2025.02.15
I went to the clinic and it was well-nigh useless. (Not to mention 2 hours) Well, not really useless - I've learned some stuff I want to share with everyone now, but enough so that if this situation repeats, I don't have to go to the clinic again, unless I work out the timing with at home tests...
1. It's probably worth getting Flu A/Flu B/COVID tests rather than just COVID tests. I didn't know about these during the last time I was under the weather last fall.
2. I tested Tuesday and the test was clear; by late Thursday it was blatantly Flu Type A.
3. But, according to the clinic doctor, it was probably too late for like Tamiflu? Which raises the question of just how often you should test so that maybe you could get some Tamiflu when it would be useful (symptoms no more than 2 days seems like a damn tight window, given my clear test was in the first day of real bleh, after an evening of a few warning shots)
4. Like except for one inhaler, every other recommendation was OTC, Nyquil and Afrin spray
5. Before this I was just using some Advil, I should probably be quicker to the Dayquil/Nyquil stuff. At least anecdotally. I was feeling like death warmed over earlier, and now feel okish. Mighta been a bit of a nap but also it reverses the "feel good in the morning then decline" of some previous days.
6. It's a crappy flu season and clinics are getting kinda swamped. Apparently the flu shot this year wasn't a great match for the strain that popped up most. Ah well, youse pays your dime youse takes your chances.
7. oh and the very kindly clinic doctor recommended (besides the usual hydration) lots of protein? That was a new on to me.
this made me laugh...
Open Photo Gallery
A more serious point by this Atlantic article: Basically bodies of water are named for the destination the sailors from the more powerful country are going to - "European mariners often named bodies of water after the destination territory on the other side of that water."
So Trump in his juvenile "ha! mexico is stinky and we're stronger than them" renaming is invoking the language of being the weak.
(Not even getting into the "America is more like a continent name" weirdness of it? I mean I've never been patient for people who are pedantic about that, "United States of America" is sort of a terrible name for a country and the short hand "America" doesn't lead to confusion since other uses of it would require prefixing of North or South. But "Gulf of America" is almost less egregiously stupid, though what's worse "Gulf of the United States of America" or "Gulf of North America" or "Gulf of the Americas")
In an age where vaccine skepticism is a having a completely stupid moment, the people writing this headline: New study reveals a major link between vaccines and Alzheimer's need to have a rethink (TLDR: get vaccines as an adult is linked to NOT getting alzheimers)