repelling houseflies. Biological control and application of parasitoids is a safe and environmentally friendly way of controlling these insects. Decaying materials, landfills, the areas around livestock and poultry farms, animal carcasses, garbage cans, and so on can attract houseflies and cockroaches to their lay eggs on them (14-16, 23-25)."
M
Member496333
Guest
Mostly by avoiding nearly all of the mainstream media coverage 
therower
Well-Known Member
It only goes to prove that there’s more to life than diabetes.
therower
Well-Known Member
Only twice.......I must try harder.
