Is anyone else becoming neurotic?

Greciangirl your instinct will tell you that much of this is not based on any good evidence but on blind paranoia. Enough is good enough. How on earth can you leave shopping for 72 hours?

For those who want more scientific evidence, there is a BBC report which quotes Professor Sally Bloomfield from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She says to leave shopping for 72 hours or wipe packaging with disinfectant. Is she reputable enough?

Until I read this thread, I was feeling fairly happy and mildly confident.
Now, I feel paranoid and upset.

The whole thing makes me feel weary, tired and worn out and pessimistic.
I wish to god I had never read any of it.
It’s just awful.
I now feel utterly depressed

Thank you Gransnet.

Pinky parni? Potassium permanganate crystals - we used them to purify the water to clean the veg when I lived in Sri Lanka. Not sure it does anything more than that

Annabell, that's Pammy Dean, the doctor whose YouTube video I referred to earlier. Fairly straightforward, I thought.

Annodomini- Pinky parni? Potassium Permanganate -we used it for cleaning salad veg when I lived in Sri Lanka but i think it makes the water OK to wash the veg not, necessarily, protect the veg.

Annepl do you normally do this?

I washed door handles with soapy water. Then window handles, handles of drawers, all the kitchen handles, sideboard doors, remote controls, kindles, phones, bannisters And even then I could think of more things we touch. Pens, spectacles, pill boxes. Impossible task.

It is probably going to be 6 months or so until a vaccine is available.
Knowing viruses have the ability to mutate, this is never going to go away: is this the new way that we will all be living from now on?

I figure that whatever I do, if I am going to get it, I will, so I am taking all the precautions the government says but not going over the top and just living as normally as possible.

I watched mesmerised as an american doctor on facebook showed how to deal with a supermarket shop.He left fruit for 10 mins in soapy water. All cardboard packaging was removed, and disposed of, he took bread out of the packaging, and transferred the slices to a plastic box. he removed packaging from purchased sandwiches then warmed the sandwich in the microwave for 30 seconds and on and on.. Gransnetters obviously know more than I did!

I just open mail and parcels as per normal, throw away the packaging and wash my hands.

A lot of worried people here. I would like to see the hard advice to disinfect the post and the shopping and all the rest of it. Firm advice from qualified advisers. If we should indeed be doing all this why have we not been explicitly told?

An antidote to worry? - Fufilling the urge to be doing something? I understand that. But if I'm to be doing all that's suggested here I'd do nothing else at all.

I'm having the most restful time I've had for years although obviously I wish te reasons were different. I'm usually very much an "out and about" person, in town nearly every day, meeting friends, shopping etc, Now that I cannot go out I have time to catch up on all the books I haven't read. watch DVDs and play from my large collection of CDs, plus using my computer and my sewing machine. There aren't enough hours in the day! I have also realised it is likely to be some weeks/months before I shall see my gardener so I have been doing a bit more myself, and enjoying it.

I try to be sensible about cleaning but quite frankly life's too short to waste time agonizing about how long germs can live.

I don't get my information from Wikipedia. I get it from my DD who is a neurobiologist.

I thought I was doing well until I read Nitpicks post Now I feel in such danger. I'm off to do some cleaning! Though I think in the end its impossible to ensure everything is virus free.

Perhaps that is why France is ahead of us on the scale with number of cases Cratchat.

I think sensible people here are following the strong advice of the CMO

Twig there are companies who work with doctors surgeries and will collect your prescriptions for you and deliver them to your home.

Google 'prescription deliveries' and a post of them will appear on your screen, including wellknown names.

The service is tied in with the NHS and is free.

Hum, yes and confused as we keep hearing different things about how it survives and transfers.

I don't understand why everyone is taking such extreme measures. They don't seem to have been recommended by Public Health England or by the Ministry of Health here in France.
I think the media have a lot to blame and if you believe anything on Wikipedia.........

Twig14, keep checking on Sainsburys website, and if you're not registered for online shopping with them, do it now, then keep checking for availability. I know they had delivery slots for this weekend about an hour ago (all gone now, sadly) because I went on to see if I could get one for 2 or 3 weeks from now. I was lucky enough to have a Tesco delivery this week and we can manage till then. Sainsburys seem to be releasing slots just for the next couple of days and just for people in the vulnerable groups.

My husband been advised by our Gp his immune system is compromised. I currently have my 99 almost 100 year old mother staying post her discharge from hospital a few weeks ago. I have to get my husbands medication. I went to the local
Pharmacy to collect his prescription order only to find large queues I then had to go into town to three pharmacies. Only one had over drug but took the prescription which I couldn't get back. Meantime I rang several pharmacies found the drug he needed in a pharmacy outside our area but then had to have a new prescription from his GP sent to this pharmacy. I then had to go to collect it. Yesterday his GP following recent tests is now including a new drug but been told because of problems with it will need a blood test in a month and yet last week we were informed by him that no blood tests would take place until after the virus has been sorted out. Also it’s a total joke getting online shopping as no slots available. The problem is the concern of my going out and having two vulnerable people indoors. I disinfect everything including milk bottles which thankfully our milkman still delivers. It’s a concern all of it for each and everyone of us.

When all this is over i dont think any of us will ever take anything for granted again.

Worry not grammargran you are not alone. Most of the stuff being talked about here hasn't even crossed my mind. Following all basic rules but really .................. Methinks a lot of people are going to worry themselves to death!

Goodness I have been surprised by some of the extreme measures people are taking on here. At the moment it is as much as I can do to look after my personal needs so as far as what my husband is doing in the house it's a case of what the heart doesnt see the heart cannot grieve over. On the rare occasions he does go out he follows the hygiene rules but I am sure he isnt washing packaging down. We buy long life milk in bulk so may be a couple of weeks or more before the outer packaging is removed. He certainly isnt going round wiping light switches etc as no one but us has been in the house for at least 3 weeks when my lovely cleaner last came.
My medicines are delivered from a family run chemist and are specially delivered to there. The pharmacist uses disposable gloves to put them into a carrier bag and he then wears gloves when he delivers to us. We put the money in an envelope outside the door for him and he leaves the carrier bag outside the door. My husband then brings the bag indoors.
Stay safe everyone but don't let your mental health suffer by becoming too neurotic over hygiene.