I wear KF94 masks that are tested as 99% protective, per engineer Aaron Collins. They’re expensive but fairly comfortable and I can wear them for hours, unlike n95s, which I can only wear about 5 minutes.
The lung doc H saw this morning was wearing a simple surgical mask that didn’t seem to fit him very well.
I have worn N95s on two trips to Europe, both on the plane and in the airport. My recommendation is the vented masks. They make breathing so much easier and who cares if I’m spreading my germs?!!
Yes vented masks are supposed to be much more comfortable. I have not worn them but H and S have.
I caught it for first time last week. Had fever and sore throat. Paxlovid worked right away, no more fever or sore throat after two days.
There are various masks under that brand name. The N95 masks are under “particulate respirators” from the page below, while non-N95 surgical type masks are under “medical & surgical masks”.
https://products.halyardhealth.com/products/personal-protection/facial-respiratory-protection
Based on Aaron Collins’ mask ratings, I tried a model with both high filtration and high airflow (3M VFlex 9105). It is a non-vented N95 mask that is much more comfortable than most N95, KN95, or KF94 masks, due to less airflow restrictions. The greater airflow is presumably due to the target market of construction workers and similar working in dusty conditions, where physical exertion requires greater (filtered) airflow through the mask.
Hi, I’m still trying to catch up on this thread.
I managed to avoid Covid until November 2022. I had gotten a Bivalent (I think my 4th vaccine) about a week before. I was very congested, tired, and sort of out of it, but no fever or cough. I had eased off masking, no idea where I got it. One son got it the following month.
By January, I was in a pretty bad place emotionally (underlying anxiety/OCD mild depression well controlled for decades) and had to change up my meds. I’ve lost a short range of hearing in one ear. I haven’t felt as sharp. Gained a lot of weight too.
Husband managed to avoid it til January 2024 and responded well to Paxlovid (I believe he needed two courses).
This year I seem to be having seasonal allergies even though I never had them before. I’m sure I would feel better if I exercised more, but I’m always tired.
Anyone?
Sorry your symptoms are bothering you.
Are you getting help for mental health?
Get a check up, check Vitamin D, iron, B vitamins, etc.
Exercise, start gradually.
Have you tried Zyrtec for seasonal allergies?
Yes. Getting help; have improved some.
I started Claritin for the allergies. Agree I need to add vitamins.
Hang on to your sense of humor, too😀
I was so tired with covid. Paxlovid worked great.
I’m still recovering my stamina.
Hope tomorrow will be a better day for you.
If Claritin isn’t strong enough to adequately control allergies, you may want to try Allegra—fexofenadine. (I take 30-60 mg/day of it—have to buy it online via Amazon as the 180mg pill being sold everywhere is just too strong and drying.). It’s also over the counter.
If Allegra isn’t strong enough, you can try stepping up to Zyrtec (also over the counter), but it’s quite strong and very drying and can make you very tired and then give insomnia & sometimes hives coming off of it.
Good luck moving forward in better health!
@randommom1 I am sorry you are struggling so. I’ve had year round allergies for ~30 years and take meds every day. But, I would say that the last 15-20 years were well under control, and at least predictable… until recently. I had covid in Jan 2023. It was a mild case by doctor’s standards - no fever or cough, but my HR was very high for 3 days and I lost my voice for about 10. But for maybe 3-4 months after that, it just felt like all of my systems were off and every cell of my body was inflamed. My skin seemed to age 10 years instantly. And my allergies became completely unpredictable. I had symptoms I never had trouble with before - hives, eczema around my eyes, lips, etc. My usual daily cocktail of (generic) meds of Zyrtec plus Flonase plus allergy eye drops didn’t seem to work.
That being said, I’m also going to peri/menopause, so is that to blame? Who knows. It seemed a little coincidental it happened right after covid. I do know that no medical professional that I’ve brought it up to seem to care. Just brushed it off like I didn’t say anything at all. Even the nurse from the state health department who was supposed to be tracking cases and symptoms didn’t even seem to write it down. I guess it didn’t match her pick list.
@HImom are you sure you’re not taking Allegra-D and/or Zyrtec-D? I’ve never heard of the plain Allegra/Zyrtec drying someone out like that. The ones with the decongestant for sure. I rarely take the ones with the D because they make me super jittery, like I want to jump out of my skin. And if you have trouble with dosing, you can also get kids’ liquid formula and dose that out as needed. I used to do that with Benadryl before all of the good meds became available OTC and generic. Just swig enough out of the bottle to keep symptoms manageable without making me drowsy.
I have heard from others that allergies are more unmanageable now, so maybe that is it. I thought I was well in menopause, but agree that must also be playing a role.
@ClassicMom98 — yea, I only take plain antihistamines, not the ones with decongestants in them. I’m also taking other meds for my breathing so it’s possible the synergy of them taken together increases the drying effect.
I’m also VERY sensitive to meds and try to keep track of side effects. I took zyrtec for years but have switched to Allegra 30-60mg (I cut 60mg pills in half), which works better for me in terms of relief with minimal side effects.
@randommom1 as one who totally won (lost?) the long covid lottery (infected May 22, terrible breathing issues including two hospitalizations, followed by sudden onset Covid-related rheumatoid arthritis for almost a year but no more breathing problems). I’ve found it helpful to try to be zen about it. I’ve found that it’s pointless to look for absolute answers–this is a “novel” virus and at this point “they” know more what they don’t know. If symptoms persist, I recommend this newsletter:
Thanks!
Based on my own sample of seemingly having an event Sat night and 3 positives (all had flown btw right before the event), I would say Covid is on the rise! I was walking with one of them on monday 
Meanwhile I am at my moms and she only has ihealth tests that expired 9/23 . I took one and the C line was fine (negative) but wonder if the tests are still valid in any way.
FDA recommends JN.1 lineage for fall vaccines, with preference for the KP.2 descendant.
However, KP.3 is now the largest variant in the US, with KP.2 in second place.
We just can’t keep up with the mutations.
Yeah, the fact that I got such a bad case after having all the vaccines right on schedule is discouraging. And I would have to pay over $600 for Paxlovid if I need it in the future (I checked with Anthem). That would be a tough call.