Did you got Covid right after cuddling with somebody?

InvestorLogic

I really hoped I had known about this website before the pandemic started I really like the idea of cuddling but the idea of meeting a random stranger in person sounds daring, specially with how the Omicron variant is rapidly infecting a lot of people.

i would like to know if anyone here got Covid right after meeting and cuddling with someone here?

If so, were you (almost) certain that this person was the source of your infection?

How sick did you got? and What measures did you take before you met this person in order to minimize the chances of getting Covid, did you wear mask? what type of mask, KN-95?, surgical?, cloth?, other?

i am trying to gauge how to better protect myself if I decide to cuddle with someone in person.

Thanks every one!!

coregulate

I double mask, kn95 + cloth. So far, no covid, but this omicron... I think we are all gonna get it tbh. So far so good! And I'm testing often.

I have a bad hearing loss, and I rely on lip reading quite a bit. There’s just no way I can communicate with people wearing masks, so I’ve just shut it down. Which sucks because I’m naturally an outgoing type who loves in depth convo. I’ve been vaccinated twice, never tested positive and I’ve been tested 6 times, most recently 2 weeks ago. That being said, I’m pretty much done with this pandemic given how it’s isolated me from others. I’m healthy and refuse to live in fear. If I haven’t had it already, I’m sure I’ll get it at sone point in time.

DaringSprinter

I'm not cuddling with anybody but my roommate / partner during these trying times. Our state is red, so. You know. Lots of current Covid cases, plenty of long Covid, more than enough deaths per month.

We're staying in as much as possible and living off savings.

When health.nd.gov says there's 1585 active Covid cases in your county, but you know most people aren't even getting tested, well, it seems like a good time to stay indoors and have no visitors!

IggyJReilly55

@DaringSprinter are you saying that you’re not working due to self isolating?

DaringSprinter

@CobaltRacer55: Basically.

Due to state leadership, the place I was working didn't require masks or social distancing, and every employee understood that if we got sick it was best to pretend we hadn't, since if the company caught wind of it they'd make us get tested with the two possible outcomes being "no pay for however long you're sick" and "no pay for anybody for an indeterminate period."

Didn't really feel like staying after the first couple infections, you know? I stepped out as soon as I could afford it.

Francisco108

I am a big fan of the KN-95 masks. While I admit I first started to wear cloth masks when the pandemic first started, after a few months around late 2020 I dropped them in favor of the KN-95 masks.

So far, I have never gotten the virus, maybe around March of 2020 when this thing first began I got a sore throat, but there were no testing done at that time, so I would never know if that was Covid or the yearly common cold. Other than that, no Covid here, and I hope to always keep it that way.

TwoPMcoffee

@Wanderlust74 they make face masks with clear pieces in the front for deaf and hard of hearing people. You should look into those!

And as a nurse I HIGHLY recommend that you get vaccinated and get the booster as soon as you can. Please. And if you are vaccinated, please continue wearing face masks in public areas.

-Sincerely, a nurse who has seen way too much death over the last two years and way too many people who don’t give a damn.

Nobody wears those masks, especially those who seemingly should be (outside of hospitals).

I had a law professor that did and I appreciated the gesture. I’m over it, I’ve received the booster as well. Working for the state AG’s office, its easily available.

SlothHugs

@TwoPMcoffee - Thank you for your care of so many ill... 🫂🤗. I imagine how immensely frustraing it is, especially when the severity is often preventable. Your heart is appreciated! And to all healthcare and education workers out there, I see you!

Ironman294

I got omicron, it seems like everyone will. CNN’s expert Dr. Leanna Wen former President of Planned Parenthood said that cloth masks are not effective against COVID, especially Omicron. Basically Onicron is like the flu, but for me and some of my friends it’s only been a slight temperature, sore & scratchy throat and some fatigue. That’s all, take your vitamin C, Zinc and Vitamin D, eat lots of green leafy vegetables, exercise and build up your immunity. That will help with all disease.
Stay safe and healthy everyone.

InvestorLogic

@Ironman294 "I got omicron, it seems like everyone will"

It is my personal mission to make sure that I will never get Omicron, or any other variant. I will not get Covid, I am unemployed, possibly unemployable because all I do is sleep the whole day (I might have depression) and then binge watch YouTube videos/series all night long. I don't go out anywhere, so I can't see how I can get Covid. Whenever I go out, I wear a KN-95 mask to have a better protection against breathing in the Virus, yes I know, its not 100% effective, but something is something, and like I said, I barely go out.

So, I shouldn't get Covid at all.

CuddleDuncan

I have not caught covid after cuddling somebody. However, I have not caught covid after cuddling somebody. (sic)

In other words I cuddled somebody who was in perfect health, went home, got a message from them saying they were feeling wonky, and two hours later they tested positive. I tested every day for a week (as recommended), all negative. No symptoms.

Back in August I wrote this, in this thread:
https://www.cuddlecomfort.com/forum/discussion/11653/cuddling-in-the-time-of-covid/p1

Current 'maximum best practice' for covid safe cuddling is:-

• Both double vaccinated

• Cuddle outside, preferably on top of a windy hill. (Lots of open windows if you have to be inside.)

• Both get tested day before or day of

• Check with each other that neither has symptoms or is supposed to be isolating

• Both wear masks throughout (mildly annoying, but not as bad as you think)

• Wash hands on arrival

• Maintain social distance when not actually cuddling

• Do not point faces at each other: cuddling 'face to face' is ok as long as you are breathing over each others' shoulders

• As much as possible, do not touch anything the other person has touched

• Disinfect bathroom, door handles etc. before and after

If you do all of that the risk of transmission is as small as you can get it without cuddling in hazmat suits.

Maverick07

@InvestorLogic - I get what @Ironman294 meant; the majority of people will get this one, as it's happening already, and it's not as lethal.
I got COVID before the vaccines were available, felt like crap for a week and had a cough that took at least a month to clear completely. Then, already vaccinated, got again (omicron likely) a month ago; 2-3 days with just a couple of sneezes and a scratchy throat, that was it. By the way, I didn't get them from cuddling.
I have obligations as a father and worker, which requires traveling, so I am exposed to COVID (and whatever else) at some level even though I take care of my health and hygiene.

Ironman294

@Maverick07 yep omicron is 140x more contagious than Alpha so it’s likely everyone will get it eventually or when another variant pops up. As the scientists and doctors say with each variant it gets more contagious but less virulent and dangerous. It will become like the flu endemic and we will probably have to get an annual COVID shot much like the flu shot, if you want to that is.
I like you had COVID right as the world locked down in March of 2020. For me it was similar to omicron. My immune system is pretty good plus I was popping Vitamins C, D and zinc like I mentioned in my earlier post.
Stay healthy everyone. Plus there are two new therapeutics we can take but there isn’t enough to go around right now because the FDA has been slow to act for reasons we do not know and not enough is being made yet. But once there’s enough to go around getting a booster or vaxx will be optional.

MattsWeather

I've never had covid issues stem from cuddling. Though, at this point with omicron I think we should let go of the intention of trying to avoid catching covid. Certainly refrain from spreading or catching it intentionally, but don't panic about contact tracing and mild symptoms if you can't get a test. Whether we cuddle or not, I don't think it's a matter of if but when we catch it and I don't think that's such a big bad scary thing with this new variant. @Ironman294 I agree with you wholeheartedly, I think we are getting towards the end of this. There will probably always be new variants but less severe and more transmissible each time, hence why I think we should stop resisting catching it, the risk is less now and so it's more stressful than it's worth at this point in my humble opinion.

DaringSprinter

Hmm. So omicron is mild, and if we just survive it (easy for all us strong folks, right? and the folks weak enough to die from it don't need life anyway, right?) then everything will be just fine. Hmmm. I think I've heard that before.

"Much of the abandonment of public health measures has been spurred by a massive disinformation campaign which has successfully convinced a relatively large portion of our population that as long as one lives through COVID-19 all will be well. The young and healthy have especially embraced this narrative. A narrative which offers false hope for the following reasons:

"First, the premise that mild infections do not carry significant risks is false. In part this belief is driven by those who have not died from COVID-19 being counted as 'recovered' as opposed to 'survived.' SARS-CoV-2 causes a system infection and is commonly detected in the heart and brain, exemplified by the loss of smell from brain tissue destruction and loss of cardiac function from myocarditis. Even those who develop 'mild' COVID-19 can develop long COVID-19 which in many cases lasts for a year or longer."

—Kevin Kavanagh, MD, Infection Control Today (4 January 2022)

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"Though much remains unknown about omicron, experts say the variant could lead to long Covid, even with a mild case.

"Patients with long-term symptoms can experience crushing fatigue, irregular heart rhythms and other issues months after their initial Covid infection. This occurred during the first wave of the pandemic, and has continued to lead to long Covid issues through the delta wave.

"'We should assume that this variant can do the same thing that previous variants have until proven otherwise,' Lee, of CUNY [Dr. Bruce Y. Lee, City University of New York School of Public Health], said."

—NBC News (21 December 2021)

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"'Long COVID can happen no matter what virus variant occurs,' Dr. Fauci said. 'There's no evidence that there's any difference between delta or beta or now omicron.'

"'We should always be aware that when people get symptomatic infection … anywhere from 10 to up to 30 plus percent of people will go on to have persistence of symptoms,' he added, noting that even mild cases are included in that possibility."

—Dr. Anthony Fauci, interview with Spectrum News (29 December 2021)

Oh, yeah... right. And here I thought it just sounded familiar on account of so many of the people in my life saying the same things about the OG virus.

Silly me.

robroo

Unless your cuddler was the only person you've ever been close to, how would you even know?

WriterGF

Well, we hope each variant will lean toward "more contagious, less severe." But there is actually nothing stopping there from being a variant that is "more contagious, more severe." Omicron is more a nose and throat virus, it doesn't attack the lungs. If it did, the hospitalization rate from it would be way up. And as long as you have significant percentages of the population who aren't vaccinated, you will get more variants,

Babichev

I’ve not cuddled anyone from this site recently but I’ve cuddled a few friends. All of them have been fully vaccinated, including boosters, and all of them take appropriate precautions elsewhere in their lives, like wearing a mask indoors in public, avoiding large gatherings, etc. So far I’m healthy. I’m home most of the time, always wear a mask indoors in public, and the only place I’m around many people is the grocery store and the hardware store. I’m fortunate that in my area people are very good about wearing masks indoors. The businesses all require it and people have been compliant. I’ve done a little socializing over the holidays but only one or two people at a time and all of them are cautious, too.

I haven’t had a cold in two years. The last time I was sick was a serious case of bronchitis in June 2019.

DaringSprinter

@Babichev: Nice! You are very fortunate in the sanity of your community (I'm envious). Here's hoping you keep that healthy streak going!🤞🏻

Babichev

@DaringSprinter - I do feel fortunate that people around here are being really good about mask wearing, restaurants have limited seating with distance between people, etc. A few weeks ago I was visiting a friend in a municipality further out in the rural areas. He wanted to go out to dinner. We got to this place and it was crowded and No One except the waiting staff was wearing a mask. Not One Single Person. I could not get out of there fast enough.