Ask HN: NYC with autoimmune disease, what should I do?

26 点作者 BayezLyfe大约 5 年前

I'm 30 years old with an autoimmune disease that puts me at high risk of COVID19. I'm otherwise very healthy -- vegetarian, yoga instructor, runs marathons, sleeps 8 hours, non-smoker. I'm isolating well in my apartment: haven't left in 10 days, and work well as a software eng. My main concern is if I do get infected (which is likely [1]), my immune deficiency suggests I'm very likely to become a critical case and need hospitalization, yet the lack of healthcare resources in NYC is appalling [1].Should I leave NYC? How? Where should I go?[1] https://www.businessinsider.com/makeshift-morgue-built-in-nyc-to-deal-with-coronavirus-deaths-2020-3

16 条评论

ng12大约 5 年前

I'm in the exact same boat. Two weeks ago I thought about leaving to stay with family who live an hour outside Boston. Two things stopped me. The first was my family members are all still going to work (even though Boston is pretty bad and there's a handful of confirmed cases in their local area). The second was I worried about bringing it back from New York with me an infecting my retired parents.The nice thing about NYC is that I literally don't have to leave my apartment. I get all groceries delivered (perishables from Whole Foods, non-perishables from Walmart). Medication for my condition is delivered as well. I'm blessed enough to have a doorman so the only exposure I have to the outside world is going down to my lobby to pick up the packages which I do late at night to avoid running into anyone else.My only concern would be if I did get sick and was hundreds of miles away from any of my family members. However as far as risk of getting sick goes I'm pretty confident that bunkering in my apartment is the right call.

评论 #22706110 未加载

评论 #22705538 未加载

dyingkneepad大约 5 年前

If I were you, I would stay in NYC and try to stay as clean/isolated as possible.If the theory that people who already got covid19 develop immunity from it and won't catch it again is true, then one thing to realize is that NYC (and Italy and others) will become a "safe" place sooner than other places. Yes, there's the horrible downside that a lot of people are dying, but since so many people already caught it (and so many will catch it in the next days/weeks), after this peak passes you'll reach a point where mostly everybody around you will be immune, so you will benefit from herd immunity. If you move to another city, one where the number of cases is still increasing, it will likely take longer for this stage to be reached.I should note that I'm not advocating in favor of society pursuing herd immunity strategies: letting people die is never a good strategy. I am just pointing the fact that the since the curve is not very flat in NY, herd immunity will be a thing there sooner than in other places. It's happening whether we like it or not.I'm not a doctor and I'd love to hear arguments on how this theory could be wrong.

评论 #22717035 未加载

avgDev大约 5 年前

Isolate if you can. If you receive packages let them sit somewhere for 2 days before opening and handling them, or open and clean the box inside and clean your hands right away.If you do go out wear rubber gloves and a mask. Never touch your face when out. Thankfully you got a job that allows WFH and you should be able to ride this out.

评论 #22707210 未加载

saluki大约 5 年前

Sounds like you are setup to ride it out in NYC. I would stay in place, carefully have groceries delivered when possible and ride it out until the healthcare system can support you if needed then revaluate your situation. You are probably safest in your current environment since you don't have to go out and have already been in 10 days.

评论 #22703391 未加载

shadowprofile77大约 5 年前

If you don't mind my asking, what is the autoimmune disease? I have one of my own and with my own worries for the same reason. Data based on China and a few other sources from the Imperial College Covid-19 response team for people below the age of 40, down to 30 shows that of this subset of confirmed infected, only 3.2% are likely to require hospitalization and even of those 2.3% only 5% are likely to require critical care. I assume that quite a few more than that among them have some complicating condition.

rococode大约 5 年前

> (which is likely [1])Why do you think it's likely? If you haven't left in 10 days and continue to stay home you're probably safe - safer than if you decided to leave the city now. Is there something preventing you from staying in your room for another couple months? Groceries can be delivered and carefully handled on your end.

评论 #22703071 未加载

TheDesolate0大约 5 年前

Stay put. That's your best choice. Your home / apt is the environment over which you have the most control. Order a bunch of water and TP and delicious snacks from amazon and twitch your heart out.When you have to come into contact with people, wear gloves, a mask (you can make it yourself, and sterilize it too), and eye protection (safety glasses). We call it MEGG, but you probably won't need the gown.Here is how some of my colleges do it: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-tw-7XRV5w" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-tw-7XRV5w</a>

评论 #22707216 未加载

throw_this_one大约 5 年前

Do you have any friend that is confirmed negative (spent at least 10 days stationary as far as interactions go) and has a car? They can scoop you up and take you somewhere. Whether that's home to your parents or whatever. Otherwise you need to stay inside for at least the next 3 weeks or go outside with a mask and stay way away from people (just to get sun).

sloaken大约 5 年前

At this point I think it is a frying pan / fire equation.Although NY might not be the best place, where would, and can you get there in time, and without risk.I see how the calculation is that NY ICU will be overwhelmed, not sure that there is anywhere which will not be. I see little difference between a 1% chance of getting an ICU bed and a 0.02% chance. If it was me, I would stay put.

评论 #22704233 未加载

pacman83大约 5 年前

Ron Hunninghake, MD, suggests these vitamins and minerals: <a href="https://riordanclinic.org/2020/03/covid-19/" rel="nofollow">https://riordanclinic.org/2020/03/covid-19/</a>Robert Cathcart, MD, prescribed vitamin C, orally to bowel tolerance, for all viral illnesses, including common cold, which is a coronavirus: <a href="http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v16n14.shtml" rel="nofollow">http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v16n14.shtml</a>Robert Rowen, MD, suggests IV ozone for coronavirus and explains why: <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cluster=7803231157334234602" rel="nofollow">https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cluster=78032311573342346...</a>A prolific teacher of IV ozone is in NYC, has trained many nearby, and may share a list of doctors he's trained: <a href="https://www.ozonedoctor.net/" rel="nofollow">https://www.ozonedoctor.net/</a>Dr. Rowen is interviewed by Dave Asprey here: <a href="https://blog.daveasprey.com/robert-rowen-352/" rel="nofollow">https://blog.daveasprey.com/robert-rowen-352/</a>An MD-PhD neurologist at Mayo Clinic recommended Rowen to me, said she'd sent patients to him.I got turned onto the alternative doctors, who got me back to work, after conventional medicine failed me for years. Turns out regulatory capture isn't in the public interest after all. Who knew?See also the doctors interviewed in <a href="https://thatvitaminmovie.com/" rel="nofollow">https://thatvitaminmovie.com/</a>

impendia大约 5 年前

I don't have any particular advice for you, but best wishes!

biolurker1大约 5 年前

Who told you that autoimmunity is a risk factor for covid-19? Maybe you are confused with immunosupression but they are two opposites.

评论 #22718280 未加载

twox2大约 5 年前

Maybe you can add some breathing exercises to your routine to strengthen diaphragm breathing and lung capacity.

brudgers大约 5 年前

Have you talked with your doctor?

评论 #22705583 未加载

Spooky23大约 5 年前

It’s hard to know what to do. Personally, I’d stick it out through April and reassess.If it were me and I had family out in the country somewhere, I’d consider staying with them. But... you seem to have your stuff together and the devil you know may be better than the one you don’t!

评论 #22703929 未加载

snikeris大约 5 年前

This doctor says to get out if you can safely:<a href="https://youtu.be/F2EK-XRBsSo?t=468" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/F2EK-XRBsSo?t=468</a>

评论 #22703107 未加载