Hey fellow Covid Cautious people, how do you deal with overwhelming loneliness and despair? Because, y'know, everyone else is fully capable of dealing with these things and it's just me who doesn't know the one weird trick to coping with an absurd and horrific existence.
It blows my mind that nobody is out there making elastomeric N95+ respirators that look less like industrial equipment and more like an accessory. Is the market really too small to make this work?!? I feel like the elastomeric options are so limited and many aren't available in Canada.
I have a Flo Mask but I find the fit can be finicky. It's fine if I'm not talking to people, but it felt sketchy in Costco today. I need a replacement as well because of a small nick on the inside of the gasket but everything out there looks so intense.
So far, the Envo Mask Pro looks to be the best, but it's soooo expensive to import it here. I have a Dentec NxMD that I painted but I don't trust the way the filters are attached. It feels way too easy to install them incorrectly.
I don't really care THAT much if it looks industrial, but I'd really like it if there was something out there that could look stylish.
#COVIDcautious in #yeg … I’m afraid I can’t share an update, because the data in the wastewater tracker is now 11 days out of date. Who knows what’s been happening, but since we’ve returned to school with no precautions in place, I’m sure it’s not good.
#CovidCautious community, I’m tabling at an academic conference next month to spread awareness of both the Public Health Pledge (@phpledge) and #COVID19 precautions as paths toward inclusivity, and I’m trying to think of what would make this table both useful and appealing to passersby. Does anyone have suggestions on what else I can do, in terms of signage, giveaways, activities, etc.?
I've told the story of how I got into #EmergencyPrep... Local govt held a community meeting about preparing for a 9.0+ #subduction zone #earthquake hitting the #PNW. Power co, water co, etc all gave useful advice.
I'm thinking of switching to a 3M 6000 half face respirator with source control filter instead of my Flo Mask. I'd paint it 90's theme colours. I've been avoiding the proper respirators because I've been worried people will think I'm weird but, really, is their opinion going to be different whether it's a Flo Mask or a 3M? The seal is so much more reliable on the 3M and COVID is so contagious and sooooo bad for you. I'm undecided but I guess why care when I don't value the opinions of people that don't mask anyway?
Thoughts? Wondering how others feel about wearing a respirator like the 3M 6000?
Hello everyone! My name is Julie, I'm one of those "covid-anxious" #covidcautious individuals who has restructured their entire life to attempt to survive this pandemic. I scream into the void occasionally about my frustrations.
Just sending out a welcome to our newest COVID-cautious mastodon users! Looking forward to getting to know you.
I can not convey clearly just how hard it is for those of us who are truly hardcore #CovidCautious to coexist on this planet with people we care about.
Instead of arguing, bringing up the non safe things they are all excited about doing, just swallowing it and nodding. And that takes a hit on #MentalHealth and #Flareups /#Crashing w/ #LongCovid for the next day or two, curled up in a ball because you don't want to be that screaming wet blanket.
I just gotta vent, because I know there's at least a #CovidCautious community here; I just had a friend hang up on me when I said she should make sure her sore throat isn't covid.
It was really jarring, because I haven't had that kind of confrontation with this friend before. I never leave the house, so I haven't had to confront the kind of pandemic denialism others have talked about, thankfully. So this really sucked.
The high cost of rapid #COVID tests in the U.S. forces bad choices even on people who would like to be #COVIDcautious.
Because I stockpiled eight tests per person per month for the entire period when they were covered by insurance, and also thanks to my wife's awesome job that keeps her well-supplied with tests, we have as many as we need.
1/?
I don’t know who needs to hear this - but it’s normal to be anxious if you’re at the ER. Especially during an airborne pandemic. HCW’s should not be slapping an anxiety label on patients who request they wear a mask.
A person sick enough to need the ER is too sick to handle Covid. Instead of judging them just put on a mask. It’s a kindness and it’ll protect you too!
Four years of being #COVIDcautious, N95/P100 everywhere, avoiding indoor dining, working from home as much as I can, etc.
But there's only so much you can do when you have a two-year-old who refuses to wear the one KF94 I've found that's small enough to fit her face. She started acting cranky a few days before me and wifey felt sick so pretty sure we got it from her.
How do y'all #COVIDcautious folks deal with having to quarantine from a loved one? We're currently having to quarantine in two different flats (which is incredibly privileged, I know), and it's rough. Add to that that a) my social circle has gotten quite small thanks to people "moving on" and that I literally have to pack up our whole flat to get it ready for our move. I'm very privileged, I know, but I'd really need someone to relate to right now. #CovidIsNotOver
#CovidConscious crowd: I’m sure I saw some discussion of techniques for stapling excess #respirator material together under chin to improve fit on small faces …
But I can’t find it now and I don’t want to just start stapling willy-nilly!
The existence of the term "con crud" really should have been a greater indicator of how spaces are constructed and managed to exacerbate or mitigate the spread of illness.
Welp, daughter #4 has #COVID again. The next few weeks are not going to be fun for her or for us. 😞
She works in retail, some of her coworkers aren't vaccinated, none of her coworkers mask, she doesn't mask either, and she socializes regularly, so it was only a matter of time before she got it again. She's the only one in our nuclear family who isn't being #CovidCautious. She's an adult who gets to make her own choices, but it's frustrating to watch her make bad ones that impact both her and us.
Any y'all #CovidCautious types aware of good resources for how to safely attend large gatherings (eg: tech conferences)?
I think I have the mask angle covered well enough (N95s aplenty, a FloMask that may not fit my face super well, intent to possibly try an EnvoMask in case it fits better, etc, etc).
Mostly unsure about what I don't know I don't know. Tips, tricks, managing anxiety after 4+ years of near total isolation. How to get a personal teleporter for instant escape-to-hotel-room. &c
I'm very anxious, on top of a ton of dreadful feelings: some of my father's ashes are being buried tomorrow. I'd just like to hear from other covid cautious people that it's reasonable to leave the house in an N95. I know people do it, but the last time I went ANYWHERE was last year, for my dad's Celebration of Life and my grandmother's funeral. That's it. I don't go anywhere, and I'm full of fear.
So I just need to hear that people do it and are okay.
My #CovidIsNotOver table at the Association for the Rhetoric of Science, Technology, and Medicine (ARSTM) at the Rhetoric Society (RSA)! Art by @JoBlakely and @violetblue ; zines by @hnewlevant ; flyers by @phpledge and bit.ly/lesscovid. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions on how to make it engaging--it's been lovely to meet other #CovidCautious people and create some visibility around #disability and #COVID .