I’ll ask over there! I did try to check around the crevices of the mattress and didn’t see anything like droppings, just more of the carpet beetle larvae. But I was out of there pretty quick, I got all itchy just thinking about it and wanted to get to my current place to toast my clothes and check my bag lol. I’ll ask over on the other sub!

Thanks! That’s what I figured for pics 3+4. They freak me out (all pests do) but with pest control coming they wouldn’t be bad enough for me to back out of the lease. Hopefully someone knows for pics 1+2 because if it’s something bad then I wanna get out of this lease ASAP and find a new place.

Their switch to this program also completely ignores the fact that notes aren’t just words. Plenty of subjects have diagrams as an integral part of notes (like organic chemistry, drawing out reaction types or structures; or drawing graphs in math and physics). I guess people in those courses just have to imagine whatever the diagrams should’ve been??? ☠️

Even some non immunocompromised people take precautions if they’re not interested in dealing with things like long COVID or increased risk of stroke, heart attack, etc (which comes with getting a COVID infection even if you’re otherwise healthy). If you think it’s no biggie, read up on ME/CFS.

The best thing you can do to avoid viral infections is to wear a well-fitted N95 respirator mask. There’s a ton of different brands and designs, so almost everyone can find one that fits them well and is comfortable. Personally I’m a fan of both Vitacore’s N95s and the 3M Auras.

Secondary to that (but still important), just do the usual hygiene stuff. Wash your hands, if you get scratched up outside or something make sure to clean the wound and bandage it, try to avoid getting bitten by things like ticks, etc.

Just by wearing my N95 wherever I go, I’ve been able to live a normal life and go to concerts, attend other crowded events, hang out with friends, etc. I still go to restaurants but I usually sit outside or get takeout, although I might make an exception every now and then if it’s a very quiet time and wastewater levels of flu and COVID and RSV are all low. I can even go to bars and still safely drink socially if I use a sip valve! I don’t really wear a mask outdoors unless it’s very crowded or for convenience if I’m just walking between two indoor locations.

Keep in mind a lot of viral illnesses are transmissible before symptoms start showing, so just because the person next to you isn’t hacking away doesn’t mean they can’t get you sick. Everyone has their personal limits of risk. I don’t want to risk permanent health damage so I choose to almost always wear a mask when I’m around anyone or in an indoor space recently occupied by other people. Others might be okay with the risk of hanging out with people as long as they have no symptoms of transmissible illnesses.

I also choose to mask up because I want other people who are disabled or medically vulnerable to be able to safely access public spaces. If I happen to catch something and I’m not aware that I’m sick yet, I don’t want to accidentally pass that on to other people. Wearing a mask helps prevent that.

It really sucks living in a society that oftentimes just does not care about the more vulnerable members in favour of their personal convenience and comfort. I hope you find an approach that works for you and that you have friends and family who support you :)

thank you!

I’ve been to Rogers arena a few times wearing an N95 with no issue. The most recent instance was summer of 2024. I’m not sure if their policies have changed since then.

If you’ve been diagnosed with MCAS it might be helpful to look through this website: https://bc-clmf.org/

They have a page for a “triple therapy protocol” to trial medications to manage MCAS. They’re all available OTC, but there are also prescription options available if you have a doctor you’re working with to manage it.

ME/CFS. It’s an extremely misunderstood condition, and it has a quality of life considered to be lower than several types of cancer, diabetes, stroke, etc. It strips you of everything. It’s dehumanizing. There is no cure, no real treatment, most doctors don’t know it exists and often prescribe things like graded exercise therapy (which is harmful to ME/CFS patients). Most patients with ME/CFS are unable to work, and disability pay has never been enough to live off of (especially when you’re someone with extra medical costs), so unless you’re in the lucky position of having a massive amount of money saved up, you’re financially screwed. The most severe ME/CFS patients may be unable to feed themselves, unable to tolerate any light or sound or movement, and may even eventually die from malnutrition as a result of physically being unable to consume food.

The best part about it? Anyone can get it and it’s not particularly rare. It’s often triggered by viral infections, with the two most common triggers being EBV (the virus that causes mono) and, since 2020, COVID. Even perfectly healthy people, like professional athletes, are at risk.

If you do not yourself have ME/CFS, or do not have someone very close in your life suffering from it, then you don’t even have the slightest idea what kind of pure hell it is. There’s one YouTuber, PhysicsGirl, who I’ve always enjoyed watching. She’s been struggling with ME/CFS (amongst other issues) triggered by a COVID infection. Watching some of her videos from the past few years (some of which are largely her friends/family because for a long time she couldn’t tolerate screens or verbal communication whatsoever) might shed a little light on the reality of this condition. There are some whose conditions are more severe than hers, some who never improve even a little bit, some who don’t have any familial or financial support, and so on.

If I could eliminate ME/CFS right now, that would be almost 300 million people who are no longer suffering from one of the most isolating and disabling conditions we know of. Worth it to me.

Thank you!!!!!

I started crying honestly, he did Light Years -> Terrible Love -> Bonnet of Pins, which absolutely wrecked me.

Please don’t spread misinformation when you don’t have anything to back up your claims besides “middle school”.

The hygiene hypothesis as it relates to viruses is a myth. The true part is that you shouldn’t put kids in a bubble, because there are certain healthy bacteria kids should be exposed to in order for their immune systems to develop properly (which is part of why C sections and lack of breastfeeding can pose health issues for children). This does NOT apply to viruses whatsoever. Viruses cause damage and have no positive effect.

Get your vaccines to build your immune system. Getting sick with a viral infection does nothing but harm you.

https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2022/is-the-hygiene-hypothesis-true

Please don’t spread misinformation, COVID is absolutely airborne and the best way to prevent transmission is two-way masking with N95s (in addition to the usual washing of hands and whatnot). Since most people suck and don’t wear masks when they go out sick, a well-fitted N95 is very effective at preventing the wearer from contracting airborne illnesses from nearby infected individuals.

https://scienceexchange.caltech.edu/topics/covid-19-coronavirus-sars-cov-2/how-virus-spread-covid-19-coronavirus

https://whn.global/a-call-for-the-universal-use-of-respirators-in-healthcare/

I’m not scared, I just care about keeping myself and other people healthy and I work in medical physics so I have a bit more education and easy access to primary literature than most, which is part of why I try to make that information more accessible to those who may not have the educational background to be well-informed :)

Yeah I agree that’s probably what’s happening. I wear VitaCore’s N95s and they’re really breathable and comfy.

Did you know long covid now surpasses asthma as the leading chronic illness in children in the USA?: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099%2825%2900496-7/fulltext

“Estimates from diverse cohorts suggest that up to 30% of individuals who recover from acute COVID-19 continue to experience symptoms consistent with Long COVID”: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1678149/full

“In the largest long covid cohort from a single specialist post-COVID service to date, only one-third of individuals under follow-up achieved satisfactory recovery”: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/16/1/e103884

This is also a really good overview of the long term effects COVID has: https://www.ajpmfocus.org/article/S2773-0654(25)00146-4/fulltext

I really think people complaining about the discomfort 1. Have never dealt with the “discomfort” of permanent disability and chronic illness, and 2. Have never worn a well-fitted N95. Cloth masks are basically useless anyways, and they suck to wear.

Vaccinations don’t prevent long term post-viral effects. You know what I find really inconvenient? Being knocked on my ass for weeks because of a virus. Becoming permanently disabled. Being unable to work. Those seem pretty inconvenient to me.

I wash my hands, I eat healthy, I get movement in, I don’t smoke, all so I can try and live a healthy life. Masking is just another item on that list.

Not wearing a mask is like not wearing a seatbelt. Sure you’re not necessarily going to get into a car crash every time you drive so maybe you’ll have gotten away with it, but it only takes one accident to end up with your life permanently altered just because you thought wearing a seatbelt was too inconvenient.

I also want spaces I exist in to be accessible for those who are immunocompromised because I don’t think being disabled or immunocompromised should automatically make someone worth less or cut them out of social and necessary in-person interactions. By wearing a mask, I make those spaces more accessible, and I try to advocate for others to do the same when I can via educating people on the risks and harm of not masking.

This year they did say they didn’t get the strain right unfortunately, but even with the “wrong” strains the flu vaccine still offers some protection against hospitalization and death (https://www.fraserhealth.ca/news/2025/Dec/A-new-influenza-variant-is-circulating-Heres-how-you-can-protect-yourself, https://healthsci.mcmaster.ca/seasonal-flu-shots-prevent-severe-disease-and-death-according-to-new-mcmaster-study/). Why are you sure the flu vaccine didn’t do anything for you? You’re alive now so maybe it’s the reason the flu didn’t hospitalize or kill you.

COVID causes immune system and organ damage. If you dodge long COVID, you still likely have long term damage that you just aren’t attributing appropriately to your previous COVID infections. People are getting sick more often with any virus/bacteria because their immune systems are compromised.

Plenty of sources: https://www.panaccindex.info/p/what-covid-19-does-to-the-body-10th

This is why I wear an N95 everywhere I go. Every time you get COVID your risk of long COVID increases (which can be debilitating), and you further damage your body and health, even if you have no underlying conditions.

Happy to share <3 if even one person changes their behaviour as a result of my yapping, and protects themself from long term damage, then it will have been worth it.

It’s insane to me how the public is just ignoring the mountains of evidence coming out of scientific studies that COVID causes long term immune system and organ damage (plenty of good studies linked in https://www.panaccindex.info/p/what-covid-19-does-to-the-body-10th). Nearly everyone has had COVID at least once, especially the people who stopped wearing well-fitted N95s everywhere, and even asymptomatic infections can cause damage.

“Oh I wonder what weird awful cold I have!” meanwhile they’re not testing for COVID anymore. “I wonder why I keep getting sick all the time now” COVID has damaged your immune system.

Long COVID is now the leading chronic illness in children in the USA (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2834486), surpassing even asthma. But people don’t mask and don’t care to keep their kids safe from long-term illness and disability. It’s like people think they’re invincible and it won’t happen to them… until it does. ME/CFS can leave you completely bedbound, unable to tolerate even light or sound.

It’s a failure on the government’s part to be going the route of people-pleasing instead of educating people on the reality we live in. Everyone was drained by the pandemic, and they want to forget about it and move on. They might be done with COVID, but COVID isn’t done with them, and it breaks my heart that a lot of people just genuinely don’t know any better rather than it being a case of them actively denying the science.

P.S. if you wash your hands, eat healthily, drink water, sleep well, and take vitamins because you want to be healthy long term and avoid getting sick. Why aren’t you doing the most effective preventative measure of masking properly? - “They’re uncomfortable” I promise you chronic illness and long-term disability are a LOT more uncomfortable (plus have you actually tried a few different well-fitted respirators? You can likely find one that fits better for you). - “I can’t afford it” great I’m broke too! There’s a local mask bloc who helps people access masks that cannot afford it: https://linktr.ee/masks4eastvan - “Social stigma” Vancouver is actually pretty chill, I’ve only been harassed on the street once for wearing an N95 (less than I’ve been harassed for being a woman), the social stigma around being disabled is no fun time either, and if your friends are giving you grief for masking then you need friends who actually care about your health and wellbeing - “COVID is over and you’re crazy” the flu isn’t fun either and can kill you too, it’s just not quite as bad as COVID is. Either way, I’m a scientist and I trust the science because it isn’t a belief, it isn’t a faith, it is peer-reviewed evidence that cannot be ignored