Support NeoGAF

[mcjmetroid]

Hi guys,

Need some advice here. Ireland is in
Lockdown at the moment and for the past 2 or 3 weeks my housemate has had a bad cough.

He's self quaranted to a point but we share a bathroom and kitchen and of course he's going to use that no issue.

Problem is when he got this bad cough he rang up his GP and he was waiting for a week to get tested for it, Then things got worse in this country and he had to ring up the GP again and say he still has symptoms otherwise your appointment would be cancelled.

He rang up his GP and said he was feeling fine. He may have been feeling slightly fine that day but the cough got bad again afterwards.

Now I'm getting frustrated because his appointment had been cancelled and he doesn't seem to be doing anything to call his GP again to rebook. Keeps forgetting or I keep having to remind him which is annoying me.

Since I got wind of his cough I haven't been able to visit my elderly parents and his relaxed attitude about it is starting to piss me off. He keeps trying to rejoin the rest of the house as well.

The official advice in Ireland is to stay self quantined for 14 days if you have it but after that long he's still got a bad cough.

I feel like if he did have coronavirus I would surely have contracted it by now but I have no symptoms.

What should I do?

 

[mcjmetroid]

I'm sorry Mod of War or anothee mod can we move this to off topic

 

[Mendou]

If your housemate had the flu then you would get it too. It's the price you get to pay for sharing living quarters. Most importantly, forgive him and accept whatever is coming next.

I myself have some kind of allergy that makes me cough frequently at night around Autum, and it's been going on for a couple of years before the coronovirus started spreading. If I had a roomate, he'd be pretty scared too I can imagine. I'll pray for your situation.

 

[Skyfox]

You're going to get it. Everyone is.

Vitamin D daily (cod liver oil is what I take for vitamin D)
Fresh fruit
Fresh veg
Fish
Stay hydrated
Rest
Take as much time off work as you can

If you get the dryish cough try postural drainage (basically lie on a downward slope to help keep infection from seeping into lungs when coughing).

 

[mcjmetroid]

If your housemate had the flu then you would get it too. It's the price you get to pay for sharing living quarters. Most importantly, forgive him and accept whatever is coming next.

I myself have some kind of allergy that makes me cough frequently at night around Autum, and it's been going on for a couple of years before the coronovirus started spreading. If I had a roomate, he'd be pretty scared too I can imagine. I'll pray for your situation.

Thanks man. If it's not the flu though I'm not sure what it is. It's creating a bit of tension in the house.

Is it just pointless to argue at this point?
Surely if I was going to get it I would have gotten it. Just uncertain times.

I just asked him to call his GP and I'm getting a smart answer back. I'm more than willing to accept if im being paranoid or wrong here. I probably am.

 

[PrellboGark]

I feel like if he did have coronavirus I would surely have contracted it by now but I have no symptoms.

30-40% of infected are completely asymptomatic, but can still infect others.
If he has it and you have been around him for weeks now you also have it and are asymptomatic, because otherwise, you would've seen symptoms by now. (it takes roughly a week)
So as long as you are not sure, definitely avoid risk groups like the elderly or immunocompromised people.

Did your housemate have any other of the common symptoms?
Fever? Loss of smell?

Try urging him to get tested anyway.

 

[DESTROYA]

Well if it's the Wu flu shouldn't some of the systems passed after 2-3 weeks?

 

[mcjmetroid]

30-40% of infected are completely asymptomatic, but can still infect others.
If he has it and you have been around him for weeks now you also have it and are asymptomatic, because otherwise, you would've seen symptoms by now. (it takes roughly a week)
So as long as you are not sure, definitely avoid risk groups like the elderly or immunocompromised people.

Did your housemate have any other of the common symptoms?
Fever? Loss of smell?

Try urging him to get tested anyway.

Fever? yes but not anymore not since a week ago and loss of smell is still a thing ya.

 

[mcjmetroid]

Well if it's the Wu flu shouldn't some of the systems passed after 2-3 weeks?

Well the fever is gone but the loss of smell and cough creep up every now and then. I might hear about 10 times a day. It seems to come and go.

Truthfully I don't know. If someone just told me " ah fuck it he doesn't have it or he has it"then at least we know where we stand.

 

[PrellboGark]

Fever? yes but not anymore not since a week ago and loss of smell is still a thing ya.

So he has three of the most common symptoms (fever, cough, loss of smell) and there is the fact that this has been going on for weeks, which would be really unusual for any illness his immune systems has seen before.

With this information he should easily get a test.
How is the testing situation Ireland?

 

[mcjmetroid]

So he has three of the most common symptoms (fever, cough, loss of smell) and there is the fact that this has been going on for weeks, which would be really unusual for any illness his immune systems has seen before.

With this information he should easily get a test.
How is the testing situation Ireland?

Not great. If he booked this now it would probably take about a week if not longer.

 

[Ionian]

Does he smoke?

 

[jdforge]

Does he smoke?

The skin flute maybe.

 

[mcjmetroid]

Does he smoke?

He does smoke yes

 

[ipukespiders]

The skin flute maybe.

Advice on corona virus: A love Story
Direct to streaming services.
Starring mcjmetroid as housemate #1 and [uncredited] as housemate #2

 

[Iorv3th]

He does smoke yes

Maybe it's just lung cancer.

 

[mcjmetroid]

Advice on corona virus: A love Story
Direct to streaming services.
Starring mcjmetroid as housemate #1 and [uncredited] as housemate #2

That would certainly be a much different story!

 

[mcjmetroid]

Maybe it's just lung cancer.

What a relief!

 

[Coolwhhip]

You're going to get it. Everyone is.

Vitamin D daily (cod liver oil is what I take for vitamin D)
Fresh fruit
Fresh veg
Fish
Stay hydrated
Rest
Take as much time off work as you can

If you get the dryish cough try postural drainage (basically lie on a downward slope to help keep infection from seeping into lungs when coughing).

Some science dude said this week that food doesn't affect your immune system at all.

 

[Dr.Guru of Peru]

This is a new virus, there's much we don't know for sure about it so its hard to give any definite answers. Guidelines will vary by jurisdiction too.

The presence of a cough doesn't mean he is still infectious - coughs can linger for months, even with other viruses.

The incubation period of the disease is 5-9 days on average, with 97.5% showing symptoms by 11 days of exposure. There are reports of people developing symptoms up to 14 days after exposure (and some even longer), but these are not common..

Here in our jurisdiction, we are advising people to self isolate for 10 days if they have symptoms (it seems to be 14 days in your jurisdiction). The can stop self isolating if they feel well (not short of breath, no fatigue, no muscle aches or GI symptoms) and have a normal temperature. We don't advise making the decision to self isolate based on the presence of a cough, since that can linger for a lot longer and is generally not marker for infectiousness for viral respiratory infections.

The advice in my jurisdiction would be: If your friend was feeling better by day 10, you could still develop symptoms up to 24 days of him initially developing symptoms. Conceivably later, although less likely.

I will also note that in our jurisdiction we are recommending that people simply stay away from the elderly, and wear a mask if they must come in contact with them. The 10 day guidance factors that in. Many of these guidelines are not purely based on science, but risk/benefit calculations that factor in things like that.

Best thing to do is look up public health guidelines in your own community to know what to do.

 

[Punished Miku]

He lives there.

If you don't want to be around it, you need to leave. He's being a little annoying, but he can't really go anywhere else.

 

[Ionian]

He does smoke yes

Could well be that, not to say that it is. Just smoke myself and have a cough because of it.

It terrifys people when I'm outside and coughing but I don't feel sick other being an idiot for smoking.

Could be a factor but of course better safe than sorry.

 

[M1chl]

He does smoke yes

 

[GoldenEye Samurai]

 

[EverydayBeast]

Don't worry about it, push back with some better decision making (hygiene, supporting your immune system etc.)

 

[jdforge]

That would certainly be a much different story!

But it's the story we all want to hear.

Two hot Irish lads quarantined together, with tensions frayed over a persistent cough and constant fear of imminent infection and death. As the tension mounts they come to the realisation that this could be their last chance to reveal their true feelings for each other.

It's an explosive journey of sexual discovery as they spend the remainder of quarantine throwing caution to the wind and engaging in rampant gay sex.

Also pics or it didn't happen!

 

[mcjmetroid]

But it's the story we all want to hear.

Two hot Irish lads quarantined together, with tensions frayed over a persistent cough and constant fear of imminent infection and death. As the tension mounts they come to the realisation that this could be their last chance to reveal their true feelings for each other.

It's an explosive journey of sexual discovery as they spend the remainder of quarantine throwing caution to the wind and engaging in rampant gay sex.

Also pics or it didn't happen!

I wish I was hot!

 

[Rentahamster]

Eat him and absorb his power.

There can be only one corona virus patient per household

 

[GoldenEye Samurai]

Eat him and absorb his power.

There can be only one corona virus patient per household

I got it!

 

[TheSadRanger]

OP just seal him off and use the decontamination process from the Andromeda Strain anytime you have interaction.

 

[Skyfox]

Some science dude said this week that food doesn't affect your immune system at all.

Here's my scientific evidence:

Study confirms vitamin D protects against colds and flu — Harvard Gazette

Researchers find vitamin D helps the body fight acute respiratory infection.

news.harvard.edu

What solutions did your dude science up?

 

[Coolwhhip]

Here's my scientific evidence:

Study confirms vitamin D protects against colds and flu — Harvard Gazette

Researchers find vitamin D helps the body fight acute respiratory infection.

news.harvard.edu

What solutions did your dude science up?

He said people are hoarding vitamin c now and that at best if you have A LOT of it, you can reduce a cold by half a day. Maybe D helps if you don't have enough.

 

[#Phonepunk#]

i would get a thermometer, that way you can tell if you have a fever. this is the easiest way to check for symptoms. it sounds like you have that down.

tbh it sounds like he doesn't have corona but you wouldn't want to get sick from a housemate anyways if they have something else.

i agree vitamin c supplements are good (Emergen-C). add to that some ginger tea. tbh when i am sick i will buy a little ginger root and eat/chew on it. these things will help strengthen your immune system.

but above all, don't touch your eyes/mouth/ears/nose after having been out and about. the virus can't really last too long on porous substances, and on surfaces it lasts 2-3 days at the most, so mail that is delivered over several days is quite safe. still i would hide out in my room, stay away from a coughing/sick roommate. if you got to leave then always wash your hands before returning to your room.

using socks on the door handles might be a good idea. apparently the more porous a surface (carpet vs countertop), the quicker the corona goes away.

 

[Tesseract]

after much consideration, it's decided you should murder your roommate and eat his flesh

russia if you are listening, i hope you find the butcher's 30,000 corpses

 

[hariseldon]

You're living with a selfish cunt.

 

[DeepEnigma]

I would make him aware of fish cleaner.

 

[munancho]

Seal him in his room, Oldboy style. Gas him when its feeding time and once the whole things over shove his ass in suitcase and leave him in a verdant Irish meadow.

Its the only solution.

 

[mcjmetroid]

Well an update on this since the thread popped back up. He's finally getting tested today.. why? Because he got a bad fever last night... Ya

Make matters more annoying though the cat that lives with us has gone into heat. I had told him for weeks to get her sprayed but now we can't because vets don't seem to be doing it at this time.

It's his cat by the way, he brought her into the house. I play with her feed her buy her food as well but the other stuff is his responsibility.

Imagine been stuck in a house with a cat in heat.

 

[VertigoOA]

I worked with a similar piece of shit. It's called denial and being a selfish prick. I would've completely ostracized him and told him to back the fuck up and threaten with violence. A bit much? Not really. Protect yourself from stupidity.

 

[Ikutachi]

Primary way of contracting it is touching your face with contaminated hands. Itchy face? Don't scratch it.

 

[gela94]

Thanks man. If it's not the flu though I'm not sure what it is. It's creating a bit of tension in the house.

Is it just pointless to argue at this point?
Surely if I was going to get it I would have gotten it. Just uncertain times.

I just asked him to call his GP and I'm getting a smart answer back. I'm more than willing to accept if im being paranoid or wrong here. I probably am.

I would explain to him that you are afraid to visit your parents and thats because you don't know if he has the virus and gave it to you, so getting him tested would give you the knowledge if you can see your parents or not.