Coronavirus and homemade tools

[Jon]

The DIY ventilator scene is exploding; I have so many bookmarks saved about them that I need a while just to go through them. Anyway, today let's look at homemade face shields.

Grocery stores are starting to install shields to protect cashiers. And we're seeing fewer and fewer photos of emergency medical responders without face shields. We know that covid can be transmitted via droplets into someone's eyes. But goggles fog up. And, infected droplets anywhere on your face is dangerous.

There's also a significant risk of transmission to healthcare workers who are performing coronavirus tests. There are different ways to test, but some of them involve sticking a probe deep down someone's throat or up their nose, and this is making patients involuntarily cough, thus infecting healthcare workers.

2-liter soda bottles are great for DIY face shields. Here's one by Alex-Kirkpatrick. 0:58 video:

And the files for this face shield are here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...mtBBzjfXswrGvU

[piloon]

Yep. cool idea, well done!

[Frank S]

This is a cool idea to make these disposable face shields not for grinding purposes but when working around chemicals which can splash or sprays like garden chemicals these could be sized up some by using the 3 liter bottles to have the shield wrap further around the face

[Altair]

Thanks DIYSwede! We've added your UV Ozone Generator to our Miscellaneous category,
as well as to your builder page: DIYSwede's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

UV Ozone Generator by DIYSwede

tags: cleaner

[Jon]

Nice example of no-touch mechanisms for a hand-washing tool. By (not sure if I'm pronouncing this correctly) ልዋ ሚድያ. 0:41 video:

Something that this pandemic has really made me realize: I like touching things. Buttons, controls, parts, pieces. Tapping, turning things over in my hand, running fingers along edges. Feeling textures and pressing things to know how different surfaces react to my touch. And this isn't just a sentiment or a personal preference. Tactile interaction is one of the ways that I gather and internalize knowledge about the world around me, and I'm sure many here are the same.

Now touching stuff is taboo, or you use a generic item to do the touching for you, or you have to wear gloves, which removes much of the sensation. I recognize that this is necessary, but I never realized how important it was to me.

[DIYSwede]

Thanks DIYSwede! We've added your UV Ozone Generator to our Miscellaneous category,
as well as to your builder page: DIYSwede's Homemade Tools.

Thanks, you guys! Guess this was my most "Miscellaneous" non-tool related post so far?
Seems like I wasn't entirely barking up the wrong tree a week ago, just winging my precautionary methods for "delaying the inevitable":
This site has provided some interesting findings in truly diverse subjects thru the years:

That guy usually delivers a solid scientific backing for his experiments,
and on the subject of ozone treatment he also references this study:
https://pennstate.pure.elsevier.com/...rations-on-esc
and forwards EPAs recommendations regarding commercially available products and their brand names:
https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-regist...nst-sars-cov-2

Take care all HMT:ers, wherever you are!
Thanks
Johan

[Marzmanbill]

Good job! being made of mostly plastic also makes it easier to wash, Bravo!

[Jon]

That guy did a pretty good job. I think that the USA and WHO messaging on masks may change. Fun fact: the current WHO leader has previously been accused of covering up three epidemics. NYT article: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/13/h...outbreaks.html

Here's an interesting PDF on mask sanitization and homemade masks from Stanford Medicine. It's full of warnings to not use these procedures at home, but it seems like they're just covering themselves legally.

Look at this common country comparison chart, with my basic red-and-blue box annotations, depicting the countries in which mask-wearing is common vs. those in which it is not. Not only does almost any barrier limit droplet transmission, but, because infected people are asymptomatic and contagious for days, widespread mask-wearing slows the spread of the virus.



Finally, for healthcare workers, I like this clever mask storage technique for reusing contaminated masks.

[IAMSatisfied]

I'm getting tired of the hysteria, misinformation & lack of basic math surrounding the actual threat of Covid-19, so I did some rudimentary calculations today based on current data for the U.S.:

DO THE MATH, FOLKS… THE SEASONAL FLU IS CURRENTLY ~3 TO 6 TIMES MORE DEADLY THAN COVID-19

Between October 1, 2019 and March 21, 2020 (172 days) between 24,000 and 62,000 people died from the SEASONAL FLU in the U.S., which is an average of between 140 and 360 deaths per day.

From February 29th, 2020 (date of first U.S. death) to March 28th (29 days) 1668 people have died from Covid-19 in the U.S., which is an average of 58 deaths per day.

Sources as of 3/28/2020:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019...ses-in-us.html

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden...-estimates.htm

Yes, I'm aware that there's going to be a Bell Curve, and that if you could know the number of seasonal flu deaths as of the 67th day of the 2019-2020 U.S. flu season, then you could compare the numbers of deaths between the two contagions on the 67th days to get a *better* comparison... I don't know if that data even exists.

[greyhoundollie]

that is a great Idea. After you have the mask on you can spray the plastic container to make sure it is ready to put the mask in again at the end of your shift.