Close to Home Reports

[warriorchick]

Wouldn't surprise me.

Still, if it only takes 6 minutes to get 1000 IU without sunscreen, you could still probably get a few hundred IU if you're out for an hour or two with sunscreen.

How many kids are out in the sun an hour or two a day, especially if they are in school or daycare?

As an aside, I remember hearing somewhere that the reason most blonde, fair-skinned people can trace their roots to Northern Europe is that it was an evolutionary trait that developed so that people could absorb more Vitamin D in less-sunny climes.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Through supplements alone (not counting diet) I'm taking 4400 IU of D3.

What about others?

4401.

Price is right, bob.

[GooooMarquette]

How many kids are out in the sun an hour or two a day, especially if they are in school or daycare?

As an aside, I remember hearing somewhere that they reason most blonde, fair-skinned people can trace their roots to Northern Europe is that it was an evolutionary trait that developed so that people could absorb more Vitamin D in less-sunny climes.

You are right that fewer people get outside than they used to, and that’s a huge shame.

However, I was specifically talking about exposure during the summer, so school would not be an issue for most kids. And with organized sports like soccer, t-ball/baseball, plus walks, bike rides, going to ballgames with parents and the like, I suspect a decent percentage get an hour or two a few times a week.

[forgetful]

How many kids are out in the sun an hour or two a day, especially if they are in school or daycare?

As an aside, I remember hearing somewhere that they reason most blonde, fair-skinned people can trace their roots to Northern Europe is that it was an evolutionary trait that developed so that people could absorb more Vitamin D in less-sunny climes.

This is also related to the data showing poorer outcomes with people with low vitamin D. Those with low vitamin D are more likely to not be getting exercise (e.g. outdoors) and other healthy activities. So they are generally of poorer health overall.

Still, taking a little extra vitamin D is worth it right now.

[jesmu84]

I have been taking vitamin D by prescription for awhile due to osteoporosis, for years I have tested very low. I just looked at my calcium, multi-vitamin, and my supplement. In summer it’s 3800, in winter my doctor tells me to double the supplement, so it’s 5800.
Thankfully, this past January I tested at normal level, for the first time in years.....
I made a point of walking outside everyday since spring, so that may have been a benefit as well.

I'm not your doctor...

But if you actually have osteoporosis (and not osteopenia) you should probably be on more than just Ca+/Vit D

[Warriors4ever]

I am actually.

[jesmu84]

I am actually.

Good to hear.

[lostpassword]

Please stay home this Thanksgiving.  Don't spread this.

I don't post here often but could use some prayers - both for the family mentioned below and for my own growing bitterness at those who don't care about their behavior's impact on others.

CLUSTER 1
June timeframe
Cousin (30s) & his wife - sick for a week
Cousin-in-law (50s) - 3 days in the hospital.  Still not back to 100%.; June timeframe

CLUSTER 2
Early November
Cousin 2 - hospital admission; better now; 2 weeks ill
Cousn's husband and kid had it to too but mild cases

CLUSTER 3
Mid-November
Sister - 30s.  spent 4 days in bed.  Better now.  Husband and 2 kids spared.  No idea how she got it.  Got tested and isolated at first symptom which may have spared family and others at work.

CLUSTER 4
Great Aunt - 90.  In hospital.  was looking improved early this week but took a turn.  Asked her family today to "take me home and let me die".

CLUSTER 5
Aunt (early 60s) - ER yesterday.  Home now, but not feeling better.  Really struggling.  May go back to ER tomorrow.  Comorbidities.
Uncle (early 60s) - digestive challenges (oddly that's worse than his breathing).  Dehydrated and out of breath.
Cousin (30s).  In hosipital.  Don't have latest but were talking ventilator and plasma treatments earlier today.

Mask and distancing "varied" among this group.  None were engaged in knowingly risky things like bars or weddings.  All in WI.  None of the 5 "clusters" can point to the source.

Don't spread this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRag3cdVGuY
3:40: "because I love you and so you can't come to Thanksgiving"

[rocky_warrior]

Please stay home this Thanksgiving.  Don't spread this.

I don't post here often but could use some prayers - both for the family mentioned below and for my own growing bitterness at those who don't care about their behavior's impact on others.

I'm with you lost.  Frustrated that so many (even some I think are responsible) don't seem to be taking this seriously.  I truly hope all those in your family recover without serious issues. 

[tower912]

Thanksgiving for 3 this year.   Hopefully, my wife and I can taste it.   She lost her taste for coffee yesterday.   It is all fun and games until you can't smell or taste coffee. 

I am really glad I had my annual physical and passed my PFT test in flying colors in October.    Hopefully, I will be able to pass it again next fall.   I don't think I could at the moment.   Feeling ok otherwise.

[GooooMarquette]

lost: I am very sorry to hear about your family's many infections. I hope all can recover with a minimum of suffering.

tower: One off the things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving is your continued recovery. I sincerely hope it continues so you can pass your PFTs with flying colors once again, and that your wife's illness abates quickly.

[THRILLHO]

I would love to know from all the people catching Covid and/or having severe symptoms .. what their Vitamin D levels are, and whether they were taking supplemental D.

There's an avalanche of studies on the benefits of Vitamin D and COVID, and I keep wondering how much that gets through to everyone.

Not to derail the thread, but the Vitamin D/Covid studies are almost universally observational, as are most Vitamin D studies. It is definitely the case that low vitamin D levels correlate with a lot of bad outcomes (outside of Covid). Unfortunately Vitamin D supplementation has a pretty poor track record when it comes to prospective randomized trials. I've seen one small RCT related to Covid with positive results, but it had some problems. Hopefully larger and better trials are forthcoming, but given the track record of Vitamin D on other outcomes in well-done studies I'm not holding my breath for a breakthrough.

[GooooMarquette]

Not to derail the thread, but the Vitamin D/Covid studies are almost universally observational, as are most Vitamin D studies. It is definitely the case that low vitamin D levels correlate with a lot of bad outcomes (outside of Covid). Unfortunately Vitamin D supplementation has a pretty poor track record when it comes to prospective randomized trials. I've seen one small RCT related to Covid with positive results, but it had some problems. Hopefully larger and better trials are forthcoming, but given the track record of Vitamin D on other outcomes in well-done studies I'm not holding my breath for a breakthrough.

Agree that megadoses to give us 'high Vitamin D levels' may not help...but various studies have shown that significant portions of the population are Vitamin D deficient. The study below found deficiency rates approaching 40% in the US. As such, supplementation - especially during the winter - may go a long way to mitigating risk of severe COVID illness.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6075634/

[THRILLHO]

Agree that megadoses to give us 'high Vitamin D levels' may not help...but various studies have shown that significant portions of the population are Vitamin D deficient. The study below found deficiency rates approaching 40% in the US. As such, supplementation - especially during the winter - may go a long way to mitigating risk of severe COVID illness.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6075634/

This kind of points out how the "deficient" terminology is misleading -- there's a few conditions that have well-understood causal links from very low Vitamin D levels and supplementation is required (and proven to work). But there are a whole host of other things that are strongly associated with lower Vitamin D levels (i.e. in the "deficient" range), like depression, MS, IBD, etc., and people have been trying for years to show that Vitamin D supplements can be used as treatment, but RCTs of Vitamin D supplementation have mostly failed. So my prior is that it will not go a long way (or any way) for Covid, but I'd like to see a good RCT!

[Jockey]

Please stay home this Thanksgiving.  Don't spread this.

I don't post here often but could use some prayers - both for the family mentioned below and for my own growing bitterness at those who don't care about their behavior's impact on others.

I understand the bitterness you feel. Many of us feel the same way.

Stay safe, brother. Prayers for you and your family.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Please stay home this Thanksgiving.  Don't spread this.

I don't post here often but could use some prayers - both for the family mentioned below and for my own growing bitterness at those who don't care about their behavior's impact on others.

CLUSTER 1
June timeframe
Cousin (30s) & his wife - sick for a week
Cousin-in-law (50s) - 3 days in the hospital.  Still not back to 100%.; June timeframe

CLUSTER 2
Early November
Cousin 2 - hospital admission; better now; 2 weeks ill
Cousn's husband and kid had it to too but mild cases

CLUSTER 3
Mid-November
Sister - 30s.  spent 4 days in bed.  Better now.  Husband and 2 kids spared.  No idea how she got it.  Got tested and isolated at first symptom which may have spared family and others at work.

CLUSTER 4
Great Aunt - 90.  In hospital.  was looking improved early this week but took a turn.  Asked her family today to "take me home and let me die".

CLUSTER 5
Aunt (early 60s) - ER yesterday.  Home now, but not feeling better.  Really struggling.  May go back to ER tomorrow.  Comorbidities.
Uncle (early 60s) - digestive challenges (oddly that's worse than his breathing).  Dehydrated and out of breath.
Cousin (30s).  In hosipital.  Don't have latest but were talking ventilator and plasma treatments earlier today.

Mask and distancing "varied" among this group.  None were engaged in knowingly risky things like bars or weddings.  All in WI.  None of the 5 "clusters" can point to the source.

Don't spread this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRag3cdVGuY
3:40: "because I love you and so you can't come to Thanksgiving"

Stay safe.  May this be the end of the spread for your family.

Thanks all for the well wishes.

[GooooMarquette]

This kind of points out how the "deficient" terminology is misleading -- there's a few conditions that have well-understood causal links from very low Vitamin D levels and supplementation is required (and proven to work). But there are a whole host of other things that are strongly associated with lower Vitamin D levels (i.e. in the "deficient" range), like depression, MS, IBD, etc., and people have been trying for years to show that Vitamin D supplements can be used as treatment, but RCTs of Vitamin D supplementation have mostly failed. So my prior is that it will not go a long way (or any way) for Covid, but I'd like to see a good RCT!

The difference between this and the cases you mentioned (MS, depression, IBD) is that most people are not talking about Vitamin D as a 'treatment' for an active Covid infection; we are simply talking about getting any low levels back up to normal so that our immune systems will be as strong as possible if/when we are exposed to the virus.

That is VERY different from assuming a Vitamin D shot can 'cure' an active infection.

[tower912]

77 Year old father is symptomatic.   Because he is old and stubborn, he will just assume he has it and is refusing to get tested.    Yes, I have made every argument I can.    But, you know, convincing an older parent.......

[Marquette Fan]

77 Year old father is symptomatic.   Because he is old and stubborn, he will just assume he has it and is refusing to get tested.    Yes, I have made every argument I can.    But, you know, convincing an older parent.......

Sorry he won't get tested - hope his recovery goes well.

[GooooMarquette]

77 Year old father is symptomatic.   Because he is old and stubborn, he will just assume he has it and is refusing to get tested.    Yes, I have made every argument I can.    But, you know, convincing an older parent.......

So sorry tower. I hope he gets better.

[MU82]

I have known lots and lots of people who have had COVID-19 (as have we all), quite a few who have been sick enough to spend time in a hospital, and even two who have died.

But for the first time, a member of our family has died: My wife's cousin, with whom she was close when they were children, died of it a couple of days ago. He, his wife and kids -- good people, live in suburban Chicago. Always very nice to us.

He was 64, with no serious maladies, when he caught COVID-19.

[GooooMarquette]

I have known lots and lots of people who have had COVID-19 (as have we all), quite a few who have been sick enough to spend time in a hospital, and even two who have died.

But for the first time, a member of our family has died: My wife's cousin, with whom she was close when they were children, died of it a couple of days ago. He, his wife and kids -- good people, live in suburban Chicago. Always very nice to us.

He was 64, with no serious maladies, when he caught COVID-19.

Very sorry to hear.

This thing sucks...

[Jockey]

My sympathies to your wife and her family.

[Marquette Fan]

I have known lots and lots of people who have had COVID-19 (as have we all), quite a few who have been sick enough to spend time in a hospital, and even two who have died.

But for the first time, a member of our family has died: My wife's cousin, with whom she was close when they were children, died of it a couple of days ago. He, his wife and kids -- good people, live in suburban Chicago. Always very nice to us.

He was 64, with no serious maladies, when he caught COVID-19.

So sorry to hear about the loss of your wife's cousin - my sympathies to your family.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

My sympathies.

My "uncle's" funeral is today and my wife and mom won't let me go.  My mom is not attending either.