Really America?

[GrumpyRN]

The rest of the world is stocking up on toilet paper but Americans are stocking up on bullets.

Coronavirus Fears Spur Sales of Ammo & Survival Gear

It's the coronavirus, not a zombie apocolypse. ?????

[subee, MSN, CRNA]

I don't know what my attitude is when I shop for toilet paper. I think it's more about how aggressive I'm feeling that day:)

[rn1965, ADN]

On 3/10/2020 at 10:56 AM, HomeBound said:

IKR. I heard a great advert once about using TP and paper towels---and I have banned PT from my house altogether because of it (and my mother is one of those old timers who simply CANNOT EVER use anything OTHER than a paper towel for EVERYTHING---so it has led to multiple confrontations)--

the advert gave the statistics of the energy it takes to make a roll of paper towels---from the diesel of the loggers' chainsaws, trucks and equipment--to transportation of the timber--to the caustic and toxic chemicals needed to reduce the wood pulp--to the billions of gallons of water that can never be reclaimed to process the pulp---to the plastic packaging that also goes right back into a landfill or swallowed by some poor creature---and then finally to your house where usually, they end up in a landfill anyway. Let's not go into the animals displaced and killed in the harvesting of timber or the pollution in the air that effects all of us.

In the end...the narrator says, "USE A RAG".

Geez. It's not rocket science. Just like people who insist on the whole Pampers thing. Just far too much trouble for the average person to RINSE A CLOTH DIAPER or reuse a rag by rinsing it.

Yeah. I get the whole "but but but but but.....water." thing. But until the taps run dry and there is no longer any ground water for wells---I don't think we're in danger of running out of water to rinse a dirty rag.

One positive thing may come out of this mess though---people may just start WASHING THEIR HANDS and keeping their immediate environments clean.

I don't get the butter thing, either. Maybe they think they can consume it like the Iditarod mushers do?

I'm with you! I am an old hippie and I cloth diapered my son, back when we used diaper pins and rubber pants over the cloth diaper and folded our own diapers!

I also made my own "paper towels" many moons ago, and I wash them and reuse them. I really do not like paper towels in my home. Luckily I live alone, so I can ban them and not care! Haha!

I do, however, live in a tiny community and we are on septic, so the TP I need is septic safe and very easily dissolved. I get it at Target and even that has disappeared. I just can't with people.....

[NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN]

I’m actually surprised that hand soap is still available-best method of disease prevention yet hand sanitizer is sold out.....people are stupid-cannot count the number of health care workers using hand sanitizer leaving a c-diff room-it doesn’t kill cdiff-hand washing is the absolute best preventative measure we can do-and keep our hands off our face and out of our mouths!

[NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN]

1 minute ago, NurseSpeedy said:

I’m actually surprised that hand soap is still available-best method of disease prevention yet hand sanitizer is sold out.....people are stupid-cannot count the number of health care workers using hand sanitizer leaving a c-diff room-it doesn’t kill cdiff-hand washing is the absolute best preventative measure we can do-and keep our hands off our face and out of our mouths!

And watch watching tv out of boredom-Dr.oz shows the corona virus and hand washing, not touching our faces-yet has people taste testing finger foods with their bare hands...OK...guess a show needed to be pieced together but WHY??

[sevensonnets]

I saw actual CLOTH diapers at WalMart yesterday. Didn't buy any because baby Sonnet is 40 now and I think outgrew an allergy to the plastic in Pampers years ago. They didn't seem to have any diaper pins though. Will they have to duct tape them on? I see another shortage on its way.

[JBudd, MSN]

Just got back in the country after a six week hiatus. Went to Wallyworld just to buy some basics to restock the house (my pet/house sitter used most of it, 6 weeks after all ? ). The shelves were totally stripped! no TP, no paper towels, no sanitizer (wasn't looking to buy any but heard complaints). I got a package of paper napkins out of the box the poor guy was trying to stock with. Just then someone was doing returns and put 1 6-pack of PT &1 2-pack on the shelf.

I do use cleaning rags but have two pups peeing in the house ?

The stocker said they had a truck coming that night and if I got there early I might beat the rush. There were about a dozen packs of TP sitting on long lonely shelves, not my usual brand but needs must, LOL, with a couple of cases of towels this morning.

[GrumpyRN, NP]

Thanks to all contributors, I still don't get the panic buying of toilet paper it's not as if the coronavirus gives you an increased need for it.

Apparently there is plenty of toilet paper being manufactured;

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/business-51823128/coronavirus-don-t-panic-be-community-minded-says-loo-roll-boss

[NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN]

Just had to by feminine hygiene wipes for my family to wipe themselves with after going to the bathroom. No TP, no baby wipes, no disposable toilet wipes, no paper towels, no Kleenex, but there were three packages of plated wipes-use them sparingly hubby and child!

I live in Florida-I guess this will stop the widespread shortages we see with supply’s around august sept with the storms-and will someone please explain the dairy/egg hoarding now going on? Had to get a flavored water to take a medication in publix-cucumber lime water is so gross!

[hppygr8ful, ASN, RN, EMT-I]

Grumpy - I am curious what's happening in the UK right now?

[GrumpyRN, NP]

11 hours ago, hppygr8ful said:

Grumpy - I am curious what's happening in the UK right now?

Hi hppy, I think much the same as you at the moment but things are changing. In Scotland we have had any gatherings of over 500 people banned and all sport has been stopped in the UK.

I get the feeling that the schools will be closed over the next week or so. A couple of the universities have already stopped face to face teaching - everything is online. A couple of the classes I attend have been cancelled as the attendees are over 60.

The stores are just madness. People are buying toilet paper for some reason and also dried pasta (but there is plenty of tomato and stuff to make sauce) so not sure what you can do with just pasta.

As we are a week or 3 behind Italy we can learn from them so get a better idea what to do but they are talking about keeping the over 70's indoors for 4 months!!

Never mind, these things too shall pass (Persian adage).

[GrumpyRN, NP]

Long queues and empty shelves at the supermarkets are a bizarre phenomenon. The selfishness and greed displayed are disappointing to say the least. But at least there's no threat inherent in swiping all the bog roll. Things in the states are somewhat more disturbing.

[subee, MSN, CRNA]

These folks have always believed that the Zombie Apocalypse is just around the corner. Dangerous combination; stupidity and paranoia.