Octopus Overlords

There's still no remedy for floaters.

A fibreoptic illuminator is used to light the inside of the eye during the operation. The vitreous gel is replaced by either saline solution, air, or gas, all of which are replaced by the eyes own fluid over time. The vitreous does not grow back and the eye is able to function well without it.

Three tiny openings are made in the sclera and delicate instruments are inserted into the eye. Vitreous cutters, forceps and scissors remove the vitreous gel and scar tissue that’s growing on the surface of the retina. A fibreoptic illuminator is used to light the inside of the eye during the operation.

The vitreous gel is replaced by either saline solution, air, or gas, all of which are replaced by the eyes own fluid over time. The vitreous does not grow back and the eye is able to function well without it. Sometimes, silicone oil or heavy liquid is inserted into the vitreous cavity at the end of the procedure and this will require another operation for its removal at a later date. Occasionally, a silicone band is encircled around the eyeball to assist with reattachment of the retina.

Smoove_B wrote: Tue Oct 06, 2020 1:25 pm My wife had them inserted 5+ years ago and we'd joke she had implants. I think they helped for a really short time, but then stopped working.

I can't cure your dry eyes, but I can recommend OTC Retaine eye drops. It feels like you're putting lotion on your eyeballs - it's amazing. Definitely get some.

Isgrimnur wrote: Tue Oct 06, 2020 1:38 pm Vitrectomy

Three tiny openings are made in the sclera and delicate instruments are inserted into the eye. Vitreous cutters, forceps and scissors remove the vitreous gel and scar tissue that’s growing on the surface of the retina. A fibreoptic illuminator is used to light the inside of the eye during the operation.

The vitreous gel is replaced by either saline solution, air, or gas, all of which are replaced by the eyes own fluid over time. The vitreous does not grow back and the eye is able to function well without it. Sometimes, silicone oil or heavy liquid is inserted into the vitreous cavity at the end of the procedure and this will require another operation for its removal at a later date. Occasionally, a silicone band is encircled around the eyeball to assist with reattachment of the retina.

Kraken wrote: Tue Oct 06, 2020 2:06 pm Oooo, pricey. I reckon I'd only use those at bedtime. Will try them, though. I mostly use Thera Tears and Systain. For awhile I was gluing my eyelids shut with some kind of gel at night...probably ought to start doing that again.

Kraken wrote: Tue Oct 06, 2020 12:48 pm The flashes of light are my vitreous humor tugging at my retina when I turn my head too fast (a residual effect of that months-ago poke in the eye)

The Nobel Committee has awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of the hepatitis C virus, one of the most common causes of liver cancer. The prize was given to Harvey Alter of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH); Michael Houghton of the University of Alberta, Edmonton; and Charles Rice of Rockefeller University.
...
Half a century ago, doctors knew that recipients of blood transfusions were at higher risk of liver disease, and in 1967, Baruch Blumberg, also at NIH, discovered the hepatitis B virus, which won him one half of the 1976 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. But hepatitis B did not explain all of the cases of hepatitis seen in patients who had a blood transfusion. This year’s Nobel laureates did work over 3 decades to identify the hepatitis C virus, show it was responsible for most of the unexplained cases of hepatitis in blood transfusions, and make it possible to screen blood donations for the virus.

Kraken wrote: Tue Oct 06, 2020 12:48 pm Turns out my eyeballs are healthy and undamaged. The pain and grittiness are due to extreme dryness. The flashes of light are my vitreous humor tugging at my retina when I turn my head too fast (a residual effect of that months-ago poke in the eye). I have a couple of followups in January for a re-check, and to possibly plug my tear ducts. Meanwhile, I just need to use even more eyedrops than I already use. There's still no remedy for floaters.

So...no emergency, just peace of mind.

dbt1949 wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 5:32 pm When I go to the doctor I would much rather him /her find nothing wrong than find something wrong.

Daehawk wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 11:25 pm Oh for fucks sake. The town is still having the Halloween party. They've had a Halloween Block Party for 30 years or more. I remember Little Richard being here lol. We never went. Its usually centered around the center few blocks of town. Draws about 18,000 tightly packed people and 50 vendors. So how are they going to keep people safe from COVID this year? Why expand the area to the entire town area of course. The old part. So instead of a tightly packed 4 blocks now they will have a packed 8 blocks or 10. Supposedly this will spread everyone out. #%^#$%^%# This is why we cant have nice things..humans are stupid as dirt and greedy.

They only expect 20,000 this year.

em2nought wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 11:50 pm I hope we don't decide that we have to wear masks for all eternity

Ontario reported 939 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday — its highest-ever daily number of new cases.

It is also the second day in a row the province is seeing record-breaking daily figures, trumping the previous record of 797 set Thursday. Doctors are also sounding the alarm about an increased number of COVID-19 patients being admitted to intensive care units.

Friday's update has prompted Premier Doug Ford's cabinet to hold an emergency meeting to consider tighter public health measures to try to contain the spread of the coronavirus. That meeting was set to begin at 11 a.m., and Ford is scheduled to hold a news conference at 2:30 p.m. ET, which you'll be able to watch live in this story.

The increase, while startling, is consistent with modelling from epidemiologists who forecast last month that Ontario's second wave of the pandemic was accelerating at a pace that put the province on track to hit 1,000 new cases per day by mid-October.

The measures being recommended to cabinet Friday include the closure of:

• Indoor food and drink service in restaurants, bars, nightclubs and food courts.
• Cinemas, casinos and conference venues.
• Gyms and fitness centres.

Cabinet is also being urged to put capacity limits on real estate open houses and guided tours and to shutter interactive exhibits at tourist attractions, such as museums where there is a high risk of transmission of the virus. Team sports would be limited to training activities, with no games or scrimmages permitted.

The recommended closures do not extend to schools, child-care centres, colleges, universities or courtrooms.

Two additional sources said the recommendation is to apply the stricter measures to Toronto, Peel Region and Ottawa. The nation's capital has seen a sharp rise in new COVID-19 cases over recent weeks, along with outbreaks and deaths in long-term care homes.

The Meal wrote: Fri Oct 09, 2020 11:51 am

em2nought wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 11:50 pm I hope we don't decide that we have to wear masks for all eternity

I hope we decide to respect our fellow humans as much as Asian cultures do.

em2nought wrote: Fri Oct 09, 2020 1:39 pm

The Meal wrote: Fri Oct 09, 2020 11:51 am

em2nought wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 11:50 pm I hope we don't decide that we have to wear masks for all eternity

I hope we decide to respect our fellow humans as much as Asian cultures do.

I think it's actually sick people or those more likely to get sick that predominately wear them in Asian cultures from what I've seen. Plus they wear them because of pollution sometimes. I'd have no problem putting one on if I'm sick to protect other people in a regular year.

Blackhawk wrote: Fri Oct 09, 2020 2:01 pm And with a disease that's deadly and shows no symptoms for many people, the only conscientious thing to do is assume that we're already sick and put the mask on. Not having a mask on for whatever reason isn't worth the chance, however slight, that my convenience or comfort might result in the death of an actual human being.

Lorini wrote: Fri Oct 09, 2020 8:51 pm Frankly no matter what happens I'm wearing one when I'm inside and in close contact with people. Why not. I use a disposable mask which doesn't bother me a bit.

Daehawk wrote: Fri Oct 09, 2020 10:57 pm The only place Ive seen use throw away anything is a bank. They had a box of ink pens to use and then put in the used box. Not sure what they did with them. They let me take a couple pens for my own use though.

Blackhawk wrote: Fri Oct 09, 2020 11:02 pm
They likely disinfect them and then cycle them back into the 'take' box.

Daehawk wrote: Fri Oct 09, 2020 10:57 pm They let me take a couple pens for my own use though.

Daehawk wrote: Sat Oct 10, 2020 10:30 amSeems it would be cheaper than sending them off to be cleaned

FishPants wrote: Fri Oct 09, 2020 10:34 pm

Lorini wrote: Fri Oct 09, 2020 8:51 pm Frankly no matter what happens I'm wearing one when I'm inside and in close contact with people. Why not. I use a disposable mask which doesn't bother me a bit.

Why not a fabric mask you can wash? I personally feel that mother nature is sending a very clear warning shot across our bow here - to use a mask and throw it in the trash every time you enter a store seems like a hefty waste. I get it in a hospital with surgeries and other fluids -- but for shopping at walmart - we use fabric masks and wash them afterwards with the laundry.

Daehawk wrote: Sat Oct 10, 2020 9:57 am I embarrassed myself a little. I grabbed one and it wouldn't write. Grabbed another and it too would not write. Teller showed me they have a little plastic ball covering the real roller ball and I needed to scratch it off first. I in my 51 years have never seen that. But I dont buy pens either.

So I dont think they were reusing them after a cleaning cause they wouldn't be able to get that almost invisible plastic ball coat on the tip.....unless they send them off.

Blackhawk wrote: Sat Oct 10, 2020 12:48 pm My optometrist disinfects them. There is a 'use these' box and a 'place here' box. They just take 'em in the back, rub 'em down with alcohol, and put 'em back.

Remdesivir, the only antiviral drug authorized for treatment of Covid-19 in the United States, fails to prevent deaths among patients, according to a study of more than 11,000 people in 30 countries sponsored by the World Health Organization.

The data, which were posted online on Thursday, have not yet been peer-reviewed or published in a scientific journal.

“This puts the issue to rest — there is certainly no mortality benefit,” said Dr. Ilan Schwartz, an infectious-disease physician at the University of Alberta in Canada.

But Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious-disease expert at the University of California, San Francisco, was more circumspect.

A huge trial like this one, conducted in various countries with various health care systems, can lead to inconsistent treatment protocols whose effects can be difficult to analyze, he said.

“So much goes into care, “ Dr. Chin-Hong said. “The drug is only part of it.”