So we went to the supermarket this evening. The reason we went so late was to avoid crowds which hang there the whole day. I mean how the heck am I supposed to keep 1.5m distance with all these folks running around? Well, I was incredibly lucky to find everything I basically needed, except fresh meat, that is.
The only items I could find was a) pig's tail, b) chicken liver, c) steak for 7 euro 2 portions. I thought chicken liver suits me just fine:) There was also no bread of any sort, but I managed to find some croissants for Saturday plus I have enough flour to bake my own. Flour is totally sold out, btw.
While many other businesses are taking a hit, supermarkets have had record sales last week, only surpassed by Christmas 2018 or so I heard:) Well, for some of us Christmas comes early this year. It's an ill wind and all that. Other sectors of economy are less fortunate. Luckily, my husband can keep on working and the government has promised them a compensation for their losses though some of seasonal workers will have to leave. On the positive side, less people less chance of catching anything (our own town has 2 confirmed cases right now but I hear they refuse to test unless you are practically dying).
So what do we know about the virus so far? It's not a flu virus, it's more like a mutated common cold virus which very easily turns into acute bronchitis if you are lucky and into full-blown pneumonia if you are not. Bronchitis is a nasty thing. I've had it two times and didn't particularly enjoy the experience. On the other hand, you will usually not die from it. So I bought anti-cough syrup of 2 kinds (codeine- and propolis- based) and other medications of the sort you have to rub upon your chest and breathe the damps of which hopefully, will increase our chances:)
A book I got as a present from my mom upon my marriage many years ago about food and health says if you have lung problems like acute pneumonia and tbc you should eat lots of dairy products, fish, eggs, meat bouillon and vitamin C. I have also done some research and apparently a big factor in not catching a cold in winter is simply to stay warm, that's why there are very few sick people in summer.
Here is the link to an NHS article on how to keep well in winter.
Things in Italy appear to be stabilising somewhat so keep calm and carry on! I promise next time I'll write about something else for a change...
UPDATE: Whatever you do, don't take ibuprofen or other NSAID, they appear to make matters worse, take paracetamol instead. That's official French and British advice, our disease control center says it's not true. I don't know who to believe, but just thought it's noteworthy.
Modern recommendations are to avoid dairy products if you have any sort of respiratory tract infection, because dairy creates mucus.
ReplyDeleteHere in Finland we still have plenty of food and toilet paper in the stores. At least we had yesterday morning. I have read some bigger shops in bigger towns have been temporarily emptied, but wholesales still have full stocks, so it is just a question of logistics.
BUT the churches are closed! That is, cermons are performed without congregation, behind closed doors. And then they are filmed, so people can partisipate online. I am so unhappy about that.
Yeah, I've heard about it. If you are lactose intolerant you should avoid dairy, but our health system doesn't warn against it because of mucus. Personally I think dairy is good for you, I mean before modern times many more people died from lung infections and those were typically the diseases of the elderly, the alcoholics and the poor. Why the poor? Because they couldn't afford animal products.
ReplyDeleteI guess just like with aspirin, it's a personal decision for everyone:)
Here some churches closed. Ours was open but for a restricted number of people, you have to keep the distance and anyone with cold symptoms is banned. So we listened to the live stream instead, it was cool.