PSA: Breathe In! Breathe Out! Breathe in...

As of this writing, there is still zero evidence for #chloroquine prophylaxis versus coronavirus However, deep lung exercise is ~proven~ to ward off pneumonia. https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-increase-lung-capacity

Trust me, you do ~not~ want to be cooped up at home, on your couch, watching Netflix and breathing lightly for weeks and months on end. Do some deep breathing! Regularly.

#WorkThoseLungs

And, FWIW, I'd assert that you do ~not~ want to restrict your breathing in any way (e.g. with a facemask) unless it is really essential, e.g. while grabbing essentials at a store or gas station. The goal needs to be lots of deep breathing. Needs to be part of your daily routine.

I know this, firsthand. When we came to the US, I contracted severe pneumonia / was hospitalized for weeks. Want to know what hurts like hell and makes you almost want to wish you weren't living? Try respiratory techs beating on your back for weeks. You do *not* want pneumonia.

We went back overseas and I was fine, in the dry, clean, non-air-conditioned air of #Botswana. It gave me a chance to recover, and I will always be grateful Then, after we came back, yep, pneumonia again, several times. Probably seasonal allergies reducing air flow, I think.

I used to get truly debilitating sinus headaches, allergy issues leading to bronchitis and whatnot. The episodes of pneumonia weren't nearly as severe, just the "walking" variety, but nevertheless concerning. I didn't know what to do.

A doc offered the now-obvious: running. Rowing, Bicycling. Whatever leads to deep lung workouts. I.e. not facebooking / netflixing & all that shit. And it's definitely not the same thing as lifting. It's inhaling and exhaling as deep as you possibly can. Repeatedly. Regularly.

And even if you can't get the rigorous exercise, you ~can~ do deep-breathing/ meditation.

I'm not a doc, at least not the "real" kind... but I guarantee deep breathing sure as heck won't hurt your chances, if/when you do face Covid19, flu, or such.

I'm sure you all know, also, that air quality issues are a major source of death and disease. Imagine living somewhere you can't even do some deep breathing without concern for what you may inhale! That describes a very large part of the world's population.

I hope this brief economic pause puts a ~lot~ more pressure on governments and industries to clear the air. Use those lungs shout the message at your politicians, local and national. We and our children deserve cleaner air.

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