Elliane, I've always felt the British obsession with school uniform is bonkers.
The Republic of Ireland and their tensions with migrants.
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Coronavirus
Opening our windows
(119 Posts)A good article in the DT this morning about something I imagine we all grew up with - the benefit of opening windows. Apologies for a longish cut and paste but I hope it is worth it.
“While we await, with guarded optimism, the much-heralded Covid-19 vaccine, simpler (and much cheaper) protective measures should not be neglected. Hence the concern expressed by Professor Edward Lynch in this paper last week after noting the windows were closed in 78 out of the 80 buses he recently observed passing Waterloo Station. “Good ventilation is extremely important,” he writes, a view echoed in an article in the Journal of Hospital Infection describing the role of fresh air in combating infectious illnesses prior to the discovery of antibiotics.
Fresh air is lethal to most viruses... and loses its potency when outdoor air is enclosed
The twin goals of promoting recovery while also preventing cross-infection and reinfection were addressed, writes Dr Richard Hobday, by nursing patients next to an open window or placing them in their beds outside. He cites too the experience of the Camp Brooks Open Air Hospital near Boston, built at short notice at the height of the devastating 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic. In good weather, patients spent virtually all their time outdoors, kept warm in their beds at night by hot water bottles and extra blankets. The survival rate was almost twice that of conventional hospitals while just two out of the 150 staff contracted the highly contagious virus.
Subsequently, Dr Hobday reports that scientists in the Sixties identified an “open-air factor” in fresh air that is specifically lethal to most bacteria and viruses, and which loses its potency when outdoor air is enclosed. So, open those windows – and for those lucky enough to have a garden, a firepit – sales of which are booming – should hopefully see them through the winter months unscathed.”
it occurred to me that it is far easier for children to dress warmly in other countries where they don't have to wear school uniform
It's completely ridiculous if schools insist on children wearing clothes that aren't warm enough, when all the windows are open.
Is that really happening?
FarNorth, the primary school one of our grandchildren attends has decided children will wear their own clothes. They want the children in clean clothes every morning, something that seems less likely to happen with school uniform, when a sweat shirt for example may not have dried overnight.
I don't know if the windows are open,I hope so
does anyone else leave the loft hatch open an inch or two in winter, to protect the pipework.
Nooo welbeck everything is lagged and insulated up there.
Even the 2 outside taps have their winter ‘jackets’ on as from last week.
All very virtuous But
One of the main ways we can combat global warming is by reducing the amount of energy we consume. One of the key ways of doing this is to make homes better insulated and airtight. Airtight homes should have mechanical ventilation that takes the heat out of stale air passing into the outside air and use it to preheat incoming air.
Do all those who have so many windows open all the time turn their heating off when the windows are open? What about the heat wasted reheating the home from stone cold to acceptable?
Your virtuous habits are contributing global warming.
Good Idea MOnica. I like to air the place on good drying days but not so much when it's foggy damp with still air.
I have storage heaters so my heating is on all the time, if I open windows I am wasting the heating,
“Your virtuous habits are contributing (to?) global warming”
I’m afraid this comes across as just another example of virtue signalling.
It would be infinitely healthier for the individual- we are not talking about blasting 70 degree heating into the garden but getting used to fresh or fresher air, maybe putting a cardi on or wearing a wrap or shawl (or a duvet)
The majority of private homes and CERTAINLY shops and offices are over heated - don’t tell me that’s not contributing to global warming.
I don't have heating on in my house until later in the day.
I'd rather get some fresh air circulating for a while, although cold, than keep it all closed up and stale.
Sitting watching tv, windows wide open. It's freezing but I've got a duvet. Central heating plays havoc with my sinuses.
Research shows that being in a room with fresh air can reduce the risk of infection from particles by over 70%
The film is part of the ‘Hands. Face. Space’ campaign which urges public to adopt simple health behaviours to help reduce the risk of the virus spreading
A new public information campaign has launched today by the government to highlight how letting fresh air into indoor spaces can reduce the risk of infection from coronavirus by over 70%.
The campaign, which forms part of wider ‘Hands. Face. Space’ guidance, sees the release of a new short film created with scientists and an engineer at Leeds University.
The film illustrates how coronavirus lingers in the air in spaces with no fresh air, increasing the risk of people breathing in infected particles, and how the risk can be reduced significantly by regularly ventilating enclosed areas.
The new film will run across social and digital advertising in England.
Research shows that being in a room with fresh air can reduce your risk of infection from particles by over 70%, as fresh air dilutes the particles.
As we spend more time indoors, experts are recommending that people either:
open windows for short, sharp bursts of 10 to 15 minutes regularly throughout the day
leave windows open a small amount continuously
This is to remove any infected particles lingering in the room.
Additionally, it is advised that any household systems that use outdoor air, including kitchen or bathroom extractor fans, are used correctly and regularly as an additional method to remove infected particles.
I'm going a bit off topic here, so please forgive me.
(I'm thinking of my DH here but its not specifically about him.)
If one is extremely clinically vulnerable does it mean that you only need a small amount of the virus (viral load) to get ill?
Considering how extremely 'careful' we both were, it's difficult for me to get my head around how he caught it.
Windows only open for short times here. In the summer it is different, but we have very damp rainy winters. Today for instance is about 5 Celsius and 87% humidity. The damp feels like it gets right to your bones.
We have forced air heating, so the air is constantly being moved, and the fresh air intake is in the basement by the furnace. I opened my kitchen window only for about 30 minutes today while I cooked, and even then the fan over the stove was on as well.
Most offices and schools now are being built without windows that open. In my office none of the windows open.
FannyC, how is your husband now and have you remained free of this virus? I suspect that any of us who are CEV are more likely to pick up infection and more likely to become significantly ill as a result.
Its unsettling that you don't know how your husband picked up this virus. A number of friends who have been effectively shielding have had colds, upset stomachs, virus infections - none of them positive for covid but equally unsure how they picked up anything given how careful they were being.
Bluebell I don't think you would have the heating on if the windows were open!
It's never warm enough where I live to open windows. Usually cool sea breezes.
Love open windows. Not on wet or misty days, but as soon as sun shines, as today - then windows open.
My children used to tell me off, as I would often not have heating on when by myself, and would use a blanket and shawl when watching tv - keeping myself toasty warm. Now, I can boast to them how I am helping the environment!!
I would not dream of opening a window at the same time as having my heating on.
Windows open overnight, no heating on
Windows open during the day, no heating on whilst we are busy doing jobs.
Heating on around mid afternoon at the moment and windows just unlached.
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