Corona Prep: does it make sense to buy medical equipment?

[Zombie 284]

 

I have elderly parents and there have been a lot of stories in the news about hospitals being potentially overwhelmed and short of necessary medical equipment. To that end, does it make sense to buy medical equipment for the house such as a respiratory machine and similar items to care for loved ones if a hospital is unable to? Is this just paranoia run amuck?

 

 

[gmr548 16609]

So you're asking, knowing that hospitals are facing a drastic supply shortages, should you get your hands on comparable equipment and hoard it, directly leading to the death of who knows how many patients, so that you could hypothetically try to fill the roles of healthcare professionals in an attempt to save your parents' lives if they were to get sick?

[Zombie 284]

7 minutes ago, gmr548 said:

So you're asking, knowing that hospitals are facing a drastic supply shortages, should you get your hands on comparable equipment and hoard it, directly leading to the death of who knows how many patients, so that you could hypothetically try to fill the roles of healthcare professionals in an attempt to save your parents' lives if they were to get sick?

Not at all.  I would make it available to anyone who needs it. And I doubt medical facilities are buying used equipment from EBay. If I heard about a medical facility needing equipment, I would immediately provide it to them.  Calm down with the holier than thou self righteous attitude man. I'm not talking about hoarding it away, just about making up for any local deficiencies.  Jesus Christ, no need to be a fucking dick. 

Edited March 14, 2020 by Zombie

[TwiceHorn 31530]

Yeah, I was going to say, post 2 assumes that hospitals would acquire all the equipment on the secondary market.  They might, might not.

That said, while you could probably acquire an oxygen generator and that might be of some assistance, the real item of need seems to be a ventilator, which provides artificial respiration.  Not sure you'll find those and even if you did, not sure they're safe to use at home.

[conVINCEd 21469]

Buying used medical equipment off of eBay, with the intent of depending on it to save a loved-ones life, seems like a bad idea.

[Zombie 284]

Just now, conVINCEd said:

Buying used medical equipment off of eBay, with the intent of depending on it to save a loved-ones life, seems like a bad idea.

Fair enough. 

[Newdoc 3448]

You need oxygen and potentially a Bipap or ventilator. You won't know how to use either one. So no. 

Make sure your elderly relatives stay in the house and have minimal contact with healthy people.

[EuroHorn 3268]

Username checks out 

[Incredulity 11683]

18 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

Buying used medical equipment off of eBay, with the intent of depending on it to save a loved-ones life, seems like a bad idea.

So does offering ad-hoc untrained medical care and/or equipment. Jesus. 

[Digdogger 1344]

I just bought an extra high colonic kit in case things start to get dicey 

[Zombie 284]

2 minutes ago, Incredulity said:

So does offering ad-hoc untrained medical care and/or equipment. Jesus. 

You're right of course. But let's say hospitals are full to the tilt and your loved ones can't get care, do you just say fuck it and if they die they die?

[royiv 9341]

So in this hypothetical situation, are you planning to intubate your parents yourself? Are you going to also buy some secondhand laryngoscopes?

[RPM 26341]

They tell you all the settings in the owner's manual or do just hit the power switch and go?

[Zombie 284]

6 minutes ago, royiv said:

So in this hypothetical situation, are you planning to intubate your parents yourself? Are you going to also buy some secondhand laryngoscopes?

Shit man, I don't know. I'm a dumb lawyer like most posters here. I guess I figured I would figure it out in an emergency. Better than doing nothing. 

Edited March 14, 2020 by Zombie

[BrickHorn 18280]

You should go on-line and buy one of those sexy nurse outfits instead.

Edited March 14, 2020 by BrickHorn

[Zombie 284]

1 minute ago, BrickHorn said:

You should go on-line and buy one of those sexy nurse outfits.  

[stone oak 639]

Nightmare fuel. For those that need a cleanse, see below. 
 

[deadshank 24653]

1 hour ago, RPM said:

They tell you all the settings in the owner's manual or do just hit the power switch and go?

Or just YouTube it. 

[HornOnTheBayou 8945]

I've watched enough ER and Scrubs to figure out the basics. How hard could it be?

[Anastasis 23481]

1 hour ago, stone oak said:

Nightmare fuel. For those that need a cleanse, see below. 
 

This thread taking a turn for the better. 

 

To OP.  Don't be a dumbass. 

[Errestaurants 2570]

40 minutes ago, HornOnTheBayou said:

I've watched enough ER and Scrubs to figure out the basics. How hard could it be?

Or just Netflix and Chill a weeks worth of Mash re-runs and be ready to go.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13522]

If you’re about to spend some decent money buying medical equipment maybe find a way to spend that money to just keep them safe from it.  Rent a house in the middle of nowhere and put them in it. Think of a way to deliver supplies and keep the packaging sanitized.

[TornACL 7722]

Does the CV19 virus make people stupid? Because this is the goddamn stupidest idea I have ever heard of. You might want to get checked out. 

[davidg 4038]

I've watched enough ER and Scrubs to figure out the basics. How hard could it be?

Niece is 2nd year med school. First three questions she answered in class were things discussed in House or Grey’s Anatomy.

[Mrs Whiggins 13050]

5 hours ago, Zombie said:

 

I have elderly parents and there have been a lot of stories in the news about hospitals being potentially overwhelmed and short of necessary medical equipment. To that end, does it make sense to buy medical equipment for the house such as a respiratory machine and similar items to care for loved ones if a hospital is unable to? Is this just paranoia run amuck?

 

 

To answer your first question, no not medical equipment. It's not paranoia, IMO, but it is the growing realization that your parents are vulnerable and this is a serious virus for them were they to catch it. Keep them secluded and well nourished. Make sure they are moving around enough even though they can't really go out. If they fall ill, then will it be upon you to call the doctor? Them? Make sure you have what you need in order to do so in case you need to move quickly. Best of luck to you and them.

 

[Blotto 23568]

4 hours ago, Digdogger said:

I just bought an extra high colonic kit in case things start to get dicey 

What the THC content of that bad boy? Asking for, uh......myself.

[Judge Roybeanbag 11820]

Intubation is serious business.  A pretty large percentage of people develop delirium while intubated and have issues, maybe because it’s kind of like choking.  Not a that you’d try that but just saying.

Edited March 15, 2020 by Judge Roybeanbag

[royiv 9341]

4 hours ago, Zombie said:

Shit man, I don't know. I'm a dumb lawyer like most posters here. I guess I figured I would figure it out in an emergency. Better than doing nothing. 

Or what if doing something kills your parents versus doing nothing doesn't kill your parents? Buying secondhand equipment off the internet that you have no idea how to use and attempting to intubate a patient will certainly kill them. Doing "nothing" and offering supportive care certainly doesn't kill them.

[The University 851]

if it's not working out of the box after firing it up, just slap it on the side a few times. there's also a ukraine site that lets you view copies of all medical equipment manuals after you install their reader app. 

[Incredulity 11683]

3 minutes ago, BurntEyes said:

OP should see if this iron lung is on the secondary market. The woman may well have died by now:

https://www.foxnews.com/health/iron-lung-keeping-woman-alive-for-decades-now-one-of-last-remaining-in-us

Previously used by Arthur Digby Sellers.

[gmr548 16609]

Not at all.  I would make it available to anyone who needs it. And I doubt medical facilities are buying used equipment from EBay. If I heard about a medical facility needing equipment, I would immediately provide it to them.  Calm down with the holier than thou self righteous attitude man. I'm not talking about hoarding it away, just about making up for any local deficiencies.  Jesus Christ, no need to be a fucking dick. 

Sorry for coming on too strong. My mom is also very high risk and I'm all kinds of on edge, so I understand where you're coming from. Just wanted to drive home the problems with the idea.

when I came out of my comma...drowsy from the comma and all.

But was it an oxford comma?

[WBT 20655]

I've been eyeing a thermal cycler and some Taq polymersae so I can do my own PCR amplification and testing.