An Update

[OhioChick]

Last edited Sun Mar 22, 2020, 06:31 AM - Edit history (2)

From my previous thread:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213118078


I'm up all night on eBay (all night, every night) basically hitting refresh and when someone puts up a bulk amount of N-95's, I buy them. People are price gouging terribly.

Ebay has a take down policy now for sellers listing N-95's in bulk and price gouging, so they're taking listings down so I have to act fast.

I just paid another $1K for about 80 or so N-95's. I just can't keep up at this rate financially so I'm going to have to stop soon.

I'm just exhausted and terrified but that doesn't matter at this point.

The shortages are on everything now, not only N-95's, lock and key. (Patients and some staff were stealing them)

They're not wearing hazmat suits but flimsy gowns. No goggles, masks or much of anything. Think Grey's Anatomy vs. (the movie) Outbreak.

I applaud ALL of our healthcare workers in the world, hearing of all of the stories, risk of contagion, etc., I don't know how they're doing it.

The government needs to get vents as soon as possible, otherwise when this surge hits cities (and it will hard) there will not be enough vents for everyone sick and decisions will have to be made. I'm sure you know what those are.

If anyone wants to help and has a surplus of any of the above items (or whatever else you may think of), please drop them off at your local hospital.

If people want to help but don't have access to the above, send pizzas, donuts or whatever you can think of to your local hospitals. Staff don't have time to prepare food, so a quick slice of pizza or donut would be a nice gesture for them as they're working around the clock and hungry.

By "send", I meant to order some pizzas, donuts or whatever, if it's affordable. Your local hospital staff would appreciate it greatly.
Homemade food is generally not accepted by hospitals and thrown out for various reasons. Plus, you don't want to risk exposure by trying to do a wonderful deed and entering a hospital at this time.

As for a view from inside the ICU, it's like that out of a horror story. Our medical professionals are going to have PTSD by the time this is over, in my opinion. It's not only the elderly with health issues but healthy people with many young. (40's and 50's)

I will say this, it's bad in the hospitals and if it isn't in your area now, it will be at some point. We haven't even surged here yet and we're out (or nearly) out of everything. A surge is being predicted here within the next week. Cases are rising overnight.

My son's girlfriend is an ICU nurse (different hospital than he) and has had no mask or anything covering her mouth/eyes, etc. for a few weeks, she knows she's going to get this and is scared from what she's seen. Some hospitals have not been allowing staff to bring in their own items but staff are ignoring this and improvising as best as they can. His girlfriend is now doing this, as well.

I've been told of what ICU's are like and what this virus does to the body.....it's just unimaginable, a true horror story that remains in my brain even though I've not seen it firsthand.

I'm in a red zone and hospitals are expecting a surge in less than a week. People are still outside in groups and we do need some type of lock down or curfew at the very least. Everyone seems to have that "that can't happen to me attitude."

From what my kids have told me, they said the biggest message they wish local/state and federal governments should say would be to "Stay home, unless absolutely necessary." Those who don't are just making their lives harder and putting them and their families at home at risk.

They also said pictures of the ICU should be shown on the media, not for sensationalism but to get people to STAY HOME.

Will update the situation as soon as I can gather my thoughts and think straight.

Also said:

WE NEED MORE TESTS!

(I'm not posting this for sympathy, only to alert people to the seriousness of this unfolding situation)

[MLAA]

1. Sending you son and his girlfriend my thanks and strong energy

💫 strength💫💕strength💥strength

[OhioChick]

16. Thank you n/t

[Demovictory9]

2. k&r

[OhioChick]

17. Thanks for the kick, much appreciated n/t

[JCMach1]

3. Just found a paint respirator my wife can use at work

She does home health. There are no supplies of proper medical N95

[OhioChick]

18. I'm happy to hear that

You're very creative in protecting your wife and family.

Good job.

[proud patriot]

4. sharing as wildly as I can

[OhioChick]

19. Thank you! n/t

[KY_EnviroGuy]

5. There's probably a lot of N95s stored away in industry that may can be freed up.

Any plant or construction company might have mask warehoused for industrial use but someone would need to request them.

They are used by the thousands in plants like power plants, paper mills, cement plants and others where dust is involved during routine or maintenance work. They are kept in plant store rooms, maintenance shops and safety offices. I used quite a lot of these during my service work jobs, along with half-face and full-face respirators.

Another potential source would be construction firms that do work in the plants mentioned above and they keep many of them either in a company warehouse or in their construction trailers.

Many of these plants will be slowed or shut down and I really think plant managers would be willing to donate.

I have no idea how a logical connection could be made between medical people and these sources, but government seems the rational path.

[OhioChick]

21. Thank you for your thoughts

I really do appreciate them.

I thought the same as you mentioned, calling construction companies, maintenance all the way to the dentist's office.

Either no one has anything or they're looking to make a large profit.

I'm dealing with someone from the construction field now. He said he has pallets just sitting but seems to want to make a huge profit.
He wants to charge me $10 per N-95, yet I know from going to Home Depot that these masks do not cost that much because I've used them for painting before.

I'm going to have to keep searching, but thank you. You're offered different avenues to look into, which I appreciate.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

35. You're very welcome. Try this site for normal pricing.

This page from WW Grainger should give you an idea of what they were selling for prior to the big rush:

Link: https://www.grainger.com/search/safety/respiratory-protection/disposable-respirators-and-dust-masks?attrs=Respirator+Filter+Class%7CN95&filters=attrs&optOut=0

Looks like $2 or less in lots of 20 was quite common.

It's sad that anyone would try to be selfish and profit from this extremely dire need.

KY

[NBachers]

6. Please have food sent by the store or restaurant; DO NOT bring it in yourself.

I had a conversation with a person who works in an essential, holiday-open public job. She said that people often bring plates of home-made cookies or other treats during holiday time, as a gesture of good will and support.

She said that these items are immediately thrown away. She said that, due to the cruel mental instability or revenge-oriented malcontents, the staff has no way to know if the product has been spit in or in some other way altered in an unfriendly way.

She said that there's a fire station nearby, and the fire station follows the same policy. It's probably a widespread policy.

So- If you're doing some good-intentioned food gesture to medical staff- please pay to have it delivered from the store or bakery or restaurant.

[OhioChick]

22. Very good point.

I did use the word "send" in my OP which I should edit and put it in bold.

I agree with all that you've said and the same applies here.

When I said "send", I meant to order and have it delivered.

Thanks for the heads up and explaining it to the other members.

I'll edit now.

[littlemissmartypants]

7. I read somewhere that tatoo artists are donating their

Protective gear, masks and gloves, to hospitals. Very generous, imo. I'm so worried about our first responders and health care staff.

Our system is definitely stressed with nursing and doctor shortages. Physician suicides were already at an all time high before this started.

Thank you for all that you are doing! I am sure that karma will come back to you immeasurably.

Stay encouraged, OhioChick. We're rooting for you and your family. ❤ lmsp

[OhioChick]

23. That's wonderful to hear that tatoo artists

Are donating what they have to those in need. I agree, it is very generous, indeed. I hope that other companies follow their lead as the stories of shortages will become more apparent as time passes and this worsens.

Everyone in healthcare needs to be safe and as you said, that also includes first responders, fire, those who clean hospitals and the list goes on.

Please don't thank me for what I'm doing. I'm just a Mom.

I believe this is going to collapse our healthcare system, I hope that I'm wrong.

I never realized that so many physicians committed suicide in such large numbers until my younger son came home crushed a few months ago when he was called into a mandatory meeting. Admin alerted the staff that his colleague and friend had committed suicide a day prior. No one saw it coming. It was an extremely difficult time.

Thank you for your kind words, they truly brought tears to my eyes.

I do thank you as well for bringing up suicide awareness in regard to physician suicides.

[Blue_true]

8. After using the masks, they can be soaked in rubbing alcohol

For 5 minutes, the whole mask, straps and all. Lot the alcohol drain off and hang it in a locker over a pan that catch more drip. The mask should be reuseable within 8 hours. That would save you lots of money on masks.

[58Sunliner]

11. Just needs to be heated to 140. Dryer shelf works great. Infrared thermometer reader is useful.

My experience says you will be smelling that alcohol residue. You may have to re-glue the metal strip.

[OhioChick]

25. Thanks for the clarification

I'll research this further.

I have been doing quite a bit of research on this:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142452676

It sounds promising and I'm in the process of building a small one at the moment.

My kids and their colleagues do believe it could work.
Administration has shown interest but don't have the time now.

UVC kills DNA. It breaks apart proteins, which DNA and RNA are made of. It's been shown that after 15 minutes of exposure at 3-5 centimeters, there was no traceable evidence of the virus.

I'm hoping that "if" this is possible, with shortages and staff dropping daily, that a company could mass produce these quickly and thoroughly test them, they could save a lot of lives of the medical staff.

[58Sunliner]

37. You are welcome.

I usually say between 1:40 to 1:50 degrees because people's dryer will vary.

[OhioChick]

44. Thank you for the information

I appreciate it!

[Blue_true]

45. Thanks for that suggestion, I had not thought of something like that. nt

[OhioChick]

24. Thank you

I will look into this and I appreciate you bringing it to my attention.

[Blue_true]

47. 58Sunliner gave an alternate suggestion in a reply to my post.

Heat is a good idea, even when alcohol is used first. If alcohol is used on the mask, the heat should not be more than 100F and the chamber that they are being heated in should have negative pressure inside it, that can be done by connecting a pump or a vacuum cleaner to it. Most hospitals should have an air handling system that the hose venting the mask heating box can be connected to, so the evaporating alcohol does not get vented into a room.

Do the hospitals that your sons work in have laminar flow of air? Laminar flow directs all air flow toward the floor, so airborne pathogens get swept downward and don't hang in the air. The system is valuable in industrial places like semiconductor plants and chemical mixing operations. I know about the chemical mixing operation side, the systems help quickly removes odors that are not hazardous, but are irritating to smell for many hours per day, plus the down air flow has a cooling effect, so people don't feel as hot when they are working.

[58Sunliner]

49. I have an update on this by Stanford released yesterday-Sorry to give you old info.

https://stanfordmedicine.app.box.com/v/covid19-PPE-1-2

"In this materials science study of N95 face masks, two disinfection methods which do not reduce the filtration efficiency of the meltblown layer after an appreciable number of treatment cycles were found:
•Method 1: 75°C Hot Air (30 mins) for 20 cycles
•Method 2: UV (254 nm, 8W, 30 min) for 10 cyclesSteam treatment causes filtration efficiency to drop to ~85% after 5 cycles, and ~80% after 10 cycles.

[58Sunliner]

48. I have to update this response-WO said 140-150- but Stanford has done a study on this

https://stanfordmedicine.app.box.com/v/covid19-PPE-1-2
Released yesterday-
In this materials science study of N95 face masks, two disinfection methods which do not reduce the filtration efficiency of the meltblown layer after an appreciable number of treatment cycles were found:
•Method 1: 75°C Hot Air (30 mins) for 20 cycles
•Method 2: UV (254 nm, 8W, 30 min) for 10 cyclesSteam treatment causes filtration efficiency to drop to ~85% after 5 cycles, and ~80% after 10 cycles.

[Blue_true]

50. Reply to OhioChick with the update.

I think that she wrote a couple days ago that one of her two Medical Doctor sons is in isolation due to exposure to the coronavirus.

[58Sunliner]

52. I did. I also posted this in GD.

[Blue_true]

53. Thanks. nt

[Ms. Toad]

9. If your kids' hospitals would like masks,

have them request some here: https://airtable.com/shrfWnZnPP4Ki60KT

It links up to Slack, which matches people willing to make masks with hospitals that need them. (I've seen requests from individual hospitals before - for example Deaconness put out a video with specific instructions; a couple were providing specific kits to make them with. This is the first place that seems to be making an effort to match seamstresses with mask needs nation-wide.

These are not N-95, but they are supposed to be made using the CDC guidelines for substitutes (and a pocket for a compliant filter can be requested). South Dayton Pediatric just put in a small request, but that's the first Ohio request I've seen. (A number of NJ/NY hospitals are asking for 'as many as are available.&quot

[OhioChick]

26. Thank you for this link

I'm grateful that you posted it.

I had seen threads of how to make masks within the past few days and was ready to bring my sewing machine down from the attic.

At the moment, his hospital is not allowing the use of homemade masks (regardless of what the CDC is saying) but I will pass this link on to his colleagues at other hospitals in the area. They will be appreciative.

I'm sure his hospital will eventually give in and allow them to use homemade masks, so I'll pass the link onto my son, his colleagues and the hospital.

I'll check in with my other son and ask if they're allowing homemade masks at this time.

It's hard to keep up with this as hospitals are changing protocol on a daily basis it seems.

Thank you, again!

[Ms. Toad]

34. I've been l looking for a way to ensure I wasn't making stuff that would wetness up in the trash

Before i got mine out. Tons of directions as too how to make them, but only a handful of requests I could seer from hospitals, and those wee quickly filled.

This finally seems to have more legitimate large requests. Also some requests from caretakers of m more vulnerable populations, which are less likely to have strict requirements.

[OhioChick]

46. Thank you again

I passed the link you provided above to my son, who passed it onto hospital administration.

They're on it.

Thank you so much!

[jmbar2]

10. Here is a group on slack that is matching mask makers and recipients

It started yesterday, and has grown about as fast as Covid. Around 200 people involved now. Check it out.

https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1jHssPukvWdTMr8HppxQFbpkR1ixg84sLVNgXJZPPNqo/mobilebasic

[OhioChick]

27. Thank you!

I appreciate you posting this.

The hospitals and staff can use all of the help they can get!

Thank you again!

[oldtime dfl_er]

12. Is it possible to reuse masks

if you let them sit somewhere for, say, a week, undisturbed?

[Warpy]

13. Ideally, they should be discarded after use

but with Dumdum snapping up all the supplies and sending them to the Gestapo, er, ICE, I'm afraid a lot of health care workers will have to reuse them, undoubtedly exposing themselves to illness in the process.

Republicans are just thrilled with the profiteering that's going on, it's capitalism at its finest.

One wonders what they're going to do when the hospitals start to shut down for lack of staff. Unless somebody with brains takes over and diverts the supply back to health care, it's going to happen..

[OhioChick]

29. You're absolutely correct with all that you've said n/t

[OhioChick]

28. Warpy is correct...

Ideally, they are supposed to be discarded after seeing each patient, otherwise you run the risk of infecting all of your other patients and yourself, as well.

Thank you for your thoughts, they are appreciated.

[Baltimike]

14. I don't know if this will help but...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B085NN44J2/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&condition=all&qid=1584853136&sr=8-9

[OhioChick]

30. I've been looking at Amazon daily

You have to use caution though as it's been said that some are manufacturing fake masks that offer no protection just to make a buck.

If you take a close look, most of these are not available until late May and upon speaking with Amazon, are sellers in China.
It's been my knowledge thus far that China hasn't yet ramped up their manufacturing, yet.

Thank you for posting though and I'll continue to check daily.

[Baltimike]

33. I'd check around and order some now

Late May will be here before you know it

[OhioChick]

39. Will do, thank you.

I still have a plethora of masks, etc. coming from eBay but it's be blown through fast.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

15. The ruthlessness and viciousness of that exponential curve is starting to hit home.

[OhioChick]

31. It certainly is n/t

[Duppers]

20. K & R

[OhioChick]

32. Thank you for the kick

[Baltimike]

36. Maybe reach out to Claude Taylor?

Link to tweet

[OhioChick]

38. Thank You!

Got in touch with hospital administration as soon as Harbor Freight made the announcement. They were thrilled and on it.

[sheshe2]

40. KICK

[OhioChick]

41. Thank You

The outpouring of advice, support and kind hearted messages from so many here have touched me in such a way, I can't describe.

Thank you to everyone.

I'm sorry but a bit emotional now.

[sheshe2]

42. Stay safe.

Thanks for all you are doing. I worry about my niece that works in the ICU.

[OhioChick]

43. You, too

Everyone keeps telling me thanks for what I'm doing and I don't understand why.

I don't deserve a "thanks", I'm only a Mom.

Please tell your niece to stay safe, she's in my thoughts.

[Laelth]

51. What a great mother you are!

I am jealous of your children, despite the difficult circumstances in which they find themselves.

-Laelth

[OhioChick]

55. No, not a great mother, only doing what I must do

You're very sweet, thank you.

[stillcool]

54. I'm going to bookmark this post..

purely for inspiration. Your heart and energy burst through... makes me feel the need to do something good. Thank You...and.. all the best to you and your family.

[OhioChick]

56. Thank you for your kindness and support...

I really don't know what to say, I'm only doing what others would do if in this situation. I'm no super mom.

I'm very overwhelmed at the amount of support and compassion received here. When I feel down and defeated, I come back here and look at the kindness and compassion shown by you and others and it helps me to keep going.
I'll never forget all of you, at my side during such a rough time.

I hope for a better tomorrow.

Thank you again for your kind words and stay safe.