Thread by @gregfoley2002

Short thread on Covid and respiratory support.
There are numerous grifters, and serious academics, out there who seem to think if the fatality stats are not that bad, then Covid is no big deal.

But what's behind the numbers? Human suffering of course which can be alleviated by vaccines but which persists. Covid sceptics who live in their garden sheds plotting graphs don't get this.

So let's look at one aspect of Covid - the need for respiratory support. Many of the immunosuppressed who catch Covid will need this and there are quite a lot of us and we tend to have multiple morbidities.

At a basic level, respiratory support might just involve 2 or 3 litres per minute of oxygen through a nasal canula. It can be a pleasant experience.

When things get serious you need much higher flows (not flattering I know). Now o2 is gushing up your nose like a hurricane, your nose can bleed and you can get a very sore throat. Things are now getting uncomfortable as doctors say.

If your o2 Sat's are not holding you will need to move to CPAP. This can be challenging if you're claustrophobic because the mask is very very tight and the air is forced in under pressure. It really requires you to settle in to it. But not easy.

While on CPAP the bridge of your nose will get very sore and your mouth very dry but what can you do? I do two or three hours at a time. But there are occasions when I just want to rip it off.

Through these treatments you will be turned, washed and injected with drugs and all these minor activities send your o2 Sat's into decline and you can experience real moments of panic. Here you need to communicate with your nurse and make sure he/she moves at a pace that suits.

If none of that works, off you go to ICU for intubation where you will be sedated.

The grifters like @FatEmperor ignore all this. Not an ounce of empathy.